Online grocery shopping delivery - awkward?

Izbizzle

Might sound strange, but... When you get a home delivery from a supermarket, what do the drivers 'do' when you're emptying the crates? I live in a first floor flat, and I've only done my shopping online a few times, with different supermarkets. When I do, I get quite a lot, and the drivers bring the crates up and just sort of stand there while I empty them onto the hallway floor, bag by bag. Do they assume they need to help you 'put the stuff away' or are they meant to empty the crates for you or what? It's just a bit awkward piling it all onto the floor with them stood there watching. Kinda puts me off doing it online (probably just me though I am quite an awkward person )

mummyroysof3

if you need them to i think they will help you or if not im sure they happy to stand and wait till you have all the bags in you flat hth

sassyblue

They bring it into the kitchen and I just empty the crates on the floor, what do you mean 'do they assume you need help to put it away' they only unload it for you??

zenseeker

They're used to people unloading the crates, so just stop thinking about it.

I pile the bags on the floor just inside the door (2nd floor flat) while they stand there and they are happy enough.

on-the-count-of-three

My porch door is awkward so I generally don't ask them to bring the crates in.
If they are not going back to collect more crates I find the drivers generally lift the crates for me so I don't have to bend, maybe pass me the odd couple of bags if I've not quite emptied the crate. They move & stack the empty crates too, so I've not really experienced them just standing there. Even if they did though, I'm sure they're quite happy..no need to feel awkward at all.

Edited to add. Just thought, if you live on the first floor, they are probably recuperating after bringing the crates up so are probably more than happy just to stand there for a few minutes.

Rolandtheroadie

Any I have had brings the crate and sits it on the top step to empty. He places them on the hall floor and I take it away to the kitchen whilst he collects more crates.

cooking-mama

Is the issue with "bagless" shopping?...I cant remember what supermarket offers this facility(I hate carrier bags),and ive often wondered how you get your shopping indoors if its not packed in bags.
on the other hand when ive had an online delivery the driver leaves a crate of bags at the front door and i unload this whilst he goes to collect another from the van and so on.
Could anyone tell me how the bagless shopping delivery works?

on-the-count-of-three

cooking-mama wrote: »

Is the issue with "bagless" shopping?...I cant remember what supermarket offers this facility(I hate carrier bags),and ive often wondered how you get your shopping indoors if its not packed in bags.
on the other hand when ive had an online delivery the driver leaves a crate of bags at the front door and i unload this whilst he goes to collect another from the van and so on.
Could anyone tell me how the bagless shopping delivery works?

It's Tesco. I tried it once, trying to be good.:A
Basically everything comes loose in the crate so of course it takes longer to unload. After the driver left I obviously tried to pick up & carry too much, ended up dropping something that split & spilled all over the hall floor, carrot & coriander soup I think, leaving it a lovely shade & an extra clean up job. Never again.:D
Tesco do take the bags back though next time they deliver. I just stuff them all in one bag & hand them back to the driver next time.

billywhizz

I leave the driver standing on the doorstep and take each crate into the kitchen and empty it and bring it back to swap for a full one, we get bagless deliveries from Tesco. The Drivers never seem to mind

elmer

the drivers here all bring my delivery into the kitchen where i unload the crates on to the kitchen worktops, they usually give me the fridge and frozen stuff seperately so that I can put them away straight away.

elmer

Celyn

Izbizzle wrote: »

... It's just a bit awkward piling it all onto the floor with them stood there watching. Kinda puts me off doing it online (probably just me though I am quite an awkward person )

I imagine the delivery man encounters extremes of

- customers who want help to take stuff to the kitchen and right into the fridge

and

- customers who, for whatever reason, want minimal interaction with the delivery fella. This could be people either a bit snobbish about delivery men, or people who are just in general nervous and awkward in the situation. Or even people who might have an obsessive worry about what germs other people's shoes might put on the hallway carpet - that sort of thing.

And for each delivery, they just don't quite know what the customer would prefer - you know, the unpredictable fun and games of dealing with the great British public.

I find that they offer to bring it in, I say "gosh, no, lets dump it all here (just inside doorway) and I'll sort it later", and they'll sort of help by pulling stuff out of crate and handing it over etc. Now that you mention it, I realise that the delivery man, his offer to bring it all inside having been turned down, is being awfully careful not to intrude. What I mean is, if the guy is just standing there watching, he might be thinking that you'd consider it rude and intrusive for him even to set foot inside your doorway. In other words, there's some chance he is feeling awkward too.

I do know what you mean about feeling awkward, and I sympathise, but for a couple of minutes of slight awkwardness and a fluster of "thank you"s, it's still less hassle than trying to carry a ton of stuff home. (Or so I tell myself). And as someone else said, if he has carried a load of shopping upstairs, he's probably catching his breath and thinking of where he has to go next. Or thinking of what he'll watch on telly later, or what he'll do at the weekend ....

You could try greeting them with "hello, lovely, thanks etc and hey, could you just help me put it all just here (or help bring it into the kitchen/whatever") That way the chap knows whether you'd be happy with him helping or would prefer him to stay outside the door. If he knows help would be welcome, I'm sure he'd be happy with that - after all, it gets your delivery done more quickly, then he can go on to the next one.

Haha, just think how much more awkward it would be if one were suddenly to win the lottery and have a great big mansion and a whole "Upstairs Downstairs" army of servants. Ah, the bright side of being impecunious and getting delivery from supermarket 'cos it's cheaper than travelling there and back. Yeah, I knew there must be a bright side.