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.

@FredAstaireAteMyHamSandwich

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!

My local Iceland offer two choices of delivery slot - am or pm! No good for me as I work. At least other shops offer one or two hour slots.....

@wideworldover

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...

If you're in or near London you might want to try ODDBOX. I got a 50% voucher to try them as they've reached my south-east postcode and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I got for my money (having been disappointed by two different organic veg. companies, whose produce is not at all reliable). The premise is that they sell on ends of lines, unwanted misshapen vegetables and etc. Not all was 100%: I had to cook the unripe soft fruit for compote, but nevertheless, some great veggie-based meals with the added glow of righteousness from saving waste.

I've used Amazon Fresh occasionally (not the same as Amazon Prime Now or Amazon Pantry - they seem to have so many different options!). It's Morrisons, Booths, and also some more "premium brands" like Wholefoods stuff in my area. Prices are fine and they usually have available slots next day. They were overwhelmed during lockdown too though and it became impossible to get a slot. And there was one time when I just got an email to say it couldn't be delivered because no one was home, even though I had been sitting within sight of the front door and no one knocked or tried to call.

I've used Abel & Cole for fruit/veg in the past and really liked their service (delivery to a safe place, usually early in the morning, all packaging either returnable or easily recyclable - worked perfectly for me) and products were good. But as I live alone, even the smallest box of veg was sometimes too much when the stuff they sent wasn't easy to use - I find I need to be in the mood to cook something using things like aubergine or rhubarb, and often prefer easier everyday veg and fruit like tomatoes or broccoli.

I'm happy with Ocado on the whole, although I think they could definitely do better with all the technology they have. Even simple things like giving customers the option to not have specific items substituted but still making sure basics like milk, bread, apples etc. are substituted every time.

CrunchyCarrot we rate the Tim's Dairy Greek yogs from Ocado if you haven't tried those yet

@lexloofah

CrunchyCarrot we rate the Tim's Dairy Greek yogs from Ocado if you haven't tried those yet

Thanks, lexloofah, they are nice but I can't eat them as they give me histamine attacks - that's because they're bio-live. It's unfortunate that the 'better' yoghurts are actually ones I can't eat!

Well that sucks crunchycarrot, sorry to hear that

@PowerslidePanda

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.

I had exactly the same here but with a lemon cheesecake. Two two-slice packs makes sense but it is less cheesecake for more money!

@PowerslidePanda

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.

The lovely driver I had today was quite confused when I told him I wanted to reject a substitute of the same product in a different size. When I explained about the difference in value for money, he said he'd issue a refund and I could keep the sub anyway! Much better!

Ooh, cross-posted @FlamingoAndJohn. How strange that yours was cheesecake too! Did you accept it?

@PowerslidePanda

Ooh, cross-posted *@FlamingoAndJohn*. How strange that yours was cheesecake too! Did you accept it?

Mine was lemon cheesecake. I didn’t reject because it was only a pound or so difference and I really couldn’t be bothered.

I don't know if this is helpful or not but, as a long-time Ocado customer, I've just had my first Waitrose delivery. On time (more than Ocado have managed of late!), one sensible substitution, and they take the bags back. Pleased and impressed.

That is helpful @Motorina because I’ve only used Ocado for the last 12 years but now going to have a go with Waitrose

@JacobReesMogadishu I think you're looking at regular Amazon not Amazon Prime Now...? I promise that it's very cheap compared to other online grocery shops, and the same price as Morrison's (ie cheaper once you factor in petrol and the charge which I haven't paid for overstaying by 2 mins in the carpark). You can get 2 litres of thin Savers bleach for 38p. Frozen okra (they don't seem to have fresh) is £1. You can get three courgettes for 59p. 2 litres of no sugar lemonade for 17p. I usually get the wonky carrots which are 40p for a big packet and stay fresh for longer than Ocado's.

I love it! I have tried to order from Morrison's directly recently but they never have a slot. Will probably soon regret mentioning it on here.

They also do some really good own brand wine and discounts on wine, eg recently got some bottles of Rioja (the campo Viejo orange label one, normally about £11-12) for £8.50. Own brand champagne is £20, as is the English sparkling wine.

Amazon Fresh used to be great and I got a lot of fruit and veg from local shops, meat from Lidgate's etc, as well as cheap staples. Prime Now used to be rubbish. Someone who had worked at Amazon once told me that the two brands are in competition -- separate parts of the business and not coordinated at all. Anyway, now Amazon Fresh is crap and has a really poor search algorithm so it often doesn't find the product you're looking for (even though they do stock it). The whole 'we'll text you when there's a slot' thing also ground me down so I have stopped using it.

The delivery I’ve got coming this morning has got more subs (most of them unsuitable) and missing items than even the deliveries at the start of lockdown did. I’m now going to have to do a 20 mile round trip to a supermarket to be able to cook half of the meals I’d planned for the coming week.

I’ve only just forked out for renewal of my annual smart pass - reluctantly, but because I was worried about another lockdown. I really wish I hadn’t now. The arrogant Ocado CEO was mocking Waitrose last week, saying they don’t have the systems, and won’t be able to cope. Perhaps he should concentrate his energies on sorting out his own inadequate offering.

Yes that laughing at Waitrose does look quite ironic now

@GCAcademic sorry to hear you have so much missing - really annoying!

I was paying £2.99 per month for an anytime pass (which I thought was pretty good). Annual renewal time and they are putting it up to £6.99.

Is it worth trying to haggle does anyone know, or will they just say ‘fine, cancel’? We spend c£240 a month for what it is worth.

@Thenagainmaybenot I was paying £6.99 and due for renewal beginning of August. I’m now paying £9.99 😱😭

I escalated a complaint and was told absolutely no ‘deals’ at this time... for fear of another lockdown I am continuing my subscription for the time being...

Is it worth trying to haggle does anyone know, or will they just say ‘fine, cancel’? We spend c£240 a month for what it is worth.

I've heard of people spending that amount per week who've had their SmartPasses involuntarily cancelled when they complained about a massive fee increase. So, no, I doubt they'll haggle.

My smart pass is due for renewal on the 19th, still not heard anything but dreading what they will increase it to.

I have Amazon Prime but can’t see amazon prime now.....maybe it’s not available in this area.

You may be lucky, Yellowbutterfly1 - my monthly fee has not been increased. (No idea why; their email did not expand on the subject.)

Thank you everyone - think I will just accept the increase for the time being.

@JacobReesMogadishu everyone can see the welcome screen and you enter your postcode to find out if they deliver to you. Just download the amazon prime now app to check it!