BBC Watchdog: Asda home deliveries

[Tesco Convert]

My Wife placed an order for home delivery with ASDA the middle of last week and booked a delivery slot for Friday evening (2/8/2013) between 6 and 8pm.

At 8.30 she rang the appropriate number to ask where the delivery was and was told it was still out for delivery and that there couldn't/shouldn't be a problem with the delivery/driver other than just running late, as, my wife was assured, the driver would call us if there was. Accepting that, although a little annoyed that the driver didn't have the courtesy to at least call and say he was running late, my wife agreed to call back half an hour later if the delivery still hadn't arrived.

An HOUR later, my wife called again, ASDA had no answer as to why the delivery had not been made, they said they had even contacted the driver and asked him to call my wife with an estimated time for the delivery. At this point my wife asked if they had actually given the driver her correct mobile number as she had recently updated this on her ASDA account. Looking over her shoulder at this point I could see in ALL THREE PLACES for contact phone numbers was my wife's correct phone number was in place. ASDA asked my wife for her correct phone number whilst she was on the phone and ASDA confirmed that was the number they had. ASDA said they would move the complaint up to a line manager and someone would call her back ASAP. My wife advised it was now 9.30 and that she was going to bed at 10pm. NO ONE CALLED BACK THAT NIGHT AND NO DELIVERY WAS MADE.

The following morning my wife called ASDA to find out how and where she could complain and was given an address to write to. ASDA said that they would try again to deliver the order on the Saturday. My wife explained that she had already given up her Friday evening and was not prepared to give up any more time so was cancelling the order completely and made it quite clear that was the last time she would do business with ASDA and that she now would spend her Saturday shopping at Tesco instead.

On Saturday evening, around 24 hours late, ASDA turned up at our door with a delivery. I pointed out that this couldn't be for us as our delivery was supposed to have been mad the evening before and that my wife had cancelled the delivery altogether that morning. The delivery driver then started making excuses on behalf of his colleague, saying that that he had tried to find the property the day before, but as he couldn't, he had tried to phone but had no reply. I asked to see the delivery note and guess what?. THE WRONG PHONE NUMBER WAS ON IT!!! So despite the correct number being on the account in three places and ASDA confirming that they had the correct phone number, a different number was on our delivery details. I asked the delivery driver why it was that despite not having the correct phone number his colleague still could not find our property, he said "well your property is hidden behind a high hedge" Can you believe that?!!! Our property can be seen quite clearly from any direction despite being behind a "high hedge" as the nearest properties to us are half a mile away in any direction! I told the delivery driver that there are only SIX cottages down our road, so surely it was not exactly rocket science for him to have found the correct one!! After yet more excuses from the delivery driver in defence of his colleague, I asked him how HE had found the property. His reply was "I called at one of the other cottages up the lane, they said the delivery wasn't for them, try the other cottages further up the lane" So I said, "So, you drove a little further up the lane and found us, despite being behind a "high hedge" and I'm guessing you also read the big A4 sized sign at the end of the driveway right where you have parked your van? "Yes" was the reply. "Goodbye" was mine.

ASDA. what farce of a service you provide!.

A little tip. When employing delivery drivers, make sure, as well as having a licence, that they are literate, numerate and have at least two brain cells. One to do the thinking and the other to keep the first one company, so that on those very tricky deliveries where properties in the countryside can be hidden behind "a high hedge" the delivery driver could double his thinking capacity.

