Ocado tackles coronavirus concerns with delivery and new customer initiatives

Ocado drivers will not be leaving orders on customer doorsteps, entering homes or taking away unwanted bags or returns as the online retailer looks to reduce the spread of coronavirus.

The move applies to all customers whether they are self-isolating or not, a message to staff said. As of today, driver schedules will include two minutes for them to clean their vans, with a focus on areas of high contact, such as steering wheels, handbrake, radio, satnav and handles.

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As for unwanted bags, the message read: “Just tell the customer to keep them for a few weeks and we will let them know when we can pick them up again.”

No to newbies

Ocado will also not be accepting new customer orders for the time being. 

“In this time of unusual demand, we have made the call to temporarily prioritise deliveries for you, our existing customers. This means, after today we will not be processing new customer bookings for the time being,” a statement posted on its Facebook account said.

“Naturally, we are very sorry to have to disappoint anyone that chooses Ocado, and we’re working hard to increase our delivery capacity.”

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