Ocado

I did a selection of tests on online shopping and guess what Ocado stopped me in my tracks and I stayed with them. The reason being — they’ve considered that the little things matter to the experience. I must say first — I ordered from London
1. Whenever they don’t have something in stock — they tell you online rather than bringing something random that they’ve got in stock
2. They tell you who the driver is… and even what kind of van — this level of detail makes me calm — as if it is a personal experience.
3. The receipt is dividied up into storage (freezer, fridge, cupboard) and again into expiry date — so it’s easy to scan… and for dyslexics like me — a significantly easier experience.
4. Every single person who has arrived at my door with Ocado has been positive, polite and in a good mood — and it felt sincere … there training must be amazing!
5. The price isn’t siginificanly different from any of the other options — unless you plan on splitting your shop up to different supermarkets/​
6. They take away the plastic bags
7. The plastic bags are colour coded.
8. they bring the shopping inside (if you prefer) and again — don’t make you feel annoyed by it — makes a difference for me…
Like I said its the little things the matter — the online experience and the drop off experience don’t even compare to Asda and Sainsburys.
FODMAP note:
The FODMAP friendly stock was good, last time I ordered — could use a few extra things — that said — massive LACTOFREE and GLUTEN FREE selection in the London delivery area.

horrendous. For the past 6 deliveries they have been late and more than half the time they have not called beforehand, instead waiting as much as 45 minutes after the delivery deadline.
Last night they forgot to delivery a few items (missed loading a tote on the truck) and were supposed to deliver tonight 8:30 — 9:30. They just called at 9:26pm and said they were running a half hour late.
BS

I am highly disappointed with the turn of events that has occurred with my first ocado experience. Upon hearing very good things about this service from my housemates, I signed up for an account and placed my first order with ocado. Shortly after, I received a message stating that my order was canceled due to verification problems with my debit card. I then phoned customer service, knowing there was absolutely nothing wrong with my debit card, to ask what actually had happened. I then was told that someone from the same address had an outstanding bill, and needed to pay in order for my account to reactivate so I could place my order. I then spoke with my housemate, who paid his bill with ocado. After waiting for a few hours, I tried to log into my account again, and it remained «inactive.» I then phoned customer service, and was told. after waiting for an hour on hold, that the payment was shown to have been placed, but it needed to be cleared in order for my account to reactivate. I then waited all day today and recently tried to log in once again (even though I am getting quite tired of trying), and my account still remains inactive!
I have NOTHING to do with my housemate or his unpaid bill. My debit card is perfectly fine, and the fact that I would even be paying for the order IN ADVANCE before even receiving it should be an indication that I have no connection with my housemate having an outstanding owed amount. Ocado refused me service for NO APPARENT REASON! They have lost a potential customer in myself, and I will make sure that any other people that I know of who have an interest in ocado will choose otherwise as well. There are other grocery delivery companies in London, and I will have no problem trying one of those! I am exhausted from fighting to constantly to be their PAYING customer!
They are rude and accusatory! Refused me service because my housemate didn’t pay his bill. They made my account inactive, and accused me of lying about who I really was. I am unable to lift my own groceries due to a recent operation, and this service would have been very useful. However, I will now look elsewhere because I refuse to give business to a company that treats their potential customers this way!

A whole carton of eggs burst in one of my bags last week ruining everything in that bag and they just called me basically telling me I am a liar about my refund claim.
1) I am not in the business of washing sticky eggs off my food.
2) I am careful with my eggs so they don’t burst, why can’t you?
3) Funnily enough, I have no desire to catch salmonella, so if it looks like it got in the other food I am (back to a) not going to take the food out of another burst, egg invaded carton and «wash it” — And certainly if I do so, I ain’t paying for it because I didn’t buy «egg covered chicken», I bought f***ing plain old chicken.
4) What about the freaking egg you got all over my kitchen and the time I had to waste cleaning it?
Add to the complete stupidity of their IPO, business model, general expensiveness and Waitrose’s inability to produce edible ready meals (for those lazy days), I’ll most probably go with cheap and cheerful tesco next time. At least I will be entering the relationship with absolutely no expectations whatsoever.

