Am I alone?

[devonwoody]

Janet & I are classed as shielded, and we get priority delivery food service at our local Sainsbury supermarket and the deliveries are regular around 7am each Monday morning which is good, but!
Quite honestly I feel that the quality of some items that are selected by the packers are items that visiting customers at the store would not touch with a bargepole.
Do other members here suffer this problem?

 

[Rorschach]

No you are not. We don't get deliveries for just this reason. We are very often given items by our neighbour (who does have deliveries) that are in poor condition and won't keep.

 

[marcros]

I haven't used it recently, but on previous Tesco deliveries I was always very happy with the quality of fresh produce, and any substitutions were generally branded upgrades. There was the odd substitute that I rejected but that was never a problem. I would give them 9.5/10 but it was before Covid.

 

[eezageeza]

We buy from Sainsburys online for my mum, who is also shielding, and she often complains that the stuff that arrives is not of the best quality.
We put it down to the picker/driver being under time pressure, and assuming that quality control has been carried out before the goods get on the shelves, so if its there for picking, it must be okay!
Its very apparent that they don't look at what they're picking up with any sort of critical eye.

 

[Chris152]

I've had deliveries from Tesco for years - if anything's sub-standard, I call and they refund in full. Maybe try that? No reason you should put up with poor quality because it's being delivered.

 

[sunnybob]

I would leave any substandard items out for collection on the next delivery, with an explanatory note. Also telephone the store manager, be polite, never ever rant over the phone, the person the other end will close their mind.
They are under enormous stress and time pressure, and mistakes will happen, but just as if you went into the store, you have the right to return unsatisfactory products. Stay safe, even if it must be driving you crackers by now =D> =D>

 

[SammyQ]

Yup. Morrisons and Tesco's; quality of fresh fruit can be variable to say the least. "Substitutions" are another area where I raise an eyebrow...we have got canny to this and now 'disallow' substitutions.

Sam

 

[devonwoody]

Thanks for your replies so I now do not feel such a moany old so and so.
The loaf of bread that arrived today with next days expiry and I know I cannot get another delivery slot for a week , ( the bread and many veg never last the week anyway) and the wife said she is not even going to bother taking the skins off two of the bananas .
I think I will take the advice of one who suggests ring the local store, who now do not display their local number anymore (got an old receipt knocking around somewhere with a number) and return high cost items and inform him he should accept even food items if the quality does not reach my standard?

 

[Phil Pascoe]

In the past I've found Tesco brilliant. You can return anything you wish to and any short date is always notified. I have not returned anything in four years. Why would they send out stuff they know is likely to be returned? That makes no sense economically, as most of it (especially refridgerated stuff) won't be put back on the shelves. Substitutions are great, as they're always of higher value than than the goods ordered - I think the days of daft computer generated substitutions seem to be gone. Morrisons I can't speak for, as we have our first delivery from them on Wednesday.
I an disabled but not at particular risk, and the annoying thing with Tesco is that though we are lucky to get one delivery a month (limited to 80 items - when we have pre paid this service for years) there has not been one word of apology. I have a couple of neighbours in the same boat. That's one of the reasons we're trying Morrisons (some good deals on wine being another).

edit - just ordered a mixed case.

 

[Chris152]

I've never had to return anything to Tesco, Phil - I just phone the number they give on the receipt, quick conversation and they issue the refund, I keep whatever it was I complained about.

 

[SammyQ]

I an disabled but not at particular risk, and the annoying thing with Tesco is that though we are lucky to get one delivery a month (limited to 80 items - when we have pre paid this service for years) there has not been one word of apology. I have a couple of neighbours in the same boat.

I have commented elsewhere (WH2) about my seven week battle with NHS and the supermarkets to get a 95-year-old living alone, a chemo patient with no immune system and an 86-year-old with C.O.P.D. living alone, onto the "vulnerable" list. Apparently, the C.O.P.D. patient "isn't sick enough" according to his specialist asthma nurse...I have managed to get deliveries to the other two, via the local council acting directly to Tesco and Sainsburys, but at nothing like weekly frequency, despite being 'on the list'.

So Phil, quite agree, Blojo(b), ******* and the rest of the suited, drawling, certain-school, 'elite' that have foisted chaos on us are so inadequate cerebrally (including providing for the vulnerable: DW et al) they couldn't find their anal sphincter with both hands.

