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On line supermarket deliveries - advice please

(87 Posts)
Franbern Wed 06-Oct-21 08:47:43

I am considering joining the masses who have their groceries delivered to their homes. Have set up account, but am rather bewildered as to how much this is likely to cost me.

Most weeks my shop is under £40,00, which seems to be the amount companies start talking about 'cheaper' deliveries. I would be available for the delivery at any day.time.

Also, I live in flats - do the delivery people bring that shopping right up to my flat (we have a lift), or am I expected to go down to our main front door to collect it from them?
I know that a lot of people have been having these deliveries over the past year or so, would like your help and advice on this.
My chosen supermarket is Sainsbury.

trulyscrumptiousred Fri 08-Oct-21 13:27:55

Both Tesco and Morrison's delivery driver refused to bring my shopping up 1 flight of stairs. I don't shop online anymore too worried about further nasty experiences with delivery men.

Daisend1 Fri 08-Oct-21 13:11:23

Jaxjacky
Iceland now a £40 minimum shop for free delivery .WELL worth it.

Jeanieallergy21 Fri 08-Oct-21 12:53:26

I'm another fan of Ocado. Almost never get substitutions or missing items and it's really easy to get a refund if something's damaged, just go to the website and select the item and what's wrong with it. I get deliveries every 2 weeks so the order is over £40, for the second week I order Cravendale milk which has a longer BB date, and a couple of ready-to-bake loaves or bread mixes for the breadmaking machine. Not sure why but I'm never charged for delivery.

ElaineI Fri 08-Oct-21 12:51:15

That's great Franbern. Don't know if your daughter said - probably did but you can make a favourites list with them and use if to order then add in extras. Saves time. Drivers are usually very helpful. I do Mum's shopping like this.

Happysexagenarian Fri 08-Oct-21 12:48:18

Well done Frabern I'm sure you'll find it a big help and possibly cheaper than shopping in store. We have a delivery from ASDA about every 4 weeks, we rarely have to return any substitutions and we save money because we're not impulse buying as we walk around a store, and it would cost us more in car fuel than the delivery charge. Happy shopping!

GardenofEngland Fri 08-Oct-21 12:37:09

We live in a small block of flats only 1 flat per floor we live on the first floor no lift. We use Sainsbury £1 slots. I go down to the entrance door as that is where they deliver to. Only once has the delivery person, and she was a woman offered to take my bags up the one flight of stairs. What I would caution is the substitiutons can be ridiculous, you can reject them on delivery which I have done and sent back over ripe avocados which they refund to your credit card. We don't allow any substitutions now. We have had several issues with not in stock items mostly meat products but also hummus and olives, only to find I could have got them from the local Sainsbury store which was annoying! We tend to have a delivery every 2 weeks and buy milk and bread locally. But on the whole delivery is good for bulky items and tinned food.

Missismac Fri 08-Oct-21 12:03:02

I’m an Ocado fan. I’ve tried them all but always go back to Ocado. They deliver to your door in bags and refund you for the bags if you return them the next week. I’m a ‘Smart Pass’ member which means that I pay £7.99 per month and can have as many deliveries in the month as I want. Like most others the minimum spend is £40 and their customer service is second to none.

catd Fri 08-Oct-21 12:03:02

As per Kate 1989. I find Tesco deliveries excellent. I always find the drivers efficient, polite and helpful. They are also very quick to repay for items that have a short shelf life if I don't want them

BlueBelle Fri 08-Oct-21 11:55:45

It also depends where you live I don’t have Waitrose Sainsbury’s or Ocado delivering in my area but I have used Asda and Iceland fairly successfully
I do try and go out myself as it’s a trip out I have it down to a fine art and can get £40 worth of groceries on my cycle but I walk home pushing it (before you all send an ambulance out)
?

Lupatria Fri 08-Oct-21 11:53:09

i have used online shopping for my groceries for something over 10 years now. i have used tesco, asda, sainsburys and morrisons in the past and ocado once or twice.
i normally tick the "no substitutions" box so don't get silly items and if something slips in and i don't want it then i just send it back.
sainsburys have flexible delivery slots as do tesco which cost less than other stores.
on some occasions i have received broken eggs and if this happens i am refunded the cost of the eggs but keep the eggs - rather good if it's only one egg which is broken.
i shop every four weeks when my pension arrives and can schedule two or three deliveries on one day.
tesco, asda and sainsburys are my usual supermarkets as no one supermarket stocks everything on my list and i have preferences for items at each supermarket (eg i like asda loo rolls but not those from tesco or sainsburys).
the shopping is delivered to my front door mat and i pack it into my bags - sometimes the delivery person will do that as i have a bad back - and all i have to do is carry the bags to the kitchen (or wherever it goes).
however things like bread and milk i buy instore and isn't too difficult to get home.
i prefer grocery shopping online and very rarely have a problem and i can always find a cheap delivery slot.

skate Fri 08-Oct-21 11:50:29

Waitrose are excellent and always deliver to my flat door. I am on the third floor of a block - there is a lift but one driver told me that in other blocks they actually carry the shopping up the stairs if there is no lift, which really surprised me. But their drivers are always friendly and helpful so I assume that's what they do. Waitrose have a minimum spend of £40 and have recently started charging £3 for delivery, but I think that's a small price to pay for the convenience, and you also get a free newspaper and magazine if you have one of their loyalty cards. I have used Tesco too and they are OK but once they just dumped everything in the lobby of my block of flats, leaving me to hump it up three floors, so after that I decided I would stick to Waitrose and have never been disappointed.

