Ocado priority, tips and hacks and Toblerone

[FredAstaireAteMyHamSandwich]

Carrying on from the last Ocado thread that is about to fill up. Still haven’t been given a toblerone yet.

I think the M&S selection seems more limited than the Waitrose one (for the stuff I like, anyhow)
Strange because I think theres alot more choice and what there is are better quality. So far anyway. Theres a couple of things that I'll miss but theres a Waitrose 6 miles away so will just schlep up there every now and again to stock up.

Today is the first time I’ve had subs that I’m not happy with . I’ll prob accept them still but they’re not like for like as closely as previous ones were

@XiCi I think it depends on the products. The pork steaks were amazing and possibly even better than Waitrose, but the cheddar and organic veg just were not as good - we won’t be buying those again

There is definitely less high welfare meat available now. Eg only one kind of unsmoked free range bacon available when I shopped

45 minutes early and everything there.

Also, M&S value eclairs seem to contain more cream and chocolate than the Waitrose equivalent. By some amazing freak of nature, they also didn't arrive squashed.

Mine arrived early last night. Passed the van on my way home as luckily ds was home to accept it. Almost everything there including free Percy pigs. No substitutions but no warburton rolls available (can’t believe there were no other rolls available at all??). Annoying as I usually have spares in the freezer but they were all used up yesterday.

Have ordered next week from Waitrose and the week after from Ocado. Had an email asking for feedback which I completed. Some m&s products I would like aren’t available (E.g. plant kitchen marshmallows) and other don’t have like for like alternatives as yet. Hence will still be placing regular Waitrose order. On the plus side the packing was a bit better than usual and use by dates were better than I had anticipated.

Too good to be true. Thought my order yesterday was all fine but just found a badly bruised/starting to go mouldy orange in my bag of M&S easy peelers. Best before date of the 8th.

My order arrived today without substitutions, and with free Percy pigs. The less positive news is that I’ve already had to claim back for the poor produce. It was worth a try, but given it comes with a ton of plastic, and is madly overpriced, my new veggie box regime seems like a better option, though I cannot say I relish the tonnes of mud that come free with the potatoes .

@BentBastard

I feel a fool buying the veggie ones for my daughter now. I know for next time at least.

I think this is the reason they carried on with the veggie ones. People knew there were veggie ones so if they suddenly stopped them then people wouldn't realise that all of them were veggie.

Just realised that all the fruit and veg Ocado delivered yesterday has a best before date of today or tomorrow. Not impressed.

I never look at the BBD on fruit and veg.
Lots of stuff lasts way past it anyway.
If you had bought it from a market stall, green grocer or loose from a supermarket it wouldn’t have a date.

Got my order this morning. No substitutions, nothing missing. I wasn’t offered free Percy Pigs, only some olives.

I was told by the delivery driver that they’ll start taking back bags from the 20th of September.

Everything but the cherries! But lots of plastic packaging e,g, the stir fry came in a rigid plastic box, not a thin bag.

Quite nice to have a change, so far.

I never look at the BBD on fruit and veg. Lots of stuff lasts way past it anyway

The salad, mushrooms and raspberries are already going mushy which is the only reason I checked the BBD.

Completely fed up of Ocado here. I complained the other day when almost every fresh item that they brought (in a £100 shop clearly meant for a whole week) went off the next day (and this was a late night delivery) or day after that. No real apology, just a snotty attitude and, eventually, a refund for the nectarines that had already gone bad.

For those in London, I have found a much better solution for most things: Morrison's on Amazon Prime Now. Cheaper (some things, eg cleaning products, wine are easy to compare and 2/3 the price) and often better quality on fruit and veg. I feel a bit guilty doing huge shops via Amazon and there's a lot of paper bagging. But it's so cheap I might start doing my weekly shop like this.

One caveat: they have a weird habit of offering strange substitutions that aren't very similar to the original item. But you can keep these for free. We've had some delicious free things (Greek yoghurt, tangerine juice, cashews, own brand seedy bread) that I wouldn't have ordered but might now get again.

Also, you can almost always get a same day slot...

For those in London, I have found a much better solution for most things: Morrison's on Amazon Prime Now.

Staggeringly, this service is also available outside London.

But for some weird, inexplicable reason I want a degree of ritual formality in food shopping. I don't want it to feel like receiving an anonymous parcel, and I don't like it being associated with my Amazon account, which gets plenty of use otherwise. Maybe an atavistic need for deliverers of food to have some vague connection to land and the growing of food. (Even if that's only slapping their label on the produce of hundreds of farms all across the globe.)

