Waitrose - no meat being delivered…..

[FlamingoSocks]

I’m just fucked off and wanting a moan
Ordered a rib of beef from their Entertaining range months ago, to be delivered this evening as the Christmas meat. Got the email about what is being delivered and guess what? No beef! So no meat for Christmas Day, 10 people coming, a house to get clean and children to entertain and now have to try and find a joint of beef.

Also not being delivered - Christmas pudding, Yule log, cheese, booze…. Basically we have to now go and do a full shop. It’s fine, we can, DH is home and we can drive, we are lucky…..

If they’d even said sorry I wouldn’t mind, but the woman I spoke to in customer services was the rudest most dismissive person I think I’ve ever dealt with in a Customer Service context. I’m in a mood now and I don’t want to be, it’s Christmas!!!

I wonder if the Waitrose IT system had anything to do with it OP?

techmonitor.ai/technology/waitrose-it-failure-simply-doesnt-cut-it-4147848

They recently implemented a new ERP which sounds like it was a right fuck up

www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2022/11/waitrose-empty-shelves/

Although it was reported in the Sunday Times and Waitrose stated that it didn't cause any issues.

Unlikely that they couldn't be arsed. In Tesco the pickers have a hand held device that tells them the aisle and exact shelf. Sometimes items can be temporarily unavailable between deliveries

I imagine most supermarkets use similar technology

Got my Sainsbury’s order last night - some of the substitutions were a bit left field but nothing I can't work with . The driver looked like he was going to cry when I pointed them out , so I took them and told him not to worry . Poor did looked knackered

Yeah, I never worked as a picker but it was a department people often wanted to leave - probably for good reason!

That's really bad 😖
My Ocado had nothing missing and no substitutes I was very lucky and surprised. But I'd done the main turkey etc at markies order and collect service which I've used a few years now and can recommend. The Ocado order was two hours late thou

I despair of the Waitrose Entertaining service. I ordered £300 worth of food for the wake after my Mum's funeral in the summer and arranged to collect it from the branch near to the church, an hour before the service, so we would have time to arrange it nicely beforehand. I received a phone call when we were five minutes away, at 10.55 a.m., to say that most of the order hadn't arrived, and could we go back late in the afternoon to collect it. I tried to explain that would be a little difficult, and why I had arranged to collect it at 11, but the person on the phone wasn't interested. When we got to the store, I spoke to the store manager and explained this was for a funeral and I was catering for about 25 guests, and he really couldn't have cared less. He seemed to think it was ok that the mini cupcakes and Indian snacks had arrived, but there were no rolls, sandwich platters, sushi or fruit. The fresh produce manager brought out what was available from the order, and realised what a cock up they had made. Thankfully she took it seriously and took a trolley to the sandwich section, and stripped the shelves of sandwiches, sushi, and packs of fruit. It was still really stressful because by this time we had very little time left and had to cut up normal sized sandwiches, and find plates etc, with minutes to spare before my Mum's funeral. I complained to their Head Office, and did get a very grovelling apology, and a full refund, but nothing could really have made up for the extra stress this caused, on what was probably the most difficult day of my life.

I made the mistake of placing another small entertaining order for collection today, and one of the three items was missing. There was a long queue of people at the collection point complaining about missing items. I've learnt my lesson and will never use the service again!

That's horrendous @Growlybear83 . I am so sorry about your mum

This happened to us last year and it was for that reason that I got our Waitrose delivered for the 20th. People go for the slots closest to Christmas but it’s not always better. Still didn’t get our Yule log but everything else was there. Just nipped out to Lidl to get a few top up bits this afternoon.

Ordered everything I needed from Amazon/Morrisons this morning. It was all delivered at 3pm. They deliver same day and text if anything is out of stock (this rarely happens to us) to ask which sub you'd want.

Was sick of the same thing happening to me every year, so glad someone told me about just ordering from Amazon.

Obviously this doesn't help you now but we order our meat at the start of December and freeze it. Just an idea for next year

Our order from Morrisons yesterday was incomplete. About 13 items awol in total , all of our refrigerated stuff was missing.

There really has been a shortage of crackers due to the strike by the factory workers who produce Jacob's crackers and Twiglets. Also an ambient pick may be done at around midnight, but deliveries will come through the night/morning so can well be on the shelf when you go in there. I don't know about ASDA, but the supermarket I work for the Biggest Thing is matching the customer's order as close as possible - it's something we're monitored on. As well as a pick time target too.

I was in my local big Tesco Extra 2 days ago. No cream crackers of any sort (Jacobs or Tesco own brand) and no reasonable alternatives except some of the more out there flavoured thins etc.

Aldi had none of their cream crackers either.

@FlamingoSocks

Really sorry to hear this. I work at WR and this shouldn't have happened, particularly Entertaining products.

