Best online supermarket

[Caterpillargirl23]

I am thinking of organising a online food shop for my dad. He lives independently in a second floor flat but is finding it harder to get to the shops. The idea is I do it for him until he feels confident to take over. I'm not local.
I use Tesco and it's fine, just wondering if any of the others are better for dad.

They would have go up two flights of stairs, or use the lift, then deliver into the flat onto a table so he can put it away easily. He won't be buying huge volumes of food, so not a retailer that only sells kilo bags of carrots for example. He eats plenty of ready meals, so a decent selection of quality meals to chose from would be good. Also household products.

It doesn't need to be cheap, but reliable and helpful.
Any recommendations?

Ocado if they deliver to that area.

£40 minimum order, stocks MandS ready meals, very helpful drivers. I've rarely had a sub of anything.

They seem to have smaller packs of veg too. Fruit and veg and meat seems to have good dates on too.

Thank you, a helpful driver is key.
I used Ocado many years ago, I seem to remember they mostly sold the biggish bags of fruit and veg. so if that's changed that's great.

They switched a few years ago from selling Waitrose products to M&S ones which certainly seems to include smaller veg packs.

I have the opposite problem as have a family to feed so I tend to buy the Ocado own brand fruit and veg which has bigger packs. But they do have the small M&S ones.

I think the helpfulness or not of the driver very much depends on the individual, although some supermarkets may be generally better than others.

I also seem to recall that some stores won't deliver up more than one flight of stairs, but can't remember which (sorry to be vague).

My elderly parents use Tesco and like their ready meals. They appear to be v. reliable.

@P00hsticks
I'll check that out thank you .

I am another one who vouches for Ocado. They were amazing to me during lockdown because I was caring for my father and couldn't leave the house to stand in a long queue. I am very loyal to Ocado.

They are a little more expensive than other the supermarkets but they have so much more choice, they rarely have substitutions. The drivers are always lovely as are the customer service staff.

To answer your question they do a lot of value goods and in smaller so you don't have to purchase large quantities.

If you go with Ocado I would recommend that you go with a Smartpass because over a period it will reduce the cost of delivery.

I use Waitrose. Always have a helpful driver. I live on the 5th floor and they Come up in the lift no trouble.

I use Waitrose and all their drivers are incredibly polite and helpful. Bring it into the kitchen and help unpack it on to the kitchen table. Nearly always get the complete order, rare to get a substitution now. Happy to recommend them.

We found it easier to use the online version of supermarket parents used regularly so they could look for there typical products. It is Morrisons who seem to be doing well and the drivers kind

Most shops have a min of £40 for a delivery. I've tried tesco, asda and sainsburys deliveries. I 'think' you can still add a note to the order so the driver assists getting the stock into the house.

By far the best in terms of very few or no subs and more availability of delivery slots is sainsburys. I now have a delivery pass. They price match alot with aldi. A quick look shows you can buy carrots loose, 500g bag, 400g of chanternay, 240g pre-prepped and more.
https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/SearchResults/carrots

We do have a very large sainsburys where ours is delivered from, so it may differ is his delivery shop is smaller. You could always try a few shops to find one you like, Morrisons is another option which my in-laws like. I have a delivery every week or 2, but have rarely seen the same driver. I meet them at the door, but some have mentioned that they do take shopping inside or up stairs when asked.

Ocado are excellent- v few subs, always( bar major flooding etc) on time, v friendly.
worth putting message for driver in the order re flat and unpacking.

Ocado very rarely don’t have something on the day, so less likely to get surprises (if they wouldn’t cope with that). PILs use Sainsbury’s but FIL (who insists they use them) is baffled by the vouchers for swaps system.

I would also say Ocado. They will definitely carry it in.

I'd rather they hadn't switched to M&S but I think M&S for an older person living on their own is ideal. And their fruit and vegetables are really good.

My mum gets their 'layered vegetables' which is about six vegetables in a container. Half of one of those and a pie or some fish and she's got a good nutritious meal.

Thank you for your ideas and help.

I believe Ocado have a policy of putting the shopping in your kitchen if you ask them when they arrive.

The shopping is delivered in plastic carrier bags but if you give them back (i.e. your previous shop's ones) they give you 10p per bag off your bill.

I understand some other supermarkets deliver in crates which have to be quickly unloaded and returned to the driver. Not so good for your Dad perhaps?

I use Ocado and find them very good. Substitutions are rare.

Ocado have always delivered to MIL's second floor flat, and carried her order to the kitchen. There's a big range of ready meals, and lots of small veg selections. Plenty of M&S options too. She shares our account, so I get any messages about delivery and can let her know. It's not often she gets a substitution - maybe one in five orders, and then only one item. That's worked out well for her.

I've found Ocado is good too for basics from M&S clothing. Pants, tights, socks, children's clothes.

Might be useful too?