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Ocado is much better. The use by dates are a week, not 2 fucking days and you have a choice between cheap but good stuff or extra nice m&s stuff.
And no I don't work for them, I just also became disgruntled with sainsburys and switched a few months ago.
I second Ocado. Utterly reliable for the last 12 years, all through lockdown (although having to stay up till 1am to get a slot was bit crazy!) sensible substitutions you can reject, pleasant helpful staff, only been a few minutes late once or twice, price match with Tesco. Plus bonus, if you want a treat you can get M&S goodies. I switched after a few ridiculously bad experiences, mainly with Asda, but Sainsbury’s didn’t cover themselves in glory either.
Getting any food delivery slots during lockdown was *interesting*, it was the wild west for months. I had to leverage my not inconsiderable IT skills to figure out how Tesco's system actually works to ensure my vulnerable OAP parents continued to get their weekly food delivery (and be there to take in the delivery because the drivers stopped being allowed to bring their shopping inside, which made sense).
They'd been getting a weekly food delivery and had a yearly subscription plan for over a decade at that point. I was always able to get them their usual slot but it often required me to use a full browser on a PC instead of their app *and* click refresh within a few seconds of them launching new slots - the time of new slots being released changed slightly week to week. I got good at it.
By the time Tesco eventually got their 'vulnerable list' up and running it wasn't worth it as my way worked much better, plus they had expanded their capacity quite a bit. My brothers family who also qualified due to a vulnerable baby struggled to get assigned a delivery slot every few weeks and had no choice on day or time.
We've been with ocado for years and they were fantastic during lockdown. We got lucky as an existing customer we were able to book slots weeks in advance as when lockdown happened they had a huge influx of new customers for obvious reasons. We just knew what time they released the slots so grabbed them asap. I still preferred it when they were with Waitrose to M&S but still decent imo, rarely a cancelled order (I think we had it once due to a warehouse issue) and the substitutes generally make sense unlike some of the nonsense you get from other supermarkets
It varies from region to region but Ocado can be dreadful with stock for me, especially at Christmas. They've let us down with our main Christmas Dinner every single year we'ved been stupid enough to rely on them. Tried them again since they started partnering with M&S but they're no better. Never again. They've had phases for normal deliveries where slmost half of every order was missing or substituted with something stupid. You must have been lucky to have never had any problems. They're still better than everywhere else though, drivers are always excellent and the notifications are good.
>all through lockdown
We're they? Not for me, I got blocked for ordering for months because they were 'prioritising elderly people'. I don't drive and only have Sainsbury's and Morrisons 15 minutes away by taxi, I struggled so much getting food during lockdown, getting slots as you said was mad but ocado just noped me completely, I was so pissed off
Also I'm vegan and so is my housemate plus he's coeliac and ocado do some really good food for both of us, it became harder to eat in general when they did that
Iceland was great during lockdown. I think a lot of people don't think about Iceland when shopping, so they always had slots. Not the healthiest of foods and with your restrictions you probably struggle, but it kept us fed and in toilet paper
Yeah my issue with Iceland is it's all just frozen beige food. They do some really good soya chicken with tons of protein though that the cheapest I've seen + it's actually nice so I do a monthly shop there now, there's no way I can get a full proper meal there though
Iceland have a full range of fresh food, bakery, and tinned too. Maybe not the top quality but it’s the same you’d get in Aldi or Lidl. And if you have a freezer they have frozen veg and meat at great prices. I regularly get all the items needed to make stews from frozen in my slow cooker. Just open the bags, dump it in and let it cook for 6 hours.
Did you join after lockdown happened or were you with them before then? We were with them years prior to lockdown down and had no issues at all ordering from them the entire time
I'd been with them for nearly a year before, I'd order a shop once or twice a month and I raved about them in work to everyone at how good quality everything was for barely a price rise if any, you can just spend more if you get the fancy stuff. Then I got an email saying I wouldn't be able to order anymore after lockdowns, about a year later I remember getting one saying they were opening slots back up but I only started using them recently again and now it's one shop every month or two, nowhere near the amount I used too.
I'm surprised my comment is controversial, I did my main shop there and I got cut off randomly and had to find my food from everywhere else instead, it's why I've not really gone back, why should I when I had to go through all that effort and lose a ton of food I couldn't get elsewhere
They've not been performing well it seems I'm not surprised, they cut out most of the demographic from ordering food from them at a critical time, what a strange business move.
Yup. They lost me forever over their lockdown policies. I was a longtime customer at that point mainly for their Waitrose stock which I couldn’t get anywhere else. Weekly shop for years. Lockdown came and the app went offline onto the website and customers were blocked. I’ve never been back since.
I don't really shop there now, why would I when I've already found substitutes for everything I got from there - they've not been doing so well recently and I'm not surprised, they cut out their future customers and kept all the ones that will be gone soon.
Sainsburys is terrible for dates! Especially on delivery. I'll order 5 packs of meat/fish and have to freeze it all because it's all going to spoil so quickly.
Fucking annoying as we have a tiny freezer. We keep delivery for stuff like tins, drinks, and cleaning supplies now.
Have used Ocado forever, can’t fault them. Drivers are always helpful (including carrying stuff for me when pregnant!) and we have never had any issue getting refunds the rare times when something is damaged.
Another vote for Ocado. They've been great.
