Ocado tips, hacks, Toblerone and Christmas

[GaryUnicorn]

Carrying on from the old thread....

Still no email about the Christmas slots.

Just added something to Fridays order..... no free gift for me 😞

I'd checked out an order of just under £100 earlier yesterday - no shortbread offered. Read posts here only about an hour later, went back, added a couple of other things - was then offered shortbread on the way out. Was it there just because it was later in the day, or because I'd gone over £100?

@Beetlebrows

I'd checked out an order of just under £100 earlier yesterday - no shortbread offered. Read posts here only about an hour later, went back, added a couple of other things - was then offered shortbread on the way out. Was it there just because it was later in the day, or because I'd gone over £100?

Just added a bottle of champagne to take mine over £100, still nothing.

I think probably timing Beetlebrows as mine wasnt £100 when I added it

I did get an email though telling me about the free gift prior to checking out with a link to claim it.

I now check orders an hour or two before they come, look at what's been substituted and how much it costs, and then decide whether or not I want to keep it or ask them to take it away.

We are completely dependent on home delivery right now as shielding, so I can't really pop out and sort it out if we get the wrong stuff.

We really are stocking up for Xmas (we bought the largest Beko freezer for our garage in the summer) so even if we don't get the Xmas delivery we should be okay.

I always check the price of substitutes now, since the time the item I'd casually accepted was charged at three times the price of the original item ordered.
Some companies charge the original price for substitutes, I think Sainsburys do this, but not Ocado.

@XiCi

Its so strange how smart pass holders are having such different experiences. I've had the app for ages now and can book 4 weeks in advance. I've also had 3 Tony's chocoloneys and have now just got a free tin of M&S shortbread which I'm ridiculously excited about

Same here! (The shortbread is arriving in tomorrow's order.)

I've got deliveries booked 4 weeks in advance, app is working fine, and I rarely get substitutions or missing items.

I just added to my Christmas order (22 Dec) and everything I want is available, I couldn't see anything out of stock.

@Borka from what I remember, the shortbread was added at the usual 'would you like a free gift' stage at check out.

Is it down to which depot your deliveries come from?

I have a Smart Pass
I live in SE London
I've been a customer for a very long time
If they're trying to analyse who shops around and who gets almost everything from Ocado, I'm the latter
I have access to the app
I can book deliveries four weeks ahead, no problem
My Christmas order had everything available right from the word go, as far as I can recall (whacked a quick order in to secure the slot, after swallowing hard at the idea of having to pay for a delivery )
Not too many substitutions recently
More out of stock stuff than I was used to (ie now we experience this, in ye olden days before lockdown I hardly ever had anything out of stock, either when I was ordering or when I got the delivery notification) but not too bad
Lots of free chocolate
Free shortbread coming next week (fingers crossed - it's probably one shortbread finger in something the size of an old tobacco tin )

I have had the same experience as you Gasp0de but I'm in the NW. I've seen the shortbread tins in store and they're quite substantial. Cant wait to get my hands on it. Havent started the annual xmas shortbread pig out yet

@Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g

I too have a Smart Pass - have had since they introduced it, currently paying £8.99 pm
I live in SE London - deliveries are from depot in Erith
I've been a customer for a very long time - a very long time
If they're trying to analyse who shops around and who gets almost everything from Ocado, I'm the latter - me too, but I am having my first Waitrose delivery next week.
I have access to the app - I don’t.
I can book deliveries four weeks ahead - I mangaged to get one for first week in December today... nothing beyond 4th December visible....
My Christmas order had everything available right from the word go, - hardly anything available by the time they deigned to allow me a slot.....
Not too many substitutions recently - that’s true.
More out of stock stuff than I was used to - and some things (not Waitrose) that I used to get no longer stocked at all....
Lots of free chocolate - one free low alcohol beer
Free shortbread coming next week - not for me, and I LOVE shortbread.

As I have been shopping for an elderly neighbour since March, as well as my own shopping my orders have been around £180 each week but that doesn’t make me a good enough customer clearly 😞

Pre covid I would get two orders a week on average and 99% of my shopping was done through Ocado. Now I have to go elsewhere to get fresh stuff during the week because things like meat and bread won’t last the week and there isn’t room in my fridge for a weeks worth of milk at once.

You're spending more than I a, so that's even odder that your experience is so different, Buggeroff.

The good: I've been given the free shortbread

The bad: there are no bloody pickled onions in stock between now and Christmas. Seriously, how do you not have enough of a preserved item that basically lasts forever?

The bad: there are no bloody pickled onions in stock between now and Christmas. Seriously, how do you not have enough of a preserved item that basically lasts forever?

And no Garners pickled onions anymore either!!

That's weird Paws, I'm editing a future Ocado order and there are several different jars of pickled onions listed as available.

Just got my free shortbread - it's a pleasingly substantial sized tin.

They,re having mix up Sunday but don't sell mixed peel anymore , a basic ingredient for Christmas baking

That's weird Paws, I'm editing a future Ocado order and there are several different jars of pickled onions listed as available.

That's even worse! :(

Order us a big jar

@PawsAndPhytoncides

That's weird Paws, I'm editing a future Ocado order and there are several different jars of pickled onions listed as available.

That's even worse! :(

Order us a big jar

Haha Paws - will do!

I noticed that too Bruffin, luckily I've found a tub of Waitrose mixed peel in the cupboard today.

I was offered the shortbread with next week's delivery, not this weeks. Maybe they're staggering them?

I had three bars of Tony's chocolate as freebies, so I'm in a much more generous frame of mind towards Ocado, funnily enough

They hate me!

At my final(ish) edit for tomorrow I've been offered.....Ocado Life. [I think my orders get fulfilled from Avonmouth]

AND they've stopped selling protractors (and geometry sets). The buyers clearly don't have careless teens who like breaking things in lockdown.

They once offered me Ocado Life for free (as usual) and then charged me for it!

I got sent Ocado life for free twice now, but im annoyed because i didnt get a chance to say no. Its just more rubbish which i dont read.

I've been offered Ocado Life as well. I use it to protect surfaces when I paint 😂

It's not entirely worthless - I generally find at least one new item I wouldn't have noticed otherwise, though the recipes mostly seem desperately contrived - but it's outrageous that they put a price tag on something that absolutely ought to be free.

Used to be so lovely when a free copy of The Times arrived with my delivery ...