What's the most ridiculous product replacement you've had from your online grocery shop? (feddit.uk)

submitted 3 weeks ago by blackn1ght@feddit.uk to c/casualuk@feddit.uk

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[-] tetris11@feddit.uk 16 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Online shop is dogshite. I gave Ocado a go thinking "hey maybe it'll be cheaper and more convenient".

After a few trials, I've never been more disappointed:

fruit and veg -- simply lower quantities and smaller items, but dressed up in fancy packaging.
online checkout is made deliberately confusing and you can't sort items by cost on purpose.
delivery window is given in increments of 30 minutes, but you can still be waiting up to 2 hours for the driver to come past the window
substitutions happen with 10 minutes of delivery, and are always the crap you see above in your image that have almost nothing to do with the item!
It's not cheaper!

Genuinely, a trip to LIDL for a weekly shop will not make your eyes water, and that's what I'm sticking to from now on

[-] Nighed@feddit.uk 5 points 3 weeks ago

And omg, I hate their platform so much! It adds everything you buy as a favourite? Why? It already has "you have bought this before" functionality.

Meat was often bad.

Standard issues with buying veg online - two large leaks is massively different to 2/3 small ones.

[-] tetris11@feddit.uk 1 points 3 weeks ago

Yep! I see why supermarkets are still thriving in this digital age because the online options are just not worth it

[-] blackn1ght@feddit.uk 3 points 3 weeks ago

To be fair, Ocado doesn't sell itself as a cheaper alternative. But they're definitetly more convenient. I used them for a bit towards the end of last year as I couldn't get any slots with my usual supermarket and found they had a lot more slots. Plus they could let me know how far away the van as and quite a specific time it would arrive. We never had the issue you described with waiting ages, maybe it's area specific.

But they're annoying though as you can't buy individual fruit & veg, like you said it comes in loads of plastic (this will be because of their fulfilment process using those robots).

For me it absolutetly beats going into the supermarket, I'd rather just meal plan and build up the food order at the laptop than go out and drive to the supermarket.

[-] tetris11@feddit.uk 1 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Yeah that's fair, I mean their radio adverts definitely leaned on the "be demanding" rather than "we're a bargain" angle. I just thought that the convenience of not having to go to the store directly would outweigh the cost, and I've found that for me it simply doesn't beat a LIDL shop in cost, quality, or quantity

[-] blackn1ght@feddit.uk 13 points 3 weeks ago

For the past 6 months or so, my usual supermarket hasn't once been able to deliver me full fat coconut milk. But they've usually given me the light version instead as a replacement. But this weeks replacement isn't even close!

Also, could they not have given me a different brand of plum tomatoes?

[-] HubertManne@piefed.social 1 points 3 weeks ago

gotten the same. sometimes reasonable but if not then waaaayyyyy offf.

[-] meejle@lemmy.world 10 points 3 weeks ago

Your image tickled me, because I've had coconut milk subbed for chopped tomatoes a few times lately.

My weirdest one was definitely sage and onion stuffing mix, subbed for a box of suet. 😬

[-] meejle@lemmy.world 7 points 3 weeks ago

Remember when Covid? 😬

A photo of an old Sainsbury's delivery receipt of mine, showing a long list of substituted and unavailable items.

[-] Cherry@piefed.social 7 points 3 weeks ago

I wanted marshmallows and they gave powdered milk. And not strange buy why - I ordered 3 veg. baby corn, broccoli and green beans. - I got three packs of half corn cobs, who does not want 12 corn cobs on their ramen.

[-] HermitBee@feddit.uk 4 points 3 weeks ago

Avocados for an Aubergine.