Got some Clubcard vouchers through so used Tesco to do a big pre bank holiday shop, half the stuff goes out of date on Tuesday. Rang Tescos and they basically said tough shit.
Got spoiled by Ocado dates, I think.
Me too. Switched from Sainsbury's to Ocado after being let down and frustrated about not being given bags.
Ocado are so.much better, and M&S stuff is great. It lasts longer and the price is very comparable to the supermarkets.
They pre-book your weekly slot as soon as it's available and I have until 8am the morning of delivery to make changes.
I agree. Ocado are great. Reliable and they price match Tesco so not super expensive like a lot of people think! (Yes they do have super expensive stuff if you want that too!) Barely ever any substitutions too. I’m pretty fussy with what I like and was fed up with Morrisons doing totally random subs!
I agree. Ocado is amazing. It's worth paying slightly more because your food has decent use-by dates, fruit and veg actually has flavour.
Their customer service is amazing too. One of our deliveries was delayed because the van broke down - it was rebooked within 15 minutes and they gave us a voucher.
Sainsbury's did this to me a Sunday roast leg of lamb for Easter. It was in stock. Delivery confirmed. Delivery time slot given. It never showed up, I rang the next day they said they'd cancelled my order and refunded me Sunday morning. Never using them again. Zero communication ruined the meal for my family Easter Sunday.
I’m not sure if Easter weekend is different but when you order a leg of lamb and it goes into your basket it just shows that you want it, it doesn’t confirm that they will have stock on the day. The shoppers literally walk around with your shopping list on the day of delivery, albeit using handsets and split between several shoppers for efficiency. The only exception was for Christmas turkeys and joints.
The amount of customers I have to explain this to on my rounds is severely disappointing. No, Sharon, we don't reserve you your shopping three weeks in advance and leave it in a corner until delivery day.
I had a first-time customer not like the look of the salad she had ordered and asked for something crispier as though I was driving a mobile greengrocer’s shop.
Worked at Sainsbury's during lockdown. Customers ordered Easter Eggs for delivery Good Friday/Saturday, very few got what they ordered and all seems to think the items would be put to one side at time of ordering. Took back a lot as a substitute chocolate that weekend.
I've been at (name redacted) for over ten years. We don't do paper receipts any longer but we used to do. We don't deliver Xmas eve evenings but we used to do. My first Xmas eve evening I had a drop at about 20:30, 15 crates, their ENTIRE Xmas food order at the literal last minute. I looked at the paper receipt and commented about wow, no substitutions, for a large last minute order at this time of night on Xmas, you got lucky there.
The receipts used to have a section at the top on the first sheet highlighting the substitutes before detailing the rest of the order, usually three or four lines.
The customers soon realised something was wrong. Turns out the subs list was an A4 page and three quarters long and almost their entire order was substitutions.
Cue moody outburst about ruining Xmas.
No, Janet, YOU ruined your Xmas by leaving your entire Xmas shop until Xmas eve evening.
I'd like to say my Xmas was just fine but my next/last drop was at a farm and it was dark and icy and snowy and I got stuck in a grass verge with the van wheels sinking deep into the mud and had to get towed out by recovery, didn't get back to the store until 1am Xmas morning. The manager and security had had to wait until I got back before locking up fully. Lol
I once had a customer order a couple of electric toothbrushs 2-3 months in advance from collection, ordered at a time when it was on sale.
The reason it was on sale then was that model of electric toothbrush was being discontinued.
Due to this magical thing called "time", "bacteria" and the like.
Every order is picked on the day by a bunch of poor sods who come in at 4AM,
because honestly, it seemed like you have the propensity to come in and complain to the staff.
Seems like you have the ability to come in and do your own shopping.
Thats ridiculous. I'm never using them either, at the least Tesco lets me know if they dont have stock and offer substitutions even after I have completed the order. Can't imagine having to deal with this shit and ruining my family meal on Easter.
That's because of how the banking system works. Your money is on hold with Sainsbury's until it clears. Looks immediate to you but it takes just as long to get to them as it is to give it to you back.
Eh, least they could do is mention in their stupid website if its in stock atleast let me know. But oh well, do you shop often at Sainsburys? If not, I might need some recommendations on other online grocer services.
Tesco don't cancel deliveries because unavailable items cause your basket to drop below their minimum spend.
With interesting supply problems the last couple of years I've got in the habit of booking my slot ASAP, which is four weeks beforehand, then editing my order in their app the day or two before my usual Tuesday slot and manually resolving any unavailable items.
I usually have substitutions on, but for certain specific items it's turned off. If those become unavailable the day of it can sometimes bring my basket below the minimum spend, they've **never** cancelled an order because of a problem with stock at their end.
Asda do this. However, my issue is that they do it for items out of stock currently...but I usually order for a few days away when it might be back in stock.
From trying a few, it seems that there's two ways of doing it...either mark stuff as out of stock because it is now...or don't and see what's available on the day...
I'd prefer the latter honestly...since doing it the other way means I can't add to my basket stuff that's likely to come back in time but also runs the risk of things not being in stock on the day too.
I believe Tesco lets you put comments on what subs you'd prefer if the main thing isn't in stock.
I'll stick with Tesco. Whenever my order has been cancelled, I've received an e-gift card/voucher for money off my next order. They send an email and let you know if it's late or cancelled. I've had calls to see if I'm home for early delivery and even once had a driver wait whilst I waddled home as fast as possible, so I could receive the delivery.
