Ocado coronavirus tweet backfires as customers complain about deliveries
Ocado recently took it upon itself to tweet: “It’s been a busy month at Ocado, to say the least. Since the 23rd March, we’ve delivered over 50 million items to households all over England and Wales. #FeedingTheNation”
Enter a large number of disgruntled customers who have been unable to secure delivery slots during the coronavirus outbreak.
“I still don't understand how you prioritise people. Been a customer for over two years, on government shielding list and have had calls from council and GP to check I'm ok, but you can't supply me with any delivery slots,” said one.
“I guess for some you’re doing great but I’ve not been able to get a delivery at all yet - just told I’m not priority despite mum being 82 - recovering from a stroke and therefore shielding - Morrison’s have come to her rescue - never imagined I’d ever be let down by Ocado,” one fumed.
“This is rubbish I have a smart pass and I am diabetic isolated and had 1 delivery a month ago. Now never any slots.....appalling lack of service despite having been a long standing customer. #morrisons far better organised and approachable. #Ocado have been simply inept and unfair,” another commented.
Whilst one person stated: “Why can I not get on your website? You say what slots you have left become available after 4:30pm but I can’t even get on as it keeps kicking me back out everytime I try and log in??”
Ocado, to its credit, responded to all the complaints, but it remains to be seen if customers vent spleen in a post-coronavirus world by switching to one of its many rivals.
Under pressure
As the coronavirus intensified, the pureplay last month published an open letter to its customers, entitled ‘What a pickle’. Around the same time, its Chairman, Stuart Rose, called on Brits to stop stockpiling groceries.
Speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme, he said: “There is no shortage of food. Nobody will starve. There is a £1 billion more food in people’s larders than there was a couple of weeks ago. What are they doing with it? How much do you need to eat? How much do you need to store away?”
CEO Melanie Smith, meanwhile, commented: “We currently have 10 times more demand for our services now than we did before the outbreak began, and with every announcement, we see a further extraordinary surge of customers to Ocado.com. No matter how hard we work, we will not have enough capacity to serve the unprecedented levels of demand.”
