Delivery has become the norm in today’s world, from Amazon to grocery delivery, even our chicken nuggets from Chick-fil-A can be delivered to our doorstep. The delivery system was on its way up in 2020 but really surged during the pandemic and has not seen any signs of going anywhere but up. I have to admit, we as a family really took advantage of it during Covid. Now let’s move ahead almost 4 years, and yes, we have found the delivery system to work in our benefit. We don’t use delivery for everything, but there are times when the delivery system comes in handy.
With the surge of delivery, how has the way we interact with the world around us been affected? We can sit behind our phone or keyboard, push a few buttons, and whatever we want is on the way.
Does this “behind the keyboard” mentality change how we interact with people like customer service? Do you find it easier to be angry when something isn’t delivered the way it was intended, or are you kind but want to resolve it?
Are you a good customer to the retailer/restaurateur and the delivery driver?
I have a couple of stories that I am going to share with you today that show both the good and bad of delivery. Let’s see if I was a good or bad customer in these situations.
Let’s start with the funniest one first. This one just makes me laugh and still can’t believe this actually happened.
Five Guys Burgers and Fries, this order was during Covid; this was also one of those orders that cost us way more than we should have paid for it.
The order was late, must have been at least an hour when we finally received a call from the driver. He told me he was lost so he would not be delivering our food. What??? I said “oh no, I just paid $57 for this meal, you are going to deliver it.” I would not take no for an answer and the funny thing is, he stayed on the phone with me the whole time. I gave him step by step directions until I had the order in my hand. (side note: Five Guys is only 10 minutes down the street, and he was on the other side of town when he called???)
He then tried to give us someone else’s order that was also in the car as he was not going to be delivering it. (sorry to the end customer of this delivery, wish I could have driven it to you)
Even though he was originally going to give up, l have to give him kudos. He accepted his fate and knew he had to deliver what was truly mine, the dinner that I paid for. Being lost is not an excuse to not follow through and in the end he did. (well, maybe he only did half the job as the other order he tried to give us probably never made it)
I was mad and he knew I was mad. I was not belligerent or mean, just matter of fact that he was going to bring my dinner and I was not going to accept anything different.
Was I a good customer in this situation? I think I was; he completed his job and even though the burgers and fries were cold, they still made it to me and hell, it’s a funny story.
Even though the delivery service was a catastrophe, we survived. Although, we don’t do Five Guys delivery anymore.
Story #2 is a bit different and was a delivery from Walmart:
Our most recent delivery was from Walmart. It was a rainy Friday evening, we were battling a head cold and were in desperate need of toilet paper, paper towels, and “lady” items. Sure, I could have gone out Saturday morning and made the shopping run, but we decided not to share our cold/sickness with the world, and just ordered what was needed.
It was dark and rainy when our delivery arrived. Harold, my husband, went out, met the delivery driver, and brought everything in. I was not feeling well at all and was just laying up on the couch while he was putting everything away (side note: yes, I have an amazing husband, sorry ladies he is mine).
We were talking back and forth while he was putting things away and all of the sudden, I realized that he didn’t do or say something either comical or loving regarding my “lady” items. So I asked him, “My “lady” items came, right?” It was silent for a minute and then he went looking, bless his heart, he went looking everywhere, even outside just in case they would magically appear. But no, they did not appear, they were not delivered.
I checked my order and yes, I paid for them; they should have been delivered. Really? Of all the items to not drop off, these were not the ones. AUGGGG!! I can do without paper towels, heck we could have done without the toilet paper but not this, I needed these!!!!!
Now I’m mad and I am playing the blame game. The following scenarios are going through my head: the bag didn’t make it from the store to the car, the bag slid in the car and was not seen, or the person stole them and are re-selling them on Amazon.
Let’s keep in mind that I never saw the delivery person, I have no idea why my items were not delivered, and I am just blurting out accusations with no real foundation. Remember, I am sick and needed “lady” items so I may have been a bit delusional.
I had better request a refund for items not delivered sooner than later. I am familiar with Walmart’s process, so I knew that requesting a refund was not going to be an issue.
I opted to go through the refund process by utilizing the texting option. I explained what happened, answered a few questions, then was moved from the bot to an actual customer service representative. Approximately 20 minutes later my refund was on the way.
I got myself situated back on the couch, movie on and snuggling with the 4-legged kiddos when I heard a very light knocking at the door. I get up, look out the window and there is a woman holding a Walmart bag in her hand.
I opened the door, and there was the Walmart delivery person. She was standing there with her head down and arm out handing me the bag while saying “I am so sorry, I am so sorry. The bag slid to the side, and I did not see it. I am so sorry, I am so sorry,” her head was still down.
She knew exactly what was in that bag. I could hear in her voice, see in her eyes and feel in her energy that she felt so bad about what had happened.
I thanked her over and over.
When I shut the door, I turned around to Harold and said “oh my god, I got my stuff and she felt so bad. I can’t believe she came all the way back to bring it to me. How kind of her to do this.”
I went from angry at what happened to empathy and caring within moments. I knew how sincere she was. I felt terrible for being so angry and the wild accusations that I was thinking.
Harold immediately said “call Walmart and let them know they were delivered so she doesn’t get in trouble.”
He was absolutely right; a mistake was made but she immediately fixed the issue as soon as she knew.
At this point, I realized that I needed to cancel my refund because I now have my missing items. I mean seriously, how can I make sure she doesn’t get in trouble without admitting I now have what was missing.
So here we go, another 20 minutes with the bots and customer service reps of Walmart, yay!
I explained the following: I just received a refund for 2 items that did not show up on my delivery. The delivery driver found the missing items in her car and was kind enough to drive them back to me. Therefore, I have the items and no longer need a refund.
The customer service rep asked me to give him a few minutes to review the situation and he would be right back.
His next response was, “you don’t want a refund?”
I started laughing because he must’ve been thinking “what the heck, nobody “asks” to be charged”. But the whole point was that we didn’t want the delivery driver to get in trouble.
I responded with “correct, we received the items and I want to be sure that the delivery driver does not get in trouble because she was kind enough to bring them back.”
Customer Service Response: “You are so kind to do this. We will write up in your file what you wanted but we are going to continue with the refund. We will also place a write up in the driver’s profile to help her get a promotion.”
He assured me that she would have a nice write up in her profile. For us, that was the most important because she made the effort to fix the wrong.
This situation really made me think about how often we tend to go “overboard” with our frustration in the world of customer service. Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot out there that needs fixed. But, there is also a lot that we, ourselves, could learn to scale back and not get so angry.
Thank goodness I did not voice any of what I was thinking; well maybe to Harold and the animals but not to Walmart or her. How terrible that would have been if I had. It was an honest mistake, and she is only human as are you and me.
Was I a good customer in this situation? I think I was, even though I was mad, I didn’t affect anyone. It could have gone south really fast and then I surely would have been the jackass in the end.
I hope the next time that something doesn’t go right for you that you stop, take a breath, and check your words at the tongue before proceeding forward, because we don’t always know what really happened.
We expect great service although, it’s just as important to be a great customer.
P.S. Don’t forget to tip your delivery drivers!!!!!
I hope you enjoyed this read and if you did please like it below and leave your thoughts in the comments.
Wonderments With Jen 