Ordered Delivery from Coles and Got Unfair Substitution. Am I Wrong Here?

Lbluemyself on 22/11/2022 - 15:25
Last edited 22/11/2022 - 19:37 by 1 other user

Edit: Ok, based on the comments I've come to the conclusion that I'm not right, but not wrong either. I made this thread thinking that Coles tried to screw me, but as others have pointed out, there was a pretty good reason as to why they went this way. Thanks ozbargain!

Details:

  • Ordered delivery from Coles
  • Purchased 5kg of rice $10 (it was on sale) and some other stuff
  • They didn't have the rice and substituted it with 2kg of rice
  • I complained, and they credited me with $3.70, with the following reason:

"The unit price for your 5kg rice was $10.00. Therefore $0.002/per gram. We using $0.002 multiply 2kg equal to $4.00. You should only be charged $4.00 for the 2kg rice rather than $7.70, and there's $3.70 difference. "
($7.70 is the price for 2kg of rice)

Am I incorrect in thinking that this is unfair? They way I see it is I purchased 5kg of rice — they couldn't fulfill that and gave me what they could and gave me credit for the difference. So technically, shouldn't I be able to buy an additional 3kg of rice with the difference. But I can't, even when on sale. Therefore, I feel like I've lost money in this scenario. I feel like I'd be better off returning the rice and getting a refund of $10 at which point I can wait for another sale and get 5kg.

Food & Grocery

Related Stores

Coles
Coles

Comments

  • AustriaBargain on 22/11/2022 - 15:27
    +41

    They probably should have cancelled the order if they didn't have it.

    • ankti231 on 23/11/2022 - 17:11
      +9

      But that's not how online grocery shopping works, you tick on each product you purchase whether you would like them to substitute if they don't have it or just cancel that item. OP clearly requested substitution instead of cancellation.

      • AustriaBargain on 23/11/2022 - 17:16

        But they had no other rice anywhere near the same price.

        • ankti231 on 23/11/2022 - 18:22
          +3

          Which is why they refunded him the difference after calculating the price of the substituted item at the same unit price as the original product

      • superuser on 25/11/2022 - 15:32

        Yep same with woolies.

  • bobbified on 22/11/2022 - 15:31
    +11

    "The unit price for your 5kg rice was $10.00. Therefore $0.002/per gram. We using $0.002 mulyiply 2kg equal to $4.00. You should only be charged $4.00 for the 2kg rice rather than $7.70, and there's $3.70 difference. "

    What? If 5kg was $10, then 2kg is $4. Then they should refund you $6 in total.

    How does the $7.70 and $3.70 come into this?

    • sss333 on 22/11/2022 - 15:33
      +7

      I'm guessing they originally changed it to $7.70 for the 2kg bag from $10 before the complaint

      • bobbified on 22/11/2022 - 15:35

        I thought that could be the case, but OP has said that they refunded him $3.70 after complaining, so it would then be $6.30 he/she has paid for the 2kgs.

        edit: okay, I see what you mean now!

        • spackbace on 22/11/2022 - 15:39
          +4

          Maybe they don't charge until they pick, so OP was only charged $7.70?

          • bobbified on 22/11/2022 - 15:51

            @spackbace: Not sure really. I've only ever ordered once online from Coles/Woolies years ago and I seem to remember they charged based on the total of the order at the time when it was finalised [online].

            • ATangk on 23/11/2022 - 13:39
              +1

              @bobbified: They will preauthorise you for that amount but won’t actually charge you that. The final invoice of the deliveries won’t be higher than the preauthorised amount but may have had a refund pending that OP didn’t know about yet.

    • picklewizard on 23/11/2022 - 16:31
      +5

      Price per kg = $2 for the item OP ordered
      Price of 2kg rice substituted = $7.70 (OP got shafted here)
      Refund received when OP complained = $3.70

      OP paid $4 for 2kg of rice, the same price per unit as 5kg for $10. Take the refund and move on, you haven't lost a thing (but shouldn't have had to complain)

      • MrFrugalSpend on 23/11/2022 - 19:29
        +1

        I don't understand why they didn't at least give OP 2x 2KG of rice … much closer than 2kg for 5kg ordered

        • ATangk on 24/11/2022 - 08:45
          +8

          I feel like a reasonable substitution would have 3 x 2Kg and don’t touch the invoicing.

      • cuteseal on 25/11/2022 - 08:21

        Exactly, the normal price of the 2kg bag would have been more expensive, so they did OP a solid by charging at the original item per unit price.

