OT: Is it just me or are people getting thicker?

[Commander Kinsey]

Conversation between me and two Tesco folk by email in the uppity titled= "Tesco Customer Engagement Centre":

Me: The 4 hour slot option is not working, virtually none are available, yet= the whole day can have 1 hour slots free. Almost every delivery I get, = the driver tells me that he's been given deliveries in an inefficient or= der. If you fixed the 4 hour slots and people used them, the system coul= d make his route in a more efficient way.

Tesco person 1: I'm sorry you couldn=E2=80=99t get the delivery slot you wanted. Our stores have a limited number of delivery slots which are available o= n a first come, first serve basis. Once all the slots have been filled, = we can't accept any more orders for that day. You can book your delivery slot before you start placing your order. Thi= s guarantees you a slot, rather than being disappointed after adding all= your items to your basket. Here=E2=80=99s how to book your slot first: [snip]

Me: I don't have a problem booking a slot, I just select one of the 1 hour s= lots. I was just pointing out that the 4 hour slots are not available wh= en they should be, since the 1 hour slots are available for the whole da= y. If this problem was fixed, drivers could get more sensible routes, as= the customers could be placed at any time within the 4 hours. A number = of the drivers have told me they're getting very inefficient routes.

Tesco person 2: I've had a look into this and unfortunately all the 4 hour slots have be= en booked up. I'm afraid this is not actually a website error. As my col= league advised previously our slots are subject to availability on a fir= st come, first served basis. We know that, during this incredibly challe= nging time, it=E2=80=99s been hard to find home delivery and Click+Colle= ct slots. It=E2=80=99s down to a huge increase in demand for online deli= veries across the whole country.

Me: Sorry but that doesn't make sense. If the one hour slots for 6-7, 7-8, 8=

-9, and 9-10 all have a free slot, then it should be possible to pick 6-=

10, and the system will put me in whichever slot ends up free.

[Brian Gaff (Sofa)]

Ah, yes not a new problem I think, its only been shown up due to the increased demand. The people you speak to cannot change the way the we site decides, and the errors are not so obvious when its not being used as much as it is of late. I suspect a bug, but you have a terrible time getting to speak to a web designer who can in any way alter the system. Nobody is going to alter it and risk more problems in the middle of this pandemic, so I guess the drivers and the efficiency of deliveries and fuel usage is not going to change. It would be interesting to know if other supermarket system share the same weird preferential slot allocation algorithm? Brian

[Commander Kinsey]

I don't know about the others, since I prefer Tesco. More variety, better stock levels, and no limits on how many of each thing you can buy (these all refer to pre-virus conditions).

I just checked Morrisons and Asda, and they don't have a 4 hour slot option.

[alan_m]

Perhaps you should chat with them to discuss why they don't have a method that doesn't work for tesco

[Dave Liquorice]

Don't Sainsburys offer an "eco" option which is supposed to group deliveries together based on area? ie it flags up those slots which already have a delivery "nearby" as eco.

[Commander Kinsey]

It sort of works, sometimes you get a 4 hour slot. Anyway I'm not interested in Morrisons and Asda, they have less selection of food, and half of it is out of stock.

[Commander Kinsey]

That sounds like a good idea. Not that I'd use Sainsburys as they cost a fortune. And is that "ecological" or "economy"? I do hate it when people shorten things and cause ambiguity. I wouldn't use it for environmental bullshit, but I would to save money.

[Dave Liquorice]

It's "sold" on enviromental grounds and I think there is a price difference as well but not sure which way. GIYF.

[Ed Pawlowski]

Is this a UK thing? I have no idea WTF you are talking about.

[Richard]

Just get your arse to the shop and stop whining.

[alan_m]

All the major UK supermarkets offer on-line shopping and home delivery of those orders which since the pandemic lock-down has seen a massive increase in demand.

[Commander Kinsey]

This is the 21st century, the shop comes to my door.

[Commander Kinsey]

Don't you get home deliveries of food over there? Don't tell me you still have to drive to the shop? How time consuming!

[Commander Kinsey]

That's me out then, I refuse to use anything "green".

G spies on you. DDGIYF.

[Commander Kinsey]

Odd, since I thought they stopped the signup process when it started. I had luckily signed up about a month previously.