To ask for compensation and if not, how much?

[PiousPrat]

I had a shopping delivery on Saturday. At the stop before mine, the door hadn't closed properly and 3 crates of my shopping fell onto the road. By the time the driver realised and went back, they were gone.

I went through the list, checking off everything that should have been there against what was, then phoned up to report what was missing. 45 minute phone call, 30 of that on hold (how many people call to report missing items at 9:30pm on a Saturday?!). I was told they would be sent out the next day. At 3pm on Sunday when I had heard nothing about redelivery time, I phoned back, another 30 minute call, to be told the Home Shopping Manager for my branch wasn't there and no one else could deal with it, so redelivery would now be Monday and I would be called by 9am to arrange a time. At 3pm today I still hadn't heard anything, so rang the branch after getting their number from the support line on Sunday, to be told by the home delivery manager that he had been off for the weekend and no one had told him about my flying crate incident. There was no record of my call to the support line with my (rather long) list of missing items so I had to go through them again. Except the manager had trouble finding the first item as my order had dropped off the system so he had to manually find the items on their list. In the end he sent a driver out to collect my list of items from me.

I still haven't had my missing items, nor do I know when they will be coming although I am optimistic that it will be this evening.

I will be putting in a complaint, if only to highlight the idiocy of a system that means if one person is off there is no one else able to cover their duties, and the lack of communication between the support centre and store.

WIBU to ask for compensation when the manager rings back with my delivery time, considering the hassle of going through the list to find what was missing, the 90 minute of phone calls to date, the fact that I had to go out and replace some of the items at short notice from a corner shop and therefore pay more (nappies and loo roll, dodgy tummy bug going round so desperately needed supplies), the lost day yesterday when I could have gone to watch my son play football but waited in because I was told the shopping would be coming and the general hassle of having to chase all this myself after being repeatedly let down?

FWIW I don't blame the driver in the slightest, these things happen and he couldn't have been more apologetic and helpful in suggesting ways to resolve it and I certainly don't begrudge the manager a weekend off!

Am I being grabby? Or a walkover?

Not grabby at all, and i'd ask for a cheque rather than credit to spend with them.

I had this issue with my first (and last) Ocado delivery- they delivered half my order and half someone elses, which i then kept in the frige/freezer till they picked up their stuff the next day, but didn't redeliver any of mine.

They sent me a £5 voucher off my next £50 spend, which was never going to happen, and didn't refund me the cost of any of my missing items.

If they don't properly sort you out, i'd vote with your feet, and get your groceries delivered elsewhere.

I would want at least £20 for that. Sainsburys used to give £10 for being outside their delivery slot (dont anymore but if you ask for it you will get it IME), so I would ask for at least double that. It is a big inconvenience for you, especially if you had to go without essential items or complimentary items for a meal or had a baby that needed milk for example! Totally unacceptable. You should also have a refund of any delivery cost on top.

no harm in asking

yanbu I would ask, they will be expecting it and will I am sure compensate you.
please make sure you come back and tell all though

I used to work for a leading supermarket. It's not uncommon to give customers up to £25 'goodwill' but this has been a particularly bad incident. I would ask that all the 'missing' items are given as goodwill for all the hassle it's caused. As a rule, they don't usually give more than 50% of the value if goods as goodwill. Play on the fact you are a loyal customer and you feel let down etc. DO NOT do the 'I'm never shopping with you again' malarkey, you won't get anything. The whole point of them compensating is to keep you as a long term customer, the second you say that, you'll get absolute minimum.
Good luck x

The missing things came to a touch over £45 though Oldcatlady. Surely they won't refund all that, will they? It was 1/5 of the whole order. Thanks for the insider info. We are decent customers I suppose, 2 adults and 3 kids, 2 of whom are teenagers and the other a baby means we blow through groceries like you wouldn't believe

I don't have it in me to be all argumentative so couldn't fake the bluff and bluster to do the "I'm never shopping here again" routine anyway, but will make sure I play on the customer loyalty and inconvenience instead. Thanks :)

Has the manager not rung you back yet?

Nothing yet, but since the driver came out to collect the list at 4:20 I am assuming that it was probably the start of his 2 hour delivery slot so giving them the benefit of the doubt until 6:30. I figure that is enough time for the driver to get back to the store, pass on the list and the manager to see it then call me back.

I'm being a sap aren't I?

Which store is it?

