Mum exposes ‘annoying’ Australian supermarket issue in shopping rant

Woolworths has responded to a shopper whose complaint over a “frustrating” problem went viral – as Aussies label it “annoying”.

Australia’s biggest supermarkets have responded to a common customer complaint after a mum exposed the “frustrating” issue in a viral rant.

Eliza, who has 16-month-old twins, took to social media to vent about a recent home delivery order she placed with Woolworths.

Since welcoming her baby, the young mother has been using the online service to have her groceries delivered, stating it’s “hugely convenient” and “much easier for the family”.

For the most part, the service has been a good experience, however Eliza said she often encounters an issue.

“Sometimes things don’t always go right and there’s weird product substitutions, or it’s not the exact fruit and vegetable I would have picked,” she explained on TikTok.

“But I sort of just live with that because it’s part of the delivery experience.

“But when they miss a whole bag or several bags that I really need for my meals, it’s so inconvenient, and they won’t re-deliver.”

A ‘frustrated’ shopper has detailed an ‘annoying’ issue with supermarket home delivery services. Picture: TikTok/@peppercg

Eliza went on to state supermarkets, including both Coles and Woolies, always offer a refund – but this is the part she finds “annoying”.

“I don’t want a refund, I just want my items delivered. I need these groceries,” she said.

The video was quickly met by fellow frustrated shoppers who shared Eliza’s perspective on the situation.

“We’ve had so many forgotten bags, one time we even received someone else’s shopping from Coles,” one said.

“I think the problem is when they miss a bag for you they end up accidentally giving it to someone else. I have ended up with other people’s groceries,” another shared.

As one declared: “The substitute items are never even close …”

Woolworths said its team of “dedicated personal shoppers work hard to hand-pick thousands of online orders to the highest standard every day”, but stressed human errors can be made.

“While our teams work hard to provide a great experience every time, we don’t always get substitutions right, or, selected items may be out of stock,” the spokesperon told news.com.au.

“We encourage customers to contact us directly should something be amiss with their order so we can rectify it as quickly as possible.”

Coles has also been contacted for comment.

Woolworths said it's personal shoppers 'work hard' but human error can be made. Picture: Supplied

Coles shoppers have shared similar experiences. Picture: Supplied

Shoppers have long been sharing stories of “wild” substitute items in their home-delivery orders, with many seeing the funny side of the grocery mishaps.

A video shared on TikTok on 2021 asked Aussies to share the “stupidest thing that you have ever been substituted” – and the results were hilarious.

“I ordered laundry detergent, they didn’t have my usual laundry detergent, so this is what I got instead: Granola,” the original user said, prompting others to reveal theirs.

“I ordered newborn nappies and got adult diapers,” one person claimed.

“They substituted my pulp-free orange juice for orange juice with extra pulp,” another commented.

Another said instead of a bag of carrots they got a “ tub of peppermint choc chip ice cream”, while one person had ordered ice cream cones, only to receive “three bottles of diet ginger ale”.

Eliza has previously shared a video highlighting the “weird” substitutes she’s received in her home-delivery order, revealing last May Woolworths sent her lamb when she ordered beef.

“I ordered a packet of beef steaks and they’ve given me two packets of lamb,” she explained.

“Can you substitute beef for lamb? That’s so weird.”

The mum-of-two has previously shared ‘weird’ substitutions she’s received. Picture: TikTok/@peppercg

Her clip clearly resonated, with many sharing their own “strange” finds in their online grocery shops.

“Got a bag of red onions instead of a bag of brown onions … like just give me the individual brown ones …” one responded.

“HAH! It’s like they enie menie minie mo when it comes to substitutes,” another added.

In order to avoid these mishaps, customers can choose not to have substitutions if their preferred items are out of stock, and instead a refund will be automatically issued.

“I now have to click no substitutes as they’re switches were getting out of hand,” someone advised.

While shoppers have been generous enough to see the funny side of the situation, some experts have slammed retailers for offering a service that isn’t being provided.

“The field is far too competitive for Woolworths or anybody else to be providing this crap service, quite frankly,” Professor Roberta Crouch from the College of Business, Government and Law at Flinders University told Yahoo News Australia.

“And consumers don’t have to put up with it.”