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Covid

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Original poster

Booking multiple delivery slots is pretty selfish?

207 replies

Yorvictor130 · 22/03/2020 23:05

I think it’s actually on par with the panic buyers.

I see so many MNetters saying they have reserved a slot every week for online food delivery, is this not just as selfish as panic buying hundreds of toilet rolls? Why do you get to hog all the delivery slots. It seems to be something that people let slide on here.

Nobody can get a delivery slot for the foreseeable now and there’s people with multiple ones all to themselves. Is there not something wrong with that?

OP posts:

Original poster

Yorvictor130 · 22/03/2020 23:34

Not everyone for sure, but a lot of people also could. If you are able to, are healthy and not vulnerable or high risk, then why wouldn’t you want your delivery slots for the weeks coming to go to someone who really needs it?

If you are able to visit the supermarket and aren’t in the high risk categories then why wouldnt you?

OP posts:

Enough4me · 22/03/2020 23:34

OP in principle I agree with you, but think you'll get tough comments despite coming from this with good intentions.

In reality I have a booking once a week for next 3 weeks. I'm self-isolating with DC (with symptoms) as is my mum and Grandad (due to age). I have a friend who can help us get food to them before I touch it. Thus, I think families and neighbours should share slots rather than hold multiple slots.

Original poster

Yorvictor130 · 22/03/2020 23:37

@enough4me

Yes, I think the delivery slots should be reserved for those vulnerable or those self isolating. Hard to prove though so I can see why that would be challenging for the supermarkets to implement.

The neighbour sharing idea is great and should definitely be passed around on SM for people to do

OP posts:

LonnyVonnyWilsonFrickett · 22/03/2020 23:37

Slots are available to everyone equally though...

I had a slot last week, and have one booked next week and the week after. I was actually planning to let the middle slot go but a) tonnes of my shopping didn't turn up this week and b) I think we're having to go into isolation to help protect MIL as we may have to do a bit of care for her. So that means no top up shops. If I ordered all the milk and bread we'd normally need for a fortnight, we'd look like stockpilers - you just can't win, can you? - so I'll be using all three slots for normal amounts of shopping.

CrowleysBentley · 22/03/2020 23:38

Our usual delivery driver suggested booking up for a while to us a few weeks ago, as he knows I have health issues. I have one delivery a week booked, and as I'm looking at getting a "very vulnerable" letter this week I will continue to do so, and I am totally OK with it.

I don't want DS or DD going out to and bringing the virus home to me either, they may technically be adults at 19 and 21, but if I die they lose their (housing association, so wouldn't be passed on to them) home, and would have literally no family at all but each other.

Original poster

Yorvictor130 · 22/03/2020 23:39

FYI I do think that self isolation is reason enough to book slots.

It’s more the people (many whom of which are commenting on this thread) seem to think they are entitled to multiple slots because “they’ve been doing it for years” times have changed dramatically and I think we are becoming more and more selfish.

OP posts:

namechangenumber2 · 22/03/2020 23:42

@Yeafortwo - I'm sharing my delivery slots with two friends, offered it to others too

Petiolaris · 22/03/2020 23:45

What’s worse is people who are booking 3-4 slots to get around restrictions on number of items. I know someone who has booked slots at 9am, 10am and 11am on the same day so she can get 9 tins of beans instead of 3.

strawberrylipgloss · 22/03/2020 23:45

Because of the time between booking and delivery, it's like an insurance policy just in case you or someone in your household falls ill.
I have a slot on 3rd April and feel fine today but I don't know if I will be well on 3rd April. I could be the person who needs it by then.

Supermarkets aren't checking who needs slots yet although I know that Sainsbury’s plan to release priority slots to vulnerable people who register as vulnerable with them so hopefully that will be successful.

PyongyangKipperbang · 22/03/2020 23:45

Well I am doing my bit.

Pub manager with no pub to run so have applied for several delivery driver jobs, hopefully with the thousands of people like me looking for work, there will be more availability soon.

mondaynoon · 22/03/2020 23:47

If I cancel my slots they won't necessarily go to someone more deserving. Everything has changed so quickly it's not fair of you to criticise people who are just doing their shopping in the way that they've always done.

viccat · 22/03/2020 23:47

Lots of us use home delivery every week because we need to- for example if someone doesn’t have a car, or has disabilities or young kids or any other reasons that make it harder to just go to the supermarket. So we continue to need it now.

Cissyandflora · 22/03/2020 23:48

I don’t consider it’s on a par with panic buying. I’ve used Ocado for well over a decade. I book a delivery a week. Have two booked in the next two weeks. Missed last week because they were inundated and the website went down. I don’t feel bad about using my normal online service. It’s not unreasonable or panic buying.

happywhips · 22/03/2020 23:50

I've had a recurring slot every Saturday for the last six months which I won't be changing cos you can't book a slot!

