New to online supermarket shopping-any tips?

spiritus

I am trying to do some shopping for my elderly mum and wanting to avoid any crowded supermarkets so I have become an online grocery shopping virgin!
I naively thought that if I placed my order and paid for it then the items which were in stock at that time would be reserved for my delivery but clearly I have been an idiot about this and that isn't the case.
I now find myself obsessively checking my shopping cart (delivery due tomorrow) to see how many items Tesco have removed and it's becoming a real challenge to keep up with everything.
I originally has "substitutions selected" by default but was concerned that some of the substitutions were not really appropriate.
Any tips would be appreciated.

drspa44

We are in very unusual times. Usually substitutions are rare and worth accepting, as you can always refuse them on the doorstep if they aren't good enough. However some supermarkets are temporarily not allowing you to do this as they want to keep a safe distance between you and the driver.

Depending on where you live and which shop you use, the stock might be sourced from a warehouse or a 'dark store', where you have a better chance of getting the items you've paid for. Otherwise, they will be picked off the shelves of a real supermarket store and if other customers have emptied them, there will be nothing left. You might be able to work out your chances based on your location with a bit of Googling, but unfortunately there is so much demand and so delivery slots are only available far in advance anyway.

AndyPK

Hi.

If I am trying to select a Sainsburys delivery slot and it shows it as - 
does that mean it isn't available? It shows that for 3 weeks. 
It did briefly show I could pay for a Saturday delivery but that seam to have gone ? 

drspa44

If they all show ---, they are all unavailable . I get the same checking in my area. I can only suggest trying again throughout the week at different times of the day. When a new day becomes available, it will probably have lots of capacity, but I don't know when this would be - possibly midnight? And of course that would only be useful if you wanted a delivery in 3 weeks time.

pelirocco

Its not normally a problem but i have  noticed every time I have logged in to add forgotten items  this week the cost of my shopping has gone .I then have to try  and work out what is missing ,I have enabled allow substitutions in the hope of getting something vaguely resembling what I have ordered 

spiritus

pelirocco said:

Its not normally a problem but i have  noticed every time I have logged in to add forgotten items  this week the cost of my shopping has gone .I then have to try  and work out what is missing ,I have enabled allow substitutions in the hope of getting something vaguely resembling what I have ordered 

Yep-it's becominga full time job checking what is missing

hangthedj

Like many of us I am now switching to getting my groceries delivered and trying to understand how this works. I got a delivery today, phew. A few of the items have been noted as unavailable, so they have not been delivered, understandable in light of what is happening out there. However my credit card has been charged for all shopping, including these unavailable items. I cannot see mention in their help page of unavailable item refunds. I cannot use Asdas online system to request a refund, as only delivered items appear on this list, to request a refunded. I am assuming/hoping that at some point I will get a refund for these items automatically. But I may have to phone them up to ask for this. 
Can anyone with previous Asda experience tell me are these refunds reliable, will I get anywhere with this on the phone, or should I just raise a Resolver query to try and get a more direct response?
thanks!

dlusman

if everything works correctly you will  get an automatic  refund  - see
http://asda-stores.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail_grow/a_id/1869/~/how-we-take-payment

Geoff_W

I'm trying to place an online order at Asda, having only just signed up. I have created my shopping order but can't work out how to check out. It is asking me to select a delivery slot (or Click & Collect slot) but I cannot select anything. Most delivery slots say "Sold out" but some display an 'X'  (what does this mean?) When I hover over the X's, a time slot is displayed but clicking it does nothing. Because nothing gets selected there is no option to continue with the checkout. I'm new to this online shopping malarkey and I don't find this process very intuitive. There is no help on the Asda site and I can't get through to them on the phone. Help please!

drspa44

Geoff_W said:

I'm trying to place an online order at Asda, having only just signed up. I have created my shopping order but can't work out how to check out. It is asking me to select a delivery slot (or Click & Collect slot) but I cannot select anything. Most delivery slots say "Sold out" but some display an 'X'  (what does this mean?) When I hover over the X's, a time slot is displayed but clicking it does nothing. Because nothing gets selected there is no option to continue with the checkout. I'm new to this online shopping malarkey and I don't find this process very intuitive. There is no help on the Asda site and I can't get through to them on the phone. Help please!

I am not sure exactly what the difference between 'Sold out' and 'X' is, but they both mean unavailable. Possibly X means that even if they had van capacity, they would not like to sell it. Depending on what people buy, supermarket deliveries are sometimes loss-making for the retailer, so it may be that Asda has decided to focus on in-store.

My only advice would be to check for slots at different times of the day, in the expectation that in the best case you'd only be able to get a slot on the last day they offer (3 weeks out). You can also try other supermarkets that deliver, but in most cases, the situation will likely be the same.

Pandemic or not, it is a good idea to book your delivery slot before building your order, as you'll have more certainty that a suitable slot is available. The day of delivery can also affect what stock is available and what promotions are running.

Geoff_W

@drspa44 Many thanks for your comments. I have signed up to both Tesco and Morrisons but neither of these has any slots either. My usual supermarket Sainsburys is not accepting new registrations at all. I am concerned that my only option is to visit a store in person, but this will expose me to possible infection. Being in a vulnerable group  (mid 70's), this is not good.