Friday 10 December 2010

Christmas is coming / Tesco Finder update

I knew there was a reason for the workload - I have been radio silent on this blog for the last two weeks because you you could say that work reached a crescendo as we put in the final preparations for Christmas trading.

It was not just that customers seemed to be waiting for us to release the coveted 'festive grocery delivery slots' adjacent to Christmas Eve. Nor was it just the fact that people were waiting, it seemed, to the last minute to get the Clubcard deals at the original 4:1 ratio before the date it switched to 3:1. Oh and the 'Double Up' Clubcard deals that proved so fantastically popular. But it all happened at the same time and our servers have been feeling the heat like never before.

In addition, our API received updates to improve performance and add new functionally, and Tesco Finder for iPhone (version 2.2) has just been uploaded to the Apple iTunes Store for approval.

I sent out Technika Freeview set-top boxes to triallists around the country engaged in the forthcoming Tesco Freeview Experiment, and they are getting their boxes set up ready so we can start soon.

Then I went on holiday to Ireland for a few days to offer my in-laws Yuletide greetings and drink Guinness (it just tastes best when sipped in a classic Irish pub with great company sat round a roaring fire).

But now we're settling down into a mix of research and support mode rather than try and add anything new as we guide our way through the next fortnight to the celebrations of the Yuletide season.

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I'll talk more about the great new features of Tesco Finder in the next few days but in summary the new version includes:

  • A complete re-design and re-program from the ground-up by Ben Martin (who also authored the Clubcard app for iPhone).
  • A branch list that that stays up to date and now includes all Tesco stores in the Republic of Ireland.
  • Filtering of nearby stores to only show those with certain facilities (such as petrol station, ATM, cultural food, those open 24 hours, and many more filter options).
  • The ability to refresh your product list(s) to get the latest prices / availability / special offers and in-store product locations - especially useful when you change to a different Tesco branch. 
  • A great new classy Tesco Finder icon showing a map of the British Isles - nice!




2 comments:

  1. Hello :) not sure how to post feedback officially so this seemed like the best way forward.

    In the store finder app. You seem to have a slight timing discrepancy on some of the stores. They are shown as being open from 0001 to 2359. Does that mean they close for a minute at 0000? ;o)
    Really cool app though taking you to the shelf is mental!

    ReplyDelete
  2. The new Tesco Finder iPhone app sounds absolutely brilliant in concept. Unfortunately having upgraded to it, I find In practice that it crashes before I can use it and checking the app's feedback on iTunes I find that I am not alone :-(

    ReplyDelete

As this blog grows in readership - and because it carries the Tesco brand - I have had to become more careful about the sort of comments that are acceptable. The good news is that I'm a champion of free speech so please be as praising or as critical as you wish! The only comments I DON'T allow through are:

1. Comments which criticise an individual other than myself, or are critical of an organisation other than Tesco. This is simply because they cannot defend themselves so is unfair and possibly libellous. Comments about some aspect of Tesco being better/worse than another equivalent organisation are allowed as long as you start by saying "in my personal opinion.." or "I think that...". ... followed by a "...because.." and some reasoned argument.

2. Comments which are totally unrelated to the context of the original article. If I have written about a mobile app and you start complaining about the price of potatoes then your comment isn't going stay for long!

3. Advertising / web links / spam.

4. Insulting / obscene messages.


Ok, rules done - now it's your go: