Email from Ocado

[IamPeas]

Not sure if others have received emails from Ocado after withdrawing their custom due to the billboard issue - but I received this today:

^Dear Peas

Recently one of our customer services representatives, in a response on Twitter, inadvertently entered into a debate that did not relate to Ocado, our marketing, or our values. This issue was not for Ocado to comment on and as a result, the Tweet was withdrawn.

We apologise for any confusion or offence that this message may have caused. At Ocado we believe passionately in a culture of inclusion and creating an environment around our business that is completely free from discrimination, harassment and victimisation of any sort.

I apologise again for any confusion or offence caused, and I do hope you reconsider.

Kind regards,

Stephanie Richardson
Ocado Customer Service Team^

Are they still not saying this waffly bullshit publicly?

Amazing how many times inclusion does not involve women. Does seem a bit too little too late. They must have lost a lot of customers

Wouldn’t it be nice if they made a public statement on their actual values

Which says what exactly? Again - a public announcement but a private explanation?not apology).

Try again ocado!

Tell them to apologise publicly and stand up for women’s rights.
Or fuck off.

I hope the CSR was sacked.

So where’s the public announcement stating this?they chat so much shit

Random customer services folks don't get to drive the social media accounts! Dear god I have to manage 8 of the bastards and no one gets my passwords not even my MD.

1/10 and I think I'm being generous

On a related note I was invited to do an online questionnaire by Sainsbury's today and they asked if my sex was male or female (with a prefer not say option also).

Yay for Sainsburys.

Goodness, does that mean someone in a large retailer is awake (as opposed to woke)?

Random customer services folks don't get to drive the social media accounts! Dear god I have to manage 8 of the bastards and no one gets my passwords not even my MD
That's not necessarily true; I've worked at two U.K. banks and a big FMCG where random customer service folks did answer customer comments - usually through an enterprise tool that meant they could answer incoming posts but not post their own tweets etc.

Well their marketing/PR director needs a kick up the backside then. If they aren't so hot on brand and reputation management then thet shouldn't be in the job!

I'm going to respond by asking them to issue a public apology if they want me to reconsider.

Well, at least it wasn't a random intern

Preferably one that makes no reference to fecking inclusivity.

How does inclusivity cover shopping exactly?

Sorry, but I don't like this.

It seems as though the company that actually removed the poster (can anyone remember their name?) has been forgotten whereas Ocado, who removed their employee's tweet and made clear it it should not have been sent, has been boycotted.

They're a decent company to work for, and heaven knows that's becoming a rarity these days. I think this boycott is an over-reaction.

Inclusive, my arse. Ocado are literally transphobes, with triggering categories like "women's intimate health" on their website. 1) There's nothing in that section for knobs. It's all horrific, exclusive stuff about vaginas and periods and ladyache. 2) Simply wanting women to have health in the first place, intimate or otherwise, is bigoted and hateful and denies the very existence of transwomen.

Their public statements have been very pro TRA and they have not been prepared to row back on them. In contrast Virgin Money and others who found themselves caught up in supporting a link to Stonewall guidance to the GRA consultation (probably inadvertently) have managed to come up with more balanced responses acknowledging there are concerns.

Quite who Ocado is able to publicly support a TRA line but not then find a neutral position is beyond me.unless their real business is selling software to the States.

Tanith they should have responded publicly, in the same medium used to make the original tweet. It's their preference for keeping it under wraps and contacting all the uppity little mums privately that has both irked women and, in the process, made clear that they're really not troubled by the idea of losing our custom.

Well done Virgin - why on earth are Ocado so stupid? Surely they realise who their main customer base is... it does not do for a supermarket to piss off women, especially mums!!!

Virgin did not get it 100% right and I have gone back to point this out, but at least three logos on the Stonewall poster have admitted they were not aware of what they were signing up to.

Waitrose have pleaded ignorance/non involvement.

Ocado in contrast tweeted support for TRAs. They could have corrected this publicly but chose not to. Poor PR advice or deliberate, who knows. But they seem happy to lose customers rather than adopt a neutral position.