How can all the Tesco slots go in 1 minute?

[CanICelebrate]

I’ve waited up until midnight again to try to get a slot for delivery. I get put in a queue at 11.50pm and then I get to try and book a slot. Last night it was 12.06 and they had all gone. Tonight was 12.01 and they had all gone. I don’t understand how an entire day’s worth of slots can go so quickly

[Branster]

It’s all still very random.
I managed to book a Sainsburys click&collect for Wednesday which over the course of yesterday and this morning I could move to Thursday then to Friday. End of week is better for us because I don’t know exactly what I need to order yet and am mindful how expensive everything is getting and don’t want to order unnecessary stuff . So looking for available new slots, It didn’t let me book a new slot for the same week but let me change the collection day of existing order - eventually, as I kept getting error messages. Did it through the app. I was unable to find anything for following weeks with Tesco or Sainsburys. Not touching any of the others anymore as they never have availability.
So the way forward is book whatever is available for following weeks then move it forward as the week progresses.

[RhubarbFizz]

Thanks - managed to get one now for 18/5! Was pleased.

What I have discovered from this is that being shielded and a regular Tesco shopper online for many years is not as useful as not being shielded and being a regular online shopper with Ocado where I live!
After this is all over a I am moving to Ocado as the faithful shoppers there have not had any issues getting weekly slots and with a lot less hassle in this area!

[FairlowWonder]

I’ve always had to go on at midnight and constantly click between dates on the delivery section. Don’t click elsewhere as it refreshes the whole page and you re join the queue. Some nights though it’s not been on at 12:01 but 12:02 so wait a bit before giving up. However, those morning I’ve just had a check and there’s loads of slots for different days on there! All May though.

[RingtheBells]

They must have unexpectedly put a whole week on there as normally only a day is released, also there are 4 weeks showing to click between and not three which there usually is.

[lyralalala]

@RhubarbFizz Have you rung Tesco to let them know you are shielding? If they don’t know you are on the list they won’t be prioritising you, existing customers aren’t getting any priority.

A neighbour of mine is vulnerable, but not quite shielding and they’ve helped her when she rang their vulnerable people number

[MrsBartlet]

Thanks to the pp for the heads up on the extra week being released. I managed to get a delivery for 18th May. We are organising deliveries for DH's elderly parents and when I log into their account that extra week is not shown. Not sure why that is?

[Lindy2]

RhubarbFizz I'm glad you got a delivery slot at last.

To tide you over until then I would recommend one of the Morrisons Essentials Food Boxes. They are £35 and have a range of essentials in them like cheese, milk, toilet roll, veg and mince beef etc. You don't get to pick the contents but it's sensible stuff and you can order them very easily online and sometimes you can get as quick as next day delivery.

I'm alternating (or at least attempting to) a big online Tesco shop with Morrisons food boxes.

[MrsH2002]

@MrsBartlet my in-laws couldn’t see past the 11th but I could see up till 18th. I wondered if it was because we are delivery pass holders and they aren’t?

[MrsBartlet]

@MrsH2002 They are still on the free trial as we only signed them up just before lockdown and we have the delivery pass so maybe that is it. 🤷‍♀️

[homemadecommunistrussia]

I just booked one! It's a flipping miracle.

[Bluewavescrashing]

Check in the morning about 8am if you can. I've managed to get two slots, two weeks apart this way. I go to bed at 9pm most nights and couldn't stay up til midnight if I tried!

[Bluewavescrashing]

I ordered a food box from Morrisons last week and it never arrived. Apparently my data got lost in the system 🙄 still waiting for a refund.

[DivaDroid]

If you're vulnerable & can't get a slot - try contacting your local supermarket directly.
Our store is taking the details & our Dotcom managers are sorting something out. I'm not entirely sure what/how, but it might be worth a shot?

[EggysMom]

So, checking this morning - "no slots available" for a new delivery for the next four weeks. Except ...

If I want, I can move my delivery slot booked for Sat 16th back as far as Wed 13th; and (following a suggestion above) I successfully pushed my delivery booked for Mon 18th forwards to Tuesday 19th.

So it's not true that there are 'no slots available', it's just something in the programming algorithm that doesn't want to show them to enable me to have two deliveries in the same Mon-Sun week. Again, not that I want two deliveries, I'm just really curious!

[Chasingsquirrels]

Does everyone who can see the extra week have a delivery pass? Mine is just showing up to May 12th.

[Loopzy]

I have a delivery pass and can see as far as Tues 19th May.

[BiteyShark]

I have a delivery pass and can see the 19th as well.

[RingtheBells]

I have a midweek delivery pass and just booked Tues 19th.

[Chasingsquirrels]

Interesting, thanks.
I guess that means my chance of getting a slot going forward have fallen massively as they'll all have been taken by people with delivery saver passes the week before, but fair enough as you've been paying for it.

[lyralalala]

@ChasingSquirrels Tesco stopped selling new delivery saver passes so there won't be so many slots going to make it impossible to get one. They wouldn't have re-introduced the extra week being visible if it was going to do that.

[Chasingsquirrels]

But with the vunerable priority (hopefully) and the delivery saver pass holders early release compared to the rest of us there will be much less general availability.
Which is fair enough, if I was a business I would be prioritising my regular customers.

[YE420032c]

Tesco now state clearly on their information pages for CV-19 that they are limiting customers to 1 slot per week. So if you have just booked a slot you will be unable to see a new one to bid for for several days.


In theory this seems fair. One slot per week is surely enough for even a family if you choose carefully.


However in practice there is no guarantee that you will be able to secure a fresh slot even when you do bid. So the best most people can hope for is possibly a slot every 2/3 weeks.


Its also clear to me (from communicating to other customers who have newer accounts) that whereas I can see potential slots to the 19th May, others can only potentially book upto the 11th May. In other words, some customers are being shown potential extra slots to bid on. My guess would be those who are on the priority list and those who are on Tesco delivery saver plans who have paid in advance.


Tesco is a business and will not want to alienate its long standing customers. I run a business myself and understand the importance of being fair to regular clients and not taking them for granted. This is a lesson which many companies have yet to learn.


Whereas in the past Tesco released their new slots at midnight this has now begun to vary. They don't want their site crashing because every man and his dog are trying to log on at the same time. I have secured new slots in the early morning hours when whole tranches have been released. As a "night-owl" I can be at my computer until 3-4 am but obviously many people cannot.

Even when the slots do appear you have to be quick thinking and very "fast on the draw" with the mousie at hitting that little spot on the screen.

In other words folks it is a "game" with rules that can be manipulated.

[RhubarbFizz]

lyra yes phoned them hence I managed to get the slot I have. Frustratingly I have a saver pass but could only get a day I have to pay delivery!

Have gone through the freezer ( yes those gooseberries will at long last be used now!) and menu planned. Hoping to get a meat box delivered and if I can a veg box before then. Can get the meat early next week.

Hopefully can get more slots moving forwards.

Hope everyone else who needs one can get one.

[Branster]

Stayed up, onto the Tesco app at 11:30 and web page as well. Alternatively looking at each. I was placed in a queue on the web version as soon as ai logged in, at midnight exactly the display changed to the normal calendar view and zero availability for click&collect or home delivery. Zero availability on app as well. I can see up to 13th May and don’t have a pass.
That was fun ... going to get some sleep now.

[EggysMom]

At least they are now admitting in their FAQ to having restricted customers to one delivery per week.

Oddly I checked about 4:30pm yesterday and managed to secure a slot for about ten days away, they must have released more slots as it had been showing unavailable for over a week. So as others say, it's worth checking frequently and at random times.