Tesco delivery - complaint help please

morganjeans

Hi everyone

It's my first time posting here but a friend told me the people here could help me write a letter of complaint to tesco

Firstly i am registered disabled due to osteoarthritis in both knees and therefore cannot carry heavy shopping and due to an accident 2 months ago i currently also suffer from severe hip and back pain and am under dr's orders not to lift anything heavier than a kettle

I ordered my shopping online with tesco and arranged for it to be delivered between 1 and 3pm on the 22nd july, most of the shopping was cat and dog food, cat litter etc and is therefore very heavy

The delivery arrived at approx 2.30pm and I asked the driver to carry the shopping upstairs to my kitchen for me, he obviously didn't want to but agreed. He picked up 2 16lt backs of cat litter and 6 tins of cat food to carry up then asked if i was going to carry anything, I said i would show him where the kitchen was then come back down and see if there was anything light enough that i could carry.

At this point it turned into a very humiliating experience

The driver walked through my front door, looked up the stairs and saw a cat sitting at the top, he then threw his arm over his face shouting "I'm not going in there" and ran out the door, I followed him out and asked what was going on and he started shouting he was allergic to cats, we ended up having a shouting match in my front garden with him saying I had a choice of my shopping being left in the garden or taken back to the depot.

I then came upstairs and got my phone and called customer services who just kept saying to me if he's allergic to cats we can't make him carry the shopping upstairs. While I was on the phone to customer services he called his manager, we then swapped phones and his manager kept saying "why can't you carry it yourself or get someone else to do it?" I repeatedly pointed out that I am disabled and had no one to carry the shopping up which is why I get it delivered

Eventually i got them to agree to put the shopping in the downstairs (communal) hallway and send someone else out to carry it upstairs

A second driver turned up at 4.50pm and carried the shopping upstairs no problem but while he was doing so he was asking me questions like had I spent all the time since the first driver left cleaning to which I replied that i had been out the whole time (I had told the manager I would be out til 5pm and the driver was early so had to wait outside for me to come home), he then said "Oh I thought it would be smelly here but it smells lovely so I don't know what his problem was unless he just didn't want to carry it all upstairs". He then told me that he is the person they send to all the troublesome/complaining customers and that an email had been sent out asking for people who like cats to do the job as no one else would be able to

As you can imagine I feel totally humiliated over this and feel like all the staff at the depot think my flat smells that much that people cant even walk through the door without wanting to run out even though there has never been a problem before and have been getting my shopping delivered for 5yrs by tesco

I did not once get an apology from anyone at tesco and feel the way I was treated was appalling

I have emailed tesco asking for the address to write to head office but so far have not had a response

Can anyone help me write a letter of complaint about this please

Thanks

asharon

Why bother, just go to somoene else.

Tesco have appauling service and don't really care about customers now they are so big. If it is that you want some form of compensation then that's one thing else why worry what a bunch of idiots think.

Best thing is vote with your feet and get it delivered from some where else.

nellytheelephant

That's awful.

I know a lot of places won't take stuff upstairs because they're not insured to do so. I don't know if that had any bearing on it x

pinkshoes

Actually, I do feel for you, but as someone who is also alergic to cats, I really hate the smell of them too (which many people won't even notice), and would definitely not go in someone's flat who had a cat! My eyes start itching, my chest tightens, I start wheezing and coughing badly until I'm really struggling to get air in and it feels like someone is squeezing my lungs closed. And the darn cat doesn't even have to be in the room - just some fur on the furniture will cause the reaction! I'm quite frightened of the little blighters now, so am trying to point out why the driver's actions weren't necessarily rude!

I think it was nice that they did send someone else round to carry the shopping up, as usually they only drop it off at the front door!

I don't really think you should feel humiliated over this, and the poor guy who is allergic to cats probably feels freaked out by the whole thing.

I do understand how you feel, but I'm just trying to look at it from another angle. Think of something that freaks you out, then imagine having to drop a bag of shopping off in those conditions!

C_Ronaldo

OP

its not your fault you had a driver who is allergic to cats, try another supermarket like sainsburys or asda, you could inform them that since your disabled you'd like the shopping taken upstairs and also mention the cat factor, dont you have an Iceland frozen food near you as they would deliver your shopping but all you need to do is do a shop as normal(thinking about it maybe you couldnt do that)

dexters_mum_2

Problem is, when the driver goes into your flat, it becomes his place of work, he has a right to be safe, not have exposure to allergen etc, so he was well within his rights not to carry your shopping upstairs if he felt he was going to be exposed to allergens.