They replace anything you've ordered , that is now out of stock, with something similar and even if it's more expensive, you only pay what the original item costs. If you don't want it, just hand it back to the driver and you get refunded.
If your payment is declined, they give you a call and ask if you have alternative payment, which they take there and then. Can't fault them, honestly.
Yeah, but if you buy from Tesco you're encouraging that Woosh Douche who only gets delivery so he can have uninterrupted sessions making his neighbours walls shake with the exercise he could be doing on the way to the shop.
Tesco are close to Asda in poor reliability - drivers late or missing with no contact, loads of missing items and shocking substitutes. After several bad experiences I ditched them entirely. Sainsbury’s are accurate most of the time and then the best is Ocado as it’s all done in a robotic warehouse, and all provide the service you’ve described (except Ocado don’t do a price match guarantee for subs)
I've never had any issues, with Tesco. Maybe it varies, store to store, or by area? The reason for cancellation is due to road closures, for accidents and far beyond their control.
Never used Asda, so can't comment.
> poor reliability - drivers late or missing with no contact, loads of missing items and shocking substitutes.
And yet my weekly Tesco grocery delivery have been consistently good for the last 15+ years. I'm sure, just like with parcel couriers, it varies area to area. You just need to figure out which one works where you are.
Yep, probably regional, we had to give up on ASDA as in some orders over 25% of items were substitutes. Stuck with Tesco as for us they were much more reliable and the occasional substitute made sense.
When we used ASDA we realised we couldn't plan anything as we didn't know how much of what we were ordering we'd actually get. It feels like they've gone downhill in recent years.
Definitely it must vary area by area. We used to be with Sainsbury. They were really good. Then they changed to a different store for delivery. It then went to awful substitutes, regularly late and poor quality fresh produce.
Tescos have consistently been reliable, on time and with sensible substitutes. Their customer service has been good. They have held their hands up when they have been wrong. One tip though is don’t have a delivery booked the day after NYE; the only time we have had a delivery pushed back and back and then cancelled. Apparently a regular annual problem ….
Morrisons is also super reliable. It's not any more expensive than Asda either. I found Asda to be the worst, they substitute and have missing items all the time. Tesco has been fine, Iceland is good for stocking up the freezer and for great deals on soft drinks. Not tried Sainsbury or Ocado.
I often have drivers call they are early, from any of the supermarkets, which is always a bonus as I tend to pick the cheap late evening slots.
I wouldn't know, I've never used them. OP clearly stated they didn't get an email, text or phonecall, for the first cancellation. They also haven't mentioned a voucher/gift card for the inconvenience. That's the information I've worked with.
And you'd be correct. The customer service girl was helpless and couldn't offer anything, granted it's never their fault and I made sure she knew that, had to ask her to stop apologising so much.
If they lack drivers, and there is a whole route/s that needs to be covered those customers will get piled onto other drivers as well as their original, which can causes problems for the driver
We had a Sainsbury's delivery cancelled on Saturday. I was able to go to the shop and pick up our food in person. While I was there, I chatted to the (over-worked) guy running the click and collect, and he said that not only were they short of regular drivers, that day, the agency drivers they'd tried to get to cover the gaps hadn't showed either.
I always avoid Sainsbury's for grocery delivery after the one time I tried to get groceries.
My order was an hour late so I called customer support. They say that it's running late but will be with me within the next hour. Over an hour later call again, they say the driver didn't have my order but they'll deliver it tomorrow in any timeslot I want. I don't want to fuss so I agree to a delivery slot for the next day. The next day, half an hour after my delivery slot I give them a call and they say the order was delivered the previous day. I have to explain everything that happened and they say they can send it out now and it should be delivered within the next 2-3 hours. At which point I just asked for a refund.
As an apology, they sent me a £10 voucher. Except it's £10 off a grocery delivery with minimum spend of £60 or something along those lines. Safe to say, I never ended up using it.
I used Sainsbury's once, they cancelled then wanted to charge me more for redelivery despite not being me who cancelled in the first place. Then started using tesco and have never looked back.
Sainsbury's lost out on a lot for the sake of £4.
A bit more pricey, but I get Waitrose deliveries sometimes and this never happens , usually substitutions are bang on and always delivered within the delivery hour booked.
Would like to point out that Morrisons differs wildly across the UK. About a third of the country is actually delivered by ocado in morrisons branded vans. The rest is store picked and is more likely to have issues.
This was ine of the reasons we stopped shopping with them.
The final straw was when the delivery driver, who had been early and waiting outside for 25 mins, didn’t see me arrive home I went back out to say hello and to say you can bring the shopping in now.
He started shouting at me for wasting his time as he thought I’d been in all that time.
I really wish I’d just sent him on his way.
The most reliable grocery delivery service I have used is Morrisons / Amazon. Never canceled and often deliver same day within a few hours of ordering. Their substitutions can be a bit weird though - I think you just get what’s in front of them in the aisle regardless of cost/ similarity. Sorry no chickens fillets - have 4 cans of lager instead mate.
Do you have any details that don't match up properly that you entered (different name used on the Sainsburys account compared to payment etc)? They sometimes do ID checks with credit reference agency etc (it doesn't go on your file, the ID check doesn't impact anything) and if things don't match they can cancel the order.
