Customers angry after My Food Bag fails to deliver amid coronavirus lockdown

My Food Bag customers are furious after their ingredients for this week failed to be delivered, as the business deals with unprecedented demand during the Covid-19 coronavirus lockdown.

Christchurch-based Michelle Peterson is one of a number of customers whose food bags, which include ingredients and recipes to make dinners, failed to arrive on Sunday.

"I understand what is going on and so it was like, 'Oh well, maybe it's a bit late' but it got to eight o'clock and that's when I found instances online of people having their bags cancelled an hour before they were supposed to be delivered," she said.

Ms Peterson said a customer service representative insisted over an online chat the company had sent an email warning her the delivery would be delayed until Monday, but she said she received no emails from the company.

"I've heard nothing from them, absolutely zero apart from them apart from the communications I've had on online chat," she said.

Ms Peterson's delivery arrived after midday today with some ice packs defrosted and extra ingredients she ordered missing.

Ms Peterson said she was concerned for other customers who had been told on the My Food Bag Facebook page that refunds would take up to seven days and may be relying on the money to buy replacement food.

"I feel really, really sorry for their customer support team because they will be getting it in neck but I kind of feel that they should have known something was going to go awry before the day of the delivery."

On My Food Bag's website it states there's been increased demand for the service but "rest assured, we're still delivering the goodness - straight to your door".

The company is no longer accepting any new deliveries as it has reached capacity, it stated on Facebook.

"We have a new born baby 10 days old and we're waiting and relying on the box. Like all of these stories above, you have charged us and told us the box was being delivered so we haven't prepared any other major meals. Your customers service teams or lack of is un responsive, we have sent emails and tried calling all day with 5 call back messages left," one person commented on Facebook.

David Alloway from Auckland said his food bag arrived this afternoon but it’s the “mixed messages” and being “completely non-responsive to most people” that is frustrating.

“On Monday we sent emails, messages though our account, messages through Facebook, rang them and left a call back on their phone line and still they didn’t respond until late last night when they apologised,” he said.

“They just needed to front up and be honest, I think most people would be understanding and just wanted clarification so they could make other plans to feed their families.”

In a comment in response to customers complaining their food bags hadn't arrived, the company said, "we are so incredibly sorry to have let you down.... our suppliers struggled to provide all our products in time."

My Food Bag chief executive Kevin Bowler said in a statement that delivery delays have occurred as a result of unprecedented demand.

"Regrettably the significant increase in demand on our team and suppliers coupled with new procedures to keep our assembly staff safe resulted in us being unable to deliver one bag-type to a small number of South Island customers.

"This impacted less than one per cent of our customers and all have received a full refund and a further credit against a future order," he said in statement.

A spokesperson for My Food Bag said numbers for the increase in demand and how many people have been affected are commercially sensitive.

Mr Bowler stated all other customers are expected to receive their bags by the end of today.

Customers were left unsure when their food bags would arrive in Auckland, Wellington, Lower Hutt, Palmerston North, Dunedin, Christchurch, Invercargill, Queenstown, Nelson, Ashburton and the wider Kapiti Coast region, according to comments on Facebook where nearly 70 people claim to be affected.

Mr Bowler said the company’s "robust direct communication procedure" enables direct updates through text and email to customers about the status of their food bags.

Another My Food Bag customer, who wanted to remain anonymous, disagreed.

"I can say that communication has been lacking and where there was communication it was incorrect," she told 1 NEWS.

Mr Bowler   said there is no disruption to the weekly service.

"While orders for the coming weekend are strong, we have worked fast to implement new procedures to increase efficiency, streamlined some of our range and we have added a new site to assist with producing our bags," he stated.

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