When we think of grocery delivery, we often picture the convenience of having our weekly shopping brought right to our doorstep, neatly packed and ready to be tucked into our pantries and fridges.

However, for one Woolworths customer in Darwin, the reality was far from this ideal scenario.

Samantha Dreha, who was off work and unwell, decided to use Woolworths' delivery service to order $800 worth of groceries.

What she didn't expect was to find her items scattered outside her home, completely devoid of any bags.

The sight that greeted her was bewildering, to say the least.

Samantha was shocked to see her Woolworths grocery items scattered outside her home. Credit: Facebook

'I was shocked when I noticed my groceries were delivered without bags,' Samantha recounted.

‘I asked the delivery man, and he apologised, saying I was the second customer that day to have no bags.’

The situation Samantha found herself in was not just inconvenient but physically taxing.

She had to make eight trips up and down ‘internal stairs’ to bring all her items into her unit.

Upon contacting her local Woolworths store for an explanation, she was met with a baffling response: they 'can't explain' the absence of bags.

It was only after reaching out to Woolworths' customer service team that she was offered a $20 voucher as compensation.

‘That shop was over $800, I feel being offered $20 is a joke,’ she said.

It’s understood a logistical issue was to blame for the missing bags at the time of Samantha's delivery.

While the groceries were delivered, the carriers were not able to put them in, leaving Samantha to deal with the fallout.

A Woolworths spokesperson has since addressed the incident, stating, 'While our teams work hard to provide a great online delivery experience every time, we don't always get it right.'

‘We are sorry to hear about this customer’s experience. We encourage customers to contact us directly should something be amiss with their order so we can rectify it as quickly as possible.’

Speaking of paper bags, a shopper from another supermarket giant shared their frustration about its paper bags—specifically its durability.

Her shopping trip ended in disaster, which sparked a heated debate online. You can read more about the story here.

Key Takeaways

• A Woolworths shopper was shocked to find her $800 worth of groceries delivered without bags outside her home in Darwin.
• The incident occurred while the shopper was unwell, and the delivery made the process of carrying the items very cumbersome, requiring eight trips.
• The shopper's complaint to Woolworths' customer service resulted in being offered a $20 voucher, which she felt was inadequate for the inconvenience caused.
• Woolworths acknowledged a logistical issue with the absence of bags and apologised, urging customers to report any problems with their order for a quick resolution.

Have you had a similar experience with your grocery delivery? How was it resolved? Share your stories in the comments below.

 

[Iggydi]

Don't the bozzo's running the store know that a lot of products come in boxes? You could pack the groceries in small manageable boxes. Some people can't see or think common sense these days. I would have called Woolies asked to get the drivers back so they can reload the items back on the truck and take them back to the store, then demanded my money back with some sort of compensation.

 

[LeahI]

What about the crates they pack the groceries in? I realise they would want them back but the driver needed to be instructed to assist the customer and take the crates back to store. Stupid people taking no ownership of a problem. It's the fault if whoever is in charge of online delivery.

 

[Cheviegirl]

Why not put it in boxes. Easy as. Woolworths are becoming the absolute pits. NO BAGS!! NO AUSTRALIA DAY ITEMS!! NO ANZAC TINS No wonder we shop Coles!

 

[Kman]

As Iggydi explains, just about everything delivered in bulk to individual stores arrives in boxes. Reuse, recycle, reduce. Pathetic on the part of Woolworthless.
It's not enough for them that they are still ripping consumers off and coming up with paltry excuses about 'new suppliers etc' for shrinkflation.
BOYCOTT THE BASTARDS!!

 

[Chrissyfs]

Ive always had my groceries in the paper shopping bags. But when I take the groceries into my house all is good until I get to the cold items. Ick these bags up and the cold items fall through the bag. Not happy.

 

[David567]

Geez, I hope thats not all she got for $800. Coles and WW crush 1000's of boxes every day instead of reusing, perfect for customer deliveries. What a waste.

