To never ever use Asda again til Hell freezes over

[NoMoreParades]

Sorry not going to be the most interesting thread, I'm so bloody cross though I need a rant!
Got my Asda grocery shop delivered last week and there was a whole crate of items missing (12 things).
I emailed, explained that I now had to take my disabled child out in his wheelchair in the rain to local supermarket (single parent, non-driver), and deal with all the stares, trying to steer wheelchair with one hand while holding the basket, and the predictable meltdown. Got an apology. Ok, fair enough, very annoyed and inconvenienced but it happens.
Today I see on my fb feed a story about Asda tripping over themselves to find a discontinued coat for an autistic boy. Even getting it all the way from China. Lovely photo opportunity of course, and post got hundreds of 'well done' Asdas.
Call me cynical, but Asda don't give a shit do they? That family/boy was the acceptable face of disability, just a sad enough story to make them heroes but not disabled enough to put normal people off.
AIBU to be fuming??

[Becca8675309]

Asda are okay in my book as did you know they sell IVF medication at cost? It's not well known, but I think it's really nice of them.

[lasttimeround]

awaywiththepixies yes it makes a huge difference when staff have been properly trained.

[LolaTheDarkdestroyer]

Asda are shite anyway.. the one and only delivery I had from them arrived with 3 day out of date chicken, veg etc with one day date on, I paid for bags and half the shit was just lose all over the place.. there were numerous subs including mouthwash for tooth paste wtaf?! They are shameful even the delivery driver said the pickets were shit!
Never had a problem with Sainsbury's very professional.

[AwaywiththePixies27]

I'm not saying ASDA do this because I don't know (I don't use them) and it doesn't appear to be the case here, but a lot of businesses do.

Sorry TabascoToastie I know you said this. I was just trying to state that Asda are the least of all of them I know to have done this. I get why the OP is angry but its not the little boys fault.

I think the OP is seeing it a bit as a 'nice PR job for little boy whilst I can get stuffed'. As a mother of someone who was still trying to fit into his batman coat a year after he'd outgrown it because that was 'his coat' and they didn't do bigger sizes in those styles, I can understand why Asda thought it'd be a nice gesture.

[AwaywiththePixies27]

P.s sorry if visually impaired is not the correct term. I said so as the man who has a guide dog I know who uses Asda has not lost all of his sight but significantly enough.

[AwaywiththePixies27]

When at the same time they lack basic disabled accommodation.

I'm the last person to stick up for Asda. But this is one thing they cant be accused of. Most stores I have been in have been brilliantly accessible. Even down to being the first to put 'not all disabilities are visible' on their accessible toilets. Their staff have always been helpful with wheelchair uses and the visually impaired who need guide dogs etc.

The PP a couple of posts ago made a very valid point. The OP would have still had the same issue with Asda even if you took them 'bending over backwards' to help find a coat for an autistic little boy out out of the equation.

[TabascoToastie]

The OP has a valid point. Many businesses go out of their way to show off how disabled-friendly they are by picking one (media friendly, ie a cute kid) person with disabilities and making an excessive fuss about how well they're being treated. When at the same time they lack basic disabled accommodation.

I'm not saying ASDA do this because I don't know (I don't use them) and it doesn't appear to be the case here, but a lot of businesses do.

I do not have a disability but I would not be put off by a disabled person.
How lovely for you - unfortunately many in the world do not feel that way.

[HappyCheese]

Just to add, I use Asda a lot one time, I accidentally done click and collect and hadn't realised, I rang up asking where the delivery was as it was late, they told me I had selected click and collect I explained I had no car and the guy actually delivered my stuff on his way home. I've had things unable to be picked but I always choose no subs so I avoid that issue, they've always been lovely. That's just my experience though and I've heard a lot of bad.

I've read more and I apologise if I came off strongly op.

[HappyCheese]

I think it's people like you op (haven't read the full thread just one page) that minimise my daughters disability, she can move make sounds (after being trachi dependant for over a et) play, laugh, cry etc she can't eat and has had a heart transplant. She's not any less disabled she just doesn't show hers, Shes at very high risk of catching something that kills her though and can't be out in the cold or the sun. Your son is not any more disabled than my child and I've had things missing, it's not as dad fault. It's annoying but if you were out shopping g and the shop didn't have what you want, would you throw a strop?

[MommaGee]

OP I get why you're pissed about your delivery, ASDA should have offered / you should have asked for the missing items to be delivered. Even with a child in a pushchair so no additional physical needs to most parents odd toddler's I online shop because its hard to push and carry at the same time. I'm also learning the best response to funny looks (o2 and tubie) is over politeness - oh look DOS, wave hi at that lady!!
However the coat for the autistic boy is in no way related. It isn't the same people or the and budget. If they didn't do this your service would be no better or worse.
As for your feelings about the acceptable face of disability I'll leave it for other parents to argue how their child with ASD is treated because their disability is less visible. But isn't there enough shit flying around for our kids and us parents of disabled kids without us perpetuating nonsense about why one child got a nice treat over another because of their specific disability unless you can prove you were specifically treated how you were because of your sons disability

[AwaywiththePixies27]

Provide assistance without raising an eyebrow. No dumb comments. No staring at wierd behavior. Kind and calm. Not bad all in all

Lasttimearound isn't it lovely when people do this? Not Asda related but on DSs birthday it was raining so we did an indoor thing. I took him to a gaming thing. Bit like an arcade but with toys for prizes and not cash and things like crossy roads minions and a bowling alley.

I didn't think did I? Long day at school with cake and excitement followed by an hour in the evening of brightly coloured stuff and games galore. He went into sensory overload. I was all prepared for the judgy eyerolls and stares and tuts and inevitable meltdown from DS. But there was a member of staff showing him how to use this game and that one and how to use this etc. It could have all gone horribly wrong and on his birthday too. But this worker, he didn't judge and was just so good and calm with him. It made all the difference. Didnt even bat an eyelid when DS chose an Easter egg as his prize in the middle of bloody winter!

