Was I rude or the Morrison's delivery driver?

[Pyongyang]

I know this is really small, and I’m happy to be told IABU but just genuinely wondering if I could have handled it different. So would really appreciate your opinions on this.

today I had my shopping delivered, I live on the first floor. She came up with the bags and I directed her to my kitchen, my kitchen is literally next to the front door, only a few steps away. As she walked towards my kitchen she huffed, rolled her eyes and said “alright” I thought maybe she was stressed or tired, so I offered to go down and help her with the bags, she refused. She came up a few times and didn’t speak to me and avoided eye contact.

When she came up the second or third time, I asked her if that was it and she said “yeah” on her way out. Didn’t even hand me the receipt or couldn’t be bothered to let me know they’re weren’t any more bags.

Just to correct, when delivery drivers come up with the trays I just take the bags myself while they go get the rest. When they just come up with the bags I just tell them to put them in the kitchen since it’s so close to the front door, or sometimes they will ask me where I want them.

So was I rude for directing her to the kitchen or was she just plain rude?

If she was eye rolling, it would be a disciplinary offence adn I don't know how that could be mistaken, tbh. Yanbu, op, and I work for a rival supermarket and it wouldn't be tolerated here Have I walked into an episode of Downton Abbey? How very dare those lowly staff behave in such a manner. She's probably on minimum wage and struggling. She had to shlep upstairs to your flat and you pointed her to where to put the bags? Jeez. I am totally on the side of the delivery lady.

Pumpkin I've offered water on a hot day too.

I thought you could request delivery to your kitchen (as in a PP, recall this being in the advertising for some supermarkets).

Don't think you have much to complain about though, she did it anyway, even if she wasn't happy about it. If it wasn't part of her job, she could've refused and said "we only deliver to the front door".

Oh I had this with tescos when I lived in a third floor with no lift! was made to feel very bad that I stopped ordering online in the end. But I had small children which meant I couldnt come down and help and leave them alone upstairs. But delivery drivers made it very clear they werent happy. I opened my door to one once and said “Hello” and he slammed my bags down and said “I think I’ll catch my breath first!”

Only had one delivery a little huffy - and that was a female. I assumed at the time that she probably thought that as she is also female and is carrying the boxes through then l should too.*

Exactly! And that's why I offered to help carry the bags when she started huffing at me. In the four years I had shopping delivered, two of them have been female.

If you've had great,mfriendly service for years and this is the only time you've had cause to think something isn't quite up to par, then I'd say you've been fortunate. I think that whilst we should expect good service, we should also be a bit understanding and if the occasional driver isn't as friendly or a little bit short, a little bit if empathy wouldn't go amiss.....it's a hard, physical job, with very tight time schedules and weather, traffic, parking and access to some properties can make it all the harder, so that smiling cheerfully isn't always easy. Unless there is a failure to carry out the delivery properly, I would just accept that occasionally the driver might be less than cheerful and to understand why. I've often found that an empathetic bit of 'it's awful weather to be delivering in - thanks very much for getting to us' is appreciated, or 'sorry if you've had to park down the road, the parking is terrible along here' just acknowledges some of their difficulties which loom large in the job, and acknowledges them as people too.

The online website says "Food, drink and more to your door." not to your kitchen, so I suspect that is all they are required to do.

But if it's so simple and easy to take to your kitchen, why are you making such a fuss about it? Surely it is just as easy for you to stand at the door, and take the bags off her than hold the door open and wait while she does it-quicker too as she can go back and get the next one while you do those simple easy 2-3 steps (and back again) and you'll be waiting for her to come up the steps again.

The Morrisons delivery are actually Ocado! I only know because one of my deliverers mentioned it last year. I always have mine brought into the kitchen, and have never had any unpleasantness. That said, I think you are overreacting. Maybe you'd prefer eye contact and a chatty personality, but it isn't a crime to not do that - and also you don't know what might be going on for her. I bet you aren't always the most cheerful person every waking minute of every day either. I know I'm not!

'It wouldn't be tolerated here'

I'm sure that if the supermarket saw a video of her delivery, they would be having words with her. However, that doesn't mean a complaint is needed or justified because I'd think we can all accept and understand that sometimes certain jobs which are trying and hard make people a little bit miserable. If the driver had failed to deliver a complete load of shopping, or had delivered damaged goods or had refused to bring the stuff upstairs, then there would be cause for complaint, but being a bit surly and miserable doesn't really seem to be cause for it. I think as customers we need to be a bit more thick skinned ourselves and not take this kind of thing to heart, but to just shrug, bet on with our day and forget it.

So minor. Tbh, I’d expect a delivery driver to dump everything at the door. I get occasional deliveries, even the huge stuff is accepted and taken into the house by me. Asking for it to go in the kitchen, which as you say is literally by the front door smacks of ‘Do as I say, servant’. Just my opinion. Delivery schedules for these guys are crazy.

