Ocado...

[BlackBean2023]

My AIBU is actually every other supermarket treating their online shopping customers like crap.

I have tried Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Iceland but had the same problems with late deliveries, missing items, short use by dates... for the last few months I've given up and have been shopping in store instead which is a bit of a faf - I work FT, kids have things on weekends which require taxi'ing etc.

I got a offer code for Ocado at the beginning of the summer and used it for £20 off and free delivery for 3 months. Excellent service so I thought I'd make the most of the free delivery offer and have been using them consistently for weekly deliveries for 4 weeks now - the delivery service is always bang on time, the use by dates are decent (and clearing listed on the online receipt which make meal planning super easy) and fruit/veg has all been good quality.

Yes, it costs more (although not massively for me as I can avoid unnecessary purchases online more so than in store) but clearly it is possible to provide consistently excellent service so really the other super markets with their record profits are just taking the piss now aren't they!?

I find Ocado way better than Waitrose. Waitrose delivery - the few times I’ve used it - has been appalling. One time they spilled bleach over my food and I had to really argue to get it refunded.

I flipped to ocado when Tesco moved their south London depot from Croydon to Erith and then I could never get a delivery slot. By Wednesday pm the next available delivery slot I can get is usually Tuesday. More slots do open up sometimes but you have to be checking constantly and it's a gamble. I'm actually going to cancel my annual subscription renewal when it comes up, I've spent vastly less money there this year because I just can't get my shopping delivered for the weekend.

With Ocado I can always get tomorrow and often same day. Handy when I'm doing my online shop from my morning commute! The quality is pretty good to be fair.

Yeah, I'm a big Ocado fan.

They're really good on customer service, quickly return money for any damaged items and rarely have missing or replaced items even around Xmas.

Price wise, M&S and luxury items are bound to be a bit more expensive but they're not bad for day to day essentials. I did miss the Essential Waitrose range when they switched over but the range of food is very broad and they always have offers on and go through periods of price matching against eg Tesco and sending money-off vouchers for the amount extra paid with them for the same items, if they're more expensive.

I find they stock a lot more UPF free foods too and I love the artisan/market section. Being able to order M&S school uniform bits is handy, too.

I wouldn't use anyone else for delivery (apart from the occasional emergency same day Morrison's order off Prime) BUT I do think their service is changeable across the UK. I've heard many on here saying they've had bad experiences.

They really were amazing through Covid, weren't they?

I ♥️ Ocado 😂

Ocado doesn’t have physical stores so it has much more control over its stock.

If I want to add 200g of tenderstem broccoli to my shop that’s coming on Thursday, Ocado can tell me now that it will be in stock and virtually reserve a pack for me. If I reserve the last pack available for that date and area, other customers trying to buy after me will be told it’s out of stock and offered a bigger or smaller pack as an option. If I ordered from any of the supermarkets with physical stores, the broccoli is likely to be picked on Thursday from a supermarket. They have good stock systems but they can’t know if there will be a pack available for me. Someone could walk into the shop and buy the last three packs 5 minutes before my order is picked. I’m much more likely to have missing or substituted items

Bloody God send for me in delivering to my elderly mum. With others, they would have things "out of stock" like bread, milk etc. No point in a delivery if I still have to go to a shop to get stuff anyway.

It looks like I will be the lone voice of dissent here… I’ve just started ordering from Ocado ( have been using Waitrose). First Ocado order two items were delivered completely mouldy and with quite a few substitutions; second order was delivered an hour and a quarter late with no call or sms… I later found if you go into the app it tells you it will be late, but even that was wrong compared to the actual arrival time. I will not be using them again, so back to Waitrose I go. It’s a shame as I liked the new (for me) access to some of the M&S items.

@StaunchMomma yes definitely. And in fact I was telling someone last week that their customer service is so good and such a rare thing these days.

It's what most shops were or aspired to be 20 years ago.

Shame they broke up with Waitrose though. I'm less keen on their m&s collab.

They don’t deliver to my area so have never used them.

iv used Tesco for years and while since covid/cost of living has had the impact of the amount of things unavailable have gone up apart from that they have been pretty good.
i could count on one hand the times there has been an issue with the delivery being late or not coming due to for example a van breaking down.
veg mostly decent quality and lasts as long as you take it out of any plastic packaging
meat normally decent with a good date on it apart from one off steak which even the cat wouldn’t touch.

subs are usually ok there have been a few odd ones. Normally it’s a higher value product or a bigger version of something which is quite good

they never have an issue with refunding if there has been a problem with a product or packaging etc has been damaged in transit. Doesn’t happen often

asda
out of the ten or so times I’ve used them over half have either been late or had missing items or short dates or veg that’s so past its best it’s unusable on day of arrival.
had tenderstem broccoli that was so off the heads we’re literally brown and fell apart on touch already two weeks in a row and they refused to refund them for example

I've had a couple of terrible experiences with ocado. They didn't deliver my order as they ran out of time - it was 3pm not 10pm. Then they redelivered it the next day but without any of the frozen items as they aren't allowed.