I'm a surveyor, I have ask people not to smoke in their own homes because it is my place of work whilst I am there and I am asthmatic, so it riles people but my safety is my priority, no one else is going to do it for me.

I understand your upset and frustration but do vote with your feet and go elsewhere, also enquire as to whether a local charity or voluntary group might be able to help you out, maybe they could send someone to help you when your shopping is due, do you have local friends or relations who might give you a hand when your shopping comes?

morganjeans

I'm upset because if that driver had genuinely had an allergy, surely he would have mentioned it at the front door when he saw that I was asking him to carry up cat litter and cat food? I totally understand that people have allergies and would not expect them to endanger themselves in line of work. However, this particular driver was offensive, rude and treated those that have genuine allergies with contempt too, as he used it (in my view) as an excuse to not carry out a task. On the home page of tescos online, it clearly states 'deliveries straight to your kitchen' - in view of my inability to manage myself, all I was asking from this delivery driver, was what tescos itself promises.

If I had anyone that could help or if I had a choice on another spermarket, I would go there. But, unfortunately, Tescos prices make it more sensible for me to shop there.

Asharon, I am indeed after compensation. I would like the driver that behaved so badly and that is a representative of Tescos to be reprimanded and I should like a surety from Tescos that in view of my disability they will indeed deliver direct to my kitchen, should I ask it of them. If the allergy is a problem for some, then I am sure that Tescos have the ability to make a note against my account and will ensure in future that only drivers with no allergies are sent.

The bottom line for me is that I have received poor customer service. I was embarassed and made to feel a 'problem' customer. Yes, I could vote with my feet, but I lack that luxury. By the comments received so far, it would appear as though I am to like it or lump it.

I was more hoping for some suggestions on what to actually state in my letter, based on consumer rights. Or is the only right that I have, the one of simply not using them anymore? Does this mean that we are all to tolerate ill-mannered staff wherever we go?

amy

pinkshoes wrote: »

Actually, I do feel for you, but as someone who is also alergic to cats, I really hate the smell of them too (which many people won't even notice), and would definitely not go in someone's flat who had a cat! My eyes start itching, my chest tightens, I start wheezing and coughing badly until I'm really struggling to get air in and it feels like someone is squeezing my lungs closed. And the darn cat doesn't even have to be in the room - just some fur on the furniture will cause the reaction! I'm quite frightened of the little blighters now, so am trying to point out why the driver's actions weren't necessarily rude!

I think it was nice that they did send someone else round to carry the shopping up, as usually they only drop it off at the front door!

I don't really think you should feel humiliated over this, and the poor guy who is allergic to cats probably feels freaked out by the whole thing.

I do understand how you feel, but I'm just trying to look at it from another angle. Think of something that freaks you out, then imagine having to drop a bag of shopping off in those conditions!

I appreciate how you feel and allergies aren't nice but then surely you would not take a job that involved you going into other peoples houses... i mean for example a person who suffered with hayfever wouldn't take a job in a florist now would they????

C_Ronaldo

amy wrote: »

I appreciate how you feel and allergies aren't nice but then surely you would not take a job that involved you going into other peoples houses... i mean for example a person who suffered with hayfever wouldn't take a job in a florist now would they????

but surely you cant predict which house owners have cats, yes theres going to be some house owners who will have cats

G42

From Tesco Terms & Conditions -
We will deliver your order to the main entrance of the delivery address. At your request, our driver may carry your order into the delivery address, for example, to a particular floor in an apartment block or into your kitchen but only if: a. the driver has your permission and b. our driver believes that it is safe and practical to do as you request. We always reserve the right to deliver only to the main entrance of the delivery address.

morganjeans

As per Tescos guidelines on delivery you have posted. The driver had my permission and was politely requested to take the heavy stuff up one flight of stairs, he did not raise any objections of allergies when originally asked, although he made it clear he wasn't happy 'to' be asked. Far as the practicality and safety is concerned. I am disabled, it NEEDS to be practical and safe.

They have the right of refusal, for sure. But I would have rather gotten an outright and honest refusal, than the subsequent behaviour I did receive. To cite a fictitious allergy, to over-react and infer my house smells was the height of rudeness! Had this been anyone reading this, would YOU have excused it?