    • Crow K on 22/11/2022 - 16:09
      +57

      Bloody Government owned supermarkets like Coles

      • jjjaar on 22/11/2022 - 21:51
        +42

        How could Dan Andrews let this happen?

        • Munki on 23/11/2022 - 10:39
          +8

          Dictator Dan at it again.

          • AssociatedSpainKing @ Coles on 23/11/2022 - 14:41
            +1

            @Munki: Bet he'll be forcing cyclists to crash in to his car next the scoundrel

  • nfr on 22/11/2022 - 15:37
    -2

    No that's BS. I ordered 5kg of rice $10 because I like the price and quantity . Price for the 2kg of rice is totally irrelevant.

    • goonsta on 23/11/2022 - 19:03
      +6

      It's really simple, deselect substitutions for products you're going to rage about.

  • War on 22/11/2022 - 15:43
    +1

    This will be controversial, but was the rice the same brand? It probably just comes down to whoever picks your order.

    If that person does not cook rice daily, maybe they thought it would be better to just get you some rice of the same brand, so its better than nothing. You can always return and refund it. That might be preferable to just cancelling your rice order as you might have already paid for delivery with the rest of your other items.

    You can usually return items within 30 days, so that gives you a lot of time, and is probably something else the picker had in mind.

    Honestly, if it were me, I would call the customer and ask them. I wonder why they do not do this… Maybe Coles needs to implement this "feature".

    • Settero on 22/11/2022 - 16:33
      +4

      You opt in/out of substitutions , this would only work if it's a rare occasion , them having it as opt in/out means it's a common occurrence

      • bbinc on 23/11/2022 - 09:55
        +1

        Out of stock is so common due to sorts of reasons. OP can manage subs on each item. I use this all the time with Colesworths. When I alllow subs I often get nice surprises - twice the size, a dearer brand, something new to try. Eg, I order a 4 pack of bread rolls - out of stock and they give me 2 x 3 packs same price. I order two bananas, they give me a whole bunch same price, or 1 avo and I receive two - one ripe, one firm. IMO the staff do a great job of this, and overall I’m so far ahead the odd shortage doesn’t concern me.

        • meatgasm on 23/11/2022 - 17:42
          +7

          I try to get away with giving expensive/more product if I cant provide what the customer wants. It give's me a tiny bit of catharsis knowing that the customer gets a bit of a kick out of it, and woolies looses a tiny bit of money on the substitution. Same with Fresh produce. If they look a bit small/sad, I give them a few extra, cause f**k it.

          • bbinc on 23/11/2022 - 19:03

            @meatgasm: IMO the staff doing this work do a great job! From my experience if anyone wins on subs it’s the customer.

          • nigel deborah on 23/11/2022 - 21:26

            @meatgasm: Haha that's awesome! Good on you. I worked doing Coles delivery for a while, and I'd refund anything that even had the slightest imperfection. The home brand milk used to leak if the pickers put it on its side, so I'd be refunding whole bags of shopping semi regularly when small quantities spilled.

          • xavster on 24/11/2022 - 01:51

            @meatgasm: This would increase customer loyalty and order satisfaction, the few cents lost has increase repeat purchase probability, which is much cheaper than advertising. As a WOW shareholder, I thank you.

            • Ughhh on 24/11/2022 - 11:55

              @xavster: More customer loyalty and satisfaction if he refunded wholes bags of shopping for every customer?
              I would definitely return and make multiple orders if it keeps being refunded.

          • belongsinforums on 24/11/2022 - 21:03

            @meatgasm: it's like the extra chicken nugget from kfc. i used to do the same. i remember being told not to pack the chip boxes full. i'd always overflow them and make sure customers didnt get old shitty chips. at colesworth? inform customers of generous price guarantee policies. i dont understand the low wage workers who try to avoid giving customers free/cheaper items upon scanning errors or when nightfill put the wrong item under the wrong ticket.

        • Laurana on 23/11/2022 - 20:19
          +1

          I use it all the time too! What I do is only allow substitute for home brand items or items that are so cheap that I don’t mind if they substitute it for literally anything else. Woolies also allows you to place a note which is even better. So I can say “only for other whole milk. No half and half” or whatever. If I pay good $ for a particular item that I want, then I tick it off because I don’t want to be stuck with home brand Coca Cola.

    • Save 50 Cent on 22/11/2022 - 23:16
      +5

      No thanks! Last thing I want is someone from Coles to call me while I am at work to ask me whether it is ok to have a 2 kg of rice instead of 5. But I am not so fussy like OP I guess.

