How often do you have delivery problems with online shopping?

I spoke too soon. Today we had a Waitrose delivery and there was an abnormal number of substitutions. They were understandable and sensible replacements but not what we wanted. The substitutions were all for mainstream stock items, not exotic and seasonal products. We don’t want to stop substitutions because then we would have to go out and get something elsewhere, but it is disappointing that the stock levels in the superstore that operates our delivery service are not sufficient to meet the demand, even though they have had five clear days in which to ensure they can do so. It is necessary to order well in advance so as to get a convenient delivery slot; I was hoping they would use that time to make sure they could supply what we ordered.

Waitrose did send an e-mail about an hour before the delivery slot listing the substitutions but by that time it was too late to ask for alternative replacements. At least they do not charge the higher price if the substitution is more expensive than the item ordered and they charge the lower price if the converse is the case. The only substitution that we thought could have been more acceptable was in respect of freshly-squeezed fruit juice where we ordered 2×1 litre cartons of each of two types of juice. They could not supply the pineapple or tropical juice ordered and substituted juices from concentrate; is that a reasonable substitution? I would have thought it should have been possible to supply freshly squeezed juice but from other fruit – even four litres of orange juice would have been better.

Apart from that, and the van driver losing his way, turning up late, and having a dodgy hand-held computer that would not take my signature, it was perfect. The driver didn’t seem to understand that sat-navs work on postcodes, not individual door numbers, and that a postcode can contain a number of individual addresses. He thought the marker on the screen pinpointed the precise house. I explained that you still have to look for the house number but he said they do not run consecutively so I also had to explain about odds and evens! He was smartly presented though, although not looking comfortable in the Waitrose uniform collar and tie.

I had forgotten about our recent Waitrose experience [see above] so this is just to bring the story to a conclusion.

After the delivery there was an on-line follow-up questionnaire, which I suspect is routine and not targetted, and I gave low scores for certain aspects of the service identifying key concerns. That was followed by an email from the central customer care team asking for more information which I fulsomely supplied. In response I received an explanation of the company’s order-picking approach, which I challenged because it was not intelligent enough, and information on how there had been words of advice and support given to management and personnel at the store where the deliveries come from. In summary, my points were recognised, I felt that excuses rather than reasons were given [but that is a commercial culture], managerial action had occurred, there was an expression of apology and a promise of better service in future, and a £5 discount voucher has been tendered [the order totalled £86.44 so that was under 6%]. Some of the responses were ‘templated’ across two communications but overall we are generally satisfied with Waitrose’s response and are taking no further action.

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Yes, it turns up in country music and romantic ballads because it has a sentimental old-time ring about it. Sometimes it is used to fit the metre. I prefer up-to-date language.

I was taught that “got” was a redundant word in many usages and better not used. For example in the intro “and you’ve got quite the perfect storm”

Indeed, but many writers still use it for effect. It’s a bit like the weather presenters who insist on saying things such as ‘the temperatures will be dropping down…’ I wait patiently in the hope of seeing something that drops up.

“The only begotten son.” “And Noah begat Shem, Ham and Japheth”.
I beget. You beget. He/she begets. They have begotten.
Then they began to beget and there was no end to their begetting. It was a case of the begetter and the begot.

To actually remain on topic On two occasions I received goods that the supplier knew were faulty and sent them anyway. Sending them back was a nuisance, but a local convenience store served as a collection depot. Having to be in for a delivery is also a nuisance when ordering on line. On one occasion a parcel was left round the back without notification. As it was undamaged I didn’t complain. It is the weak link in the on line chain, but one can specify a collection point in some cases and collect parcels when it suits. Actual delivery times are usually quicker than promised and packaging is usually very good.

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There’s a big Yodel depot around 17 miles from us and they do have Yodel Vans. although I don’t know if their drivers are self-employed. But you’re right: it is without doubt the worst of the delivery services out there in my experience.

The delivery drivers’ terms and conditions do not prevent the companies from offering a.m. and p.m. delivery slots. The root of the problem is with the consignors – the companies people buy from – who look for the lowest delivery price and therefore employ the cheapest carriers. The cheapest carriers are bound to sweat their workers but I read today that a review into employment conditions in the so-called gig economy might propose that some of the present exploitative practices are outlawed. Ideally, customers should be offered a choice of delivery company or only buy from outlets that offer bespoke time slots [at a surcharge]. It is a fact that delivery quality and service standards are in the price and the consumer does have a wide choice.

