Dot.com shopping - an insider speaks ! (tesco.com)

Member Name: gemmadog

Product:	tesco.com
Date:	01/03/09 (68 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The truth ( I think )

Disadvantages: The truth ( I think )

Not a review of tesco as such , just a few comments from someone who works in online shopping about what what happens and how it works in practice .

Only lazy people do it ! WRONG - yes some lazy people do , but in most cases your time is worth more than the delivery charge , never mind your fuel /bus / taxi costs !Other users can be as diverse as - students - rather than mummy giving them money to waste on beer , set up an account online for them , mummy still pays but sees what they buy and they still get fed . or Those who are elderly / infirm may have shopping ordered by their ( middle - aged ) kids thus ensuring that they are getting regular shopping irrespective of their ability or wish to go to the shops themselves . We also have instances of folks in far away places ( ie Australia , Botswana or Croydon logging on to order chocolates and champagne for mummys birthday surprise - not always successfully as she might be out when the surprise delivery appears ! )

It usually works out cheaper than shopping yourself as you have a running total as you shop online which you do not have with your own trolley and those delightful children sneak stuff in behind your back.
( Sadly the reverse applies too , you might stop when the trolley is full physically, but online you may go OTT with bulky inexpensive items and rebel when the driver appears with half a van of bottled water / kitchen towels / toilet rolls ! )

Substitutions - another dodgy area , yes , something should be offered , both to keep company sales up and save customers from starvation .
But it can only be a guess , shoppers can not be mind readers and due to the extensive range of delivery times available personal contact is not a realistic option . ( eg ,flavour you want out of stock @12.00 noon when shopping is done , you have delivery after you finish work @18.00 , not feasible to delay your shopping / entire van route until you can be contacted and decide . Better to offer you something which you can reject if you chose . ) In the same vein an analogy I use is - customer wants organic chicken breast fillets - out of stock , is the correct alternative organic thigh fillets (because they like organic ) or standard breast fillets ( becauce they like that texture of meat ) ? Neither is right and neither is wrong , it is a personal thing !

It can only be a work in progress ;
technology , people's tastes and needs are always changing . It does involve humans and technology - perfection is unlikely !

Sorry if my rant took too long and bored you !

Edit .Just read the dooyoo oath bit , my anonymity is blown . I do NOT work for Tesco but an opponent , but have used their service so believe I still qualify to comment .

Summary: 2 sides to every story