Ocado tips, tricks subs, M&S shortbread giveaways and defectors..

[Garyunicorn]

Carrying on from the old Ocado thread. www.mumsnet.com/Talk/coronavirus/a4045676-Ocado-tips-hacks-Toblerone-and-Christmas?msgid=102560793#102560793

I have been contributing, just changed my name to prevent being outed over something!

@BuntysTwinkle I said exactly this to dp - it’s totally obvious they don’t have any senior women, which is bizarre! Because (sadly) who does most food shopping in the UK

No subs and everything in stock and even got my free £25 soap!

Free soap you say @bruffin? Do tell....!

I'm happy that the M&S sprouts with chestnuts and lardons are back in stock. I say back in stock they've never actually been in stock until now 🤷‍♀️

@BuntysTwinkle my sprout search would certainly support that theory.

I wonder if they couldn’t confirm the quantity of stock available until closer to the date, so have had lots of items showing as ‘out of stock’ pending confirmation. It would have been better if they could have had some kind of ‘check back later’ marker for those items as I thought we’d missed out on a lot that now seems to be available.

My current annoyance is that the search functionality on the app doesn’t seem to be working at all and it’s unreliable on the website.

Agree @BuntysTwinkle

It's v annoying that they don't realise that people have freezers and use them, and don't necessarily want to leave everything to 11th hour when going to an actual supermarket would be hell.

But, I am now wondering what will be missing from my order next week, as the canapés which should have arrived yesterday failed to materialise. This is the first time I've paid for a Christmas week delivery (normally do huge online shop the week before then top up). I'll be miffed if I still need the top up

What is this soap you speak of @bruffin?!

I got that free soap too. It's a 'for review' item, cardboard box with a bagful of liquid soap inside for topping up plastic bottles. Should last us the whole of next year! I'm amazed they keep giving me the chance to review things, as I take them and my reviews usually go something like 'It was OK but I'd never pay full price for something like this'.

My friend who I’m spending Christmas with has just been told the vegan wreath (it’s a vegan Christmas sausage thing) is missing from his order. As 4 out of the 5 of us are vegetarian or vegan this was the main bit of our dinner.
Very annoying. All of us have been loyal to Ocado for years but considering ditching them now.

Well I’m raging. Got my order coming today and there’s no sign of any free soap. No substitutions though!

I want to be on the review panel

I do have a lot of sympathy for food retailers this year. Many Christmas plans must be chopping and changing! Ocado/M&S are having a sharp learning curve, but should have communicated better if they wanted Christmas custom.

I've been listening to Michel Roux on R4 describing the year their Xmas dinner was "pigs in blankets" and veg after their Labrador liberated the resting turkey and dragged it out into the garden!

Wishing everybody the best of luck with the Xmas deliveries (we might need it).

I cancelled the Ocado order, and stayed with my Waitrose order. Things like the joints of meat/Turkey and desserts had to be confirmed last week, and can’t be changed, which seems extremely sensible. It’s obviously reserved, and will arrive with the order.looking forward to the Heston Port and fig cheesecake!

I think some of the problem is that M&S haven't made that mental leap from being a food shop with physical customers to being an online store.

They haven't understood how differently the two types of customers shop, and what their different expectations are. This would explain why some of their packaging is very flimsy, and why their stock levels/availability have baffled so many of us, and why they seem to suddenly have availability of some fresh items now - when it's too late for online shoppers.

I know I would have bought more items, if only they had been in stock! My order is due on 22nd, so I'm awaiting it with trepidation!

this was the star reviewer free soap

I’m sticking with Ocado but it’s the first year I’ve been nervous.

Loads of M&S items OOS but when I logged in to update my Christmas order they were all in stock

I’ve added a couple of back ups but I’m expecting to be going to the shops for missing items when it’s delivered on the 23rd

Only missing item this week was Dreamies. The cat was not impressed

bruffin that is enormous! I buy the Method refills that are half the size and they seem to last for months.

The Attitude stain remover is quite good (though I do always have some hard core stuff in reserve). It never dawned on me that it would be made thousands of miles away.

I also got white miso paste, bloo toilet cleaner and sesame bagels

I got the bloo thing (which is very odd looking) and the bagels, but my final item was dried mushrooms, which I was delighted about. I have no idea how they decide who gets designated as a Star Reviewer. Maybe it's people who've written a certain number of reviews, haven't been unduly critical and whose reviews have mostly been marked as helpful by other customers. Mine are fairly anodyne so would fit that bill.

Always amuses me that in the wine/spirits/beer section there are suddenly far more reviews from male customers.

I’m going to start writing reviews. This sounds a good scheme 😁

I had an order today with a lot of M&S party food ready to freeze, and Christmas snacks, florentines etc. Everything arrived, with two substitutions where large boxes were substituted for two smaller ones. Very impressed, fingers crossed my fresh food on the 23rd is more of the same!

My order today £200+ for large veggie family(6) & covering Xmas too, arrived with 2 missing items & 1 sub. Hope that gives some hope!

@StanfordPines

My friend who I’m spending Christmas with has just been told the vegan wreath (it’s a vegan Christmas sausage thing) is missing from his order. As 4 out of the 5 of us are vegetarian or vegan this was the main bit of our dinner. Very annoying. All of us have been loyal to Ocado for years but considering ditching them now.

@StanfordPines

Aldi were doing some great Christmas frozen stuff for veggies/vegans

We are in London area rumoured to be going into tier 4 so now I have £400 worth of food for three household meet up all coming to me when god know who will eat or need it

@StanfordPines

No idea if they’ve any left now but worth looking!

www.aldi.co.uk/c/groceries/christmas-food/vegan-vegetarian