I agree with Ian. Yodel and Hermes are the worst carriers in my experience but unfortunately we are not their customers; the on-line traders need to raise their game. They know that if they told us who would be delivering our orders many of us would cancel them and look elsewhere.

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Welcome to the convos Estelle,

That is pretty awful customer service.

I think Asda fulfil orders from their stores meaning they might not have the items you ordered. My last order was missing 28 items which is not a lot of use if you have an occasion planned.

Did you have a late delivery? I posted above about a Tesco delivery that didn’t turn up because the driver was too late.

If you log in to post, you will be able to find future replies easily.

Welcome Estelle

I had a similar problem with a bulky item collection by the local council. When it failed the first time, I asked what had happened but was not given an answer and despite my request to contact me about a suitable date, one was arranged. That failed and I had to speak to various people before I learned that there was a computer error and although I had received text reminders of the collections, no-one had been told to come to my house. I must have made 20 calls and filled a page with the names of people I had spoken to, the dates and times.

Whether it’s a company, council or other organisation, they should investigate complaints carefully and make sure that action is taken to avoid problems in the future.

You’re not alone, Estelle. A similar thing happened to us some time ago. That time they blamed it on the customer service team. Does the £20 voucher have an expiry date?

I wrote to the store manager of Asda , Harpurhey when my son who had moved to Central Manchester decided to do his large moving in shop there . At 8pm no manned tills were open and we had to put a £132 shop through self scan plus my large shop too . Frustrated we use delivery service . A bottle of spirits had a near impossible to open security tag on it and some of the replacement items were laughable . I actually hand wrote the letter to the manager so he didn’t think it was a wind up . We still await reply a year on .

Asda have an appalling record for customer service in any case . I suppose one more unhappy customer more or less is no problem

I needed a large number of postage stamps so ordered them from the Post Office. They were delivered by UPS.

I expect that was a cheaper option. You could have had them post-haste but that would cost more.

I wonder if Frank at the Post Office would run them through his machine.

Annoyingly, all postage stamps available by the sheet nowadays are peel-off adhesive ones which I find take much longer to affix to a large number of envelopes. With the lick-&-stick type you could get up quite a rhythm with a perforated strip and a fan of envelopes [sounds like a nightclub act!].

Cue David Rose…

This case is nearly two years old and there is no point in dealing with it now, but why cannot Which? pick up these questions and answer them?

Those of us who volunteer to try to give consumer advice here are not experts in everything, and not necessarily ‘on duty’ when the questions arrive, but Which? is a normal weekday operation with continuous cover. If Which? is going to pose questions about delivery problems, what is the point if it is not going to handle them? After three days of no response from a ‘volunteer’ it should take the question in-house and deal with it. If that is not possible, please make it clear that Which? Conversation is not a consumer complaints service.

Which? has called for all this evidence. It would be interesting to know, eventually, what use has been made of it.

You have contracted the company to deliver your order to your door and possibly within a set timeframe. You are entitled to proper fulfilment of that.

Obviously things can go wrong but it should not take 48 hours or more for the company to deliver exactly what you ordered, or at least the essentials. That you did not receive your order is a matter of fact that does not require an investigation holding up fulfilment of your order; the company can do that at their leisure.

Without knowing the company concerned it is impossible to comment on any other possible rights you might have under the contract. There has been a breach of contract and you should be offered some redress for the inconvenience and hassle of getting it sorted out. A bouquet of flowers is a common offering but you might prefer something more useful or edible or a partial refund or vouchers off a future order.

I happened to us many years ago with Asda. Like many large companies, they have an effective swerve diversion system built into the customer contact numbers, so that calling the advertised number gets you through to the Philippines where a delightful person will carefully read of the acceptable options from their prepared list. Pleasant as it is to chat to a non-English speaker in the middle of the(ir) night it rarely solves the problem the way the customer wants it to be solved.

So I instead persuaded them to let slip the actual local number of the delivery depot who sent the order out again by return and removed any charge.

Persistence pays off but you are in the right, Sally, as they have breached the contract by failing to deliver.

I was in the same position back in mid-March when I decided to avoid visiting shops because I have respiratory problems and have had enough hospital admissions when I was younger. Starting off with Ocado, for which I had free delivery vouchers, I registered with the supermarkets that deliver in this area and could get no slots for delivery or click & collect. My first successes were achieved by taking a laptop to bed and checking in the middle of the night. 🙂 It has progressively become much easier, but it will depend on where you live.

You might find this site useful to check several supermarkets at a time, but it only covers deliveries, not click & collect: https://shoppingslot.co.uk