      • War on 23/11/2022 - 11:10

        Yeah, I have to agree with that.

        There is always the option to refund within 30 days. If the system ain't broke, don't fix it.

  • Mokr on 22/11/2022 - 15:43
    +4

    Bad customer service. Saving a few dollars to lose a customer.

    When accountants run the world.

    • cunningdrew on 23/11/2022 - 16:45

      If they made allowances every time at a couple bucks per, they'd be losing money fast. Coles actually did it to the cent. A little weird, but it worked.

  • MITM on 22/11/2022 - 15:45
    +39

    You should untick the substitution box for specials in case they run out - otherwise they think you NEED rice.
    I uncheck particular fruit boxes because I only like one kind of apple. I don't want granny smiths if mine aren't available - even if granny smiths are more expensive.
    The default is - substitute all.

    • MS Paint on 22/11/2022 - 15:53
      +25

      Never ever under any circumstances tick the substitution check box. Online grocery shopping 101.

      • Jasongood on 22/11/2022 - 16:51
        +1

        Depends on the store, I once ordered a $3 Silicone Scraper 4pc at Bunnings, online show in stock but the store doesn't, they substituted with a $10 17pc Complete Caulking Kit. No complains.

        • MS Paint on 22/11/2022 - 16:58
          +8

          at Bunnings

          That's not a grocery store.

      • AdosHouse on 22/11/2022 - 18:38
        +7

        Maybe other stores are different, but when I worked Online at Woolworths we always upgraded with substitutions.

        • Kail on 22/11/2022 - 22:09
          +5

          I've never had a problem with Woolworths.
          I liked the time that they were out of 400g Potato Salad and gave me 2x 250g Potato Salad instead.
          Gotta love extra potato salad!

          • cunningdrew on 23/11/2022 - 16:48
            +2

            @Kail: Have noticed the same with Woolies, they tend to do this.

        • Cheap Gamer on 25/11/2022 - 00:05

          And Woolworths allow notes to be left for the picker. This is a very useful feature which Coles doesn't have.

          Coles also upgrade me with substitutions, but I've found it to be more haphazard. Really depends on the kindness of the picker.

      • Hansi on 22/11/2022 - 21:48
        +7

        I love substitutions on our Woolworths order. Have always received a better product / more. Few occasions where I wasn’t happy with the substitutions but always got a no fuss refund.

        • bbinc on 23/11/2022 - 09:59
          +1

          And refunds are so easy - it’s done with a bot. You tell it the line item you are not happy with and you get a credit straight back

          • Kill Joy on 23/11/2022 - 20:25

            @bbinc: Yep you're looking at around $200 of of "Goodwill" no questions asked refunds until you'll even be escalated to a human.

      • PurchaseAnxiety on 24/11/2022 - 11:57

        I might have just been lucky, but substitutions have usually worked out well for me. I once ordered 1 avo for $1.5. They couldn’t supply it, so they gave me a kilo bag of avos, still for $1.5. I always assumed that they aimed to give you a better deal if they substitute, but I guess that’s subjective to whoever is picking your order.

    • Munki on 23/11/2022 - 10:41

      Jazz apples for the win.

    • cunningdrew on 23/11/2022 - 16:45

      Another good point. How do they know if you're expecting a bag of rice tonight to finish dinner? Could be not so much a chicken tonight without the rice.

  • Drakesy on 22/11/2022 - 15:51
    +6

    Or just vote with your feet and go to the grocery store?

    Sounds like they should've credited you $6 though
    Unless the explanation was wrong?

  • mjanderson on 22/11/2022 - 15:52
    +13

    The logic they applied seems reasonable to me, but it shouldn't have taken a complaint to get there!

    I am starting from the assumption they likely already credited you the difference of $2.30 for the difference the original $10 (5kg) and the $7.70 (2kg). Ultimately they gave you a 2kg bag for the same unit rate as the bag you intended to purchase. Sure you didn't get the quantity you wanted, you didn't overpay for the bag they gave you. But yes, you won't be able to make up the 3kg shortfall in quantity with the money you were refunded, but I think this is reasonable outcome.

    • cunningdrew on 23/11/2022 - 16:50
      +2

      This is very true, however to be fair to the OP… if the rice was on special, they should have supplied 5x 2kg bags to honour the special price. 2kg of rice on special is not the same as 10kg of rice on special.

  • RockyRaccoon on 22/11/2022 - 16:18
    +1

    You say you get 2Kg at the same per kilo price as if you bought the 5Kg packet.