 

[faddymaddy]

I have been shopping online with asda for over 8 years spending between £60 and £100 every week and every time I get subs or items like bread or toms NOT IN STOCK yeah right they once substituted 2 packs of sweets for toothbrushes and I am allways getting items badly packed I had bread packed in same bag with bleach and trifle with pack of cola on top. I placed my Christmas order for the 23rd Dec for 12 -2 delivery hadn't come by half past 2 so rung to se if it was on its way had my order up on web page saying order on way, after waiting about 20 mins to get through was ask to wait the person then came back on phone to say your orders been cancelled I went ballistic saying you cant do that why I have you cancelled it and was told they couldn't take a payment so I said why didn't you ring me to let me know and why is it saying on my order page that it was on its way.2 minutes later my order was changed to cancelled on my web page.I rang the bank and they said there was no problem with my payment asda hadn't rung them as they had told me they had and they gave me the autharisation code and the amount it was for .got back on to Asda and was told they couldn't do anythink about it .I was left with no Christmas food and was told they would deliver on the 27 dec what a joke.We are waiting for a reply from managing director who my son phoned as yet no reply .To cap it all he person on the phone only had the nerve to wish me a Happy Christmas They don't deserve to be allowed to trade if this is the way they treat customers:

 

[cableguy7uk]

As a driver for Asda we have to be on time and have a good customer help policy.To be honest I've just had a telling off for being late. I always have been honest and helpful to all my customers but now we get between 20 to 30 deliveries and expected to take half an hour break which we can't take.
I'm sure there's a health and safety problem which ASDA home shopping don't care about,all they want is more and more deliveries to hell with the drivers!

 

[SingleMAMA]

I'm shocked to see how far back the complaints about ASDA go... i've just today gone through a very traumatising and emotional process with them
i recently had an operation and am a single mother; i placed an emergency order with asda for milk and diapers and babys food stuff, as i'm unable to go in store to purchase said things.
on the delivery day, mum and i sat in waiting and waiting, constant window checking and rushing to see if it was ASDA every time we heard a van or truck; as baby was on her last bottle of milk.
I called up Asda to find out where the delivery was as they now an hour late, and got put through to SOUTH AFRICAN speaking person - yey being a southerner myself, i almost forgot i was calling to complain. thinking it was just maybe a south african was working at asda stores, after my 5th call they all spoke the same, and I started to worry as they didnt even know where hounslow was in UK .... 12 calls later and no delivery - by 11 decided to go to bed and thankfully baby was fast asleep;
in the morning my delivery was cancelled and the money taken out my account - no return calls, no contact, by this time another further two complaint emails, 6 calls, no one can tell me where my money is, and they cant complete a transfer back to my account because they DO NOT TAKE MONEY OUT ACCOUNTS until the order has been signed.
so i'm down £70 and no delivery and waiting on the bank to confirm if they can sort it out. Another 10 days - it took seconds to take my money but 10 days to return it
never again will i use ASDA and their poor customer service, and even though the people were pleasant helpful and easy to talk to, its not their fault the company they work for misinforms them and puts them in these crazy situations where they cant even offer much help cause they don't even know where in UK London bridge is let alone your nearest asda store.

guess tesco or sainsburys will have to do -

 

[ALLYZ66]

i work for asda as a home delivery driver,let me tell you that all is not what it seems.
1-drivers have to load the van themselves.
2-drivers have to consolidate totes to get them to fit in the vans.
3-drivers have to get to customers within a time-limit that is set by people that don't know traffic conditions for the area
4-drivers need a sat-nav that is up to date(ive got my own,paid for by me)asda sat-nav's are out of date by 5 years
5-drivers should have a mobile phone paid for by asda and have credit on them,this isn't the case(i use my own mobile but don't get any money back for it).
6-drivers are asked to except orders on the pam-pilot before they get to customers so the computer doesn't registers lates
7-drivers are paid the same as porters...£6.70ph
8-drivers are asked to deliver shopping to flats with no lifts that take 20mins to deliver to(parking-stairs-large amount of shopping)
9- click and collect doesn't work if youve got to wait 20mins for a member of staff to bring it through the store on a dolly to your car!!!
10-i work here and im pissed off,this shouldn't be how it is.....

