If only Robbie Williams could deliver my custard tarts (tesco.com)

Member Name: deb10

Product:	tesco.com
Date:	06/04/06 (1560 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: no wandering trolleys, no stress, no carrying heavy bags

Disadvantages: The drivers dont unpack your bags !

I have always been a regular and somewhat devoted customer to Tesco since I married my other half 12 years ago. Before I moved to Hampshire I lived in Hayes. Even though there was an excellent Tesco store on my doorstep in Yeading, I still preferred the convenience of shopping online. After moving to Basingstoke, the only store "close" to my home is in Chineham. The range is minimal and unlike the other two supermarkets here, it's really not that local to my home. Therefore I class myself as being a pretty competent and somewhat expert .com user. This is my lifeline.

So from the store with the red, white and blue patriotic logo, here's a snippet of Tesco history.

Tesco as a store began in 1919 and was the brainchild of a Mr Jack Cohen. Jack started off in typical east ender style as a barrow boy selling groceries. The store name came from a tea supplier T.E. Stockwell and the "CO" is from Jack's surname.

Tesco.com itself has been around since the year 2000 and is one of the most popular .com sites, selling groceries, flowers, dvd's, cd's, books, and electricals. In 2001 even the US got on the tesco.com bandwagon.

~~~~~ GETTING STARTED ~~~~~~~~~

Find the website www.tesco.com. This is your portal to supermarket heaven, all the departments are listed on this page and you will find it easy to navigate through. Firstly you have to register your details.
Click into the second window on the top right hand side of the main screen. It should say "Login/Register". This is also where you return each time to login if you so wish to continue shopping with Tesco.com.

Click into "New Customers", the blue box on the right and enter your email address and club card details. This will trace your details to save time on typing. If you don't have a club card then Tesco will provide you with an online club card.

Tesco require your email address to confirm your order each time you order online, this is also a personal record and your receipt should anything go wrong. You cannot use this service without an email account.

I have never received unsolicited email as a result of giving out my email address. You can always provide a completely separate email address just purely for your online shopping if you still feel uncomfortable submitting your main email details. There is also the option of opting out of extra emails from other companies if you don't want any junk email sent . I asked for this option and have never received spam mail from them to date.

After your first order, you can use the red login box where all you have to enter is your email address and password.

~~~~~~~ GATEWAY TO SHOPPING ~~~~~~~~~

When you return back to the homepage, you will see 6 windows at the top and various menus on the screen. I usually opt for "Groceries" so this is where I will begin guiding you around. You can always return back to the homepage at any time as these icons always remain at the top of the screen.

If this is your first online shop with Tesco, it can be quite daunting. The first port of call should be to book your delivery date. Click into the delivery icon and select from the table of days and time slots when you want your shopping to be delivered. Christmas delivery slots go very quickly and last Christmas, I actually booked my shopping at the end of October. I was still able to change my order as I had secured that booking date.

Depending on the time scale, delivery charge is from £3.99 up to £5.99. If you opt for a midweek delivery then you will pay the lower end of the scale. Also do not panic if you want to add items a few hours after submit your order. You just log back into your account and amend your order.

There is a cut off point, usually 8 hours before your shop is ready for collection, but up until then you can chop and change your items as many times as you like. You do not get charged extra for doing this either.

When it first went online I only had dial up, broadband wasn't readily available as it is now. It used to take me anything up to 2 hours to submit my order. Now my order is saved each week, it takes me just under 15 minutes from start to finish.

Now you have your delivery date sorted, Tesco give you around 2 hours to submit this otherwise you might loose the slot. If you think you might be over 2 hours, order just a few bits, send it online, confirming your payment and then go back into your account and then continue with your shop.

The three departments are food and drink, toiletry and baby and house and pet. Before you click into these departments, take a note of the special offers and B.O.G.O.F deals on the left hand side. These are just the same as the stores, so Internet customers don't miss out on any bargains of the week. If you are ordering a B.O.G.O.F then you must put "2" items in the quantity box. You are charged full price online for these but when your invoice arrives with the driver, you will have been deducted that free item from your total. So when your shopping arrives, your receipt should be less than the screen price. Tesco are also a member of price watch so they compare their prices with the other retailers.

