SOMEBODY likes yogurt! (working as a supermarket deliverer)

[cheesebot]

Just picked up some part-time work as a delivery driver for a well-known supermarket called ASDA, and I'm looking forward to the change of pace (several decades in IT before this).

Anyone got any advice/anecdotes/horror stories they'd like to share?
 

[Mr_Simnock]

I have a relative who has done this for years. Some people will be oddly antagonistic towards you, no reason, they are just fucking odd. Some will almost never be in during their delivery slot, some will ask you to take the shopping into the kitchen for them despite being easily capable themselves, some will try their best to have a long conversation with you. Most are alright though to be honest, just the odd ones really stand out.

edit: one thing they do like is sometimes you get to see some amazing houses, if your into that sort of thing

[PaoloTramezzani]

Oh yeah, have a good nose. "I suppose you'll want these pineapples up in the bedroom?"

[Imperator Helvetica]

Having worked jobs like that before I've always been quick to offer delivery people water or ask if they want to use the bathroom. I'm told now that they've been expressly forbidden from either due to liability issues.

No particularly interesting stories other than an observation that some people try to schedule everything to happen at the same time - multiple deliveries, window cleaner being paid, kids and dogs being dropped off, guy come to pick up the sofa they're selling all at 15:30. I guess it makes sense if you know you're in but it makes for some chaos.

[Buelligan]

Not quiet the same, we have a sort of car-share thing, like covoiturage, where you order your stuff from the supermarché online and another shopper (or someone chosing to do it for other reasons), collects it and delivers it for a small fee. 

I use it now (I don't have transport or public transport and live remotely).  The people who bring the shit are unfailingly lovely.  Just a perfect green solution (and cheaper for me than splitting the petrol money).

[touchingcloth]

Not quiet the same, we have a sort of car-share thing, like covoiturage

I bet you do, you dirty old beullocks, I bet you fucking do.

On a serious note, that sounds like a great idea. We have a car, but our only regular use for it is a 15 minute trip to the supermercado. Ian Lidls doesn't provide a click and collect service here, but I should look into ways that we can find others nearby who make the same weekly trip. Sadly public transport is a complete nonstarter, because we're a 20 minute walk from the nearest paragem, and getting to the shops would be at least an hour's ride and one change each way.

[Buelligan]

It's really good - been using it since last autumn - the people doing it are all genuinely pleasant, nothing goes missing or wrong, they're always on time.  Sometimes I wonder if I'm making this shit up, it's so perfect.

Looks like you have it in Portugal and all.

https://www.shopopop.com/fr-lu/faq/partenaire/mise-en-place/ou-le-service-est-il-disponible

[poodlefaker]

Could you tell me please why they get all the stuff out the van, load it onto the trolley, wheel it down my drive, lug it up the three steps to my frontdoor, and only then knock to see if I'm in? Seems like a bit of a gamble.

[Buelligan]

The whole thing's being watched remotely via drone.  If the worker doesn't fulfil the correct protocol, they are, sadly, terminated.

[monkfromhavana]

What are your plans for the awkward section where you hold the box out to the customer and they start throwing the stuff into their hallway?

[Uncle TechTip]

If you are invited in, just pocket any cash you find lying around, they're not going to notice and who has CCTV running inside their house all the time? Could be a tidy racket.

[Buelligan]

If you get invited in, watch out for the tazer and the cellar steps, where all the others went.

[Russ L]

[quote

"I suppose you'll want these pineapples up in the bedroom?"

Fnarr

[Blinder Data]

best of luck with the new role.

i appreciate it's not always possible, but please try to park legally, not on the pavement and not in the middle of the road with the hazards on.

[Elderly Sumo Prophecy]

Do loads of crazy laughing and talking to yourself when they answer the door. Maybe develop a head twitch.