 

[AlanQ]

Another story from social media that I call bull$#!t on and question the validity. Every time I've had any deliveries, they come bagged and sealed. Otherwise, how the hell does the doordash or uber delivery know what to deliver to where? Sounds like another scammer trying to get money for nothing.

 

[AlanQ]

As Iggydi explains, just about everything delivered in bulk to individual stores arrives in boxes. Reuse, recycle, reduce. Pathetic on the part of Woolworthless.
It's not enough for them that they are still ripping consumers off and coming up with paltry excuses about 'new suppliers etc' for shrinkflation.
BOYCOTT THE BASTARDS!!

They are recycled, space is the consideration, they pay for floor space just for a few customers that may use boxes. Most boxes are a tray and shrink wrapped, also designed to be opened and whole tray is placed on the shelf as part of the display, so therefore useless for carrying anything in.

 

[Ittybitty]

Use the boxes that the stock originally comes in. How dumb ate these people

 

[Squizzy1]

So how many trips did the driver make to deliver this order to and from the truck, hard to believe imo and clearly doing 8 trips up and down stairs herself, what no bags, boxes, trolly or help, $800 worth?

 

[Janice McKay]

You call that not getting it right? Have your workers heard of boxes that other items come in, REALLY! I would have made the deliverer take them back at get a refund. That's just a lazy worker.

 

[David Jackson]

Do you all expect the staff to think it,s not in there employment rules. I have been self employed as electrician & wonder how long I would have lasted if I did not think, My first electric shock may have been my last. yes it was my fault but it stopped me thinking of other things instead of what I was being paid to do as apprentice on 50 Dollars per week.

 

[Veggiepatch]

I would have to be on my death bed before I order ANYTHING online.

 

[Littleboy8]

Where’s the healthy food and really $800.00 worth of food.

 

[Littleboy8]

Another story from social media that I call bull$#!t on and question the validity. Every time I've had any deliveries, they come bagged and sealed. Otherwise, how the hell does the doordash or uber delivery know what to deliver to where? Sounds like another scammer trying to get money for nothing.

Yep all my bags have my name and the bag has a no on them of how many are mine.

 

[Ebby]

Has no-one thought about the hygiene aspect of this like butter, bacon etc laying on the ground outside !
l would have stopped him in his tracks when l saw what was happening as it would have taken him some time to unload and tell him to take them all back. What about other customers groceries mixed up with theirs ? l hope she checked them all off.lt is not acceptable and where is the service.
l got a pick up from Woolies yesterday and all my groceries were in paper bags but l don't like the way you don't get a docket and have to go online t check them off.


.

 

[MariaG]

I cannot get my head around the $800 order. It would take us 6 months to spend that much on groceries. Is there a bar of gold hidden in all of that?
Anyhow, delivery was not acceptable and the voucher an insult.
Having said that, it looked like there were not a lot of groceries as such. Cartons of drinks, take a huge chunk out of the total and, they won't fit in bags. As for the rest, WW paper bags would not be terribly useful.
I am not a fan of online grocery shopping, however, sometimes it is a case of necessity. This was a recipe for disaster.

 

[Kman]

They are recycled, space is the consideration, they pay for floor space just for a few customers that may use boxes. Most boxes are a tray and shrink wrapped, also designed to be opened and whole tray is placed on the shelf as part of the display, so therefore useless for carrying anything in.

Not all of them. And the delivery drivers could use them instead.

 

[margaretritchie48]

Don't the bozzo's running the store know that a lot of products come in boxes? You could pack the groceries in small manageable boxes. Some people can't see or think common sense these days. I would have called Woolies asked to get the drivers back so they can reload the items back on the truck and take them back to the store, then demanded my money back with some sort of compensation.

I would have left the shopping where it was. Cancelled the charge made to my credit card. Rung woolworths and told them they can collect the shopping as they have not accepted delivery.