This quarter's G33 Online contest was a close call. All the retailers' websites were easy to use and all had friendly drivers, while four boasted strong availability.
But Sainsbury's secured the victory with the help of its efficient driver, who went out of his way to tell our shopper all she needed to know. He asked her if she had used the service before, explained the fresh items had at least two days before their expiry dates and assured her no items were missing.
Ocado narrowly missed the top spot after using a higher-than-average number of carrier bags. Our shopper also noted the bananas were smaller than she expected. However, the driver was chatty and our shopper was pleased with a free The Times and a welcome pack including a chocolate bar.
Similarly, Asda used eight bags. The items were logically packed, however, and the driver was happy to help. There were no discrepancies between the website and receipt price, either.
Tesco remained the only retailer to offer crates and deserves credit for using just four bags, which its courteous driver then took away again. However, the receipt prices of the potatoes and Kellogg's Corn Flakes on the receipt were higher than those on the website.
Availability let Waitrose down but its pleasant driver patiently waited while our shopper checked the items were undamaged and gave back the carrier bags.
Star order: Sainsbury’s, Aberdeen
Sainsbury's use of a whopping 16 carrier bags last year (29 November 2008, p20) is now a distant memory after it put on a much greener performance this time round, cutting the number by more than half.
This is down to the efforts it has made to improve its online service this year, said Sainsbury's director of direct channels Tanya Lawler.
"We have been looking very closely at using as few bags as possible for every order."
Sainsbury's did not plan to follow in Waitrose, Tesco and Asda's footsteps by automatically refunding the difference on more expensive substitutions, she added. "We have been focusing on making sure we have as few substitutions as possible instead. One of the biggest annoyance factors for customers is when they do not receive something they ordered."
The retailer's efforts have paid off, it seems, as last year it gave our shopper six substitutions, whereas this time there were none.
But Sainsbury's secured the victory with the help of its efficient driver, who went out of his way to tell our shopper all she needed to know. He asked her if she had used the service before, explained the fresh items had at least two days before their expiry dates and assured her no items were missing.
Ocado narrowly missed the top spot after using a higher-than-average number of carrier bags. Our shopper also noted the bananas were smaller than she expected. However, the driver was chatty and our shopper was pleased with a free The Times and a welcome pack including a chocolate bar.
Similarly, Asda used eight bags. The items were logically packed, however, and the driver was happy to help. There were no discrepancies between the website and receipt price, either.
Tesco remained the only retailer to offer crates and deserves credit for using just four bags, which its courteous driver then took away again. However, the receipt prices of the potatoes and Kellogg's Corn Flakes on the receipt were higher than those on the website.
Availability let Waitrose down but its pleasant driver patiently waited while our shopper checked the items were undamaged and gave back the carrier bags.
Star order: Sainsbury’s, Aberdeen
Sainsbury's use of a whopping 16 carrier bags last year (29 November 2008, p20) is now a distant memory after it put on a much greener performance this time round, cutting the number by more than half.
This is down to the efforts it has made to improve its online service this year, said Sainsbury's director of direct channels Tanya Lawler.
"We have been looking very closely at using as few bags as possible for every order."
Sainsbury's did not plan to follow in Waitrose, Tesco and Asda's footsteps by automatically refunding the difference on more expensive substitutions, she added. "We have been focusing on making sure we have as few substitutions as possible instead. One of the biggest annoyance factors for customers is when they do not receive something they ordered."
The retailer's efforts have paid off, it seems, as last year it gave our shopper six substitutions, whereas this time there were none.
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