Online Groceries!

When I woke up this morning- that is to say when I woke up, extracted the drooling baby from my right boob, my hair from under the drooling husbands* head and took two aspirin for my aching head- I was terribly excited! Why? Two words. Grocery Delivery. My weekly grocery shopping was being delivered to me! By Sainsburys! By two gorgeous hunks in tight tshirts! With rippling muscles! (Or maybe not...)

So, I busied myself with this weeks bread challenge and then cleaned up the kitchen, and hit Tesco for a paper. By the time I got back it was twenty past eleven and a Sainsburys truck was just pulling up out front. Awesome! Yeah! Woo!

In came the balding middle aged delivery guy (oh, well...) with some sheets of paper and explained the process to me, what to do if I abhor their substitutions, who to call if they screw up, what color bags the stuff is in, when to expect deliveries in the future (apparently either late or early, ha ha guess which!), etc.

Then the groceries. |As the Ocado man brought them in, my DH and I inspected the substitution list. Spicy refried beans? Well, o-kay... Duracell batteries for 5.99? No, thank you. Pampers diapers for 40p more? Jesus, I suppose... Cheese Pizza instead of pepperoni? Somehow, my husband will survive.

After that, the delivery man left, and I ran out with a tip for him and his assistant, 2 quid each...

Then DH and I went to the task of putting things away. Except, oops!! Can't make chicken enchiladas without the chicken! And somehow, Strawberry shortcake just isn't the same without the strawberries. The kids might miss their yogurts at lunchtime, too.

All in all about 12 items were missing. |And I had a mysterious extra bag of potatoes and onions I hadnt ordered. So, onto the phone.

Now, before getting on the phone I was a bit annoyed. They charged me 5quid to deliver the flaming groceries and they had forgot half of them! I wasn't sure I'd be trying this little experiment again. But, the guy on the phone was really great. He spoke to the driver, about 30 miles away at this point, who, haha- oops! put them in with the wrong order. She had my dinner staples, and I had her bags of cheap onions and potatoes.

I was told he could be back here around 3:00. When I mentioned the delivery fee- he said he would give me a 10 pound voucher.

Shortly before 3:00, the delivery guy turned up again, missing groceries in hand, chicken and mince still cold. He handed me the groceries, and then the voucher from behind his back. (um, yeah- not amusing.) and apoligized. No harm done, I said. Which really meant "Give me my 2 quid back."

All in all, a good experience and I would recommend it- assuming the missing groceries is a one off mistake. The good customer service, accurate delivery time and competance of the guy on the phone are good things.

The negatives would be the 5 pound delivery charge, obviously the missing groceries, and the not bad but not quite what I wouldve chosen myself quality of the apples. I was also annoyed that the 6 pack of water I had ordered turned out not to be the large 2liter bottles, but the small individual sizes, the pizzas were also much smaller than I usually get. The prices seemed the same though, despite the size difference. Probably my fault, but I tend to think maybe their website could be a bit more descriptive. Does anyone know what size pizza they get? Doubtful, you just grab the box and go.


The negatives seem to outweight the positives, but with the incredible conveinance of it, knowing I won't have to spend 3 hours ordering next time, and having a ten pound vochure in hand have convinced me to give it another go. Though next time, mistakes like that won't be quiet so forgiveable...