Supermarket-order swaps are not a good substitute

Online food shopping has become a lifeline for those who don’t want to – or can’t – face crowded supermarkets, particularly over the past year. But it seems delivery problems are still rifes

A recent survey by Resolver, of its website users, found nine in 10 people had at least occasionally had substitutions delivered, with almost a third telling us this happened regularly in the past year.

Here’s a look at the main areas of complaint – and some tips for taking things further.

Substitution choices

Some supermarket substitutions defy logic. Most complaints were about non-similar substitutions (tomatoes for oranges, for example) or ‘close but no cigar’ swaps, like Sugar cubes instead of icing sugar – even (gasps) white wine for red wine! But sometimes products did not remotely resemble what was ordered.

One customer ordered bagels, and received bagel-scented soap instead, while another was sent a tube of chocolate squares as a replacement for beef stock cubes.

While many of us can recall a particularly odd substitution in our online grocery shop, and maybe laugh about it, it does of course mean that plans have to be altered, or in the case of a rejection, a follow-up to customer services if a refund hasn’t been issued.

At the start of lockdown, to cope with social distancing measures, some supermarkets were not even allowing substitutions to be rejected, meaning customers were left with items they couldn’t use.

Useless alternatives

We also saw customers receiving items that were simply useless to them owing to dietary conditions or lifestyle choices.

Incidences included products containing gluten being delivered when gluten-free varieties had been ordered.

There were also examples of vegetarian or vegan customers being delivered meat alternatives within their order – and vice versa. In one case a consumer received barbecue sauce chicken instead of vegan bean casserole.

Meanwhile a handful of customers received pet food that was the wrong age category (or species) for their furry friends.

Out of date or smelling iffy

One of the most common problems is being sent items with short shelf lives (often expiring on the day of delivery or soon after) or even out of date items.

Complaints largely revolved around fresh produce, such as fruit and vegetables and meat.

But all kinds of goods were affected, including one family who told me they were sent a birthday cake that past its best-by date on arrival. Supermarkets often notify you on your delivery day if you’re going to receive short-life items, but these warnings are easily missed (check for messages on the day of delivery).

What can you about bad swaps?

While it is inconvenient and frustrating to not get the items you ordered, you are able to reject substitutions on arrival.

Even though people tend to fly through the delivery madly to avoid the driver being left lingering, it’s definitely worth checking your order when it arrives so you’re not caught out.

Most supermarkets will also give you the option to not be offered substitutions, both on whole orders or specific items – so it’s worth looking out for this as you’re filling your online ‘trolley’.

If you are stuck with gone-off goods, out-of-date food or produce with an almost immediate shelf-life, then it definitely pays to complain.

Many of the people we spoke to got refunds and vouchers for errors.

Remember making a quick online complaint can be quicker than placing the order!

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Not what you ordered?