Tesco notches up delivery milestone during coronavirus lockdown

Tesco reports that it has delivered one million online grocery orders in a week amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Almost 20% of those were reserved for the retailer’s vulnerable customers.

“To be part of the amazing team, and organisation which can use our scale for good, this is your chance to join the Technology team tasked with landing these changes and future innovations and customer propositions,” Kevin Findlay, Fulfilment (Customer and Store) - Senior IT Programme Manager at Tesco, said on LinkedIn.

He also provided a link to a job spec for a Technical Programme Manager - Store and Customer Fulfilment (further details on that here).

Incurring the wrath of the Twitterverse

Earlier this month, we reported that Tesco was encouraging people to arrange virtual Easter lunch cook-alongs during the coronavirus lockdown.

“Easter is a time for getting together with your loved ones – whatever the situation. So why not host your own virtual Easter lunch cook-along like Nan? No matter what ingredients you have, you’ll find a recipe everyone will love here,” the grocery giant tweeted.

Enter a bunch of people who weren’t feeling the love. Instead, they opted to blast the retailer for ‘profiteering out of the coronavirus tragedy’ and ‘denying disabled, elderly and other customers who rely on food deliveries for survival’.

Also of interest: Tesco is working on a £45 contactless payments limit rise

Tesco announced this month that it would pay investors £900 million in dividends despite taking £585 million from the taxpayer in business rates relief.

“Could I have £10 worth of free shopping? In respect of the £10 for everyone in the country that you have appropriated by taking £600m of taxpayers money while giving more than that to your shareholders,” said one Twitter user.

“Easter is a time for claiming money from the taxpayer so you can funnel it into shareholders dividends. Might be a more honest Easter message!” another fumed.

As for delivery slots for the elderly and vulnerable, Tesco insisted that it was working with the government to prioritise those without a support network.

But many remained unimpressed, with one person commenting: “Stop denying disabled, elderly & other customers who rely on food deliveries for survival. Tesco are complicit with the government in harming thousands of people who need & deserve protection.”

“My 76 year old mother who is housebound has been trying for weeks to get a delivery to bt41 while across the street at no risk have had two?” another claimed.

Others flagged up a poor in-store experience, with comments including: “I suggest everyone goes to Aldi or Lidl. Shelves are stocked and their staff do their utmost to assist the aged and vulnerable when they’re shopping. Tesco are just in it for the money and self-promotion and prices have increased too!”