The best and the worst so far

An organisation doing wonderful things: Two Generations homeshare programme. They match young people with elderly people & after the various safety checks have been done (including COV-19 protocol!) the homeshare begins. The young person helps out by getting food shopping, picking up prescriptions & offering some vital company. It's incredible, so many young people have been coming forward in these difficult times Warms your cockles.

I wrote more about it here:

medium.com/@hayleycannoninfo/the-lives-of-isolated-elderly-people-can-be-transformed-through-homesharing-with-young-people-3c704bce7913

Hope some of you find this useful, or at the very least heart warming

The best? Almost all local shops, have gone out of their way to make deliveries, except for our local greengrocers, they made the first delivery a box of fruit and veg for £20, & it was fantastic. Unfortunately only the first box. From then it was a disgraceful waste of money. The only description for the contents of future boxes was rotten or bendy.

Not impressed by Morrison's on line delivery service, they would deliver anything but nothing in stock. Everything said out of stock. Sainsbury not much good as we don't get the famous letter. Tesco has been brilliant.

And the neighbours are best of all. Everyone is out to help one another!

Our local milkman (it's a woman, though) from Milk and More has reliably supplied basics throughout. They kept their existing customers and took on a limited number of new ones. Vegtoyourdoor (local) supplied lovely fresh fruit/veg boxes.

Sainsbury's have lost a lot of regular customers. They denied access to their regular online customers and concentrated on the shielded instead.

We, obviously, ordered elsewhere (Asda, Iceland, Waitrose and Tesco) and won't be returning when the shielded desert them.

Oh, and I should allow a few extra days due to ongoing delays with their couriers.

I might have known I’d get my come uppance after saying I’ve not had any problems. I ordered a weekly comic subscription over a week ago from WH Smith for two of the grandsons and just enquired as to how long it would be till they got the first issue.

8 to 10 weeks.

Amazon have been brilliant delivering items quickly with no problems. The delivery co Hermes lost one delivery from the Chemist.co and when I tried to order it again it was was out of stock !

Oops meant that the people who tend not to follow the arrows are those wearing hazmat suits....... because the rules don’t apply to them .

To add to my growing list ....

Barclays are still way out in front of the worst by far ........ 4hrs and 40 minutes is my record for being in hold to them.

Asda (where I get my dads shopping. Who took a load of temp staff on at the beginning of the CV crisis, promised them work until Christmas and then got rid last week.

Asda again for those dreadful arrows that only some people feel the need to follow (usually the ones wearing hazmat suits, masks gloves and breathing apparatus) .

Still Sutton’s seeds for taking £48 from me almost 3 months ago and delivering 3 dead lupins. Still not answering emails and phone lines conveniently cut off.

On the positives this week I have Wickes . Queued for about 15 minutes yesterday to get some seals for my hand basin that was leaking. Well organised, straight in straight out, no fuss.

Local companies that have started delivery's to help people have been great. I have had some lovely veg boxes and they have included other things and flour in them. Also teh Coop have been great. They offer small deliveries of only up to 20 items but you can always get a slot (I haven't been able to get one from any of the othe supermarkets) my husband goes shopping about once every 10 days but I have found the COOP great for top up shops and for when my husband can't find certain items I need

We’ve had no problems with anyone, and I’m more than happy (and grateful) to Sainsburys for our regular grocery deliveries, to our local pharmacy for the prescription deliveries, to the refuse collectors, the postwoman, the window cleaner (who’s just been once, but it made all the difference!) and the online companies we’ve ordered from - Boden, White Stuff, Boots, Superdrug, Amazon, The Personalised Gifts Company, Van Meuwen - for keeping going in these times.

Oh, and to our cheerful and reliable Hermes driver, who delivered most of our orders and who drives down the street so often we thought at first that he was a new neighbour.

Some deliveries have taken a while to arrive, but that’s only to be expected and I’m certainly not complaining.

Caro57 I too have a problem with something being returned! A Fridge Frezer from Argos.

Been stuck in my lounge 5 weeks now, the chap dropped it at the front door(and I mean dropped it)! it crushed all the corner, Argos sent me a new one, but stuck with this till whenever.

