Christmas came close to being cancelled for some homes last week after major supermarkets suffered website meltdowns.
Hundreds of online orders were accidentally cancelled by Sainsbury’s after a computer failure, with some customers being offered redelivery dates after Christmas. At the same time, a significant problem on Waitrose.com led to a series of failed deliveries.
A number of Guardian commenters wrote about their experiences with the online shopping failures.
Some were fed up with the customer service online:
Others felt the supermarkets went out of their way to reimburse their customers:
My delivery from Waitrose was due today, they phoned early, very apologetic and said could they bring it tomorrow instead, which I actually prefer but they don't do Christmas Eve deliveries. And then they said, because of the inconvenience, your order will be FREE!!! That's what I call customer service!
And then, of course, there were the ones who just went out and did their shopping in person:
I'm feeling deprived of the opportunity to be pissed off at nothing. I went shopping in person yesterday. Shockingly, my shopping cost just a little more than usual (chocolate) and we have everything we need until same time next week (extra chocolate). The only thing I forgot was orange juice, and the local shop had that. My neighbour is one of those ranting about her online delivery not showing up. She still hadn't gone out to get the stuff herself by the time I left for work tonight. Duh.
Modern technology has made us all too lazy. To quote that old cliché: If you want it done right, you have to do it yourself.
My non-chain local supermarket here in Brooklyn was open extra hours yesterday evening (closing 8 p.m. instead of its usual 5 p.m. Sunday closing). It was a pleasure, as most people did not take advantage of the extended hours. I was able to navigate the aisles without dealing with too many other fellow homo sapiens.
Is this the end to online shopping? Or is it just a blip in its progress? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
I've finally given up on Waitrose.com today, and will stick with Ocado.
Monday 8-10pm was the closest slot I could get to Christmas Day. About 25% of the order was either missing, substituted, or close to its use by date. This included the bird (missing - I ordered guinea fowl, so guess not easy to substitute) and Christmas pudding, which was switched for mince pies...
Not at all impressed considering it was locked down from editing 36h in advance.
Love John Lewis and Waitrose stores, but the online arm of Waitrose needs a thorough review of its operations and methodology.