Grocery Surcharges

Technology has made our lives easier in every way possible but even in 2018 there are parts of lives that still need to catch up. While I am at times an early adopter of many platforms/gadgets/processes there are some things I still prefer to keep old school. For example, I still enjoy reading a book in analogue form. There is just something about being able to hold the book and flick through the pages and physically see your progress (or lack thereof) before your very eyes.

Do you like completing the weekly food shop? I vehemently detest it. It sucks two-plus hours out of my/our weekend and we come back shattered from the experience. When we lived in Slough, we began by going to the Tesco Extra Superstore every Tuesday evening, which worked for a short period. Weekday evenings relatively calm compared to the Sunday afternoon peak period. However it became unsustainable, so we switched to shopping on Sunday mornings. Initially at the same Tesco store but as it was so busy and parking such a battle, we switched to Sainsbury’s on the Uxbridge Road. Easier to get in and out, although smaller in size and perhaps a little more expensive (if compared product by product). Before we moved to Bracknell, Michelle decided one Sunday morning that we should switch back to Tesco and we did. The benefit of going yourself is picking the correct products with the longest best before/use by. This has always been the obstacle from us ordering our shopping online and having delivered home. Although to be fair we did try Tesco delivery once in mid-November 2012. In May 2017 we took the leap of faith with Morrisons. The whole process is relatively seamless. We have had only a couple of substitutions in almost a year of using the service. The only problem has been trying to book a weekend delivery. We used to be able to order on Friday evening after getting home from work but now have to order on Thursday evenings and perhaps even Wednesday evening to guarantee delivery over Saturday or Sunday. We even convinced our neighbours to start using the service, although it does take planning and the first few weeks are time-consuming as you build up your list of favourite items. After that, it gets easier, as you can easily re-order your previous delivery and then just adjust your basket to what you actually need. The supermarkets though would prefer not to have to fund the cost of picking, packing and delivery for a flat fee. They must be making a loss overall across the supply chain yet have no choice but to offer the service to not lose market against competitors in a fiercely cut throat industry.

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