 

[ALLYZ66]

As a driver for Asda we have to be on time and have a good customer help policy.To be honest I've just had a telling off for being late. I always have been honest and helpful to all my customers but now we get between 20 to 30 deliveries and expected to take half an hour break which we can't take.
I'm sure there's a health and safety problem which ASDA home shopping don't care about,all they want is more and more deliveries to hell with the drivers!

i drive for asda and i take my break,my deliveries are late!!,what are asda going to do.....(ive been late for more than half my deliveries!,but when ive got back to the store they've been signed off on the computer in store) said to keep the bonus up!!!!

 

[ALLYZ66]

My Wife placed an order for home delivery with ASDA the middle of last week and booked a delivery slot for Friday evening (2/8/2013) between 6 and 8pm.

At 8.30 she rang the appropriate number to ask where the delivery was and was told it was still out for delivery and that there couldn't/shouldn't be a problem with the delivery/driver other than just running late, as, my wife was assured, the driver would call us if there was. Accepting that, although a little annoyed that the driver didn't have the courtesy to at least call and say he was running late, my wife agreed to call back half an hour later if the delivery still hadn't arrived.

An HOUR later, my wife called again, ASDA had no answer as to why the delivery had not been made, they said they had even contacted the driver and asked him to call my wife with an estimated time for the delivery. At this point my wife asked if they had actually given the driver her correct mobile number as she had recently updated this on her ASDA account. Looking over her shoulder at this point I could see in ALL THREE PLACES for contact phone numbers was my wife's correct phone number was in place. ASDA asked my wife for her correct phone number whilst she was on the phone and ASDA confirmed that was the number they had. ASDA said they would move the complaint up to a line manager and someone would call her back ASAP. My wife advised it was now 9.30 and that she was going to bed at 10pm. NO ONE CALLED BACK THAT NIGHT AND NO DELIVERY WAS MADE.

The following morning my wife called ASDA to find out how and where she could complain and was given an address to write to. ASDA said that they would try again to deliver the order on the Saturday. My wife explained that she had already given up her Friday evening and was not prepared to give up any more time so was cancelling the order completely and made it quite clear that was the last time she would do business with ASDA and that she now would spend her Saturday shopping at Tesco instead.

On Saturday evening, around 24 hours late, ASDA turned up at our door with a delivery. I pointed out that this couldn't be for us as our delivery was supposed to have been mad the evening before and that my wife had cancelled the delivery altogether that morning. The delivery driver then started making excuses on behalf of his colleague, saying that that he had tried to find the property the day before, but as he couldn't, he had tried to phone but had no reply. I asked to see the delivery note and guess what?. THE WRONG PHONE NUMBER WAS ON IT!!! So despite the correct number being on the account in three places and ASDA confirming that they had the correct phone number, a different number was on our delivery details. I asked the delivery driver why it was that despite not having the correct phone number his colleague still could not find our property, he said "well your property is hidden behind a high hedge" Can you believe that?!!! Our property can be seen quite clearly from any direction despite being behind a "high hedge" as the nearest properties to us are half a mile away in any direction! I told the delivery driver that there are only SIX cottages down our road, so surely it was not exactly rocket science for him to have found the correct one!! After yet more excuses from the delivery driver in defence of his colleague, I asked him how HE had found the property. His reply was "I called at one of the other cottages up the lane, they said the delivery wasn't for them, try the other cottages further up the lane" So I said, "So, you drove a little further up the lane and found us, despite being behind a "high hedge" and I'm guessing you also read the big A4 sized sign at the end of the driveway right where you have parked your van? "Yes" was the reply. "Goodbye" was mine.

ASDA. what farce of a service you provide!.

A little tip. When employing delivery drivers, make sure, as well as having a licence, that they are literate, numerate and have at least two brain cells. One to do the thinking and the other to keep the first one company, so that on those very tricky deliveries where properties in the countryside can be hidden behind "a high hedge" the delivery driver could double his thinking capacity.

ive been driving for asda for 2 years and i had to buy a sat-nav myself just to get to customers,the sat-nav's that asda supply are out of date map wise by at least 5 years!!!!,most drivers hired by asda are long term unemployed or student's but with a driving licence!,minimum wage for a driver is not a long term prospect,most move on to better paid jobs.so customer service is not high on there list.sorry about that.

 

[pauldodson55]

Ive used home delivery alot, its reasonable priced and I have never personally experienced a problem with it. Every time a slight issue has arrised they promtly corrected it.

 

[rjk2]

I as many other people have joined the ranks of bad service from Asda and their home delivery service.
I ordered my online shop and it was to be delivered on Friday the 17th of January 2015 at between 8pm and 9pm. I waited until 9.30pm and no delivery and then got a very short phonecall from the manager of the Newton Abbot store in Devon to tell me my delivery wasnt coming and i would have to either reschedule the delivery (which could be a couple of ays) or pick it up from store. I have always bought my groceries instore from Asda and due to a disability I have had to ask for it to be delivered , what a mistake as no delivery unless i wait a couple of days and starve in the meantime. So I asked for a refund and afterwards found out it could take up to 14 days to get back in my account (brilliant).
When I rang head office of deliveries I explained the problem and got no better service, why they couldnt just deliver the next day, oh because they wouldnt think about taking an extra van out and paying someone to clear the back log.
customer service was rubbish, got no better higher up and was so disgusted I wont use Asda again. If you cant trust Asda to deliver or at least try and make an effort to help those they let down then how can they be trusted at all.
The company is just about profits and no care for customers. DISGUSTING.

 

[anniemc8]

Had a similar thing with Asda delivery - the complaints system is up the left. They do not pay enough attention to the customers needs and by the sounds of this thread they aren't taking enough care of their delivery drivers - I would suggest starting there to improve the service and not having to improve their complaints section.

 

[welshallycat]

We have had the most horrific week we could of imagined and all thanks to Asda. We had a delivery booked for the weekend, 4hrs before our delivery, we get a call to say that they have had to cancel because of bad weather (of which there was NO bad weather). Told us re-delivery the next day, 24 hrs later. This put us in a difficult position, they had taken our money from the account, so no money, they had our food and we had hardly anything in the cupboards, so we agreed to the re-delivery. So we went without food, to make sure our children had enough to eat (which they didn't), guess what NO food turned up for the re-delivery!!!
Phoned them up to see where is was, they assured us that it would be there, 11pm came and we just went to bed very hungry. Next morning I rang them to see what had happened, to be told that all orders for that day were cancelled and that we would received a refund, so for about 41 hrs we were lied to and left with no money and no food Starting crying down the phone wondering how in hell I was going to feed my kids and all they kept saying was 'I apologise', is that apology going to put food in my cupboards. We have to budget everything so to have nearly £100 taken from our account and have no food, we were in despair. To top it off no refund for 3-5 days. After many more phone calls, my phone bill has doubled, we have received no correspondence from Asda after putting in an official complaint and finally today after 6 days after they took our money we finally get a refund. They put us through hell for 6 days and the only one out of pocket is us!! Phone calls, having to borrow money for food, our children went without all because Asda couldn't do what they are supposed to, I will NEVER shop with them again !!!!!!

 

[davide_b]

I'm a foregin student staying in the UK for a few months, and as I don't live really close to any supermarket and obviously don't have a car, I rely on home delivery.
I tried Tesco and the delivery was perfect, 3 times in a row. Then I discovered ASDA has lower prices, so I made an order.
The order was scheduled to arrive between 12 and 2PM, last thursday. I waited until 3.30, staring out the window, and nobody showed up, so I decided to call the customer service.
The woman I talked to was kind and helpful: she got in touch with the local store, and then she called back saying the driver tried to deliver, but nobody was home. He also said he tried to call my phone and even left a voicemail message. Both of these are nonsense, because as I said I had been staring out the window for almost 4 hours, and obviously there was no trace of voicemail whatsoever.
I was asked I they could redeliver between 5 and 6, which was fine to me. They did, and this time I actually received a call when the delivery man arrived. But it's not over, because of £70 worth of things, £10 was missing (it was clear that there was a missing basket).
Now I'm no their website trying to ask for a refund, but although the order page says "You can request a refund up to 3 days after your order has been delivered. ", when I click on "Request refund" a stupid message says "Sorry, order do not have any items to display".
I'm astonished. If I ever buy something from ASDA again, it surely will be me walking inside a store and maybe get a taxi, but surely I won't request home delivery ever again.