Their service is awesome: sometimes they have great deals which I recently found here:

A boat-​load of stars for saving my back the aches and pains of lugging large, cumbersome, and/​or heavy items to my flat from far, far away. However, their produce is sometimes not the best in my experience. They also tend to pick milk and other highly perishable items with early expiration dates (yes, I’m one of those people, who rummages to the back of the dairy case for the later-​dated items).
And while it’s really nifty that you can pick your delivery slot to within one hour during the day, I’ve had several experiences where the delivery guys have come anywhere between 45 minutes (on one occasion, nearly 3 hours) early or late. That’s not so convenient sometimes. For that reason I tend to use Ocado only when I have a large order for entertaining purpose, and then maybe once a month to every six weeks for pantry staples and toiletries.

I love using Ocado. Although the prices can be a tad more than the other major supermarkets they price match labelled products against Tesco. If an item is unavailable, they let you know on checking out the order, so there’s rarely any surprises on delivery.
They have one hour delivery slots and some times are offered with free delivery. The delivery staff are always helpful and offer to bring groceries in to the kitchen, if needed. They also have an iPhone app available so it’s easy to shop on the go.

I can’t stop praising Ocado, it really has changed how I shop and given me a few more precious hours at a weekend. I have actually found myself saving money because it totals it all up as you shop and the picture shopping trolley means that you can really think about what you really need and plan your meals for the week ahead.
If you want to make it better value for money we paid a one off yearly delivery fee of £99 and now our minimum shop only needs to be £40. So long as you spend this amount each time you are not limited to only one delivery per week.
Deliveries are very reliable and with very friendly drivers who seem happy to help you carry the stuff into your kitchen. They tell you if there’s a substitute should there be any problems with items and you don’t have to accept it there and then. If there are any problems with the quality of the produce you can email them within 24hrs of receiving your shopping and they refund you very quickly.
If you’re worried about their green credentials you hand your carrier bags back to the driver on each delivery and they will be reused and when booking delivery slots they can even tell you when a van will be in your area already.
I really wanted to be sure that this was good value for my money, baring in mind that as good as Waitrose produce is it can be expensive, so I checked a weekly shop on
and it came out cheaper than Tesco and Sainsburys, the only one it didn’t beat was Asda but there’s not one close by and they don’t deliver in my area.
AND we get a free copy of The Times with our shop so I don’t even have to wander round to the shops for the Saturday paper!
Now, if only it could make breakfast as well

Ocado grocery home delivery is a pretty sweet service. Groceries, sometimes even same-​day delivered to your doorstep, even if you live in a 3^rd floor walk-​up. It’s Waitrose-​owned, but selection is usually better than the Waitrose stores. When there was an item I wanted that they didn’t carry, I put in a request and they started carrying it. The veg they bring is always in really nice condition, much better than I’d get at my local Tesco.
The one time I had a problem when I delivery guy didn’t come on time, they sent me a free bottle of wine. I was delighted. Their customer service has been surprisingly good.
So the downsides: it’s expensive. More than you’d probably want to spend on groceries. They Tesco price-​match some items, but what that basically means is that anything that isn’t marked as being price-​matched is more expensive than you’d find at your local shop. When it’s an item your local Tesco wouldn’t carry, it seems worth it, but it’s harder to justify on generic brands/​items that you can find anywhere. They also make you sign up for that Mastercard protection program to place an order which is infuriating.
Also, my first few orders I was given a coupon for a free bottle of wine after I ordered. That seems to have gone away and now they are giving me free ham. Bummer. Also, my average delivery charge has gone up in the last few months and I usually can only find a £5.99 slot open. Think Ocado is tightening the proverbial belt and that can’t be good for the likes of me.

Ocado is a delivery company in partnership with waitrose. In their automated warehouse, groceries are picked and packed according to your online order. They are a big employer and offer staff a 15% discount, plus access to a staff shop with up to 50% off goods. There is a subsidized canteen too.
Obviously food is not cheap as its waitrose prices. Delivery prices are based on a £75 shop and you will be charged more if you spend less.
At Christmas time, they charge £10 on a £90 shop for delivery and you cannot get a delivery if you spend less. I think this is disgusting.
Head office is in Bishops Sq.