A Calgary mom is calling out a fast and convenient way to order groceries after she said she waited days for her delivery — which never came.
Shyla Dalman ordered a huge grocery haul — worth $400+ — this past Friday on Walmart’s app. She asked for the “Express” service and paid extra for it. Everything went fine, she said, until she got a message stating the order was delivered.
“I went and checked outside my door — and nothing was there.”
Dalman said she also checked her doorbell camera, but it too turned up empty. She then spent hours trying to reach someone with Walmart, and eventually was told that the retailer would escalate her complaint, but that was about it.
“I have a three-year-old and I have a three-month-old and that food was supposed to last us for at least two-and-a-half weeks,” she said.
“You have to at least try and do something for your customers in the interim. I get it was the long weekend, but this was something that needed to be dealt with right away.”
Global News reached out to food distribution and security expert Sylvain Charlebois for his take on grocery delivery. The professor at Dalhousie University said there has been an explosion of online food sales and delivery in Canada in recent years.
“Before COVID, 1.7 per cent of food sales in Canada — retail — were conducted online,” he pointed out. “We believe it’s actually close to seven per cent now. It’s well over $15B worth of food.”
Charlebois said accidents can and do happen, but he added the retailer’s response is key.
“It’s really important that grocers are responsive to complaints,” he said. “And not second-guess customers as much as possible.”
Dalman said not only was she second-guessed, Walmart took it further. She said she was told to canvass her neighbourhood and her neighbours for the missing groceries.
“I got told to do that twice.”
“Making the customer work to deal with the complaint — that’s not desirable,” Charlebois said. “What’s going to happen when you go to your neighbours?”
“It makes for an awkward situation, ‘Do you have my food?’ Really? ‘Can I believe you?'”.
Global News asked Charlebois how consumers can protect themselves when it comes to ordering groceries online. He pointed out people may want to look at the various companies offering the service. Some use third-party delivery companies, others actually employ their own staff to make the deliveries.
He said those often have more “skin in the game” because their brand is on the line.
Global News contacted Walmart with questions about the family’s case. We were told the retailer is investigating the missing groceries.
Shortly after reaching out, Global News received a message from Dalman who said Walmart has now agreed to a refund. In the meantime, she has had to reach out to family for help with essentials.
Comments