Now I'm also stuck with 5 baskets that the driver left me here, telling me he would pick them up the next time. As if.

 

[ACRYLICBISCUIT]

For the 2nd week running, My asda shop has been cancelled saying unable to take money. The money was in there. Im disabled and cant get out but now I have to fork out taxi fares to pick up my shopping Grrrrrr

 

[DeliveryGuy]

People seem to be very quick to complain about a service which in the most part is choice on if someone wishes to use that service. If they don't like it they can go back to what we have been doing for the last lot of decades and that is going to the shop ourselves. People that pick food for other ppl are not mind readers so a substitution is always going to be a guess if you don't like it you can simply request 'no substitutions' every time you go shopping you make subconscious substitutions when something isn't on a shelf. I'm fairly sure the vast majority of drivers are polite and helpful bearing in mind they get just over minimum wage to drive for long periods of time moving literally over a ton of groceries every day ( I did it full time for 2 years, 40-50hrs a week) and they are the face of the company the majority of their day is dealing with unhappy ppl complaining about their substitutions or lack of bags while they stand in the cold and rain trying to sympathise with customers knowing it's not actually their fault. So before we all start shooting the messenger maybe we should walk/drive a mile in their shoes. And if after all that we arnt happy with the service we get for a £3 delivery charge then go off to a competitor

 

[richard red]

Re: BBC Watchdog: Asda furniture home deliveries

after searching for garden furniture came across asda direct found 4 piece rattan garden set called borneo at nearly £6oo pounds paid extra for designated day for delivery on the day of deliverytheir was a message left to say no delivery problem at ware house, they would be in touch re delivery, phoned asda direct told they would call back no call then phoned the warehouse told by chap who answered the phone, said he would look into it and call back his reply was they could not make out going calls, phoned asda direct again nobody could find our furniture I ask for a refund was told they could only refund the delivery money and would have to get permission to refund the £599 again no reply from asda had to keep chasing spoke to head office took over two weeks to get refund service is a disgrace could not recommend them to any one,

 

[SupermarketWorker]

People that pick food for other ppl are not mind readers so a substitution is always going to be a guess if you don't like it you can simply request 'no substitutions' every time you go shopping you make subconscious substitutions when something isn't on a shelf.

I thought I'd throw my 2 pence into the mix after I saw this comment (even if this is a super late comment!).
I work for said supermarket as a home shopper and I really can't understand the wild substitutions.
We have a very simple subs process, and even a booklet that we can take around the store with us if we're not confident with the process (I use it for alcohol as there are very strict rules about subbing this!)

For example; someone orders a 4 pack of Heinz beans.
The subs process for this would be to initially double check every promotional bin and end, just to make sure we don't have them on the shop floor.
Then we'd see if single cans were available. If so, pick 4.
If not, see if the half tins are available. If so, pick 8.
If neither of these are available, pick an equal brand such as Branston.
If all branded beans are out of stock, pick an ASDA branded item, but NEVER smart price.

We also should never pick dented cans, or cans with ripped labels or dirt on them (dust, people's mucky paws etc!)

Some people in my store sub for the most random things, but if say we're out of fresh mint and someone has ordered it, I just sub for dried and run like a maniac across the store because I'm not a lazy bum!!!