Tizliz Fri 08-Oct-21 11:44:46

I sometimes think the drivers are the best bit of the deliveries. I have never had a grumpy one, they are all helpful and cheerful. Nothing is too much trouble. One was not keen on my dogs and asked if he could hand it over the gate but was very apologetic about it - don’t think he lasted long round here where everyone has a dog.

Means I get someone to talk to other than husband once a week.

madmum38 Fri 08-Oct-21 11:39:09

I used Sainsbury’s for a long time but daughter does it now, decided to do a shop last Christmas with a voucher I had, worked it out to almost the last penny but then delivery day I had a message it had been declined, got onto Sainsbury’s to ask why and was told one of the substitute items made it go over by a penny, asked if they could take that item off, no couldn’t do that as it was now packed so asked if I could pay the penny on another card, no, can’t mix payment methods so in the end I had to use my debit card to pay for all of the order so be careful with substitutes and if you don’t want them, tick the box to say that

Nannashirlz Fri 08-Oct-21 11:31:53

That’s a million dollar question it depends on the driver some will carry to your door and some won’t. I live in a flat at min waiting to move. I had an Asda delivered and nothing was in a bag and he didn’t want to bring to my front door. He huff puffed and frowned as I stood at my front door waiting for him. I’ve got bruised shoulder and broken ribs. So you can imagine the fun I had. lol but I said customer should have choice if want bags or not. Me I stick with Iceland you have your choice if you want bags or not and the guys who have delivered for me even carry my bags into kitchen. Never moan always pleasant. I hand bags back and get refunded. Sainsbury’s not local so can’t comment but Tesco’s delivered to my front door too. What I would do and do is stand at your front door and smile at them and wait for them to bring up to you. I actually rang Asda and asked them and they said delivery is too your front door. You live in your flat not the block.

GraceQuirrel Fri 08-Oct-21 11:17:57

Ocado here every fortnight and they are brilliant. Refund you for all plastic bags that you return to the driver so they are free in effect. I have a Smart Pass and my midweek deliveries are ‘free’. Have also already booked my Christmas slot.

schnackie Fri 08-Oct-21 11:17:05

Thank you for the tip Pammie1 about Amazon Prime (which I already pay for) and Morrisons. I started using Morrison's during lockdown and pay £20 every 6 months to avoid delivery charges, but I only really order heavy things, as I live in a 2nd floor flat (delivery never a problem) but nice to know I can knock off those charges. I order multi-boxes of long life milk, large cartons of soft drinks and things that my very local Aldi do not carry.

henetha Fri 08-Oct-21 10:46:22

Some good ideas there, thank you. I had no idea we could use our tesco vouchers for this. And the delivery saver thing is great.

Tizliz Fri 08-Oct-21 09:02:20

I see that Tesco are only offering ‘any day’ delivery saver. Even at nearly a £100 a year it is still worth buying especially if you have vouchers to use.

MissAdventure Thu 07-Oct-21 22:57:14

That's what I do.
I stock up on toilet rolls, tinned stuff to make it up to the £40 and usually choose a time that costs £2.50.

Callistemon Thu 07-Oct-21 22:55:00

I had great difficulty getting a slot with any supermarkets at first last year even though I had a shielding letter.

Tesco were the only ones who listened after I sent a plea via a FB message.
It took 8 weeks but the systems are far better now, Franbern.

Having a fortnightly delivery so that your order is over the minimum £40 is a good idea, if you can go out for milk etc in between as annsixty said.

MissAdventure Thu 07-Oct-21 22:50:34

It's one of those things that is a bit daunting to try for the first time.
It seems as if everyone else knows how to do it.

Callistemon Thu 07-Oct-21 22:48:07

Ditto here with Tesco and Waitrose.

MissAdventure Thu 07-Oct-21 22:36:07

I use Asda, so possibly different again, but here is a run down of how it works.
1. Choose a delivery day and time. Prices vary accordingly. Click in your choice.
2. You can add to your shopping list for a good while after you've ordered. You can search for what you want then filter the results by price, brand, etc.
3. I use some really big bags and take them to the door.
The driver fetches the shopping in crates, so I load them, higgledy piggledy into the bags as they're only going to be unpacked in the kitchen.
The drivers are patient and chatty.
I will have been notified of any substitutes so i look out for those and hand them back if they arent wanted. The money is credited back to me when the driver hands them back in store.

Pammie1 Thu 07-Oct-21 22:25:34

During lockdown I started to use Amazon Prime now which works in conjunction with Morrisons. You can usually get a same day delivery if you need it. I wouldn’t use it for a main shop as it’s a bit limited in what you can order, but it’s really useful for smaller orders - minimum spend for free delivery is £40 and they pack your shopping into large sturdy brown paper sack bags which make great bin liners afterwards.

25Avalon Thu 07-Oct-21 22:15:14

Just placed a Waitrose order. They will now come in the house and unpack if you want, or they will put into your own bags on the doorstep. Delivery charge is £3.