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As most of us have discovered, bagging a supermarket delivery right now is on a par with winning the lottery – the booking slots are snapped up straight away, meaning many vulnerable customers are struggling to find a solution to getting their food shopping. The government has provided stores with a list of clinically vulnerable people who qualify for priority booking, however, some are still unsure of how to book their delivery slots. We contacted Tesco to find out exactly how these customers can book online shops…
Tesco Delivery Service
- Tesco has more than doubled its capacity from 600,000 each week in March and is advising people to go to stores where they can to leave slots for those who are in need or self-isolating.
- I went to Tesco's website at midnight last night and got a page telling me I was in a queue, not to refresh, it would happen automatically which it did until after 45 minutes of waiting the page crashed - went back in and got the usual 'no slots available' message.
A spokesperson for Tesco told HELLO!: 'We have been working hard to increase the capacity of our online delivery service to help more customers gain access to this service when they need it.'
Tesco has started charging flat fees for grocery delivery and Click & Collect slots, in a major shake-up which means cheaper times are no longer available and some customers will have to pay much Tesco axes cheap grocery delivery and collection slots. Despite making more than a million delivery slots a week available, Tesco has said there are not enough for everyone. Angry shoppers took to Twitter this morning to say they had been waiting. One Tesco customer said on Twitter: “We use delivery saver because we have 3 young children and both parents work full time – I’m currently stuck in your queue while trying to get the children ready for school before I have to work full time to book my usual weekly slot.
© Provided by Hello! tesco-signTesco are prioritising their vulnerable customers
How many vulnerable people have Tesco contacted?
Tesco's CEO Dave Lewis said: 'On Thursday, we were given an initial list of 110,000 clinically and socially isolated people by the Government. From these, we were able to match 75,000 existing customers and we’ve already contacted them to let them know we’re making home delivery slots immediately available to them. As we receive more data from Government, we’ll make even more slots available.'
How do I book a Tesco delivery slot for a vulnerable person?
To book a slot for a vulnerable person, you need to go to tesco.com/groceries and log in. Vulnerable customers can book a priority slot with an eight-hour window for delivery.
MORE: Waitrose launches e-gift card for self-isolating customers during coronavirus
What if I don't have a Tesco account but am a vulnerable person?
If you don't currently have an account with Tesco but have received a letter from the NHS because you're classified as clinically vulnerable, you can create an account on their website or call Tesco on 0800 917 7359. The store can then check if you are on the government's list.
Is Tesco adding more online delivery slots?
Tesco CEO Dave Lewis said: 'We have increased our online delivery slots by 145,000 in the last two weeks with hundreds of thousands more due to become available shortly; but we know it’s still difficult to get an online delivery slot at the moment due to high demand, and we ask those who are able to safely come to stores to do so, instead of shopping online, so we can start to free up more slots for the more vulnerable.'
Is Tesco recruiting more delivery drivers?
The supermarket is in the process of adding almost 200 new delivery vans and has recruited 2,500 new drivers and more than 5,000 pickers.
MORE:How to secure a Sainsbury's home delivery slot for a vulnerable person
Tesco No Delivery Slots Twitter Account
What are Tesco's shopping times for vulnerable customers?
The Tesco website states: 'We want to help everyone through these uncertain times, especially those who need extra help. So all our stores (except Express stores) will be prioritising the elderly and most vulnerable for one hour between 9am and 10am every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.'
The supermarket giant was forced to install an online queue system to help it manage the ‘high volumes of traffic’.
Tesco has apologised to customers after its website struggled to cope with demand from shoppers seeking to secure Christmas delivery slots.
The supermarket giant was forced to install an online queue system to help it manage the “high volumes of traffic”.
Customers on social media complained about the delay, saying they were being made to wait for hours.
Tesco tweeted in response to apologise “if things take a bit longer than usual”.
Tesco Delivery Slots
“A lot of customers are using our website and app at the moment,” it added.
Supermarkets have seen overwhelming demand for online delivery slots, with rival Ocado already running out of slots due to the spike, although more may be made available in early December.
A Tesco spokeswoman said: “Demand for online slots over the festive period is high, and we have more slots this Christmas than ever before.
“We experienced high volumes of traffic to our website and groceries app this morning and temporarily limited the number of customers using it.
![Tesco Tesco](/uploads/1/3/3/9/133935459/361585700.jpg)
“We’ve now removed the waiting room and customers will be able to log straight on.
“We’re sorry for any inconvenience this caused and would like to reassure customers that there are still slots available for home delivery and click and collect over the Christmas period.”
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