I can hear you saying – what has this got to do with history?  Simple – it’s part of MY life that I am recording here as part of my personal / family history!  Apart from that, it was so ridiculous and unbelievable I needed to share it with you.

Large Companies and organisations pay mega-bucks to other companies to be consultants and provide a report full of ‘helpful’ advice.

I am not charging one cent to give some really good advice … do NOT aggravate or upset someone who:

• is in pain
• is forced to use a service they don’t want to use
• has to rely on that service for essential items
• is completely immobile (adding to the frustration levels)
• has a lot of time on their hands
• doesn’t appreciate non-delivery of a service – not ONCE, not TWICE, but THREE times
• loves writing blogs

OK – I guess that sums me up at the moment.  The only thing I’m not doing in this blog is NAMING the company – that will happen if they don’t rectify the problem by midnight tonight – as requested.

If you haven’t caught up on ‘the news’ of the moment, have a read of an earlier blog.  And, yes, Virgin Airlines definitely did the right thing as you’ll find on the follow-up blog.

So what has upset me this time?

Due to my immobility I have had to use online supermarket shopping and delivery.  Initially I was reasonably impressed and I particularly like the way my previous purchases over a number of months were displayed to I could purchase EXACTLY THE SAME PRODUCT as when I was mobile.  My first order and delivery was early in June.  That order included 3 boxes of

Whiskas adult cat food oh so meaty poultry dishes 12x85g

And they delivered the correct items – selected from my previous purchase list!

My next two orders didn’t include this item but my order last Tuesday, for delivery on Wednesday, did include it – 3 boxes, again selected from my previous purchase list.

If you haven’t used this service before, the items are delivered in plastic shopping bags and placed on a bench or table.  You are then required to sign the order form or the iPad so the driver can leave and get onto the next delivery.  Then you start to unpack each bag full of items.

WEDNESDAY – what happened to my 3 boxes of the above item?  I got 3 DIFFERENT boxes – one box that I HAD ordered, one was meat chunks (not POULTRY) and one box was clearly marked “1+” meaning for a 1 year old kitten – definitely not ADULT.

I called the number you’re supposed to ring if your order wasn’t correct … and waited, and waited, and waited, and waited, and eventually got onto a human being.  I explained the problem and received the expected platitudes.  I explained that my ADULT cat would only each the poultry dishes.

Action:

• was given credit for the two incorrect items
• was given a bonus voucher for $15 for my angst
• I had to put in a new order for the ‘correct’ items
• I had to order a minimum of $50 worth of goods to get a free delivery
• notes were taken to guarantee that the RIGHT items were delivered

NOT HAPPY but I put in a new order to be delivered the next day – Thursday – so my darling cat wouldn’t starve – I wanted the food to get ‘us’ through to the date I hoped I would be moon-boot free and have a bit bit of mobility.

Because I had to order $5

0 worth of goods, I ordered 5 x boxes of the ADULT POULTRY items and two packets of the Whiskas biscuits he eats – that got me over the limit to get free delivery.

THURSDAY – items delivered.  Stupid me let the driver leave as soon as I’d signed the delivery docket.  He plonked the bags down and was well gone by the time I limped to the table to unpack them.

2 packets of biscuits were the right ones – selected from my previously purchased list.

5 boxes of Adult Poultry items – WRONG!  Instead I received 5 boxes of 1+ kitten items.  Check the delivery docket – definitely had the ADULT ones I requested.

To say I was gob-smacked would be an understatement.

On the phone again – waiting, and waiting, and waiting etc. etc. etc. etc.

I politely made it clear that I WASN’T going to order another $50+ worth of goods to get free delivery.  I was reassured that as the impossible had happened – incorrect items two orders and days in a row, I would get an extra credit voucher, I would get an extra free delivery voucher, and on top of that I would receive a delivery the following day – FRIDAY – of the 5 boxes and no charge for anything.

So, it shouldn’t have happened twice but to be absolutely certain I asked if it would help if I photographed one of the correct boxes and emailed it to ensure the pickers couldn’t possibly get it wrong a third time.

What a great idea!  So I photographed the last box in my pantry and emailed it to ‘the Company’ ready for the delivery the next day.

FRIDAY – I’d been reassured it shouldn’t have happened twice in a row and that it definitely couldn’t happen three times / days in a row but guess what they delivered – 5 boxes of the 1+ KITTEN food!!!!!!!!!!!

When the driver arrived I said I wouldn’t sign anything until I’d inspected the contents of the bags,  I was explaining what had happened previously – and showed him the INCORRECT 5 boxes sitting on my table from Thursday’s delivery as well as the earlier 2 boxes from the Wednesday’s delivery.

We were both gobsmacked as we opened the bags he delivered to find the WRONG boxes – all 1+ KITTEN food.  He was furious, grabbed his phone, and rang the ‘special’ number.  11 minutes later he still hadn’t got through!

In the end he had to leave – and he left behind all the wrong boxes – said there was no point in taking them back until they delivered the RIGHT boxes.  He DID take an empty box from the delivery at the beginning of June – to make sure the pickers got it right – the FOURTH time!

Take a look at the picture at the top – can YOU pick the ONE correct box?

They deliver on the weekend – I requested a delivery Saturday or at least before midnight tonight (Sunday).

IT’S NOT LOOKING PROMISING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!