Christmas food woes: Cold Storage apologises over undelivered and delayed orders, customers to be refunded
Netizens express dismay over communication failure and compensation; supermarket chain also had food-delivery problems last year
SINGAPORE — Supermarket chain Cold Storage will refund some of its customers for undelivered and delayed Christmas Day orders, as it issued a public apology on its social media pages on Boxing Day (26 December).
In its social media posts, Cold Storage said it had encountered "unexpected challenges due to a sudden rise in COVID-19 cases", which impacted its workforce and supply chain.
"Despite the efforts of team members to work around the clock to prepare the Christmas products, we acknowledge that we have let some customers down. We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused to some of our customers and we extend our heartfelt apologies," it said in its posts.
In response to the fiasco, Cold Storage added that it will enhance its services, accept orders earlier, and improve staffing capabilities, to prevent future occurrences.
This is not the first time the supermarket chain has had to deal with Christmas food order woes. Last year, Stomp reported long queues at Cold Storage outlets on Christmas Eve, with some customers waiting up to three hours to collect their pre-ordered Christmas food.
Waited up to 7 hours without receiving food order
Netizens affected by undelivered or delayed food orders took to social media to express their dismay over the debacle.
One wrote that she waited up to seven hours for her order, which did not arrive. Another netizen also wrote that her order did not arrive even after the stipulated timing between 2 to 5pm, with no explanation or compensation.
According to Stomp, one of its readers had paid $273 worth of food on an order she made on 18 December. It did not arrive at her 20 pax party on Christmas. After reaching out to the company through Facebook Messenger, she was given standard replies claiming that the fulfilment team had reached out to her.
There were also netizens who wrote that they had no issues with their online orders, with one of them noting that her Christmas Eve order was received on time.
Unhappy over COVID-19 excuse and poor online system
Despite Cold Storage's apology on social media, some netizens continue to express unhappiness over the supermarket chain's use of COVID-19 as an excuse.
"(After) getting full refund, (I) still need to monitor for the transaction for the next 21 days! Such inconvenience caused on us, the victims! Cold Storage is proposing equivalent amount of Cold Storage vouchers to us. They still want their money back to their own pocket? Ridiculous!" wrote a netizen.
"Just saying sorry after things went wrong will not help your reputation at all, but demonstrate the incompetence of your management in achieving your company values and goals. This shows a strong evidence that your company will not be able to handle such big ordering activities during any major festive season like the upcoming CNY. Very disappointing response indeed," wrote another netizen.
Cold Storage has advised that customers can contact its hotline (6891-8100) during office hours or send a direct message with their order number, for a refund.
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