anyone know whats going on w Fortnum & Mason delivery?

[user230408924]

Every year for as long as I can remember I've placed Christmas orders (for us and for gifts to friends) from Fortnum and Mason at about this time as a special treat - close enough for stuff to get there in time for Christmas but not too long in advance so it isn't a Christmas surprise.

This year almost everything (so this is today 11 dec) is dispatch from 26 December- all the chocolate, tea, gift things - so Christmas gifting is out.
Their normal delivery period is 7 working days - which would be next Friday 20th and you can pay more for quicker named day delivery.

I get this is a niche first world problem but it just struck me as very odd and out of the ordinary that nothing is available for christmas delivery at this point.

Does anyone know why this is? They aren't in financial trouble are they? or have they got supply trouble? Seems really odd for such a normally busy time.

Why don't you give them a call tomorrow morning 🤷🏻‍♀️

I’ll need to ask my butler…😉

Goes to show things are really falling apart if the likes of F+M cant even get it right.

Are there any reliable businesses left?

Two things Ive ordered recently all the wrong things turned up, then cant get h0old of anyone on the 'online chat' left haning for ages, no response to emails.

Are there any reliable businesses left?

No I don't think so. apart from that, seems to me any kind of customer service is dead.

Op I've had issues with them last year I had issues with a delivery to a friend.
I didn't like the conversation I had with them so I've not ordered again.

I bet there's nothing left! It was absolute carnage on Friday. I genuinely got hit multiple times by people barging through with baskets. Queued for ages at the tills!

Perhaps they are diverting their usual stock to store??

Why don't you give them a call tomorrow morning

because the workers aren't going to be told if there is a problem are they? they will be the last to know! the company line will be business as usual.
Remember Wilko workers finding out 3 days before redunancy. far more likely to find out from other sources what is going on

and anyway what's the point of calling them - if it's all dispatch from 26 December, then that's the position - I can't order anything for Christmas so that's gone.

It just seemed really odd, was wondering why

I went to fortnum and mason on monday. It was rammed full of people, could hardly move. They probably can't cope with the demand.

It seems to be an ongoing problem with F&M delivery at the moment. I placed an order on 26 November and it only arrived on Monday. No update in the interim to explain the delay.

We went to London last week OH gets their florentines every year (despite preferring others!) as a Christmas treat. (He is a creature of habit)

They'd sold out and didn't know when/if they'd get anymore in!

They have definitely had serious delivery problems in previous years too, I remember reading about it.

The slew of recent 1 star Trustpilot reviews are worth a look- uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.fortnumandmason.com?stars=1

@mysparkleismissing @PastaAndProse
thanks - both interesting - and very odd and unlike F&M.

I expect your dH @mysparkleismissing feels like I do - disrupted traditon and very unsettled by it all.

@Smallinthesmoke
uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.fortnumandmason.com?stars=1

Wow! Thanks for that link. I am so SO shocked. The recent ones - some of them a matter of hours ago are really eye opening.

Looks like there is some major problems with their online ordering and website - goods not arriving, no customer service response.

This looks really bad to me. It's the kind of thing that you see before something goes under. Hope that's not the case but what on earth is going on . F&M used to be a gold standard of quality and customer service.

We have zero issues and I'm almost certain we get items from their warehouse stock not the actual store (to our London address).

Only issue I had once was that they sent me someone else's order last year or the year before I can't remember. It was Christmas period. I opened it without realising as I didn't make the order and thought how odd as I really dislike the baskets so why would he order it, turns out he didn't.
Ohhh another Christmas period they didn't send the wine and I had to contact them. You can message them on their chat, they're super helpful. Don't have to call. Tbh I find Christmas quite chaotic delivery wise now that I think about it. We got the wine the next day.

If you're close to forntum you can make a list of products you want and a member of staff can show you each item if you know what you're after. I went a year back with a list and asked someone to guide me but I was getting the regular stuff so I'd grab immediately as I knew what. Only because I was at the gallery across the road as a favour just grabbing some basics.

I can check the box to see which company delivered and where from if that's any help?

I've had a few things damaged from Fortnums. They have always been quick to replace. I have to say, I do pretty much expect perfection when I order from them because their prices are so high.

Last time they replaced but made noises about needing the damaged stock back.

That is insane!!!!! I didn't even have to return the huge wicker basket of stuff that wasn't even touched as I just had a peek and closed again! I even offered to send it back.

@Smallinthesmoke one review says they messed up an order and actually sent their own courier to collect back too many biscuits sent whilst person still waited for the rest of their order??

That's absolutely fucking shocking.

@Mindyourfunkybusiness

have a look at the trust pilot reviews from this year that @Smallinthesmoke posted. the ones over the last few hours and days are shocking this is a snapshot of the 1 star reviews recently:

Do not buy on line from Fortnum & Mason. Taken my money but not delivered, nor given any update as to when my order will be delivered.
No one answers the phone and don't bother with the 'call back' option because they don't.
Customer service email address is obsolete.
And the AI on WhatsApp: pointless as no one EVER called me back despite several messages.

struggled to get through on the telephone so ended up having to use the WhatsApp function. Have spent many hours trying to get a replacement as the communication is so poor. Incredibly disappointed with the service.

I have still not received a delivery from an order placed 3 weeks ago! I spent 2 hours having a WhatsApp conversation last week with the promise it would be delivered on Saturday. I have still not received it or received any communication about the order. Utterly disappointed!

was given a delivery date of Thursday and the delivery did not arrive with no explanation… just the tracking saying the parcel had not arrived with the courier. When I contacted FM on the WhatsApp chat I was left waiting hours. Finally I was told it would arrive on Monday. It didn’t arrive. No explanation or anyone able to tell me where my items were or when they would arrive. Sometimes on the Whattsapp chat I would be left waiting overnight mid-conversation. In the end I cancelled the orde

Order not delivered
Order not delivered on or before specified date
No trace of prepaid order
No notification of when delivery will be attempted...
critical at this time of year
Complete failure

Ugh ordered from them yesterday, it did say delivered on or before 20 Dec… fingers crossed.

We’ve had an order delivered weeks late and when it arrived it was completely incorrect. Friends report similar issues, for the price something has gone very wrong!

I think you've left it very late

@luckylavender you may think that but I've ordered at about this time for years like I said. never been an issue before. normally you just need a week - and this is way more than that.

Partner says he thinks they've relocated because it used to come from Cambridgeshire and now it's somewhere else but still via dpd

thanks @Mindyourfunkybusiness this has been very eye opening - glad I posted and won't be ordering from them online any time soon. sad about that though.

@user230408924 but life has changed in recent years. Supply Chains are not as reliable. Everything takes longer.