Then the standard short dates and unavailable items that every supermarket suffers from.

Ocado is my supermarket of choice because:

Long use by dates (warehouse)
Almost no substitutions (warehouse) - maybe 1 in every 20 deliveries
Always on time (sometimes early, but they call first)
The widest range available
Price match to Tesco (and vouchers if your shopping costs more)
Availability of delivery slots (I just looked, and I could get a shop delivered at 11am (and any time thereafter) tomorrow, if I booked it now)
The app is SO easy to use - I can do a shop in about 10 mins
Easy process for reporting any issues, and hassle free refunds
Own label products are good quality (fruit and veg, mainly, plus tinned/dried stuff)
And probably some other reasons I haven't thought of!

I do a shop with them every 10 days or so, and then go to Lidl in between for stuff I prefer from them.

Ocado has had trouble getting in sync with M&S over fruit and veg
(particularly pre prepared stuff) over the longevity of products. I’ve had stuff that was 2+ days in date but looking like it needed to be used that day. I’m not sure why that’s happened. I’ve also noticed that the guaranteed shelf life on the Ocado website for a lot of M&S fruit and veg is down to 1+ - at least one day.

I wouldn’t even consider using Ocado after their reaction to the woman: adult human female billboard in Liverpool.
Why support a company that doesn’t know what a woman is?

Three times last week ocado cancelled my order saying my card declined which is untrue. I would prefer to use them as you can get same time delivery for free but I can't trust them after that.

I am another Ocado user - mainly because they sell items I want that I cant get locally.

I have never had a substituted item and as everyone says deliveries always arrive at the time they should. Occasionally I’ve been called to see if they can deliver early which is never a problem to me.
The only issue I have is the beyond awful way the bags are packed - absolutely no rhyme or reason to how they are put together. I’ve complained so many times and been refunded without issue for things like damp flour, split packets and squashed cakes
Apparently the bags are packed in the warehouse and the drivers have no idea which bags they’re delivering until they arrive. I had always wondered why it took them so long to get out of the van and bring the bags, but we live in a very poor reception area and they often have to wait for the information they need to load.

That could be Ocado or it could be your bank/card security. Mine hate it when I shop somewhere new.

I used them quite often before the AHF billboard fiasco, but only when they sent vouchers because they were noticeably more expensive Sainsbury’s.

I didn’t find the service any better or worse. However, we seem to be quite lucky in that the Sainsbury’s in our are is very reliable. It’s not the case everywhere, I gather.

The only issue I have is the beyond awful way the bags are packed - absolutely no rhyme or reason to how they are put together. I’ve complained so many times and been refunded without issue for things like damp flour, split packets and squashed cakes

Lots of it is picked by robot.
Which often seems to mean heavy stuff dropped onto lighter stuff.

I’m with you, love Ocado
i have a voucher for money off a tesco online shop and it’s just one of those things I’ve gotta do - but genuinely wish I was shopping with Ocado!
their customer service is next to none. Always find the delivery people so lovely, makes such a difference.

I’m a fan of Sainsbury’s but Ocado is more reliable and cheaper.

I am not a "loyal" customer to any of them. I do shop online... God I hate going to the supermarket, especially the huge ones.

Ocado send vouchers if you haven't shopped for over 4 weeks, waitrose seems to be 3 weeks, tesco send vouchers from time to time, and often get an amazon voucher to use on Morrisons, so we tend to use the one that offers best.

The thing I hate with Ocado is you can be shopping away adding to the basket, get to the check out and "not available"... sometimes/often even, it is the few items you actually want to get from ocado, your reason to shop with them (m and s Chinese fakeaway box , frozen cookies, big 18? can pack of san pellegrino, and roasted garlic mayo being my "reason to shop").
Latest shop delivered today was tesco. Everything there, everything fresh.
Next week will be Waitrose... if the mozzarella stuffed meatballs are available!
Choose cheapest delivery slot each time... but have a tesco delivery plan as we do our bulk cleaning/laundry/etc etc with them. Food with everyone.

I have used OCADO for several years. All the drivers are polite and helpful (apart from one miserable git!). Always ring if they are going to be early or late; generally it is because they are early. Like that there is a wide range of goods including unusual European foods: la Vieja Fabrica conserves and d'arbo 70% sour cherry jam are the stuff of dreams. Rarely have missing items and usually all foods have a long use by date. Site is easy to navigate. M&S meal deals are good.
Occasionally I find a surprise gift in my shopping; last week it was a magnum!

Trying to remember which of the supermarkets it was whose driver called me to say he unfortunately wouldn’t get to me that night because he’d accidentally driven off the road into a ditch and got stuck (he was fine, I did check!) Whoever it was, I did eventually get my delivery at about 11pm, as they’d sent another van out to offload all the orders. Was quite impressed with that one.