Ouch44 · 22/03/2020 23:50

Now the kids are off school we will be self isolating as DH works on the frontline. We don't want to risk passing anything on to him that he may pass on to his patients. Can't get a delivery slot at all!

Think he's going to have to go in at NHS time when we need to. Luckily got a good milkman and fruit/veg box to keep us going for a bit.

Redwinestillfine · 22/03/2020 23:52

I book in advance. I don't buy more than we need, in fact delivery driver said it was nice to see someone ordering a sensible amount. I don't think I am entitled to a set slot. I am just organising food for my family. We are self isolating and can't go to the shops in person but if we could I wouldn't want to, not until people start taking this seriously. Not because of food shortages (same issue online) but because a large number of people seem to be carrying on as if nothing is happening.

sestras · 22/03/2020 23:52

I didn't know you could do this (I won't ever do it)

Deux · 22/03/2020 23:55

You’re pissed off that you can’t get a delivery slot? I’ve heard this so much. Well you should have booked 3 weeks ahead like everyone else did. The writing was on the wall and it was clear that this was going to happen in the UK with increased demand. That’s why there’s none left.

People moaning that there is no slot for 3 weeks, well I’d suggest they just go ahead and book the slot in 3 weeks. It’s worth checking everyday though as our local coverage has had an increased number of slots and that was yesterday for next week.

I get a delivery every week and have booked mine up. I would give it up for someone more deserving but goodness knows how they’d do that. If the supermarket wants to requisition them all and allocate them, that’s fine but I’d have no guarantee that if I ditched my slots they’d go to someone deserving. It could go to someone who was too complacent to do anything about it 3 weeks ago.

I reckoned weeks ago when it was all kicking off elsewhere in the world that things would go tits up and took some steps to prepare.

If I hadn’t booked those slots someone else would have. I am however likely to have a monster shop as I’ve offered all my neighbours to add to it. So 🤷‍♀️

safariboot · 22/03/2020 23:55

This. In my case I have a delivery booked for Tuesday and another for the 10th April. Normally we would have one or two deliveries a week, now even with booking slots ahead I'm lucky to get one a fortnight. And under swingeing item limits and likelihood of even that not arriving.

Would you rather I didn't book anything and just went out shopping whatever my health? Because that is the alternative.

Ouch44 · 22/03/2020 23:56

Yes I don't know how you do this. Booked a slot for my Dad in another part of the country and still can't see who's you'd do it!!

Incidentally Sainsbury's sent him an email to say from Monday there'd be more slots available to him as he's vulnerable. He has no idea how to do online food shopping though!

Knowhowufeel2 · 22/03/2020 23:57

I'm high risk so am looking at isolation. I'm fairly well stocked with tins but require fresh foods.

I filled my online trolley with about 10-14 days worth of fruit, veg and dairy, etc, over a week ago, but can't check out as I can't get a delivery slot and the website won't let me 'see', let alone book, past mid April and I've no idea when they'll release more slots.

Not sure what to do as I'm not meant to leave the house, but guess I wil have to.

BretonKitten · 23/03/2020 00:01

I think Sainsburys are already reserving their slots for self-isolating and vulnerable? I have a delivery pass with them and got an email from this week about it. They said they’d be contacting customers over 70/in vulnerable groups about slots as they were released.

Also think it’s a question of overall capacity. Online delivery was about 7% of groceries sold prior to this. Doesn’t matter how much you ration that, it’s not going to be able to cope. The number of vulnerable people ( age and health) and those self-isolating us going to outweigh that.

So it’s about increasing capacity. The army are stepping in to help deliver in the meantime. But the supermarkets are also expanding their capacity.

The local paper’s website has a jobs side bar. All week virtually every supermarket that delivers has been adverstising for pickers and drivers. Asda, Morrisons, Iceland, Tesco, Co-Op. They’ve been targeting people laid off from hospitality/tourism locally, contacting firms who’ve laid people off directly and asking for vacancies to be advertised to staff who’ve been let go.

And after this, I think the online shop sector is likely to be permanently expanded.

And now the army will be helping deliver food to people over 70 or with underlying

Ouch44 · 23/03/2020 00:03

I do keep checking every day. When I can't get to sleep at night, when I'm awake in the middle of the night and when I wake early cos I am worried about him bringing it home to our family!!!

goingoverground · 23/03/2020 00:05

I think Ocado seem to have put measures in place to stop this since they went down. When I logged on yesterday, it offered me slots from next weekend but didn't display anything more than 2 weeks away.

Interestingly, my DM (80) has 2 different online supermarket accounts and after struggling to get delivery slots recently, she has logged on today and found that she was being offered delivery as soon as tomorrow! It looks like the systems are already up and running to prioritise the elderly and vulnerable, if the supermarket has been able to identify that.

RoseAndRose · 23/03/2020 00:05

I think that those in the super vulnerable 'cocoon' group should be getting priority for delivery slots.

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