Well, actually I am a lowly paid minimum wage worker but I enjoy my job. I don't see myself as lowly. I love the banter with colleagues and chatting with regular customers, 95% of whom are perfectly polite and respectful. I wouldn't necessarily equate it with Downton but we are very hot on customer service with the emphasis on being uber helpful and friendly and it certainly helps

If I dared roll my eyes, the manager would fry me

If the kitchen's so close to the front door why wouldn't you put it in there whilst she had to go downstairs again?

But thebeesknees123 how would you feel if you were at the end of a long shift. You're feeling tired, and don't feel like making much conversation, maybe the beginning of a headache. You've carried the bags upstairs and then the owner of the house is telling you to take it through to the kitchen, which you do despite all you needed to do was hand it over at the door.
You get back to base and find the owner has put a complain in because you weren't smiling and she thinks you rolled your eyes (although you don't think you did).
That's closer to this situation.

I think directing her to the kitchen is a little rude, especially if there's no reason at all that you couldn't have done so yourself - you say it's right next door. I've never ever had a delivery be taken into the house, I've never thought to ask and they've never offered. Not really sure why they would unless I had a reason I was unable to. Her attitude was off, but i'm guessing from her POV you're making her job harder for no reason, so I can kind of understand.

Given that she had to bring them up to the first floor & make several trips I think you should have taken them off her at the door. It may be part of the service to put them where you want them but having to trek up stairs several times laden with shopping isn't the same as trotting up your front path. I can't say I blame her for rolling her eyes, though it wasn't professional.

^This

If I dared roll my eyes, the manager would fry me Where the hell do you work? My manager treats me as an equal (as they should) and we have a laugh. She knows me well enough and would know that if I were to be a bit off one day she'd ask if I was OK and if there was anything she could do to help. This has happened. I don't work in a particularly well-paid job. I just work somewhere that everyone is respected and looked after.

I'm just puzzled. On the whole MN is a very caring place but I just don't get this sit back and let the delivery driver do all the work because I've paid for it.

When I get a delivery of anything, I open the door and if there's lots to take out the van, whatever it is, I wander out there to help. If it's boiling hot, I offer water. I chat and get chat back. If the driver is quiet, I'm quiet but warmly thank them.

Those of you who say "I'd never ask them to bring the bags in ", yes you would if your kitchen was very close to the front door like mine, and they were standing there with the bags.
No actually, I'd take them off her at the door so that she could go get the rest while I stuck the bags out of the way.
And I've just checked Morrisons website and there's zero mention anywhere (inc T&Cs) of delivery to your kitchen. What next, they put it all away & rustle you up a quick meal too? They have a lot of deliveries to do, and trekking up & down stairs takes more time than up & down a front path. It also takes more energy. So they'll have a longer harder day even before you order them into your kitchen. But feel free to flog every last drop of sweat out of them...

Those of you who say "I'd never ask them to bring the bags in ", yes you would if your kitchen was very close to the front door like mine, and they were standing there with the bags.

No I wouldn’t.

I sincerely wish these supermarkets would stick to a policy of to the door only. There are some serious weirdos out there and I wouldn't want my child entering the flats of some random because the person is too lazy to take their own shopping into their house. YABVU.

When I get a delivery of anything, I open the door and if there's lots to take out the van, whatever it is, I wander out there to help. If it's boiling hot, I offer water. I chat and get chat back. If the driver is quiet, I'm quiet but warmly thank them.

I guess it's also ok to just dump the last bags and try to walk out without so much of a word? Without letting the customer know there's no more bags? Not excepting a big chat, I could care less. But surely you can't say that's ok?

It’s their job to take it to the kitchen.

Are you attempting a funny?

It's 'their job' to deliver the groceries to your door, ya muppet, not to the northern wing's second pantry on the ninth floor while they doff their peasant's cap at you. Yeesh!

Most supermarket delivery drivers will ask if you would like your groceries taken to the kitchen as a courtesy, especially if customers are elderly, disabled, heavily pregnant, etc., but they aren't actually obliged to go any further than your front door, which is the technical point of customer contact and exchange.

OP, do you have any idea how backbreaking these deliveries can be? These drivers are delivering very heavy baskets all damn day, sometimes up several flights of stairs with very little thanks. And they're up against tightly timed performance targets to complete deliveries too. How would you feel if somebody automatically 'directed' you to their kitchen after you'd lugged their shopping up the stairs for them. These people aren't paid to deliver to your kitchen. They are paid to deliver to your door. Do you have a whopping big smile on your face after hauling a week's worth of shopping inside? I know I don't. The first thing I do is dump the bags in the hallway, peel off several layers of clothing and run for the sink to get a glass of water. First floor flat here - it's bloody knackering bringing it all up!

This woman is doing a thankless, low paid job and has to put up with customer shite every day. I did this job many years ago. It's quite crushing to have multiple people simply point at where they would like you to go ... like a dog. She's a human being doing a very physical job. Could her manner have been better? Probably. But I'm betting yours could have been too.

There are some serious weirdos out there and I wouldn't want my child entering the flats of some random because the person is too lazy to take their own shopping into their house

Oh wow 😂

Let's hope she's not your daughter then.