[madhair60]

weird that it's apparently wrong to get them to put the food in the kitchen

you guys are fucking weird

[seepage]

edit: one thing they do like is sometimes you get to see some amazing houses, if your into that sort of thing

will that be true if it's ASDA though? Mind you, they're the cheapest for poncy Fullgreen Riced Cauliflower

[Icehaven]

I once overheard a neighbour who was having a grocery delivery asking the delivery driver the cooking instructions for something she'd bought, and to his credit he knew them.

[Elderly Sumo Prophecy]

Insist on proof of age for alcohol purchases, even if the person is clearly 90 years old. If they refuse, say "Not today, son. On you go" and then walk back to your van.

[Vodkafone]

Remember to look sympathetic and occasionally say something about what a shame it is they can't afford to shop at a better supermarket, cost of living crisis, etc. That will endear them to you.

[cheesebot]

will that be true if it's ASDA though? Mind you, they're the cheapest for poncy Fullgreen Riced Cauliflower

Did a 16 drop introductory ride-along yesterday evening, and one of them had a ferrari parked on his drive. He didn't want his weetabix though. We went through some areas where you'd have thought waitrose would have been the absolute bare minimum, but as my driver said "These lot didn't get rich by spending money."

The main thing that attracts me is that each drop off is its own thing, so even if you have a nightmare one, or even a few in a row, it's on to the next one. 16 is a small sample size, but they were all fine. Contrast with situations where you're stuck with someone annoying for hours on end - whether that be a colleague or a drunk annoying regular at the pub where you work. That said, I do find my own company annoying, but can't won't do anything about that.

[cheesebot]

Remember to look sympathetic and occasionally say something about what a shame it is they can't afford to shop at a better supermarket, cost of living crisis, etc. That will endear them to you.

Yeah, and I'll be laughing all the way to Farm Foods afterwards.

[Jockice]

No particularly interesting stories other than an observation that some people try to schedule everything to happen at the same time - multiple deliveries, window cleaner being paid, kids and dogs being dropped off, guy come to pick up the sofa they're selling all at 15:30. I guess it makes sense if you know you're in but it makes for some chaos.

On the other hand there are those who arrange for three people (including a supermarket deliverer) to come round at different points of the same day with only a very slight overlap (let's say one was a 'we can't give an exact time' job, one was from 11am-1pm and the other was 1pm onwards) only for all three of them to arrive simultaneously. That was fun.

Also, if the person lives in a flats building with a side door rather than one at the front, don't hesitate to tell them how hard it was to find despite the customer giving VERY precise directions. Extra marks if you tell them they've obviously got their own address wrong.

[popcorn]

Used to know a Brit who lived in the mountains of Nagano and once a week a bloke on a scooter drove up the mountain to deliver him groceries. Used to leave it in a bear-proof box at the side of the road.

He's dead now. The Brit I mean. Don't know how the delivery bloke's doing. Or the bear.

[cheesebot]

He's dead now.

Did he lose the keys to the box?

[popcorn]

Perhaps he left the keys to the bear in his will.

[Butchers Blind]

The problem with having your shopping delivered is it takes away the fun of shoplifting.

[poodlefaker]

Did a 16 drop introductory ride-along yesterday evening, and one of them had a ferrari parked on his drive. He didn't want his weetabix though. We went through some areas where you'd have thought waitrose would have been the absolute bare minimum, but as my driver said "These lot didn't get rich by spending money."

calling it a 16-drop ride-along makes it sound coool. I sure could use me some of that action.

[lauraxsynthesis]

I wonder if it's nicest working for Ocado because they give free gifts to customers so as a deliverer you get to gift folks and they're grateful, or are Ocado customers more likely to be cunts so it's worse.

[gilbertharding]

Years ago (at the height of the Global Financial Crisis, while I was between jobs) in Asda I bumped into an old colleague I hadn't seen for ages.

I accidentally said that we had switched to Asda from Sainsbury's because we were now on a much stricter budget and got a dig in the ribs and a telling off from my wife. I mean, it was true, but I realise now I shouldn't have said it.