Shopping online with Tesco.com - my life just got healthier...

I just completed my second order with tesco.com this is really going to be improving the way I live.

I used to be Mr. Takeaway food. I live right by takeaways and a Tescos but the problem I had was that I hate walking into a giant store like Tesco as I get too confused about what I want to buy. Also there is only so much you can carry so once you have the milk, bread etc... it doesn't leave much room to carry anything else exciting home. So I have been spending the last couple of years just popping over the road to either the Thai, Chinese, Indian, KFC, Subways or any other food that is ready made for me. This is obviously not too healthy and I probably spend more on food than I need to.

Out of the blue I remembered to shop online at Tescos. I think I did this years ago but as I was working at Accenture I could never coordinate my time slot for my delivery (they work you crazy hours so you are never at home to collect the shopping - but they pay you well enough so you can always eat out!).

My first experience about two weeks ago was great. Once I got over the hurdle of what do I actually want to buy (e.g. evian water - I always hated carrying these home as they are heavy to carry) it was all smooth. I could pick a 2 hour delivery slot the very next day. No need to spend the whole day waiting for something.

I just shopped for the second time and the experience was even better. I didn't have to scratch my head for an hour figuring out what I wanted to buy as it remembered my last order. I just changed the quantities around and added a few more items and I was all done. It remembered my credit card and address and I was done in 5 minutes.

Tescos just got a lazy shopper like me to spend £50 with them just because they made my life easier. I would not have bought the evian water (I could have pretended to be cool and said Stella Artois but I'm not that cool and I order water instead). They charge £4 for delivery but I'm happy to pay that considering I've probably saved money from buying all my chinese takeaways and also I'm going to be eating healthier (if you haven't met me I already have quite a muscular body...if you have met me - I hide it well...).

So being a technology guy how can Tescos make this great experience even better?

1. Perhaps 30 minutes before the driver delivers they could send me a text saying that he is on his way with a better estimate of the time.

2. Next time I am in store I could text "TESCO" and a product code to 80247 and it would add it to my favourites section. For instance I could see a toaster that I like at the shop. I text "tesco toaster brand x" or "tesco 8437484758" and it adds it to my favorites tab so that next time I shop online I know what to order. This makes shopping even better as I can physically see products and yet enjoy the luxury of not having to carry it home and have someone deliver it for me.

3. For all those people that don't work from home you could receive a text message from Tescos saying that the driver was at your house. They would send in a special order code so I know that it is Tescos and not someone pretending to be Tescos. I could then send an authorisation code to them which they could key in to my door and let themselves in. The delivery person then can also put away all the food on my shelves/fridge and see themselves out. If I really don't trust people I could have webcams in my house which ensure that nothing gets taken.

I am lazy and proud of it. If anyone wants me to spend money with them than you need to make my life as easy as possible.

Oyster Card - Sweet!

Just wanted to write about one of the technologies that goes unappreciated - The Oyster card.

The oyster card replaces the old paper tickets for the underground. Instead of having to pass your ticket through the gates you can touch the gate with your oyster card. You don't need to take the oyster card out of your wallet.

The old ticket system meant that I used to have to look for my ticket take it out of my wallet and then take it through the gates. This would take me at least 8 seconds - often a lot longer as I am one of those forgetful people that could never remember which pocket he put his ticket back into and ended up spending a good deal of time going through his pockets looking for the ticket.

With the oyster card it is always in my wallet. I don't need to take it out of my wallet and look for it. This saves me at least 6 seconds every morning. Multiply it by 400,000 people that take the Northern line every morning and the oyster card saves Londoners travelling on the northern line 2,400,000 seconds. This is equivalent to 83.4 working days. Seeing as most people travel 2 way this is 166.6 days.

So the time saved means that one person travelling the northern line can afford to take half a year of holidays just by the efficiency brought in by the oyster card.

When technology is introduced and it is done well no one really notices it and no one really talks about it. Think about all the headlines that hit the papers whenever a government IT project goes wrong or goes over budget. The oyster card is one of the best things I've seen in years - it's simple and effective and doesn't really need to be talked about (unless you are technology appreciating geek like me).

How can it be improved? I think you can have it so that it uses bluetooth from your phone so you don't even need to take out you wallet - you can walk straight through. This will save me another 2 seconds and you can do the efficiency savings for the 2 seconds for 400,000 northern line travellers....

Welcome to the Txtfo.com blog

What is this blog about?
This blog is about marketing, technology and starting up a business. This should hopefully give you insights into what we are learning about these subjects as we develop our own business (txtfo.com). We are building a brand from scratch and also innovating in the mobile field. Whether you are running Microsoft or a small corner shop - a business is a business and we will also be blogging about what we are learning in setting up our own business as well as working with clients such as Bloomsbury Publishing, Microsoft and Samsung.

Who is writing this blog?
This blog is written by Amir Ahmad and I am the founder and Chief Simplification Officer of Txtfo.com. Previously I was a consultant at accenture having worked for clients such as BSkyB, eircom, Microsoft, Telewest and Worldcom.

Why Blog?

As this is the first time I'm using this technology I'll just explain why I am choosing to write a blog and what I see as the benefits of a blog going forward.

1. Writing thoughts feels good! - The simple fact is most people like to write and it is something that I find enjoyable. I would like to write a business book someday and writing a blog will help me put some of my thoughts down and make it easier for me to write. I think everyone has a book in them so a blog is one way to get the ball rolling.

2. Promote txtfo.com - Providing a blog will hopefully eventually get some more people to visit our website (www.txtfo.com). As a big part of my life at the moment is txtfo.com - it ultimately will get a mention and you will learn what we're learning. Hopefully somethings that appear will be interesting here and then make you remember and use txtfo.

3. Those who can...teach - As a slogan for a teacher recruitment campaign said "those who can...teach". I think people find educating other people rewarding. A blog is a cheap way to publish to the world what I have learnt in my 28 years of life. If I knew what I know now when I was 18 I would have saved myself many cringeworthy moments. I'm sure if I'll look back when I'm 38 at being a twenty-something and being a dumb kid - but you live and learn.

Why learn from your own mistakes - when you can learn from mine? This is primarily why I try and read a lot of non-fiction books/magazines as they are usually written by someone who has spent a great deal of time researching a specific niche area and you can get what they have spent ages learning in a summary of their thoughts by reading their book. Even better with my blog is that I spend a lot of time learning or reseaching something I would like for myself - and you can get all the benefits of my time for free.

If you don't enjoy reading this blog than it comes with a money back guarantee.

Amirski
Mobile: +44 7970496624 (I'm based in London, UK Timezone)
email: amir@txtfo.com