Ocado Anytime Smart Pass holders - have you received priority access yet?

[Milky77]

Email sent to anytime pass holders (at least) on Thursday

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We have experienced such extraordinary levels of demand in recent days that despite our best efforts, we simply have not had enough capacity to serve all our customers.
To put it into context, practically every Ocado customer, no matter how infrequently they may have shopped previously, is now looking to place an order every week. At the same time, with families at home, the average size of orders has almost doubled. This means there is an unceasing level of demand several times our current delivery capacity.
We’ve already taken decisive steps to manage this demand, closing our doors to new customers, and limiting customers to one delivery slot every seven days. However, despite these measures, we can see that not all Smart Pass customers have been able to book a delivery.
As an Anytime Smart Pass member, we consider you to be one of our best customers, so we’ve set up a temporary priority queue to enable you to book a delivery slot each week.
How you will get access:
We have divided all paying Anytime Smart Pass members who joined before 2020 into a number of equal-sized, randomised groups. You will be placed in one of these groups.
At spaced intervals, we will give each group access to the priority queue, enabling them to quickly get in and choose a slot for their weekly delivery. We will do this by sending each group an email and text message between the hours of 9am and 5pm, starting tomorrow.
Once you get your email, you’ll have the rest of the day to place and check out your order. Please wait for your message, as you won’t be able to access the priority queue at other times.
Please be aware that there is still high demand for slots, and you may not see full availability for all time slots. But, because we can now prioritise the customers we let on to the website, and each customer can only have one slot, you can be confident that there are enough slots – and groceries – to go around.
Our developers continue to work on a better solution which will allow us to manage this in a simpler way but, for now, this fix at least helps us to prioritise you in the short-term. It makes access fair, and helps to keep traffic to our website at manageable levels, ensuring you the best possible shopping experience in the circumstances.
Please note: our usually all-knowing Customer Service team can’t set-up or change this temporary process, so they won’t be able to tell you which group you are in, or when you will get your email.
Thank you for your continued understanding and patience. We all understand the huge responsibility placed on us, and we are working tirelessly to help feed the nation at this challenging time.
Your Ocado team
Terms & Conditions

Whilst in place, these measures override the relevant provisions of our Terms & Conditions.
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Will be v glad to have a slot confirmed. I would have cancelled my Ocado subscription otherwise. As a customer who orders weekly and should also be screened, I was getting quite concerned what the next few months would be like.

Anyone had their priority access yet?

If I can't get another slot my next delivery with Ocado be my last. There is a M&S 5 minutes from me, so once Waitrose is gone it's no extra inconvenience.

Most of my local friends use Ocado, but there are two M&S foodhalls on our high street. I think most people will move over to Waitrose.com (including myself!).

You should be shopping anyway @greenpoppins if you can get to the shops normally.

They must be absolutely raking it in.they could have reduced the smart pass to a nominal 50p. To be honest, I was about to cancel my smart pass, but fortunately never got round to it. The last straw was Christmas. For years I have been sucking up the £10 delivery charge and £90 minimum order, but didn’t bother this year. Went to Waitrose. They say it was because they’re busier at Christmas, but - they are making 10 times as much profit.

You don’t have to use them. It’s a service like any other.

My final slot was booked when schools were still open, before loads of people signed up and there were plenty of slots. I'd be happy for Ocado to only deliver to the vulnerable - what I think most people on here despise is the mad scramble they have created and the fact that it looks like they've signed up a load of new customers while not servicing the people that helped them build their business.

They don’t owe you anything.

My final slot was booked when schools were still open, before loads of people signed up and there were plenty of slots

The same as mine and I wasn't cancelling it! I haven't received anything from them, although I've got the off peak smart pass. I'd probably cancel it if I could as I won't be getting any use out of it!

Nope, still.nothing here.

Huh, of course they don't. Doesn't mean that I can't take a view on how they run their business or think that since they should probably refund me for my smartpass since I can't use it.

Of course you cant use it. Stop being so entitled.

I'm with you GreenPoppins - I spend about £160 every week for the past 9 years. It's the lack of communication which is annoying - is my regular order coming, or not? It's not, right? And no one else is allowing new customers. So yep, I'd want a refund as I pay a lot to use them. If that's just propping up profits, I absolutely want it back.

Dame - not sure if you're aware, but there's a pandemic out there...we are advised to stay at home wherever possible. So you know, we are trying to stay at home wherever possible.

Plus I don't have huge amounts of money to go to the supermarket if Ocado is delivering after all....so it's perfectly reasonable for people to be commenting on this. Did you see what happened to the Ocado share price? They're not a non-for-profit.

If Ocado can't/won't offer the service I'm paying for then I expect them to refund me! I don't see anything entitled about that. I'm sure some posters are happy to give money to all and sundry!

Still no email: on 14 days quarantine, and whilst the neighbours are being great, I really don't want to ask too much. I could really do with them making their system clear, tbh... have I not got an email because a) they've lost me on the system b) I have a delivery booked for Friday c) they haven't got to my 'group' yet and are spacing the sessions out over the week....

Does Ocado sell spoons? Ignore the stirrer people. Someone is just looking for a reaction 🙄

I didn’t say they did owe me anything, but when all this is over, lots of loyal customers will not be inclined to give them business.

You can't argue with stupidity @jamsandwich

Going against the grain here, but I will continue to be an Ocado customer. Apart from some virtual queueing and obviously restrictions on some items I have had no problems.

Admittedly not received any emails about priority queuing etc but that has not affected my shopping.

For the amount of the smart/delivery/whatever it's called these days it's a bargain. I'd spend more than that cost on petrol.

I will stick with them too when this is all over - not doing so would be counterproductive as normally their service is great! I'm also really looking forward to getting M&S products through them but I know I'm in the minority with that! Would absolutely love a few M&S things at the moment in fact

I’m looking forward to the M&S hookup too - there isn’t a store for miles around here, & the nearest are inconvenient town centre ones requiring paid parking.

I think they have tried to serve the long-standing customers which is good, not functionally perfect though, but less keen on M&S ;

You are not allowed more than one slot booked per seven days. If you have a slot already booked you cannot book for six days either side even if new slots are released and you would prefer the new time.
I've been fairly well served by ocado given the circumstances; there have been some frustrating times of outage and I have a big gap of 13 days coming up between slots but it's not been too bad considering. That said I have spent an awful lot of time checking the site or queueing.
We have underlying conditions here before anyone jumps on me and also trying to get elderly parents (with conditions) deliveries.

I have a Ocado reserved for Wed 1/4, and I just got a text at 21.15 telling me I'm on a priority queue to edit my order. No email. Just a heads up to anyone feeling desparate to add/remove things from their upcoming order.

There are no new slots for me when the queue was open for me to edit orders. Hopefully I'll get a different text soon to book one for the following week.

I cancelled my order for Friday in the hope it would then let me book a new slot within that 7 day time frame. Computer says no. Have emailed Ocado and hope they can help!

I have an order coming tomorrow. No email or text received about editing or priority access. I went to the site this morning and hit the virtual queue page. I clicked on priority access and it let me straight though.

I was able to edit my order for tomorrow and my one for next week. No further dates shown. Fingers crossed I'll be healthy enough to go out for my food after next week.