Questioning my assumptions about this I googled "does Amazon produce food" and - after a few articles on the Amazon rain forest - I found this 2019 New York Times article:

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2019/07/28/technology/whole-foods-amazon-grocery.amp.html

which is still about selling rather than production and only emphasises how far removed their warehouse/courier model is from any relationship with the land. So, until Amazon starts sending out chatty newsletters informing me of what's in abundance in fields in Devon, I'll probably stick to veg box delivery for most fresh food and Ocado / Waitrose for the rest.

Just one substitution today, but I'll be rejecting it. Ordered a triple chocolate cheesecake for a (much-needed) date night in with DH this weekend - £4 for 6 servings. They've substituted it for two packs containing 2 single slices - at a total of £5.50. Exact same product, but double the cost per serving at my expense. Really annoys me when they do this (I've had it with cans of drink before too). It's one thing to expect customers to pay more for a substitute when it's a more premium product (although Sainsbury's don't) but it's not on to charge more for the exact same thing in a different size pack, because they failed to supply the size you wanted.

@herecomesthsun

Everything but the cherries! But lots of plastic packaging e,g, the stir fry came in a rigid plastic box, not a thin bag.

Quite nice to have a change, so far.

I’d prefer the rigid plastic box as that can go in the recycling while a plastic bag can’t.

I aso got everything in my order today except the cherries.

@PersephonePromotesEquanimity

Well, yes, exactly. I feel the same. Only capitulated to Amazon Prime Now loyalty in the last couple of weeks.

But, as your post acknowledges, there's so much that's vague and sentimental about the desire for atavistic connection to the land etc. In fact, with both Ocado and Amazon, we're talking about an underpaid usually (in my area) BAME man, younger than me, bringing my shopping to the front door in either an Ocado van or his own vehicle, ringing the bell, usually looking desperate for a slash, and leaving it outside. With Amazon at least I don't get the fake-newsy 'Paul in the Lemon van', as if it's going to be a person I know. (When they came inside, I felt slightly differently about this and sometimes had a little chat.)
And it comes when I actually want, instead of five days later. When the seasons are changing it's quite difficult for me to meal plan so far into the future. (Hence also tragic recent ordering of lollies etc when the heatwave seemed about to go on forever, when what I should have been stocking up on was custard powder.)

At least with Amazon I know the branch of Morrison's that my shopping comes from, and there's actually a much better range of locally /British grown fruit and veg available. Also, as I said, the food has a much longer date life. With Ocado, it's become throwing out the broccoli from Kenya that I ordered, which Paul in the yellow van brought, already almost out of date.

My goal is to get back to local shops and markets, but I've done my back in and carrying anything at all seems impossible at the moment.

Am going to try the Co-Op same day delivery soon. Ocado Zoom I prefer to regular Ocado because they come so insanely fast (often inside an hour), and I do recommend that too even though the range is limited. Any other suggestions anyone?

It's a fascinating subject - and, as you indicate, difficult to navigate our various motivations when shopping for food.

I only signed up for veg box delivery when Ocado did their lockdown face, struck dumb with horror that people wanted food from them. And it's a shame because it's clear that in other circumstances the veg delivery man would be a chatty sort; so far I've only managed a fish wife-y conversation from an upstairs window. And of course, despite the newsletters, I'm not imaging that a countrywide organic food delivery outfit is all supplied from one cosy little farm - but Amazon seems just too far removed.

Also, I'd actively avoid anything picked from my local supermarkets, which don't necessarily cater to my spoilt, please-myself tastes.

I miss local shops in more foody places I've previously lived in though.

I can recommend Iceland for home delivery. They have free delivery for orders over £35. Their frozen veg is top quality, and their fresh produce is good quality. And they have a good range of lollies and Ice cream. It’s my go-to for frozen stuff. Cheaper than Ocado. And it’s nice to buy Greggs Sausage Rolls once in a while!

Got my M&S stuff in my order but so far am rather unimpressed with it. Really not a fan of the replacement Greek yoghurts I normally get.

I am honestly thinking of jumping ship and going to another company, just need to figure out who! I wasn't overly impressed with Waitrose's website so I think they are out. Interested in what's been said re Amazon above, will look into that.

Looking at the prices of Morrisons groceries on Amazon it seems vastly inflated for quite a bit of stuff.

Okra £5.50 a pack, bleach is nearly £12 for a 750ml bottle.

£6 for a box of 6 cereal bars.

I have been interested in the comments about Amazon for groceries from Morrisons. I normally get my groceries from Morrisons online directly, but since Amazon Prime groceries have been available in my area, my normal Morrisons deliveries have all been very late - 1 hour late is normal now (with defrosted frozen pizza). Maybe I should put the same order in with Amazon now and it would arrive on time? I guess Morrisons is prioritising the Amazon customers over its loyal long-term normal online customers