Sam

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I was doubly irritated when my neighbour, a parish councillor told me they had 500 Tesco delivery slots they could give to people they THOUGHT vulnerable. Maybe if Tesco had spare slots they could have given them back to the people who'd already paid for them? I'm certainly going to asked for my susbscription back. We did get a couple of Click and Collects .......... limited to 80 items (as is delivery, a waste of time when you're lucky to get one a month) and then had to pay extra for them as it's a different scheme.
I appreciate times are difficult, but the best thing they could have done was to give subscribers their money back and then surcharged each delivery as and when people got them. I don't mind someone in real need having my slot, but I do object to paying for it and not getting it.

 

[MusicMan]

Our experience has generally been OK using Tescos (Warwick & Leamington). We are 80, vulnerable with preconditions such as diabetes but not in the "shielded" category. We were cross at first that there was no provision for our category to obtain any sort of priority in deliveries, neither from government nor from supermarkets (apart from a Morrisons scheme for very basic food packages). At first, getting a slot was like winning the lottery, but after a couple of weeks it settled down and we have been able to get either a delivery or a click-and-collect every week. One does have to persist. It's true of course that bread and fresh veg don't last a week. We get round this by baking bread every couple of days, and using frozen veg for the second half of the week, and now the garden is producing broad beans, chard and lettuce, it is less of an issue.

Substitutions have not really been a problem. The main issue is that best-before dates are sometimes quite close and it's not possible to specify the minimum date that one would like.

So overall not as good as shopping in person, but not bad at all.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

A few days ago we got a Tesco slot. July 28th.

 

[Garno]

I have commented elsewhere (WH2) about my seven week battle with NHS and the supermarkets to get a 95-year-old living alone, a chemo patient with no immune system and an 86-year-old with C.O.P.D. living alone, onto the "vulnerable" list. Apparently, the C.O.P.D. patient "isn't sick enough" according to his specialist asthma nurse...I have managed to get deliveries to the other two, via the local council acting directly to Tesco and Sainsburys, but at nothing like weekly frequency, despite being 'on the list'.

So Phil, quite agree, Blojo(b), ******* and the rest of the suited, drawling, certain-school, 'elite' that have foisted chaos on us are so inadequate cerebrally (including providing for the vulnerable: DW et al) they couldn't find their anal sphincter with both hands.

Sam

With what you have said they should both be on the list as per government guidelines.

The government do not make the lists it is all down to the local surgeries that they are under, it is the surgery that decides who should and who should not go on them. It does seem that in this/your case the surgery has totally ignored the guidelines they have been given.

https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus-extremely-vulnerable

https://digital.nhs.uk/coronavirus/shie ... tient-list

On the 2nd link note the parts numbered 2 and 3 it clearly shows that the criteria has been met and that the government do fully agree with you as set out in the guidelines.

I hope these go someway to helping out, in the meantime try and stay safe.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I suffer from an underactive thyroid, arthritis, spondylitis, gout, high blood pressure, an abnormally high cholesterol level and diabetes. I've had a fempop, eight amputations and eleven angioplasties/grams. Fit as a fiddle, me. :lol:
edit - I forgot to mention a proper dose of the flu and double pneumonia ...... twice.

 

[Garno]

I suffer from an underactive thyroid, arthritis, spondylitis, gout, high blood pressure, an abnormally high cholesterol level and diabetes. I've had a fempop, eight amputations and eleven angioplasties/grams. Fit as a fiddle, me. :lol:

I put a "Like" to this not for the bad luck you have had health-wise but for the way you can laugh about it. Only realised after I did it that I may have entered a mine field :shock:

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Fortunately it's my legs that have gone missing not my marbles.

 

[Terry - Somerset]

I have obviously been lucky.

I was put on the shielded list, I assume due to past serious ailments, but in fairly good health right now.

As I had only ever shopped on line very occassionally, none of the major supermarkets would allow me to register on-line. So I signed on to the government website, started getting a free box very quickly and Tescos, Asda and Iceland contacted me directly for priority slots.

I gave the free food box to the local Covid group that was helping in the community - I felt others needed it more than I.

Asda was a disappointment - 30% of my first order was substituted, quite poorly in my view. Quality was just about OK.

Tescos have typically delivered 95% as order and good quality. Only fault on this weeks shop was some sprouting baking potatoes and substituting long grain for basmati rice. Neither worth getting excited about! No problems at the moment getting a weekly delivery booked.

Iceland have been good for frozen items - particularly fish and vegetables. Rest of range is very limited. Use them to top up freezer every 2-3 weeks.

Perhaps the problems that others have related are more down to local and regional management, not necessarily the brand.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I suspect locality has a lot to do with it. I was talking to a neighbour about couriers and said Hermes are brilliant. He said where his lady lives they have got to point of asking which couriers on line companies are using and if if it's Hermes not buying from them, as Hermes are so unreliable. It's a mile up the road.