With other people's queries about bleach in with bread etc - This won't have been done by the pickers. Bread, frozen, chilled, ambient and produce are all picked separately, normally by all different people so they're not even in the same totes (Other types of picking include secure and ambient produce) We always put cleaning products in different bags to food, as well as toiletries.
I'm sorry you guys have had bad experiences with your local ASDA stores
If you choose bagless delivery from 5th October please be assured that cleaning products WILL be separate to other items, as will items such as fresh meat. Produce will still arrive in bags

 

[Marion Walker]

I wish to make a formal complaint about ASDA GROCERY DELIVERY. We were supposed to have a delivery today between 10:00-12:00. It is now 12:45 and there is no sign of our groceries. We have plans and need to leave. Upon signing into my account, it had been marked as delivered which was a blantant lie. Upon calling customer seri de I had to wait ages to get through and was then told for her to chase it up, it could take 2 hours for them to find out where my groceries are. I was told that no manager was available to talk to me and that she could not request that a manager call me in the morning. I then asked for my order to be cancelled to be told that my money to pay for the order was in a holding account and i might not be able to get it back for 10 days. I a. Appalled at the customer service. I am livid that the delivery people have lied and said that they delivered my groceries. We have yet to receive a full order from Asda. There are always at least five-ten items substituted and often we have had out of date items delivered. We never use them again. Even if they are cheaper. It is not worth the hassle. Having a policy that says a person can not complain to a manager is terrible customer service. ASDA obviously does not care about its customers. I want a full refund of my order and I want my standing order for deliveries to be refunded as we will not be shopping with you again. TOTALLY NOT WORTH IT. I will be posting a scathing review on every website I can find to complain to as I don't seem to have any way to complain to a manager.

 

[jimbotech]

I thought I'd throw my 2 pence into the mix after I saw this comment (even if this is a super late comment!).
I work for said supermarket as a home shopper and I really can't understand the wild substitutions.
We have a very simple subs process, and even a booklet that we can take around the store with us if we're not confident with the process (I use it for alcohol as there are very strict rules about subbing this!)

For example; someone orders a 4 pack of Heinz beans.
The subs process for this would be to initially double check every promotional bin and end, just to make sure we don't have them on the shop floor.
Then we'd see if single cans were available. If so, pick 4.
If not, see if the half tins are available. If so, pick 8.
If neither of these are available, pick an equal brand such as Branston.
If all branded beans are out of stock, pick an ASDA branded item, but NEVER smart price.

We also should never pick dented cans, or cans with ripped labels or dirt on them (dust, people's mucky paws etc!)

Some people in my store sub for the most random things, but if say we're out of fresh mint and someone has ordered it, I just sub for dried and run like a maniac across the store because I'm not a lazy bum!!!

With other people's queries about bleach in with bread etc - This won't have been done by the pickers. Bread, frozen, chilled, ambient and produce are all picked separately, normally by all different people so they're not even in the same totes (Other types of picking include secure and ambient produce) We always put cleaning products in different bags to food, as well as toiletries.
I'm sorry you guys have had bad experiences with your local ASDA stores
If you choose bagless delivery from 5th October please be assured that cleaning products WILL be separate to other items, as will items such as fresh meat. Produce will still arrive in bags

This is very informative. I've wondered about the substitution guidelines as I have had a few bizarre ones in the past! Just like a lot of places of work though isn't it. Not everybody is good at their job and some folks are just lazy.

 

[NOT VERY HAPPY]

Ready for Xmas in December I recently purchased the Midweek Delivery Pass for £24 for 1 year. This offer is so you can choose delivery times Tues-Thurs. I have yet to use this as there's no slots available even to the end of January. I can't even book a slot in February as the websites not even updated yet ! I wouldn't even know what to buy so far in advance anyway. I called to complain and request my money back as I feel I have been misssold. After being on hold for 5 minutes on my Mobil as I don't have a landline, I was told No I'm out of my 14 day cooling off period and she put the phone down on me ! How rude. I've emailed Asda customer services and I'm still waiting for a reply. I don't hold much hope after reading other reviews.

 

[NOT VERY HAPPY]

I have now received the typical email back from Asda customer services saying I cannot have my money back. No apology for not being able to find a delivery slot & no empathy what's so ever. They've got my money and that's all there bothered about ! What a waste of money on my part.