Guaranteed food orders?

[Phase2]

Hi so I know everyday supermarket deliveries aren't guaranteed and you may not get everything.
But I've previously don't the food order that you can only collect from marks and it wasn't guaranteed - are there any shops that guarantee they will supply the items you've ordered and paid for?
Thank you

No ofcourse not

*done

What I mean is , where eg Waitrose have preorder only items for example, could you turn up and find they don't have some of the items?

Why of course not sorry@GiveMeAbitOfSugar I don't mean the Tesco shop of Turkey, potatoes, satasumas etc

Sorry @phase2 I don't quite understand you. Do you mean the dedicated Christmas delivery slots people select in September or do you mean a regular everyday delivery slot you can choose a couple of days in advance?. I think the only way you could be guaranteed would be if you got meat from a butcher, cheese from a monger/fromagerie etc. Even then hiccups can occur but at least you'd probably be supplied a equally high end alternative.

I'd say find a good farm shop that has butcher, cheese monger etc then choose your fruit and veg from then when you go to pick up the order. Pop into a supermarket of your choice to choose whatever fancy desserts are still available and any alcohol you fancy or then call into a alcohol shop.

Sorry. I mean like

christmasfood.marksandspencer.com

You know where you pick special stuff not on the shelf?

Probably not, but id imagine you'd get most of it to still make a really good feast of it. Whenever I've been into the supermarkets just before Christmas day there's always been loads of turkeys, veg and delicious luxury desserts left. If you find yourself without an ordered product. Just pop into the shop and choose an alternative. No big deal surely?

They can't possibly guarantee it. So many things could impact the product getting to the store.
Bad weather could delay stock, problem on the production line could mean they can't make the product. Safety recalls if something from the production line doesn't pass tests. Literally 101 things that could happen that would mean the product you ordered doesn't make it to the shop.

Tesco, for example, have a range of special Christmas Food to Order which you are guaranteed to get - is that what you mean, OP?

You can only edit your Food to Order Items till 14th Dec, but you can keep on editing and adding stuff to the rest of your basket right up till the night before your order.

Tesco Food to Order

The point of the Christmas order (At Tesco at least and some others I believe) is that aside from acts of god it's guaranteed to be in stock (and delivered if you prefer) because it is reserved for you and people who didn't reserve it can't buy it.

That's why you can't order from the special Festive section later than (I think the 14th)

Yes! Thank you exactly that. Not the usual book a Christmas slot more order the special stuff. Like if 35 people in Walsall order a Christmas chocolate bombe, do they make sure 35 are held back.

if you order from Marks and Spencer via that link and pay your deposit then those items are guaranteed. If you want different food then you take your chances in store or try a food order with tesco or the like. They don’t guarantee to have eveything you need though. A butcher might have guaranteed supplies.

Have you posted this before? It’s very familiar.

Nope never asked before. Was in Waitrose and saw a really nice looking pudding advertised then remembered how m and s hadn't had guaranteed stuff for collection so thought I'd ask

Your local butcher will absolutely guarantee all your meat and poultry order, plus any extras they usually sell. You’ll generally have to pick it up though, rather than have delivery. They usually open very early on Christmas Eve for pick up. Alternatively, decent online butchers like Dorset meat company will guarantee delivery.

I buy from marks and Spencer food to order so those items are guaranteed. Things like party food, nibbles etc, basically anything I can keep or freeze I buy in advance so I have them.

One year I turned up at M&S at 6am on xmas eve and queued for my pre booked collection slot only for there to have been some sort of disaster in the storage area and half of my stuff was missing.
The staff ran around the shop and replaced it as best they could and gave me a big refund.
Not something they could have planned for.
I have an Ocado booked for 23rd this year and if something is missing it won't be a disaster

Yes, I am aware of the point of a Christmas food order. If any of the scenarios I posted earlier in the thread happen there is a chance you won't get certain items. That is just a fact. Things will happen that mean on occasion they won't be able to supply the item.

As I understand it, if you have anything from the Tesco food to order range in your basket at the cut off point, you cannot change that part of the order as the product is then ordered for you - for some items, such as the cakes etc, they pass the orders to their supplier who will then make the items to order. Not sure how that works with the fresh meat products as they obviously can't magic up a few extra turkeys or whatever. We got caught out in 2020 as we ordered a load of stuff because we were due to host our dcs and dgc, but a few days before Christmas Boris put us into tiers and we weren't allowed to meet anyone. Tesco cut off date had passed so we had a load of stuff we couldn't possibly eat. DH ended up driving it to dcs and leaving 'secret santa' hamper on their doorsteps.
Having said all that, whilst we've never had anything not arrive from the food to order, I don't think they can 100% guarantee it as too many things could go wrong.

Ok thank you , I'm vegan but will source local butcher for guests. Also will try the Tesco order if I can get a slot.
Thanks all, think I've understood what's possible.

I've used Abel and Cole for a few Christmases and nothing was ever missing.

I've never not received my pre ordered M&S Christmas food

I've just used Sainsbury's and ordered two puddings and two meat things. So fingers crossed.

I’ve often part cooked multiple dishes/sides etc ahead of time and frozen them. Takes a lot of pressure off if you know most of it is half done already a couple of weeks early.

Cook frozen dishes are also great quality and guaranteed for delivery or pick up. I’ve not specifically had vegan from them, but any vegetarian meals or desserts we’ve had from them have been great. Both these options only really work if you have a good sized freezer though I guess. I hope it all goes smoothly for you op. Have a lovely Christmas.

Id also say, if you can get to an M&S store really early on Christmas Eve, they always have a ton of Christmas food out in the store. You might not get every single thing you need, but you wouldn’t be without the makings of a great Christmas.

I've also had issues with M&S in the past. It was the first Christmas I was hosting and DS was about 3 months old. We'd all walked to M&S to pick up our order and they didn't have the main thing (the meat) and one of the puddings. The store tried to help as much as possible but it was a total PITA.

I used to work at Waitrose. The Christmas order stuff was stored in temporary cold storage units out the back of the shop. It wasn't on the shelves.

This was the special Christmas order items, not just things ordered close to Christmas.