The Armchair Shopper.

[BENIDORM]

Since the beginning of time I've been a big supporter of online/mail order shopping.
However I've never used online shopping from the supermarket , but last week I had my first delivery from Mercadona.
I was very pleasantly surprised, from actually placing my order online ( in English ) to the actual delivery.
It was very easy to select all of our requirements and apart from one mistake by myself it was a very simple procedure, ( I didn't click the unit quantity and ended up with 1 apple, 1 bananna and 1 pear. )

The cost was just over 7 euros, very reasonable for picking , packing and delivering my order, I thought.
The saving for me was petrol, wear and tear on my vehicle ..and me, totally stress free, no battling with trying to pack my purchases at the check-out, with other shoppers reaching over me to get at their purchases...

The young smartly dressed driver arrived bang on time at my home, he was helpful ,polite and courteous,
all my groceries were in great shape and packed in large plastic bags and placed in plastic stacking boxes, the frozen and perishable goods in separate cool bags.
As he was unloading my groceries I noticed the large plastic carrier bags they were in and my mind immediately started to repurpose rather than recycling them.
Perfect I thought , they will fit neatly inside my plastic storage containers which I purchased in 1973 and apart from a few chips and ageing ( like me ) are still in great shape ( unlike me ).

Ok, where was I ? Oh..yes, my grocery delivery.

My delivery also came with a full sized invoice which enabled easy checking off my purchases, all absolutely correct .

So if you don't live very near a Supermarket I would thoroughly recommend using the home delivery service , particularly Mercadona, 10/10 marks...
I forgot to mention that there was a good selection of delivery slots and my order was delivered the day after I ordered...

Regards,
Gordon the laid back shopper...

[BENIDORM]

oooppps Sorry posted twice ...sorry..

[Beachcomber]

I have deleted the other one.

[costakid]

What distance from shop to your home Gordon?

[BENIDORM]

CK,
It's approx 11 km to Mercadona from my house and takes roughly 15 minutes by car.

[Enrique]

Hi Benidorm,

"I forgot to mention that there was a good selection of delivery slots and my order was delivered the day after I ordered"

I'm guessing the Spanish haven't embraced the on-line shopping for food in your area.

I'm currently ( UK ) having to book a slot 14 days away, having to get up at 02:00hrs to get a slot on a release slot day ...........

[BENIDORM]

Blimey Enrique ,
That's a long time to wait, what if you're isolated, you could starve.?

Let me know if you are in dire need and I could probably arrange for a food parcel to be delivered to you.

Regards,
Gordon...Meals on Wheels Rep...

[olive]

Pity Mercadona do not deliver to the campo. maybe one day by drone!

We buy my dads uk shopping from Morrisons each week. They had a minimum of £25 spend . Then they raised it to £40 as allowed in their small print. A delivery pass paid for six months makes deliveries quite reasonable.

Slots were very difficult to get in the early days but we now have a routine and have slots booked up ahead. We just put three bottles of gin in and then change it to food items the day before. We often smile at the thought that if we met an untimely end his delivery would be three bottles of gin for each week. He is a teetotaler to boot.

[Enrique]

Hi olive,

"We often smile at the thought that if we met an untimely end his delivery would be three bottles of gin for each week. He is a teetotaller to boot"

That made me laugh.........

We can just pull up our last order when booking the slot and have plenty of time to adjust the order.

Bennie:: "That's a long time to wait, what if you're isolated, you could starve.?"..........we just adapt and overcome by calling in the Cavalry..

[El Cid]

We use Mercadona online occasionally and have found them very good however their website takes a bit of getting used to. It looks as if it was written for a 1980s computer and certain options do not work. You cannot seem to pull up a previous order and modify it which is a real pain.

That said their drivers actually find our house which only one other delivery service has managed in 20 years! One delivery they had broken a bottle of wine. They came back within an hour with a replacement.

Sid

[katy]

I now know why I can never get a slot. Not too worried though as happy to get the excuse to be out of the house. Pre Covid I had a monthly delivery for basics and cleaning stuff but managed just one last year. I don't buy supermarket meat anyway.

Benidorm, you are not alone. I fell for the one banana too Another tip, never allow substitutes, the pickers have some weird ideas.

[Pamela1]

Slots are not too bad in my area but it isn't often i have a supermarket delivery, i have only used them mostly for non food items and dry food goods. I prefer to pick my own fresh items especially fruit and veg. The sell by dates on dairy and other products like ham are important as i shop once a week for the week ahead.I never buy any meat from supermarkets except chicken breasts to use for curries, stir fries, soups etc..I hate food shopping but i also hate wasting money on soft tomatoes or over ripe bananas which i would not select myself.

[BENIDORM]

No problems with delivery slots here and I had another 'big shop' arrive this week ( things that I forgot on the previous delivery ), all spot on and I even had a phone call from their office asking if they could deliver earlier !

Interesting to read about Amazon -Dia furthering their offers of home delivery groceries and from what I understand no delivery charge ?
Has anyone experienced this service yet and what about other supermarkets, any info ?

I've also had a delivery of caldo and juice from Don Simon ,very fast delivery with free items, we are well pleased with the quality etc.
I notice that many of the wine producers are offering good deals on wine deliveries with free delivery , does anyone have any experience of this ?
Regards,
Gordon.
And may I wish everyone a pleasant weekend ,wherever you are, make the most of what you've got .

[El Cid]

Not surprisingly, Amazon.es have a huge range of booze. They have brandy at €2500 a bottle! For Prime customers, delivery is free. Another company I have used is Drinks & Co. Vast range of wine at all prices. Some free delivery deals, but for 6 bottles its usually about €5.

Sid

[BENIDORM]

Thanks for that Sid

I'm not a 'Big Boozer', but I do enjoy a nice glass of wine, red or white most evenings, as for spirits I rarely drink any apart from an occasional glass of quality whisky or brandy, and I don't like mixed drinks, just a drop of water, maybe.

Regards,
Gordon..hic.....