Although even then I think that is supposed to be done as you order, so it is strange.
That shouldn't be the case. I have a password manager, and I use the autofill for pretty much for everything. This is the first time it's ever happened to me.
Tesco did this to me twice, so I switched to Sainsburys, who haven't done it...yet! I mainly just go to Aldi now though, it's a pain but it's an hour and done. I got really bored of online ordering!
Sainsbury's has gone to absolute shit over the past 6 months. I've closed my delivery account because I'm so sick of them. Consider dumping them, they need to be taught a lesson.
I can definitely feel your rage through the screen. Also their Nectar bs that you need to make separate accounts and download more apps, it really shouldn't be that complicated.
It's odd, I've had exactly the opposite experience. Where I am in Derby it's rare there's any subs or missing items, never had a cancellation, great drivers, and the prices are really good these days.
Sainsburys is rubbish, i used to work for them, they take more orders than can be done because they dont care about their customers, just lining their own pockets. Use somewhere else
Tesco did same to us twice, ever since we’ve been using Ocado. The service is loads better, the app is good, price matched to Tesco, use by dates are loads better. It’s not even any more expensive on average.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68895280
> The UK's second largest supermarket said online sales had been above 20% at the height of the pandemic, but are now back to about 13%.
I'm a little surprised it's only 1 in 8, it's so convenient. I live in an older aged neighbourhood, it used to be I was the only delivery each week, now there are several each day. Older people with reduced mobility and smartphones love home delivery.
It's not that different with Tesco.
Tesco was at 12.9% in 2022 and increased it by 8.2% in 2023 and 10.4% in 2024 suggesting they currently are at 15.4% online. Importantly Tesco's yearly report says they are at 98% availability and improving their 'perfect baskets' by 20ppts YoY so they are still actively working on improving their online shopping.
I wonder if more people are currently shopping in person in order to shop around and try to save money, get the best value, and take advantage of offers/discounts.
But they can deliver to my area, thats the thing. I'm supposed to put my postcode in before I do anything else and they'll mention if they can deliver. But yea, absolutely 0 information about the cancelleation 🤡
Well I get bulk orders, especially for drinks. I don't want to be going shopping every few days, especially when I have to buy fresh produce, all that weight adds up. My granny trolley can only carry so much unfortunately.
Seriously? You really can't figure this out for yourself?
In the case of my parents (one with severe dementia and one who was bedridden) their shopping had to be done by neighbours and family members.
If friends and family hadn't generously donated their time (while also working full time and dealing with their own healthissues) to do their shopping for them, they'd have had the choice of either paying their care assistants to shop for them, or literally starving.
Grocery deliveries would have been life-changing, both for them and the people who had to shop for them.
Maybe put some thought into the fact that there are many people out there who do not enjoy your privileges, e.g. mobility & mental ability, and that ask it would take is one slip of fate for you to join their ranks...
And what if they’re disabled? No car? There is only so much you can carry and that’s if there is reliable transportation available. What if they have no childcare? Because taking young children to go food shopping isn’t entirely pleasant. Don’t make such ignorant comments
Using delivery services instead of going out to get your items does not make one entitled. I'm baffled as to how it would. I would wonder if you're in need of a bit of fresh air though.
See if this happened to me, I would just go to the shop, buy what i need and return home with my goods. Op instead puts a whiny anonymous post on social media and even puts a vague threat at the end of it.
Do they turn up with all your stuff in big plastic trays with no way to easily get it onto your house?
That's why we've given up on Sainsbury's delivery.
Substitutions and delivery slots are excellent with Waitrose, round here their drivers are also great and any problems sorted quickly. Delivery cost is actually cheaper than other supermarkets too. I like their own brand food and find it isn’t actually more expensive than others too.
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Ocado is much better. The use by dates are a week, not 2 fucking days and you have a choice between cheap but good stuff or extra nice m&s stuff. And no I don't work for them, I just also became disgruntled with sainsburys and switched a few months ago.
I second Ocado. Utterly reliable for the last 12 years, all through lockdown (although having to stay up till 1am to get a slot was bit crazy!) sensible substitutions you can reject, pleasant helpful staff, only been a few minutes late once or twice, price match with Tesco. Plus bonus, if you want a treat you can get M&S goodies. I switched after a few ridiculously bad experiences, mainly with Asda, but Sainsbury’s didn’t cover themselves in glory either.
Getting any food delivery slots during lockdown was *interesting*, it was the wild west for months. I had to leverage my not inconsiderable IT skills to figure out how Tesco's system actually works to ensure my vulnerable OAP parents continued to get their weekly food delivery (and be there to take in the delivery because the drivers stopped being allowed to bring their shopping inside, which made sense). They'd been getting a weekly food delivery and had a yearly subscription plan for over a decade at that point. I was always able to get them their usual slot but it often required me to use a full browser on a PC instead of their app *and* click refresh within a few seconds of them launching new slots - the time of new slots being released changed slightly week to week. I got good at it. By the time Tesco eventually got their 'vulnerable list' up and running it wasn't worth it as my way worked much better, plus they had expanded their capacity quite a bit. My brothers family who also qualified due to a vulnerable baby struggled to get assigned a delivery slot every few weeks and had no choice on day or time.
