How and where do you normally shop?
A combination of Asda and Ocado home deliveries with top-up items from the local Co-op, independent greengrocer and occasionally the farmers’ market. Our long-standing local organic veg box fell prey to economising a year or two ago .
Which Asda store did you collect your shopping from?
West Bridgford, Nottingham
In general, how did you find the experience of using Asda's Click and Collect service?
As I’m accustomed to shopping online and already have a ‘favourites’ list set up with Asda, doing the online shop was very straightforward. Collection was simple too, just like a home delivery but into the car.
The collection point is set up in the car park; a delivery van packed with orders, parked under a covered bay with a collection space adjacent and staff member present. No need to go into the shop itself, just pull up, hop out, transfer bags to car, check, sign and go. Drive-through supermarket shopping. (Would the nice member of staff have loaded the car without our hopping out at all? Possibly, we didn’t ask).
What was your overall impression of Asda's Click and Collect?
The set-up is simple and efficient. The staff member was friendly and helpful, as I find Asda’s always are. I asked how busy it gets – we’d chosen a quiet Sunday afternoon. He said there had been eight cars waiting at one point that morning but that his aim was always to get things right for each person, not to rush and make mistakes, which can cost time later (a point that applies to customers too). So there could be a queue but, even conducted carefully, the collection process is quick.
Was there anything in particular that you liked or disliked about it?
The main thing I like about Asda is the pricing, particularly its simplicity; no paying extra so you can collect points for refunds later; substitutions are set to work in the customer’s favour (though more on that below); then there’s the ‘10% cheaper’ price check – this shop was, sometimes I get vouchers back.
The perils of substitution and of expired offers featured in this shop however. Addressing them after the event sapped the very time and mental energy that online shopping is supposed to save me, as I found myself explaining a request for a refund via the web-site on Sunday evening. I received a call on Tuesday morning and a refund that day. (Did the customer service people know I was writing a review? Perhaps but their helpful response was in line with previous experience).
The lessons are to check substitutions carefully - the product, not just the receipt - and, check that any offers that were current when you shopped have been applied, by comparing your order email to the ‘offers applied’ list at the end of your receipt (tricky if you don’t have the email with you, or remember, or if one person shops and another collects).
It’s the collection date that counts with offers. Watch out for ‘other brand substitutions’ invalidating them too. While you might not consider my 41p extra for ‘had been on offer’ pitta bread, or 90p for ‘offer-busting other-brand yoghurt substitution’ worth bothering about, you would notice the difference if it was the nappies, or gin!
The delivery staff won’t be able to alter the way your bill was calculated, so your choice is to give things back for a refund, or take up any concerns with customer service later.
How did it compare to doing a full supermarket shop in store?
I almost never do supermarket shopping in store. I am not motivated to expend valuable time trailing round picking things up when I can achieve the same in 20 minutes online.
The offer and substitution issues described above would not arise with an in-store shop, of course.
Compared to my usual home delivery, Click and Collect is free but some mid-week deliveries cost only £1. Not an adequate incentive to drive to a car park.
The real difference I can see is that, if you’re at home and available for part of the day anyway, there’s little inconvenience to being home for a delivery. If you’re frequently out and about, so that committing to two hours at home seems like a bind, or if you find the uncertainty of a two hour delivery slot difficult to accommodate, then Click and Collect could be for you. Especially so if you regularly pass a store at a roughly predictable time - you do still have to book a one or two-hour collection slot. No waiting and wondering, or inconvenient coincidences with dinner, bath-time or tantrums.
Do you think you'll be likely to continue using Asda Click and Collect in the future? If so, why? If not, why not?
Possibly. As it happens, one of us regularly drives past the store, so calling in to collect shopping on the way home could fit easily into our day. If mid-week deliveries were more expensive (until recently they started at £3), the contrast with free collection would be an incentive. At £1 for many of the delivery slots that suit us best, well, we’ll see.
Would you recommend Asda's Click and Collect to your friends or family? If so, why? If not, why not?
I’d mention it, if shopping came up. For the reasons above, whether it suited them would depend on their location and lifestyle.
Anything else to add?
I was invited by Asda to review this service and I received a voucher to trial it with. This review is in my own words and reflects my true opinion.