'Is he eating my cheesecake?' Windsor foodies frustrated with missing delivery app orders
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From missing burgers to disappearing ham, Windsorites are growing ‘hangry’ with third-party delivery drivers taking more than tips.
Catherine Amelia told the Star a driver recently picked up her $230 grocery order from a Windsor supermarket — but never delivered it. It’s still unclear what happened to the food.
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“I couldn’t believe it. He just went offline, and I don’t know where my food ended up,” said Amelia, 66, who uses grocery delivery because she is in a wheelchair.
“I was in shock at first. I thought, ‘Are you kidding me?’ Is he at home eating my cheesecake? Pigging out on my Easter ham?”
Windsor police confirmed they received a complaint about Amelia’s missing groceries, but didn’t say if they consider it a theft.
City police also couldn’t say how many cases of drivers stealing food there have been in Windsor because the reports are all logged under the broad category of theft.
Metro Inc., the grocery chain Amelia ordered from, told the Star it has dealt with her case but would not comment further.
“We can confirm that we are aware of Ms. Amelia’s unfulfilled order and the issue was settled,” said spokesperson Stephanie Bonk. “We apologize for the inconvenience she experienced with this order.”
A representative of Uber Eats, which Metro uses for its Express Delivery service, said “we are reaching out to the delivery recipient and are looking into this further.”
Uber did not acknowledge several requests for comment about what it is doing generally to stop failed deliveries, whether for theft or other reasons.
But it is not the only company that customers have had issues with.
Conversations on social media forums from Facebook to Reddit show a growing frustration with several companies across Canada and the U.S. about late, ruined, or missing orders.
Ken Whitehurst, executive director of the Consumers Council of Canada, said the issue of failed or untimely deliveries has “always been a huge problem.”
But it has become more prominent with the proliferation of apps and third-party services.
“Generally, people are far too uncritical in terms of assuming that online ordering will work for them, and they don’t investigate it carefully enough,” Whitehurst told the Star.
“It all looks convenient. Often it is — until something goes wrong. Then the something-goes-wrong-side obliterates the convenience.”
Given that delivery orders are often for “small dollar” items like fast-food, he said consumers are faced with a dilemma when the burgers disappear between pickup and drop-off.
“You have to decide if you’re just going to let it go,” said Whitehurst. “Are you going to consume more time? Are you just going to shy away from using the service? That’s kind of where it’s been left.”
Amelia didn’t let it go. She complained to Metro about her missing March 31 order. She said the company refunded her money and gave her a $25 gift card.
She also posted about her ordeal in a Windsor Facebook group, which prompted dozens of responses including comments from others who also had issues with various delivery services.
Sandy Sara Rankin wrote that she had the same experience with a grocery delivery. She told the Star she paid for the delivery to avoid going out when she was sick.
“When it was supposed to be delivered and wasn’t here, I contacted (the store) and they let me know that the driver must have taken them,” said Rankin. “They redid my order and it was delivered the next day. But I’m not comfortable ordering any delivery from them any longer.”
Tiffany Grace wrote that she was “ripped off” by two different companies.
She told the Star she used a delivery service last summer to order $147 worth of items from a drugstore. A week later, she said her card was charged an additional $200 through the delivery service.
“I had my bank look into it,” she said. “They had to get me a new bank card.”
Before that, she used a different delivery app to order dinner, which never showed up. She said the company promised to make it right, but never refunded her money.
“I try to just cook at home now.”
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