We've been with ocado for years and they were fantastic during lockdown. We got lucky as an existing customer we were able to book slots weeks in advance as when lockdown happened they had a huge influx of new customers for obvious reasons. We just knew what time they released the slots so grabbed them asap. I still preferred it when they were with Waitrose to M&S but still decent imo, rarely a cancelled order (I think we had it once due to a warehouse issue) and the substitutes generally make sense unlike some of the nonsense you get from other supermarkets
It varies from region to region but Ocado can be dreadful with stock for me, especially at Christmas. They've let us down with our main Christmas Dinner every single year we'ved been stupid enough to rely on them. Tried them again since they started partnering with M&S but they're no better. Never again. They've had phases for normal deliveries where slmost half of every order was missing or substituted with something stupid. You must have been lucky to have never had any problems. They're still better than everywhere else though, drivers are always excellent and the notifications are good.
>all through lockdown We're they? Not for me, I got blocked for ordering for months because they were 'prioritising elderly people'. I don't drive and only have Sainsbury's and Morrisons 15 minutes away by taxi, I struggled so much getting food during lockdown, getting slots as you said was mad but ocado just noped me completely, I was so pissed off Also I'm vegan and so is my housemate plus he's coeliac and ocado do some really good food for both of us, it became harder to eat in general when they did that
Iceland was great during lockdown. I think a lot of people don't think about Iceland when shopping, so they always had slots. Not the healthiest of foods and with your restrictions you probably struggle, but it kept us fed and in toilet paper
Yeah my issue with Iceland is it's all just frozen beige food. They do some really good soya chicken with tons of protein though that the cheapest I've seen + it's actually nice so I do a monthly shop there now, there's no way I can get a full proper meal there though
Iceland have a full range of fresh food, bakery, and tinned too. Maybe not the top quality but it’s the same you’d get in Aldi or Lidl. And if you have a freezer they have frozen veg and meat at great prices. I regularly get all the items needed to make stews from frozen in my slow cooker. Just open the bags, dump it in and let it cook for 6 hours.
Did you join after lockdown happened or were you with them before then? We were with them years prior to lockdown down and had no issues at all ordering from them the entire time
I'd been with them for nearly a year before, I'd order a shop once or twice a month and I raved about them in work to everyone at how good quality everything was for barely a price rise if any, you can just spend more if you get the fancy stuff. Then I got an email saying I wouldn't be able to order anymore after lockdowns, about a year later I remember getting one saying they were opening slots back up but I only started using them recently again and now it's one shop every month or two, nowhere near the amount I used too. I'm surprised my comment is controversial, I did my main shop there and I got cut off randomly and had to find my food from everywhere else instead, it's why I've not really gone back, why should I when I had to go through all that effort and lose a ton of food I couldn't get elsewhere They've not been performing well it seems I'm not surprised, they cut out most of the demographic from ordering food from them at a critical time, what a strange business move.
Yup. They lost me forever over their lockdown policies. I was a longtime customer at that point mainly for their Waitrose stock which I couldn’t get anywhere else. Weekly shop for years. Lockdown came and the app went offline onto the website and customers were blocked. I’ve never been back since.
I don't really shop there now, why would I when I've already found substitutes for everything I got from there - they've not been doing so well recently and I'm not surprised, they cut out their future customers and kept all the ones that will be gone soon.
Sainsburys is terrible for dates! Especially on delivery. I'll order 5 packs of meat/fish and have to freeze it all because it's all going to spoil so quickly. Fucking annoying as we have a tiny freezer. We keep delivery for stuff like tins, drinks, and cleaning supplies now.
Have used Ocado forever, can’t fault them. Drivers are always helpful (including carrying stuff for me when pregnant!) and we have never had any issue getting refunds the rare times when something is damaged.
Another vote for Ocado. They've been great. Got some Clubcard vouchers through so used Tesco to do a big pre bank holiday shop, half the stuff goes out of date on Tuesday. Rang Tescos and they basically said tough shit. Got spoiled by Ocado dates, I think.
Me too. Switched from Sainsbury's to Ocado after being let down and frustrated about not being given bags. Ocado are so.much better, and M&S stuff is great. It lasts longer and the price is very comparable to the supermarkets. They pre-book your weekly slot as soon as it's available and I have until 8am the morning of delivery to make changes.
I agree. Ocado are great. Reliable and they price match Tesco so not super expensive like a lot of people think! (Yes they do have super expensive stuff if you want that too!) Barely ever any substitutions too. I’m pretty fussy with what I like and was fed up with Morrisons doing totally random subs!
I agree. Ocado is amazing. It's worth paying slightly more because your food has decent use-by dates, fruit and veg actually has flavour. Their customer service is amazing too. One of our deliveries was delayed because the van broke down - it was rebooked within 15 minutes and they gave us a voucher.
Y
Sainsbury's did this to me a Sunday roast leg of lamb for Easter. It was in stock. Delivery confirmed. Delivery time slot given. It never showed up, I rang the next day they said they'd cancelled my order and refunded me Sunday morning. Never using them again. Zero communication ruined the meal for my family Easter Sunday.
I’m not sure if Easter weekend is different but when you order a leg of lamb and it goes into your basket it just shows that you want it, it doesn’t confirm that they will have stock on the day. The shoppers literally walk around with your shopping list on the day of delivery, albeit using handsets and split between several shoppers for efficiency. The only exception was for Christmas turkeys and joints.
