Ocado start to cheese me off....

Padz_2

Another moan from me too. And we're not signed up to delivery pass.

Items missing when they are in stock at tome of ordering, in stock when packing is taking place and in stock after order is delivered WITHOUT them. Mainly Catsan Smart pack cat litter. Local supermarkets don't stock it but having been let down several times by Ocado I now buy it in bulk from Pets At Home.

Substitutions not listed. Whenever that happens I report the item as missing and get a refund on it.

VERY poor packing - items squashed, split, leaking. I've stopped ordering the delicious beef stroganof because it arrived burst 3 times on running. Bread always arrives mashed. Cream/yogurt leaks.

The biggest moan is that they never stick to delivery times. They are usually always up to an hour and a half early during the later cheaper night deliveries which is krap if you want to have a bath or walk the dog because you don't know when they are coming.

I'm about 2 more dodgy deliveries away from switching to Sainsburys.

competitionscafe

Ocado service seems to be going downhill as fast as their share price:
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2011/08/11/650591/goldman-delivers-another-ocado-downgrade/

Down almost 75% from their February high:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business/market_data/shares/3/161774/default.stm

ju1i3_2

I didn't realise I was doing so well. Very rarely are there any missing items now. Of course they still haven't sorted out the poor packing but it's so easy to get a refund I just accept it now I guess. I don't seem to get many substitutions. Maybe I've just been lucky. They turn up in the time slot 99% of the time.

Spark

I got a delivery tonight. Arrived in the time slot but had 1 item missing and 2 of my items have leaked in the bag, as they were ham and mushroom tagliatelle it was rather messy. I have been ordering them regularly and it's the first time they leaked.(both of them?):huh:
And I had a substitution too, for an item that shows in stock, once again.
Ju1i3, have you sign up for the delivery pass yet?

gregg1

Just cancelled our Christmas delivery for this thursday after yet another poor delivery last week where 8 items did not turn up, a tub of cream had leaked all over one bag of shopping, bread was squashed flat as a pancake and 1 poor substitution. Also cancelled our delivery pass renewal. I have always been a huge fan of Ocado and have shopped with them for quite a few years now but no more. Off to Sainsbury's/Asda.

competitionscafe

Ocado issued a profit warning today and blamed warehouse problems for the decline in service:

"Our view is that customers have finally got cheesed off by the declining service standards here. Clearly more orders are having to be picked by hand than was initially planned, and this technological breakdown has persisted much longer than even the bears feared."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/dec/19/ocado-shares-low-profit-warning

Ocado’s shareholders may be taking the heat from the market for the business’ performance but Ocado’s lending financiers must also becoming more concerned about the viability of this company as cash flow slips backwards.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2011/12/19/805451/van-man-down/

Judith_W

Well now that Waitrose deliver, it might be worth trying them out. Not sure how the price compares though.

cassie55

I must be lucky as I haven't experienced many problems with Ocado at all.

In fact, last year we had a murder in the street and the police were letting no one in or out (my husband's uncle was dying and they wouldn't even let him out to visit him). I was expecting an Ocado order and had mentally written it off. I was wondering whether I should call them and tell them to warn the driver that he won't get in, when there was a ring on the bell and the driver was standing there with my shopping.

Although the police wouldn't let him drive down the street, he persuaded them to allow him in on foot and he carried everything to my front door. He was the only person allowed in (and out) all that morning. I was very impressed.

Spark

"Our view is that customers have finally got cheesed off by the declining service standards here. Clearly more orders are having to be picked by hand than was initially planned, and this technological breakdown has persisted much longer than even the bears feared."

"Analysts argue Ocado, famous for its green-liveried vans, is being outflanked by larger rivals such as Waitrose, which has launched a competing service."

"The Ocado chief executive, Tim Steiner, said the profit warning was due to warehouse issues, not tougher competition."

If things are picked up by hands, I am not surprised anymore that there are so many problems with things squashed and missing items. I suppose if one product has to be picked up from the other side of the warehouse, some won't bother and will treat it as if it was out of stock.
Tim Steiner should be careful about underestimating the competition.
Ocado was different because the customer service was superior compared with other online grocers (especially when things were not going according to plan). That is mainly why I stayed with them. Furthermore, they were always on time (even early sometimes) and missing items were rare.
Waitrose also has a good reputation with customer service, and will be more likely to be the next choice for Ocado customers who are in search of the kind of service that Ocado was offering before they started going downhill. After all, people are already used to Waitrose products as Ocado is selling them.
I have never had any problems with the drivers, but they are not the ones who are filling up the bags.

LudaMusser

Ocado are opening a new warehouse in the next twelve months. They currently have one warehouse where all orders come from. The current warehouse in Hertfordshire is running pretty much at capacity, two new branches were also opened this year (Wimbledon & Bristol, Oxford opening shortly) Once the new warehouse opens it will have a huge impact on deliveries. Lorries are currently traveling from Hertfordshire all the way to Leeds etc. so imagine the amount of traffic they have to battle through on the M6 resulting in delays, this can knock on to you. The new warehouse is in the midlands so it will mean alot less traveling time.
I work for Ocado and do not agree that the company treat their employees badly like a previous poster said. Unless you are an employee how do you know how we are treated? I personally think that they really look after their employees and are a good company to work for.
With regards to damaged products, by the time your order reaches your door it could have travelled over 200 miles, that`s alot of speedbumps and country lanes to go down. Some of the roads I have to go down can hardly be classed as roads, the surfaces are so poor. Packaging is monitored but some poor packaging slips through. The call centre can be told about bad packaging and they can then pass the info on so it can be flagged. You can also recieve a text message to let you know about any missing items or subs to give you a heads up a few hours before the driver arrives. HTH