Always ask for compensation and never be afraid to complain. I do this with any shoddy product or service.

Morrison's even gave a a £3 voucher because my tin of baked beans and vegetarian sausages was a sausage short - 5 instead of 6.

Complain, have fun with it.

Btw, amusing emails usualy go a long way. I like to tell companies that "I felt a little bid sad". For some reason this seems to work well.

A little bit sad I meant.

You obviously have plenty of spare time starting a thread about it so it takes the piss a bit to complain about being on hold for 30mins!!!

I'd be at the window every 2 minutes looking for the van!!

I needed to put the baby down for a nap so rang back hoping to head them off before they rang and disturbed him. The manager I needed didn't answer his line or the page so they took my number for the duty manager, so I thought I'd get the baby down quickly. Of course the delivery manager phoned just as DS3 hit the cot.

My shopping will be here in the next 90 minutes here's hoping this time! the manager apologised and went to ring off. I raised the subject of a goodwill gesture and he then said he would refund the delivery charge and credit the account with a £10 voucher.

Feminist sisters forgive me, but I said I would have to check with my husband if he agreed that this was acceptable given the grief I've had. In my defence, the account is actually in his name and I am crap at confrontation so need to steel myself for it first. It was the first thing I thought of to buy myself some time until tomorrow to think of how best to say "oi, no. I've lost 3 hours of my life chasing this and writing lists for you and am out of pocket. My time is worth more than 1/2 of minimum wage thank you very much" and squaring my righteous indignation with my cowed MC mustn't-make-a-fuss upbringing.

ENormaSnob it is a large green chain >_>

Broken contract = compensation. This is business

Yes iloveberries. That makes perfect sense. Since you had 90 seconds to spare to read my thread and reply to it, can I assume that you can go into your garden for me and count all your blades of grass? After all, your time isn't worth anything, just like mine isn't so why should you get any more choice than me about how you spend it?

So what you going to hold out for?

I think a free delivery pass for, say 3 months? I would love free delivery

Of course you must get compensation! I would never use them again either.

I tried Sainsbury's and Tesco and had troubles with both (late/not pitching/most order missing/being told LIES)... have been using Ocado for many years and have the (very) odd item missing (usually my sushi treat waaah!), best by far.

Tesco have been consistently appalling for deliveries and Ocado and sainsburys don't deliver to my area

I don't really know what to ask for when I ring tomorrow tbh. If it had been sorted out on Saturday and delivered yesterday, I would have been happy with waiving the delivery charge as after all, it was an accident. It is the run around I have been given since that has annoyed me. I don't have a figure in mind, but thinking about the £10 I was offered has me thinking it is actually quite insulting considering how much of my time it has wasted.

Thinking about it, we don't pay for delivery anyway as DP has a credit card from the store and pays using that and so long as we spend more than £100 delivery is free. Since we use delivery for bulky items and stocking up and there is 5 of us, orders rarely come to less than £100 so there isn't a delivery charge to refund anyway

Did you sign for the whole order ?

Work out what you think you would accept as a bare minimum (say, £30).

Don't ask for that - ask for a lot more. I'd suggest starting at the total value of your shop (I'm guessing £70ish) and see what they offer - he probably won't want to offer you more than £10 but I would suspect they have a discretion to offer up to £50 where necessary.

I'd lay it on thick re the inconvenience. The whole point of home shopping is to make your life easier. You missed an important football match for your DS, you've had to go out shopping to replace the damaged items, your baby has been unsettled...whatever you can think of to throw in don't worry if its not all true!. It's better to sound sad and disappointed than angry.

You will definitely get more than £10 though :) (and quite right too!)

I think you shouldn't have had to pay for any of your order. They completely messed you around. They should be grovelling now, not offering you £10.

I wish it were only a £70 order. It was a stock up shop, hence the 5kg of spuds that some scrote lugged off up the road so it was nearer £250 somehow I don't think there is any chance of me getting that back

I think I might chance my arm and ask for the replacement items to be refunded, so £45 worth. I guess the worst that can happen is I get bartered down.

Cumfy my DP signed, but he said that the delivery driver had made a note on the system that 3 crates were missing so couldn't be scanned for refund as being refused, so it isn't like they have us signing for the whole order then trying to claim lots was missing.

They offered you £10? Stand up for yourself woman and tell them it's not good enough. Tell them how much you spend with them, and that you are insulted with their offer