The amount of customers I have to explain this to on my rounds is severely disappointing. No, Sharon, we don't reserve you your shopping three weeks in advance and leave it in a corner until delivery day.
I had a first-time customer not like the look of the salad she had ordered and asked for something crispier as though I was driving a mobile greengrocer’s shop.
Worked at Sainsbury's during lockdown. Customers ordered Easter Eggs for delivery Good Friday/Saturday, very few got what they ordered and all seems to think the items would be put to one side at time of ordering. Took back a lot as a substitute chocolate that weekend.
I've been at (name redacted) for over ten years. We don't do paper receipts any longer but we used to do. We don't deliver Xmas eve evenings but we used to do. My first Xmas eve evening I had a drop at about 20:30, 15 crates, their ENTIRE Xmas food order at the literal last minute. I looked at the paper receipt and commented about wow, no substitutions, for a large last minute order at this time of night on Xmas, you got lucky there. The receipts used to have a section at the top on the first sheet highlighting the substitutes before detailing the rest of the order, usually three or four lines. The customers soon realised something was wrong. Turns out the subs list was an A4 page and three quarters long and almost their entire order was substitutions. Cue moody outburst about ruining Xmas. No, Janet, YOU ruined your Xmas by leaving your entire Xmas shop until Xmas eve evening. I'd like to say my Xmas was just fine but my next/last drop was at a farm and it was dark and icy and snowy and I got stuck in a grass verge with the van wheels sinking deep into the mud and had to get towed out by recovery, didn't get back to the store until 1am Xmas morning. The manager and security had had to wait until I got back before locking up fully. Lol
I once had a customer order a couple of electric toothbrushs 2-3 months in advance from collection, ordered at a time when it was on sale. The reason it was on sale then was that model of electric toothbrush was being discontinued. Due to this magical thing called "time", "bacteria" and the like. Every order is picked on the day by a bunch of poor sods who come in at 4AM, because honestly, it seemed like you have the propensity to come in and complain to the staff. Seems like you have the ability to come in and do your own shopping.
In the US, the shop would order enough to fulfill preorders and keep it in a corner for the paying customer.
I ordered it Friday for delivery Saturday.
Thats ridiculous. I'm never using them either, at the least Tesco lets me know if they dont have stock and offer substitutions even after I have completed the order. Can't imagine having to deal with this shit and ruining my family meal on Easter.
Tesco's have cancelled my order twice without warning, too. The second time it was nearly a week before the money was refunded as well.
That's because of how the banking system works. Your money is on hold with Sainsbury's until it clears. Looks immediate to you but it takes just as long to get to them as it is to give it to you back.
Whenever this has happened to me it has been because they were so out of stock of items I wanted that the total no longer met their minimum
Eh, least they could do is mention in their stupid website if its in stock atleast let me know. But oh well, do you shop often at Sainsburys? If not, I might need some recommendations on other online grocer services.
I’ve found Ocado to be the most reliable in terms of substitutions/out of stock
Tesco don't cancel deliveries because unavailable items cause your basket to drop below their minimum spend. With interesting supply problems the last couple of years I've got in the habit of booking my slot ASAP, which is four weeks beforehand, then editing my order in their app the day or two before my usual Tuesday slot and manually resolving any unavailable items. I usually have substitutions on, but for certain specific items it's turned off. If those become unavailable the day of it can sometimes bring my basket below the minimum spend, they've **never** cancelled an order because of a problem with stock at their end.
Asda do this. However, my issue is that they do it for items out of stock currently...but I usually order for a few days away when it might be back in stock. From trying a few, it seems that there's two ways of doing it...either mark stuff as out of stock because it is now...or don't and see what's available on the day... I'd prefer the latter honestly...since doing it the other way means I can't add to my basket stuff that's likely to come back in time but also runs the risk of things not being in stock on the day too. I believe Tesco lets you put comments on what subs you'd prefer if the main thing isn't in stock.
I'll stick with Tesco. Whenever my order has been cancelled, I've received an e-gift card/voucher for money off my next order. They send an email and let you know if it's late or cancelled. I've had calls to see if I'm home for early delivery and even once had a driver wait whilst I waddled home as fast as possible, so I could receive the delivery. They replace anything you've ordered , that is now out of stock, with something similar and even if it's more expensive, you only pay what the original item costs. If you don't want it, just hand it back to the driver and you get refunded. If your payment is declined, they give you a call and ask if you have alternative payment, which they take there and then. Can't fault them, honestly.
Yeah, but if you buy from Tesco you're encouraging that Woosh Douche who only gets delivery so he can have uninterrupted sessions making his neighbours walls shake with the exercise he could be doing on the way to the shop.
Lol, woosh douche.
Tesco are close to Asda in poor reliability - drivers late or missing with no contact, loads of missing items and shocking substitutes. After several bad experiences I ditched them entirely. Sainsbury’s are accurate most of the time and then the best is Ocado as it’s all done in a robotic warehouse, and all provide the service you’ve described (except Ocado don’t do a price match guarantee for subs)
I've never had any issues, with Tesco. Maybe it varies, store to store, or by area? The reason for cancellation is due to road closures, for accidents and far beyond their control. Never used Asda, so can't comment.
> poor reliability - drivers late or missing with no contact, loads of missing items and shocking substitutes. And yet my weekly Tesco grocery delivery have been consistently good for the last 15+ years. I'm sure, just like with parcel couriers, it varies area to area. You just need to figure out which one works where you are.
