Pick ‘n Pay ASAP Failed Delivery and Poor Customer Service

I am writing to formally complain about an extremely disappointing experience with a Pick n Pay ASAP order placed on Friday, 5 June, at approximately 17:00.

I placed an order consisting of 12 items for supper as we had unexpected visitors. The order was scheduled for delivery between 19:00 and 19:30.

According to the app, the driver had collected my order and I tracked his progress until he appeared to be in my street. When I noticed that the driver had stopped approximately four to five houses away from my address, I went outside to try and get his attention and direct him to the correct house. However, there was no Pick n Pay delivery driver in sight.

I immediately attempted to contact the driver three times via the app, but none of my calls were answered. Shortly thereafter, the app indicated that my order had been delivered, despite me having received nothing.

Concerned, I contacted Pick n Pay customer support. The consultant advised that she would contact the store and attempt to reach the driver before calling me back. During this process, I noticed that my order status changed to cancelled, with the reason stated as “Customer Not Available”.

This was both inaccurate and extremely frustrating. I was at home for the entire delivery window, actively monitoring the order, standing outside my property, and had attempted to contact the driver multiple times. At no stage did the driver attempt to call me.

Approximately ten minutes later, the driver contacted me and stated that the store had made an error and had not packaged the complete order. He advised that he had returned to the store and that another driver might be allocated to complete the delivery before store closing time.

I then contacted customer service again to determine whether the order would still be delivered. Shockingly, after I began reading my order number, the consultant disconnected the call before the matter could be resolved.

A short while later, the order was refunded to my bank account.

What concerns me most is the contradictory information provided throughout this incident. The order was first marked as delivered, then cancelled due to “Customer Not Available”, and only later was I informed by the driver that the issue was allegedly related to the store not providing the complete order. These explanations cannot all be correct.

In addition, I had used a free delivery voucher obtained from a Pick n Pay scratch card promotion. Given the manner in which this order was handled, I am left questioning whether the same level of service would have occurred had this been a fully paid delivery.

I have regularly chosen Pick n Pay ASAP over competing services because of the positive experiences I have had in the past. Unfortunately, this incident has severely damaged my confidence in the service. The combination of poor communication, inaccurate order status updates, failure to contact the customer, conflicting explanations, and inadequate customer support is unacceptable.