If at some point you have entered a wrong item, then delete it from your basket by pointing the mouse over that product and select the remove option. Your shopping basket always stays on the right hand side of the screen, with the latest items at the top.

The Food and Drink department is listed in categories. It starts from the bakery and cakes and ends in the drink section. You can order just about everything that your store sells, from tin foil to dog food.

It does help if you remember the exact name of the product you need, i.e. Dolmio Sauce. Not all products have a picture alongside them unless you go into the "information" menu on that item. Most of the time you can see what the item is from here. You are also given an extra list of products in that range, such as Tesco's own brand of pasta sauce. You are under no obligation to order anything you do not want.

Another good point is to remember the weights of products. I have and still do make errors on this. Only last week I ordered some cereal and nesquick powder. Instead of checking the weights on the larger packets I have at home, I took it for granted I was ordering the large size. When the two items arrived they were the small variety and needless to say I have run out of both.

Once you get into the swing of it, shopping online is a real pleasure. There is a search engine at the top of the screen if you are unsure about the product name. If your spelling isn't that spot on, then usually the search engine can still find it.

There is a favourite section where Tesco store all of the items you have bought plus there is a "My last order" icon. If you want to just top up last weeks shop with the same item, then just click onto all that's saved. After a while, we all go off certain food items, so you can remove what ever you no longer need from your "favourites" at any time.

If you want to add some information on your order, then there is sufficient space for you to write something to your picker at the store. For example, I order a dozen loose potatoes each week but type in the information line that I want only large ones for jacket potatoes.

When you have finished, its time to check out and this is where you click next. On this page which is secure and there is a pad lock at the bottom of the screen. Enter your credit card details with the option to save for next time. I have, as this saves me from keep entering the credit card number each week. All you re-enter is the three-digit code on the rear of your credit card for security. When the order has been processed, you receive an email plus there is a stored copy on your Tesco account.


~~~~~~~~~~~~ FAST FOOD ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You have a two-hour delivery slot. I usually opt for 9 am to 11 am on a Wednesday.
Your shopping could be delivered anytime between these two hours, very rarely has it been late and it has never once not turned up at all. Infact the only time I can say it was that late I had to call Tesco direct, was Christmas week and the drivers were working flat out.

If your shopping is ever late, you have the right to complain and demand a refund on the delivery fee. If the driver is running early, he or she might call you on their mobile to ask if it is convenient for your shop to come before time. You are the customer and you decide.

The food is delivered in refrigerated vans with the Tesco logo on the side and is brought out to you on green crates but neatly packaged in the plastic bags. The bags are placed by your front door, where I am afraid the service ends. The driver, who is dressed in company uniform does not come in and unpack it for you, neither will he or she prepare that nights evening meal! Bags are packed in their categories; such as all the refrigerated food is placed together, frozen are grouped in the same bags. Most frozen food bags are tied by the handles and the driver usually informs where they are.

If there are any substitutes, then you can return these whilst the driver is there. Unfortunately the driver rarely knows where the substitute items have been packed, so it's down to you to rummage through at a rate of knots as he is on a time scale for his next drop off. I usually accept them, even if the item isn't quite what I wanted.

Try to check off items as you unpack. The driver gives you a printout of your order at the door and yes, they do make mistakes. I have started to unpack on many occasions to find items missing, smashed or someone else's order. Read the small print at the top of your invoice to double check that the item is not out of stock before you complain.

If this is the case then you have to call the help line on 08457 225533. This number is also printed on the receipt. The operator is always helpful and very polite but there is usually a long wait to get connected. If you phone quick enough, the customer help line operator can sometimes get the driver to double back if he is in your area and either collect the wrong items or deliver any missing ones from your list. You can email them if you prefer not to phone, but this is time consuming and you might not re

The other option they give you is a refund on your credit card and as a gesture of goodwill, they have wavered the delivery charge. This is rare for mistakes to be made but don't take it for granted that your order will be exact. Do check your receipt carefully.

Tesco do have a habit of placing just one or two items in the carrier bags. This is such a waste so on your next shop; the driver will take back any excess bags.

If for whatever reason you are not at home when the driver calls, he will leave a card through your door to say he tried to deliver but you were out. If this happens he will re-deliver at the end of your time slot and if you are still not home, then you have to phone the customer help line on your return. The food will not be left on your doorstep or with a neighbour.

Whether you shop online or in store, you will always get club card points. For those new to Tesco, each time you spend money with them, it accumulates onto a plastic card which has your unique number on it. The more you spend, the more you build up and you can redeem your vouchers at any store for what ever you wish, be it full payment for an item or part payment.

The vouchers will be sent to you every quarter which you can now redeem online too. To do this, you type in the number close to the bar code, it starts with the letter X and then the long line of digits. Ignore the letter, just add the numbers. I prefer to save my vouchers for Christmas so I only have my vouchers sent in November. To do this you have to opt in for their Christmas savings scheme which is complexly free with no pressure to buy savings stamps.

You still receive the vouchers for schools promotion. However, you do not receive their free monthly magazine, you have to go in store for this.