It's definitely regional. I had one area that was excellent for asda and then another one with 10+ subs every order
Yep, probably regional, we had to give up on ASDA as in some orders over 25% of items were substitutes. Stuck with Tesco as for us they were much more reliable and the occasional substitute made sense. When we used ASDA we realised we couldn't plan anything as we didn't know how much of what we were ordering we'd actually get. It feels like they've gone downhill in recent years.
Definitely it must vary area by area. We used to be with Sainsbury. They were really good. Then they changed to a different store for delivery. It then went to awful substitutes, regularly late and poor quality fresh produce. Tescos have consistently been reliable, on time and with sensible substitutes. Their customer service has been good. They have held their hands up when they have been wrong. One tip though is don’t have a delivery booked the day after NYE; the only time we have had a delivery pushed back and back and then cancelled. Apparently a regular annual problem ….
Morrisons is also super reliable. It's not any more expensive than Asda either. I found Asda to be the worst, they substitute and have missing items all the time. Tesco has been fine, Iceland is good for stocking up the freezer and for great deals on soft drinks. Not tried Sainsbury or Ocado. I often have drivers call they are early, from any of the supermarkets, which is always a bonus as I tend to pick the cheap late evening slots.
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I wouldn't know, I've never used them. OP clearly stated they didn't get an email, text or phonecall, for the first cancellation. They also haven't mentioned a voucher/gift card for the inconvenience. That's the information I've worked with.
And you'd be correct. The customer service girl was helpless and couldn't offer anything, granted it's never their fault and I made sure she knew that, had to ask her to stop apologising so much.
I wonder if it's lack of delivery drivers? It would help if they told you, or blocked out slots they couldn't meet if they know in advance
If they lack drivers, and there is a whole route/s that needs to be covered those customers will get piled onto other drivers as well as their original, which can causes problems for the driver
We had a Sainsbury's delivery cancelled on Saturday. I was able to go to the shop and pick up our food in person. While I was there, I chatted to the (over-worked) guy running the click and collect, and he said that not only were they short of regular drivers, that day, the agency drivers they'd tried to get to cover the gaps hadn't showed either.
I always avoid Sainsbury's for grocery delivery after the one time I tried to get groceries. My order was an hour late so I called customer support. They say that it's running late but will be with me within the next hour. Over an hour later call again, they say the driver didn't have my order but they'll deliver it tomorrow in any timeslot I want. I don't want to fuss so I agree to a delivery slot for the next day. The next day, half an hour after my delivery slot I give them a call and they say the order was delivered the previous day. I have to explain everything that happened and they say they can send it out now and it should be delivered within the next 2-3 hours. At which point I just asked for a refund. As an apology, they sent me a £10 voucher. Except it's £10 off a grocery delivery with minimum spend of £60 or something along those lines. Safe to say, I never ended up using it.
I used Sainsbury's once, they cancelled then wanted to charge me more for redelivery despite not being me who cancelled in the first place. Then started using tesco and have never looked back. Sainsbury's lost out on a lot for the sake of £4.
A bit more pricey, but I get Waitrose deliveries sometimes and this never happens , usually substitutions are bang on and always delivered within the delivery hour booked.
Never had a cancellation with Morrisons and I've used them a lot.
Will consider it thanks
Would like to point out that Morrisons differs wildly across the UK. About a third of the country is actually delivered by ocado in morrisons branded vans. The rest is store picked and is more likely to have issues.
I have.....
This was ine of the reasons we stopped shopping with them. The final straw was when the delivery driver, who had been early and waiting outside for 25 mins, didn’t see me arrive home I went back out to say hello and to say you can bring the shopping in now. He started shouting at me for wasting his time as he thought I’d been in all that time. I really wish I’d just sent him on his way.
The most reliable grocery delivery service I have used is Morrisons / Amazon. Never canceled and often deliver same day within a few hours of ordering. Their substitutions can be a bit weird though - I think you just get what’s in front of them in the aisle regardless of cost/ similarity. Sorry no chickens fillets - have 4 cans of lager instead mate.
The prices on morrisons/amazon make me feel poor, I'll pass on that.
Why did they take the payment the first time? They don't take payment until the day it's to be delivered or collected.
Lmao that's what I mean. I think it was minutes after they took the payment that they cancelled my order, its so stupid.
Do you have any details that don't match up properly that you entered (different name used on the Sainsburys account compared to payment etc)? They sometimes do ID checks with credit reference agency etc (it doesn't go on your file, the ID check doesn't impact anything) and if things don't match they can cancel the order. Although even then I think that is supposed to be done as you order, so it is strange.
That shouldn't be the case. I have a password manager, and I use the autofill for pretty much for everything. This is the first time it's ever happened to me.
Tesco did this to me twice, so I switched to Sainsburys, who haven't done it...yet! I mainly just go to Aldi now though, it's a pain but it's an hour and done. I got really bored of online ordering!
Sainsbury's has gone to absolute shit over the past 6 months. I've closed my delivery account because I'm so sick of them. Consider dumping them, they need to be taught a lesson.
I can definitely feel your rage through the screen. Also their Nectar bs that you need to make separate accounts and download more apps, it really shouldn't be that complicated.