I mean, they're vaguely similar in shape, sort of, and colour, not really but sometimes they're both dark, and they both begin with A, but no-one enjoyed the guacamole at our party 😞

[-] criticon@lemmy.ca 3 points 3 weeks ago

During COVID I got sick and ordered a 12 or 24 pack of Gatorade to stay hydrated. I selected no sugar and I think "blue" flavor and allow for substitutions expecting maybe a different favor or at worst the regular Gatorade or some Powerade. The delivery guy substituted it with a single 600ml coke

A lot of other stuff from the list he didn't even bother to substitute, just marked it as unavailable so I only got like 3 things delivered, including the single coke

I called a friend to help me with my groceries and he was able to find most of the stuff at the same store a few hours later

[-] Etterra@discuss.online 3 points 3 weeks ago

See this is why I always disable substitutions.

[-] Hossenfeffer@feddit.uk 1 points 3 weeks ago

Not me, but in the early days of Sainsbury's delivery service, a friend had ordered lemons and they got subbed with lemon-scented washing-up liquid.

I use delivery. It means I can do my weekly shop while sitting on my arse at home instead of rubbing shoulders with hoi polloi.

[-] kazerniel@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago

nothing close to this tbh xD

[-] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world -1 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Our glorious AI driven future.

The more supply chains break down, the more absurd this is going to get.

[-] blackn1ght@feddit.uk 2 points 3 weeks ago

I've worked around systems that store products in a previous job and products are usually linked via facets and categories, it's very unlikley there's any AI inolved. It's probably just rules based and goes through them (what's in stock, same product type but different brand, same brand, similar price etc).

I asked ChatGPT if it could find me an alternative product for the given supermarket and it gave a load of sensible substitutions!

[-] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 0 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

products are usually linked via facets and categories, it’s very unlikley there’s any AI inolved

AI graphs draw from the same well of data when making substitutions.

I asked ChatGPT if it could find me an alternative product for the given supermarket and it gave a load of sensible substitutions!

ChatGPT doesn't have live inventory data on the store's warehouse. It can give you recommendations for substitutions that a generic store might have. It can't give you a substitution based on a specific store's remaining inventory.

This isn't an AI problem strictly speaking. It is a retail strategy to fill orders and collect money in a way that maximizes revenue with limited respect for accuracy.

AI integration to a store's inventory data set just accelerates this process.

[+] P00ptart@lemmy.world -7 points 3 weeks ago

This could all be fixed if you... Went to the store yourself. I understand that some people can't. But the majority of people use it out of convenience/laziness. I have one friend in particular who leans on it because she's always too drunk/hungover to shop, and it allows her alcoholism even more free reign on ruining her life. Not only that, you're paying more for it. I don't get it.

[-] blackn1ght@feddit.uk 2 points 3 weeks ago

It's just way more convenient. I can do it at home and build up my order while doing the meal plan. Plus I don't need to drag the kids around with me who only add to the stress.

The additional cost is negligible. We get a 6 month pass, but when you factor in fuel costs, wear and tear on the car then it's hardly worth thinking about.

[-] P00ptart@lemmy.world -2 points 3 weeks ago

Lmao, justify it however you wish. Just remember this when you're one of those people on WALL-E.

[-] blackn1ght@feddit.uk 3 points 3 weeks ago

It's not that deep lol. Do you use a washing machine?

[-] P00ptart@lemmy.world -1 points 3 weeks ago

Don't act like this is the standard of the future and I'm just some grumpy old man or something, while also complaining about the failures of it. You're just snuggling up under the blanket of late stage capitalism.

[-] BigTwerp@feddit.uk 0 points 3 weeks ago

I live within 3 miles of a branch of all of the major supermarkets in the UK except Waitrose.

The only time I can possibly go shopping is after 7pm and even if I go in with a list of stuff and stick to it the round trip is 2 hours because of the checkout queues, car park queues and crowded shops.

I don't know if you have ever been to a supermarket after 7pm but good luck finding any fresh fruit and veg that hasn't been squashed to a pulp.

The only reliable shop near me is a particularly well stocked Morrisons Express but it's cheaper and easier to shop from Ocado.