[AwaywiththePixies27]

YNBU to never want to use them again.

I was fuming when the delivery driver 'claimed' I'd refused the shopping at the doorstep. Because I'm totally going to refuse a whole weeks food shop at 6am in the morning when you've already took the money out the bank too. So penniless and foodless. Cheers. they were still 'holding' the money several days later I ended up getting my bank to call it back.

not disabled enough to put normal people off. I get the sarcasm but honestly you'll get eaten alive on here for this this is where you lose some moral high ground. It reminds me of the lady who had her DC in a wheelchair, was best pals with all the school staff and always used to give us dirty looks and make snidey comments when we need to chat to the SENCO or have a meeting or something, we'd be waiting our turn patiently and she'd tut and Harumph as she walked past us. Her whole attitude and demeanour towards us almost always made me feel like we didnt deserve to be there. Well we didn't, but not in the sense she meant it.

It's because it unintentionally creates a hierarchy of the 'deserving disabled'. We're all on the same side here.

[zukiecat]

I've been using ASDA for years

Never once had an issue with them

I hate all the snobbery about ASDA on here

[PinkFlamingo545]

BWatchWatcher

Asda stole from you and you got your money back - what did asda steal?

[PinkFlamingo545]

An entire crate missing - was it left on the van? ?

I have had this happen, a brand new driver left an entire crate on the van, I realised there was a lot missing whilst taking the bags in - he was new, I had no problem and he got the crate off the van and apologised

We pay around £3- to pick, pack and deliver your order. It actually costs THEM money to offer home delivery the fuel, and is even more of a joke on the click and collect service as that is free - yet people seem to expect supermarkets to get it right all the time and any missing items cause an outcry

[Iamastonished]

We eat a lot of pitta bread. I must remember to get some next time I am in M and S. Thanks for the heads up.

[Bythepowerof]

I don't know why anyone would shop at Asda anyway?

Their food quality is well below any other supermarket, their customer service is abysmal, they regularly stock meat sourced from the other side of the world which is disgusting when we produce higher welfare meat in this country.don't know why anyone would shop at Asda anyway?

Their food quality is well below any other supermarket, their customer service is abysmal, they regularly stock meat sourced from the other side of the world which is disgusting when we produce higher welfare meat in this country.

Bollocks. My small chicken cost £2.25 and is British and carries the red tractor mark. Obviously I'd like free range ( like my 6 large Asda eggs for 95p) but I don't have any money.
Waitrise own brand is pretty bad compared to other others as every survey from Good Housekeeping, Which, tv programme willtestify to. M&S is the only brand with a noticeable difference in quality.Their pittas are the same price as ASDA but delicious and toast better.

[teddygirlonce]

I hear your pain OP. We gave them second, third, fourth and fifth chances to prove themselves but stopped using them totally when they failed to deliver the 'birthday' specific part of our £150 order once (to the value of about £50). Never again.

[lasttimeround]

The delivery thing is crappy and I also feel a little cynical about the fb hoo ha getting a coat. But I have an autistic and severely LD child and staff in asda seem pretty well trained on disability. Provide assistance without raising an eyebrow. No dumb comments. No staring at wierd behavior. Kind and calm. Not bad all in all.

[Increasinglymiddleaged]

I use Tesco also and they are generally OK. They sent me Cox apples instead of Bramley's once (which the delivery man was about me handing back), I've also had subs where the result has been a lot less as I'd bought value so it isn't enough for the meal. I also find they are sometimes late but tbh I tend to order for early Friday am and if the traffic's bad there's not much they can do. It's fine at other times.

[Iamastonished]

"Incidentally, I've never had any trouble with Tesco. Substitutions are sensible and price matched, and the drivers are friendly."

Same here. The pickers are very good, and In the 15 years I have been getting deliveries from them I have only rejected one item.

Sainsburys were late to start delivering round here, but I have used them as well, and they are excellent. Ocado messed up both deliveries here big time so I don't use them, although I recognise that they are usually highly thought of.

I don't understand the MN hatred of Asda stores though. I sometimes go to one in Sheffield near where I work, and can get loads of ethnic or unusual foods that I can't buy locally.

[springflowers11]

Asda employees are human, and humans make errors.

[Boooooom]

Just started using Morrisons, so far (5 big shops in) no missing items and they message you in the morning letting you know as such. Maybe give them a try?

[tabbymog]

The online shopping experience varies with the quality of the store it's delivered from. I've been online shopping in three different area now, and have had this experience with Sainsbury's and Tescos, and Somerfield when they existed (taken over by Co-Op with a massive increase in prices all round). The exception in my experience, is Waitrose.

The OP isn't being unreasonable. If you're not disabled or live closely with someone who is, you can't really have any idea how frustrating things you take for granted can be. It's very true that anyone, disabled or not, can put up with a lot then the last straw breaks the camel's back and tips them over the edge, but the frustrations are magnified, often many times, for a disabled person and no, you don't get it because until you've experienced it, or seen it close up like a parent/child relationship, you can't. That's life.

[Meowstro]

Asda are a joke although I think one instance can be accepted.

They would always send my disabled mother (who is a wheelchair user) substitutes when her account has them un-ticked or food that their website claims should have a longer life but when they arrived most of it has a day on it. They then tell her to return the items to the store because she should have checked the date on everything and made sure everything she got was what was asked for whist the driver waits Happened every single time that I think they did it on purpose and customer services were getting snooty about giving out refunds for their fuck ups. No apologies from them after the first couple of times but she's started online shopping with Sainsbury's and doesn't get this problem!