It's odd, I've had exactly the opposite experience. Where I am in Derby it's rare there's any subs or missing items, never had a cancellation, great drivers, and the prices are really good these days.
Sainsburys is rubbish, i used to work for them, they take more orders than can be done because they dont care about their customers, just lining their own pockets. Use somewhere else
Tesco did same to us twice, ever since we’ve been using Ocado. The service is loads better, the app is good, price matched to Tesco, use by dates are loads better. It’s not even any more expensive on average.
I think Sainsbury's reported the other week that online orders are now only 12% of their total sales. This is probably why.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68895280 > The UK's second largest supermarket said online sales had been above 20% at the height of the pandemic, but are now back to about 13%. I'm a little surprised it's only 1 in 8, it's so convenient. I live in an older aged neighbourhood, it used to be I was the only delivery each week, now there are several each day. Older people with reduced mobility and smartphones love home delivery. It's not that different with Tesco. Tesco was at 12.9% in 2022 and increased it by 8.2% in 2023 and 10.4% in 2024 suggesting they currently are at 15.4% online. Importantly Tesco's yearly report says they are at 98% availability and improving their 'perfect baskets' by 20ppts YoY so they are still actively working on improving their online shopping. I wonder if more people are currently shopping in person in order to shop around and try to save money, get the best value, and take advantage of offers/discounts.
Can't help but wonder that the reason why customers don't use it is probably bc its not reliable?
Have you thought about the possibility of ordering with another supermarket? There are many other alternatives! Sainsbury’s won’t be hurt or upset 😢
Maybe you live in an area they can't deliver to. It would be nice if they told you WHY they are cancelling though...
But they can deliver to my area, thats the thing. I'm supposed to put my postcode in before I do anything else and they'll mention if they can deliver. But yea, absolutely 0 information about the cancelleation 🤡
First World Problems
Phone the store itself, not customer services.
i hope you gave their complaints department hell. (also make sure your card is in date)
If only Sainsbury's had physical locations you could visit. /S
Go Tesco then
What did people do before they could get their shopping delivered?
Well I get bulk orders, especially for drinks. I don't want to be going shopping every few days, especially when I have to buy fresh produce, all that weight adds up. My granny trolley can only carry so much unfortunately.
The dark ages, dunno, sounds horrible. There was a time when fridges were uncommon, people would do their daily shop... every day.
Probably drove but I find it cheaper not to have a car and get deliveries
Seriously? You really can't figure this out for yourself? In the case of my parents (one with severe dementia and one who was bedridden) their shopping had to be done by neighbours and family members. If friends and family hadn't generously donated their time (while also working full time and dealing with their own healthissues) to do their shopping for them, they'd have had the choice of either paying their care assistants to shop for them, or literally starving. Grocery deliveries would have been life-changing, both for them and the people who had to shop for them. Maybe put some thought into the fact that there are many people out there who do not enjoy your privileges, e.g. mobility & mental ability, and that ask it would take is one slip of fate for you to join their ranks...
I'll be on the first plane to Switzerland for a one-stop visit to Dignitas if I do ever have the 'one slip of fate'.
You vould also.... go to a supermarket
And what if they’re disabled? No car? There is only so much you can carry and that’s if there is reliable transportation available. What if they have no childcare? Because taking young children to go food shopping isn’t entirely pleasant. Don’t make such ignorant comments
Most people are just entitled fucks
Using delivery services instead of going out to get your items does not make one entitled. I'm baffled as to how it would. I would wonder if you're in need of a bit of fresh air though.
See if this happened to me, I would just go to the shop, buy what i need and return home with my goods. Op instead puts a whiny anonymous post on social media and even puts a vague threat at the end of it.
Expressing your annoyance at something is not entitlement and you my friend are not the internet police.
I can post my reaction same as anyone else, im not policing anything.
True, but if you're being a dick, expect to get called out for it.
That sounds like policing
Vague threat? First day on the internet? What are you suggesting I go blow up the Sainsburys store?
Are you even reading the same post as the rest of us? Don’t see how your comment relates to OPs query
I see someone whining like a child about their groceries not being delivered to their door. I suggested an alternative.
Not a very good one is it? You’re just weirdly salty
'Going to the shop' isnt a good alternative? It is in fact the standard way of buying groceries.
For a lot of people, it’s not quite so easy as that. Especially not last minute. Try not to be so shallow minded.
I don't have a car, and I also feel it's a massive time saver and cuts down on impulse buys
I dont either. I just go to lidl once a week and to the local tesco express for anything else. I dont want to depend on unreliable delivery services.
Do they turn up with all your stuff in big plastic trays with no way to easily get it onto your house? That's why we've given up on Sainsbury's delivery.
They all do? Morrisons delivers in plastic bags, but I just have shopping bags at the door or a washing basket.
Our Sainsbury's orders arrived without bags. We now use one that delivers with bags and takes them away for recycling when they do the next delivery.
I just go to the shops
Thats fair, the only issue is I don't own a car and I do like the benefit of being able to shop online at my own time and look at offers.
Can I bring the word Waitrose into the conversation now?
Substitutions and delivery slots are excellent with Waitrose, round here their drivers are also great and any problems sorted quickly. Delivery cost is actually cheaper than other supermarkets too. I like their own brand food and find it isn’t actually more expensive than others too.
Will consider it, thanks
Neither do i, i walk to the shops and back.