Please complain. Hope you get sorted for your meal

We did in the shops this year for various reasons - actually loads easier as you can adapt if a particular thing you wanted isn't there (and everything was anyway). Shops quiet this year.

I agree - I think it's a great way to do the shop!

With a few tweaks, that is. I always buy the meat from a local butcher. Got a deal this year on a 'pack' to feed 8-10 people, turkey fillet, ham, bread stuffing and 30 cocktail sausages (that I can wrap in 'blankets' if we want) for £55. Safely collected by DH this morning and in the fridge. Wouldn't spend the money on M&S turkey - prices this year are utterly ridiculous. Normally we like their party food items but I refuse to pay £22.50 for 4 packs of tiny items, and they've done something to their cooked cocktail sausages so they're not half as nice as they used to be.

This year, I've bought non-perishables as I've seen them reduced - like gravy granules (for the poster who refused onion gravy granules - they are the nicest ones and I add the juice from the roast meat), veg oil for the roasties, honey etc.

I booked an Asda order for yesterday, and a Sainsbury one for today. I added the products missing from Asda onto the Sainsbury order. I always put that I don't want subs. Means I don't have to lug things like alcohol, orange juice etc. Mostly what was missing from both orders was desserts, so my DD went in-store yesterday and bought some, so we now have all we need - and if there was anything else we really needed, we've this evening and tomorrow to get it.

I actually think it's quite a clever system personally!!

As a picker, substitutions (and dates on chilled items) have brought me out into cold sweat this week. Trying to think of suitable subs that aren't ridiculously more expensive to the original order at 3:30 in the morning when I'm on my 100000th pick of a ten hour shift when were rushed off our feet has been pretty stressful.

I'd like to think I've done an ok job.

I'd also like to say I've absolutely loved all the lovely customer well wishes that have gone in the picking instructions. I've had loads wishing me a happy Christmas and thanking me for picking their order 😍

Meat from local butcher collected by husband while I was at work today. I have NEVER seen such a large cut of pork, unless it was part of the carcass he's cutting up, and there's only 7 of us! Like @Nat6999, ocado seem to have an issue with delivering leeks later tonight. Other than that all ok. Aldi were out of stock of leeks too. Will brave Morrisons in the morning, as everyone has to have their favourite veg on Christmas Day!

Ocado and Booths here and some extras from Waitrose. Nothing missing. Ocado seem to have upped their game again, but Waitrose customer service is now dire.

I called WR to check on a product that had disappeared from the website and met with total disinterest. Their cs used to be charming and helpful. I think they have outsourced and offshored it now. Very bad decision as that along with quality is their USP.

Really sorry about the order OP. That's disgraceful. I hope you can find some acceptable substitutes locally.

Waiting for my delivery asap (I had the notification text within 10 mins)

we are missing eggs. I ordered 60 and we haven't got any... that's a bit annoying but doable. will buy some tomorrow when I go to the butcher to get our turkey and veg. (Farmshop)

No dill - not an issue we can manage without

They substituted

pudding rice with basmati rice - that will go back
flaked almonds with ground almonds - that will go back

the rest is sensible substitutions and all is there even entertainment range.

I am confused OP over your entertainment part is missing as I used to work for Waitrose some years ago and this is separately ordered and delivered. So not off the shelf. I have been to the Coulsdon centre and it's huge and has space for entertainment separately. It sounds more like they have messed up. you should have had better customer service.

If the bread rolls were from the patisserie, ie not pre packed, then substitutes are not permitted due to allergens.

I'm so glad we didn't book an online slot.....We went to Tesco early yesterday and got everything we wanted!

I did a big order from Asda last week. Of 5 crates, only 1 had been loaded into the van! It was the worst one as well, full of sauces, tin foil, toilet roll and cleaning stuff. Cheers Asda!

Waitrose delivery is pretty unreliable althought the drivers are delightful. I order from both ocado and waitrose and just know that waitrose is a total lottery.

Sympathies OP. I had an order that didn't turn up at all a couple of weeks ago, customer services just blamed the store and the store blamed head office. Pretty rubbish.

I got my Waitrose order on Tuesday - also from the Coulsdon centre. The email was very late but I imagine that they are pretty snowed. They delivered everything except leeks and items from the Entertaining section (subbed some organic veg for non-organic but I'm not complaining about that). They did offer me a strawberry trifle instead of the posh panacotta (yuck). Last year they failed to deliver the cheese wheel from the Entertaining section and I received a handwritten Christmas card from the centre with an apology and a free selection of cheese. This year just the email.

I don't mind if normal stuff is subbed but the Entertaining items are a special early order so its really annoying when they don't arrive.

I'm assuming leeks have been hit by the cold weather as they seem out of stock in a few places and the slightly sorry ones I picked up from M&S did look a bit frostbitten at the ends.