How to get a delivery slot - one website for all

Shoppingslot.co.uk have changed their tack. I went on the site yesterday, first time for a while, and there were loads of available slots at every single store. I couldn't believe my eyes. Then I looked closer, and noticed a little green tab on each slot, with small print that I could barely read. On closer inspection it read "via Shift".

So I clicked on a timeslot, which brought up a page telling me all about Shift. They will do your shopping for you, for a weekly subscription of £8. It's not the stores that have the slots, it's Shift. Who, I assume, is owned by Shoppingslot.

Would any of you be prepared to pay £8 a week to a company you know nothing about, and trust them to do your shopping responsibly, making sensible substitutions? And what happens if, after they've delivered and left, you find items missing? Or there are items you didn't order? I trust the supermarkets to deal with these issues promptly, but I know nothing about Shift.

Iceland: no dates available

Waitrose have been dismissive verging on rude.
Their knowledge of geography is abysmal too.

I am offered slots by Waitrose who emailed not long after the start of the lockdown to say they were giving priority to regular customers. . They were very apologetic about referring indirectly to my advanced years - 72.
Ocado have also emailed offering me priority slots so I really can’t complain
I think the slot booking panic has abated along with both companies taking on extra staff to increase the number and spread of both rounds and of slots.

I have twice managed to get a Waitrose delivery slot because I happened to wake up in the middle of the night.

Although OH and I are both well into our 70s and both have Waitrose cards, their system doesn't seem to offer us any favours.

After I had a delivery I asked the delivery man to report this to whoever was up the chain of command.

As a result I did get a call from someone who told me that "We were typical of their demographic" - ie most Waitrose customers are old so their is no way we can get any advantage.

I'll just have to keep trying in the middle of the night.

B9exchange, very useful thank you. Asda and Waitrose have slots for tomorrow here. It will save me time going through all the shop websites when I want to order.

If you monitor the supermarket sites all day long, you find that a few slots can come up randomly at any time of day (at least that is my experience with Tesco and Morrisons).
You can't predict when they will come up, unlike the slots that generally come up at midnight.

I guess that this website alerts people when these random slots appear, but that you will have to be quick off the mark ....

Why are they doing it if they don't charge? Some people just do things because they can!

No, pm. I have twice got a slot by looking at that time. One was a couple of weeks away the other a few days.

I wondered whether perhaps people sometimes grab more slots than they need and then cancel at the last minute? I took the slot that was only a few days away just "because it was there" and I had no guarantee of getting another. Then after more thought and a closer look at the cupboard, I looked again next day and found a slot a couple of days after my original one, which was more convenient to me, so I changed to it. That would have freed the other for someone else.

Grannywannynanny there are no slots for Tesco up to 6th June here!
I have been refreshing the page all afternoon.
Yes, we have no bananas, or anything else for that matter.

Did you mean 2 - 2.30 am, Elegran, I have heard that that is the best time?

Grannynannywanny Try Tesco at about 2-2.30 pm,

B9exchange sorry, not you, thank you for your help!
It is just very frustrating not being able to go out now until mid-July! and not being able to get a grocery delivery slot.

That link tells me that Waitrose has delivery slots available this week, but the Waitrose site itself has no slots available and never has had any.

We've been getting Tesco slots but none are available for the foreseeable future - right up as far as the middle of June.

Looks like we may be rather hungry by then.

Just Iceland in my area who I m already using Not my best shop as it doesn’t have lots of things I normally would get but
I ve been getting two weekly deliveries from them for general stuff which I ve been grateful for
I m longing to do my own shopping again

I think with Tesco it depends on where you live and the pull on deliveries.
It's not easy getting slots where I am but I manage to get mine from 12-4 am during the night, never managed during the day. It is a pain having to stay up but what else can you do.

I’ve been finding it impossible to get Tesco slot for delivery or click and collect. Followed recent tip to try late at night when more slots released. Started 10pm last night, first couldn’t even get on Tesco site. Then was told hold on in a queue. After 2 hrs I reached the calendar to view slots. It went as far as May 15th and not a single slot available

They don't monitor Sainsbury's or Morrison's the two I'm registered with.

No availability in my area, although I do have two booked for the next 16 days. Good idea for us who had never bought this way before. Thank you

None in my area

Well done for trying to help people, B9exchange!

We're on the Sainsburys vulnerable households list, so can get slots, but if this wasn't the case, I'd certainly be using this. Apparently it was co-founded by Sabrina Stocker, who I do remember as an Apprentice candidate.

Not sure if same site.
But read about something similar the other day online.
Which said that it had been set up by a 22 year old man.

D'Dog the option is there to pay if you want alerts when slots become free, that and adverts is how they will make their money.

I assume the developers have worked out an algorhithm to keep panning supermarket sites and copy across vacant slots to their website, which once set up could be automatic.

I just thought it might be a useful tool for those who are struggling to get a slot anywhere, I have no connection with the site, it was just flagged up on the moneysavingexpert.com website, which has useful tips.

I am thrilled for you DanniRae, there were a couple of Iceland slots for my area on there this morning. Haven't yet seen any slots for the other three on there, but beggars can't be choosers!

It worked for me - only needed my postcode.
I have an Iceland order coming tomorrow and I only used the site for first time yesterday!!
Thank you B9

This makes no sense to me. Why would supermarkets get involved, as they are inundated with orders and can't keep up with the demand for slots as it is?

Also, why would the web developers go to the trouble of building a site and hosting it without a fee for use? Unless it is run and paid for by the council and is exclusively for the use of shielded or vulnerable people, I don't understand it. If anyone can use it, it is not a charitable thing, so who is putting in the money?

Personally, I would be more inclined to use something like this if they charged for the service, as at least that way I could see the reason for it, but I wouldn't touch it as a 'free' service without knowing a lot more.

I've got a few supermarkets near me - Asda, Sainsbury's and Iceland. No slots available. The same with Morrison's and Tesco (near my workplace). I've got Aldi and Lidl a mile away, but of course, they don't deliver anyway.

It's carrying on queueing then