I'm sure it still works, Plus I only have a small lounge, its now become part of the furniture stuck there in its big brown box

Worst for me is Sainsbury's. Been shopping online with them for 15 years or more but as they are 'unable to identify me as vulnerable' I don't even get the chance to try to book a slot. They want me to get on 2 buses and travel for 2h each way... I've been able to get a slot with Morrison's for 26th - booked 2 weeks ago, and a neighbour orders me a few bits with her regular Asda order (she's shielding). I don't like to ask for too much tho, so only ask for 2 or 3 things of which 2 are usually out of stock on the day.
I haven't risked the bus to the local supermarket (Asda) as have heard horrendous stories. I did risk the bus to the nearest good shopping centre as I had a list of 6 shops to go to and my neighbour needed ibuprofen & I needed paracetamol. Boots were excellent! Not only did they allow me to buy 2x16 ibuprofen but also 2x32 paracetamol. I have to take 8 a day and most shops limit you to 2x16.
Tried the local greengrocer's delivery but it was heavy on potatoes (do single people eat 2kg + 2 large baking in a week?) and root veg. Fruit wasn't great either and I think I threw out more than I ate.
On the whole I'm not doing too badly - getting to use up stuff in the freezer that's been there a year +. Just a bit light on the fresh stuff.

Don't get me started on Hermes! Last year we were out walking when we returned neighbour told us that a large Hermes van had scraped right along the side of our car! It was a mess. Driver had got out and had a look, then promptly took off. Neighbour shouted at him but he ignored her.
I contacted Hermes and they said this was not possible as they had no deliveries in our street that day and unless I could supply the parcel ref number there was nothing they could do!

Our local greengrocers and butchers have been brilliant with our deliveries as have Morrison’s as have most of the people we have been using

Saggi the people complaining about Barclays have businesses who need help at this time and Barclays are letting them down badly.

Amazon is the best!! I must have shares in the business by now!!!??

Had sworn off online shopping but Amazon are fantastic- think I must have shares in the business by now!!????????

Toolstation, B&Q, The Stockshop, JustEat. Superb service.
Well done to you all.
I am really impressed by the service i've received from everyone i've come into contact with.
I will definitely continue to support local, and indeed all uk businesses in the future.

I haven't had a delivery for over 3 weeks. Cant get one with any of the supermarkets. Thoroughly p****d off. This morning there was Asda, Tesco & Waitrose delivering to my neighbours. They all seem to get weekly deliveries which makes me even madder. My SiL gets me bits & pieces when he goes to Waitrose 1x a week But his idea of what I want and what I want are poles apart. I will have to go myself soon which isn’t particularly a good idea and DD1 will go mad. I have abided by the rules for 8 weeks & haven’t left the village but onTuesday I have to take my car (if it starts) for an urgent service 10 miles away. Will take a chair, rug & book & sit on the grassy patch outside for however long it takes. I had my first visit to the village shop yesterday. The assistant gave me a bag and licked her fingers to open it . I practically had a Dettol bath on returning home. She also said they took cash which shocked me. I have had a couple of deliveries of presents - hampers fromDevon organised by DD3 so cheers to her & Darts Farm and Greendale Farm ??

Received good communication and timely deliveries from: Lakeland, Seasalt, Webbs direct, Field & Flower Butchery and deli , Fennel & Ginger online foods, Moonpig and of course Amazon.
Disappointed with only 2 : Homebase ( split order and 3 weeks for some of it to arrive without telling me that up front ), and Superdrug (requested prescription drugs and they didn’t get delivered for 3.5 weeks).

Forgot to mention J Parkers for plants. Always good service from them and they have been coping well with more orders than usual when garden centres have been shut.

Oakhouse food have been excellent keeping me fed whilst shielding. Haiths wild animal feeds who have kept the birds and hedgehogs fed, excellent customer service and delivery. The worse, the mail who closed the local post office so could not record delivery of my granddaughters birthday card. Result, arrived at her home damaged with the money missing.

Get seeds from Kings...you may just an email from them saying theyvr received your order & then within a week they drop through your letterbox! Always reliable

I must give a mention to the good old Co-op, we have a small store near us and I can order online and get a delivery either the same day or the following day. You are limited to 20 items but it's handy for fresh food.

Hats off to plantsbypost.com, I ordered nemesia on Monday, they arrived on Thursday looking fresh and lovely, now planted in my tubs and looking good already.
Iceland have been amazing since the beginning of lockdown, their fresh fruit has been a wonderful surprise and I intend to stick with them when all this is a distant memory.
Matalan delivered cotton slacks and polo shirts for Mr P in good time.
Wordery delivered books to grandchildren in time for birthdays.
Posties, bin collectors, pharmacy deliveries, all top notch.
Fortunately all our needs have been met and we are profoundly grateful.
So far so good, no let downs to report.