~~~~~ HANDY HINTS ~~~

Remember your weights. A 50 g Easter Egg looks nothing like a more acceptable 225 g Easter Egg. It's your fault if you order the wrong size and weight.

Know your brand names. Typing in and buying "a" pasta sauce does not guarantee you will get the exact jar you want.

After you have completed your online shop, get into the habit of going straight into your online bank account if you have one. Paying off your shopping as you do it will save the added headache of a huge credit card bill at the end of the month.

Tick off items as you unpack. They do make mistakes.

Don't get carried away with the quantity button, I have and ended up with half a dozen packets of value carrots and four packets of hot cross buns. Check your order before submitting.



~~~~~~ STORE OR ONLINE ~~~~~~

It's online for me all the way, apart from a few errors, I really cannot complain. Having the shopping delivered to your door is less stressful than driving to the supermarket or relying on public transport. No fighting for a parking spot or struggling to load the boot with bags upon bags of food and drink. Even having bottles of mineral water in the trolley makes it a nightmare to push, they are heavy and cumbersome. Paying that delivery charge is worth every penny. Plus where else can you do your food shop with a large vodka and coke by your side. Don't have too many though, you might enter something wrong like I have in the past.


~~~~~~~~THE EXTRA .COM OFFERINGS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now you have finished your shopping, how about sitting back with a nice cup of earl grey and clicking into the other sections of Tesco's website?

Tesco sell not only food, but electricals, dvd's, cd's, life insurance, broadband connections, books, flowers, legal music downloads and can even give you a new mobile. As with all purchases you still claim points on your club card.

There is free delivery on all electricals and usually that's within a week unless other wise stated. I have ordered a TV and a new Dyson from them and the service was excellent as were the prices. Tesco came out cheaper than other electrical retailers with the added bonus of clubcard points too.

I often send flowers using the .com flower service. Prices start at £19, including delivery for a beautiful bouquet and you can add items such as a box of chocolates or a teddy for an extra few pounds. Flowers are sent within 24 hours if you order soon enough and arrive packaged inside a large cardboard box. The flowers are in cellophane and placed inside a watery bag to stay moist.

Another of my favourites is buying dvd's and cd's from the Jersey .com. Purchasing from the Channel Islands saves you quite a few pounds and delivery is again included. Expect your goods within 48 hours the latest, usually via Royal Mail.

I cannot comment on their insurance policies, as I do not have any with them - yet! I do however have the Tesco credit card which you can apply for online too. This gives you double club card points on your Tesco card plus it's a cash back reward scheme.

Tesco used to sell clothes online, unfortunately they retracted this from the site.


~~~~~~~ TO CONCLUDE ~~~~~~

The Tesco.com website is a portal to not just your weekly shop, but to many other purchases and insurances. They give you handy hints and tips for recipes, its really to promote their products but from time to time they do publish a great recipe which you can print off.

If you have never used online shopping before, try it out and I am sure that as soon as you get the hang of it, shopping will never be the same.

I also do the shopping for two of my elderly relatives who have no Internet connection and even though they live 83 miles away from me, their addresses are stored in my online addresses. The store local to them deliver their food.

Listed on the website are all the useful contact numbers and email addresses, you will find it under "Contact us". There is also a help section with many questions and answers.

Thanks for reading and happy shopping.


www.tesco.com

Summary: a great way to do your food shopping with a vodka in one hand