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
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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?

It’s odd - I’m shopping for 5, always spent a fair amount per order.

There is no rhyme or reason - I just can’t get access at all.

A friend in the same postcode can get an order every 7 days.

I’d have thought if not many people used in the area you’d be less likely to get a slot, they aren’t taking new customers so it doesn’t work for advertising/.

Anyway - I’ve been told I won’t get access until I have the email (5 days of constant barraging on Facebook/ twitter and dm them):

After checking with our specialists they have confirmed that unfortunately you would have to wait for us to email you a link to sign into your account for priority access. I definitely appreciate that this is hardly convenient considering the circumstances at the moment so I will be feeding this back. Please ensure you are also checking your junk/spam folders.

A little more personal but.... there you go even if you’ve had an email saying you are a priority you won’t get on. Fact. Full stop.

Funny, well it isn’t really - the only email I have had is the ‘we have successfully taken payment for your smart pass’ one 😂.

I will probably leave too. I haven’t shopped with Tesco for many years but had van account and could order most weeks there atm.

Switched to Waitrose as soon as they started to deliver here and started using Ocado when they started delivering.

Odd how Tesco can manage it. There isn’t a Tesco store for 25 miles.

This morning I got the same email as @MustBeDueSomeBetterFeet

Interestingly I am also a star reviewer. Maybe they used the same cut as who they offered that to to decide “loyalty”.

I’m relieved I’ve been able to get a few slots booked so can get us and those we are helping fed. On one though I could only get 11pm-midnight but I will take that.

Blimey a personal reply @wprdofwarnning

Questions about you and your friend, if you can ask
Are either of you star reviewers?
Do you have anytime passes and how much do you pay?
What's your average monthly spend?
Are either of you on the extremely vulnerable list and are Ocado aware?

Ocado seem to just make things up as they go along.
They say that haven’t taken in any new customers yet over the last couple of weeks I have seen a few people write on Facebook that they have only just registered and got slots with no problems at all.
They said that the most vulnerable and smart pass holders from pre 2020 would get slots which clearly has not been the case as people with no smart pass and not ‘most vulnerable’ are also saying they can get slots.

Generally people with smart passes have deliveries every week or so, there weren’t any issues for these people in getting slots before this virus hit (I have a smart pass and had a weekly delivery with absolutely no problems at all before all of this, there was always lot’s of slots available)
If Ocado actually did what they have made out they are doing (most vulnerable and pre 2020 smart pass holders) then there is no reason for there not to still be plenty of delivery slots. Unfortunately it’s just been a load of lies, why can’t they just be truthful?

We have been with Ocado for 10 years.
We have an anytime pass and also Ocado Reserved, before they removed it without notice.
Weekly spend approx £100 a week.
We are also Star Reviewers.
Have not had any emails at all from Ocado except to tell us they have taken the smart pass payment.
Sometimes able to log in and see 3 days ahead on the grey calendar of doom.

Managed to get one Ocado delivery since Lockdown started.
Have managed to get two Sainsbury’s click and collect orders in last couple of weeks despite not shopping with them regularly for 10 years.
Also have been able to see Asda click and collect fairly regularly despite not being a regular customer of theirs.

Can’t see us staying with Ocado after this.

I've got the every 7 days email and have been able to book 3 weeks in advance. I'm not a star reviewer but I did email them a couple of times earlier to stress I was vulnerable (not protected). Don't know if that made any difference.

I also have a Morrisons account but have been unable to book any slots with them at all, despite checking a couple of times a day.

Sadly this morning it’s reverted to the grey calendar of doom. Kicking myself for not booking a slot when they were available (but I’d made alternate arrangements for this weekend) as I’m now (paranoias) worries not booking the first one available will have disadvantaged me!

They don't know what they're doing. Previously in the 7 day group but little visible availability.
Just had an email saying we are every 14 days.

Same email says we can have a smart pass refund because we haven't had any March deliveries.

But we've have two...

1. nope not star reviewers
2. yes have smart time any pass? I’ve had it for 10 years and think it’s a between £7-10 per month
3. I don’t know her spend, but I would be one big shop every 6 week (heavy goods etc) and top up shops from there or elsewhere. They sell things that locally aren’t available which is why o continued to use them
4. neither of us are vulnerable or have vulnerable family members as designated by the NHS list. However my mother is 79 with underlying issues (heart and has had stroke previously). So she’s vulnerable but not designated.

I originally used them as had a newborn and they were in partnership with waitrose so if you bought from them on the JL credit card you got the same points as if you’d shopped in waitrose.

I was upset that they’d changed this many years ago but not upset enough to stop using. The move to M and S would probably have made me stop my smart pass as I am not overwhelmed by their food in general but I would still have used them. I think the m and s move was a divider though anyway.

What really upsets me is how they can go from a really communicative friendly company to this!

Such a mess!

Their system is obviously a shit show.

Didn’t even know there was such a thing as Star Reviewer??? How does that work?

Got a new email this morning and I am apparently going to get an opportunity to get a slot every 14 days . I got one tues so will be a few days before I can get one again I guess .

I just think they’re trying to please everyone, and pleasing no one!

Just had the 14 day e mail too - a change from the 7 day (which was academic as I couldn't see a future slot all week - although did have deliveries for the past 3 weeks which I'd booked at the beginning of March as usual). It's beginning to feel like a waste of energy - it's less about their ability to deliver & more about how misleading & pointless the communications are.

My delivery driver yesterday was a lovely cheery man, said that when BoJomade his first announcement Ocado had more than its usual no of monthly hits in 12 minutes.... that’s when it fell over.

Still, when the world gets back to normal they might need their regulars.

Long time smart pass holder and in the 7 day delivery group. Can see slots for next 24 hours after delivery. Working well.

@Onceuponatimethen Star reviewers get an email every month with codes for free products in exchange for reviews. It varies a lot in terms of what you get - I've had £80 worth in some weeks, and less then a fiver in others. Free is free though at the end of the day! I think I was invited because I wrote a lot of reviews anyway, as many products I was buying didn't have any.

Sorry, I meant an email weekly. Not with it this morning.

I got the 7 day one again yesterday. Been with them since they launched and have anytime pass.

I'm sharing the slots out with my Dad at the moment as he's in a different city to me. I wonder if it's geographical? I noticed a lot of the complaints about no shows came from Manchester but ours have been pretty good round here (South East). Be interesting to see if his turns up!

@snowegg I’m SE so might bodge your numbers there 🙂

It’s the lack of clarity that’s frustrating, by all means tell me I won’t get a slot like waitrose and Sainsbury’s - I have NO issue with that at all. I have issue with being told porkies and lack of consistency across regions and customers.

Just checked my email in box, and I received a confirmation from them yesterday about being able to order every 7 days. As stated above, I have been ordering weekly with them for 16+ years and spend £250ish per order.

I’m in London, so also have access to Zoom for top ups, which I have used.

I was wrong! This morning's service update email tells me I'm being offered the chance (...) to order every 14 days.

Now - there are very often two week gaps between my orders in normal circumstances. (So I was just about getting value for money on my SmartPass.) But the fact that I know other people are being offered other, better deals has slightly pissed me off. Also, on a practical level it makes it hard to alternate with relatives I want to buy for as we'd each have to wait at least four weeks between deliveries.

I was able to get in to edit my order for next week, though a few things apparently available last night were showing as out of stock in my trolley this morning.

Lord! To think the Ocado order used to be one of the least stressful elements in a day.