back to article Online Christmas orders from retailers go titsup

Looks like Christmas won't be delivered for hundreds of families this weekend who've shopped online at Sainsbury's and Fortnum & Mason, thanks to IT problems. Fortnum & Mason has blamed "severe" IT problems for its failure to deliver its famous luxury hampers in time for the big day. The high-end retailer is now no longer …

COMMENTS

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    What?

    An IT system can't cope with a 3x increase (sound less dramtic than 300%) in orders?

    Sounds like they went for the cheap option then.

    Quickly, Cheaply, Properly. Choose two out of the three.

    1. I'm Brian and so's my wife
      Headmaster

      You're right...

      ... 3x is less dramatic than a 300% increase (which is 4x)

  2. micheal
    Joke

    I wonder which

    preferred Gov IT bidder installed the system?

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Hershey's "chocolate"...

    ...is the one thing that makes me think Americans do actually understand irony.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Quite

      Hershey's stuff is simply chocolate flavoured wax of some sort. Absolutely uneatable.

    2. Field Marshal Von Krakenfart
      Holmes

      Hershey's er... em... brown mess

      Did you follow the link for the Hersheys story?

      Accenture and SAP

      'nuff said

  4. Steve Button Silver badge

    "...Sainsbury's said the retailers' website glitch had affected fewer than 100 orders..."

    whoa, wait just one fucking minute here! This is utter BS! I tried to update my slot last week, and it did not check out the order properly + send any email confirmation, and so completely lost the slot. When my wife spoke to customer service the following morning, the rep. said that this has effected "loads" of people. Spoke to a friend couple of friends and they have experienced exactly the same problem.

    I am now furious with Sainsbury's and once I've picked up a couple of bottles of booze this afternoon I will never ever return to that shop again (until after Christmas ;-). Tesco are particularly immoral bastards. Looks like it will have to be Waitrose or Co-Op from next year. (and local farm shops)... or get some pigs + sheep + grow our own vegetables, knit myself a new suit.

  5. Bob Bobson
    Facepalm

    Yet again

    Not the first time this has happened, they completely screwed up christmas 2005 as well, that time due to insufficent despatch and warehouse staff. I was working there at the time, on the phones in customer service, and took calls all through the 23rd and 24th from irate and in some cases crying customers who'd had christmas presents and food fail to turn up. I see they still haven't learnt.

  6. Mike 125

    There's a FAQ on Fortnum's website which reads...

    "Do you have an Archivist?"

    Hmmm. May I suggest the Q

    "Why don't you use an IT supplier who knows WTF they're doing?"

    would be more FA. Odd how these useless sites are always ASP stuff.

    Happy Christmas.

    1. Kool-Aid drinker
      Thumb Up

      @Mike 125

      Yeah, ASP speaks volumes. The site's as slow as a slug in treacle too. You'd think F & M could afford a decent system from a decent supplier.

  7. Reading Your E-mail
    Coffee/keyboard

    Hmmm

    Did they not send the gifts to IT, bet the problems were preceded by flaming Christmas puddings ;) The true story is covered by El Reg folks!!

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Who'd have thought...

    ...that there would be a markedly increased transaction rate in the last month of the year?

    Load testing: does anyone still do it?

  9. Alfie
    Pint

    Tried to book a delivery slot on Sunday for delivery today from Sainsbury's, but they were showing nothing available until the 27th, so got ours via sneakernet on Wednesday night.

    Best episode of The Good Life ever!

    "Good will to all men, especially me!"

    1. Mike Timbers

      A bit late to expect a delviery then, to be blunt!

      Expecting to get a near-Christmas delivery slot with five days notice shows an unrealistic expectation in my opinion. Christmas slots open on the 1st December and are usually gone by the end of that day. Regular shoppers are aware of this and ensure their order is placed by lunchtime on the 1st.

      As for the rest, re-opening an order and failing to re-checkout releases the slot to be grabbed by some other lucky punter.

      The supermarkets online operations are all over-subscribed at Christmas. This is not a failure in the IT but in the fulfilment that simply cannot flex vans for one or two days in the way IT can flex some servers.

      Separately, mixing the two stories into a single one is disingenuous. The comments about Fortnums might lead on to believe that Sainsburys suffered from load issues which it did not. This year's Christmas rush was nothing on last year's that coincided with the snow.

  10. Shardik
    FAIL

    Sainsburys & Tesco same backend??

    I had the same delivery slot vanishing problems with Tesco grocery shopping last week. Along with earlier not being able to get in to the site, or get the iPhone app to authenticate.

    I complained... And got a 10 quid eVoucher... For a service that doesn't work and has no slots available anyway! Thanks Tesco! Every little helps apparently...

  11. LarsG

    WHY IS THIS A NEWS STORY?

    it happens every year so why the screaming tantrums or surprise?

  12. brakepad

    Unexpected

    "It sounds like this system was unable to cope with an unexpected surge in Christmas orders."

    If only there were some way of knowing when the surge in Christmas orders was likely to occur...

  13. TeeCee Gold badge
    Facepalm

    Online grocery shopping fubar?

    I have the perfect solution to this problem. It's a documented process I like to call; "Get off your fat, lazy arse and go to the shops.".

    I think I'll apply for a patent, as nobody else appears to have thought of it....

    1. P. Lee
      Mushroom

      re: Online grocery shopping fubar?

      +1

      When things are more critical than usual, you put in more safeguards, checks and contingency plans.

      Why do you need JIT delivery for potatos, (frozen) peas, and pudding?

      Icon: what happens when you light the pud...

  14. twilkins
    Thumb Down

    Sainsburys online ordering system has been slightly broken for a while. Things would mysteriously drop off my basket (unnoticed until the delivery arrives), and delivery slots would evaporate. When the driver turned up half an hour early as I was trying to deal with a screaming baby, I had to call time on them.

    Now I do my shopping in person, at my nearest local Supermarket. A Co-op.

  15. TXITMAN
    Holmes

    It sounds like this system was unable to cope with an unexpected surge in Christmas orders.

    It sounds like this system was unable to cope with an unexpected surge in Christmas orders.

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