    Then you say that you will lose out because when you want to use the next 3kg you will have to pay more.

    That can be understood.

    BUT then you say you plan to return this 2kg of rice and wait until the 5kg comes on sale again. So what do you eat/buy while you are waiting? At least you have 2kg to eat at the same price ration until it comes on sale again. Unless you are never going to eat more than 5kg, Not like a tin of paint where you need 5Litres so a 2L and 5L would only mean that 2 L would be wasted.

    • nigel deborah on 23/11/2022 - 21:34

      Maybe they're a caterer and 2kg is useless? Haha. Could be some rare cases where 10kg is required and 2ky is useless.

  • tre180 on 22/11/2022 - 16:23
    +20

    I once ordered a watch battery with my groceries and they substituted it with nine tins of beans

    • franco cozzo on 22/11/2022 - 18:52
      +1

      only once…?

    • suzley on 23/11/2022 - 09:32

      Sounds like a fair substitution. Did you complain?

      • tre180 on 23/11/2022 - 11:44

        Nah, just worked my way through them, luckily I like beans :)

        • Antikythera on 23/11/2022 - 16:47
          +1

          i'm not sure even one bean at time would fit in your watch. let alone a full can at once

    • nigel deborah on 23/11/2022 - 21:38
      +1

      Haha. Are you sure it was an intentional substitute?

      When I worked as a delivery driver at coles, I once dropped off 50 litres of UHT milk (among other groceries) at an (very old) pensioners home. I figured they were trying their best to save money and got it on sale. They watched me unpack it and said nothing.

      Next place I go, the lady is extremely angry because of missing items in the order that mean she's about to run out of feed for her guinea pig breeding business!

      Never figured out how I got the two mixed up, or if it was a packing error. Guess the pensioner was happy haha

  • GordonD on 22/11/2022 - 16:29
    +5

    In your circumstance some people would want the 5 kg that was on special or nothing, other people would NEED some rice and so would want the next best available, a 2 kg pack at the same $2 per kg special price. Coles wouldn't know which was your preference, so they've made the safe choice of giving you the 2 kg pack.

    You couldn't be bothered going to the store. You chose to leave the decisions up to them. They've tried to do the best for you they can. Stop whinging.

    Is a couple of dollars worth all the trouble of creating a thread here?

    • bluemyself on 22/11/2022 - 19:28
      +5

      "whinging" is a bit dramatic, but agree with everything else you've said.

      Going through the trouble of creating this thread has helped me understand the logic behind Coles decision. So yeah, i guess it's worth it 👍

      • Zonty on 24/11/2022 - 11:04

        Depend how you argue.
        I had similar situation but they charge right percentage if not, take back rice. Most likely they will give full credit. That happened me few times.
        Unless you thought rice was on special at $10 when you add in cart tuesday but when you check out on wednesday price went back to normal and you did not figure out ( weekly catalogue change). That only reason could charge what they had charge.i know because that also happened to me :(((.

  • freefall101 on 22/11/2022 - 17:02

    So technically, shouldn't I be able to buy an additional 3kg of rice with the difference

    This only makes sense if you're cooking something that requires exactly 5kg of rice then buying never again. The alternative, since they were out of stock, is you get nothing. So considering smaller bags are usually more expensive, you're coming out perfectly fine here.

    Just use the 2kg and buy 5kg of rice next time, you don't need to ever buy a 3kg bag of rice.

    • Ghost47 on 22/11/2022 - 20:11

      you don't need to ever buy a 3kg bag of rice.

      If OP is Asian they definitely need a 3 kg bag of rice at a minimum. Rice is basically like oxygen for Asians.

  • pharkurnell on 22/11/2022 - 17:02
    -1

    Am I incorrect

    Yes.

  • Richardc on 22/11/2022 - 17:12
    +1

    check your invoice, looks like they only charge you $7.7 for the 2kg rice.

  • SlowCarSlow on 22/11/2022 - 17:54

    It's fair enough to complain when you 2 kg of rice for $7.7 vs 5kg for $10. But they did give you the difference after a complaint. I am personally surprised they didn't just refund the whole product to be honest. But them giving you a refund to make the price same in g/$ is fair enough.

  • brendanm on 22/11/2022 - 17:54
    +4

    I bet if you went in to the store you ordered from, they would have 50 bags of the rice in the aisle. For some reason they say things are out of stock, when they aren't a lot of the time.

    • ZachBlasphemy on 23/11/2022 - 11:11
      +2

      It's true. Ordered groceries, parked in the direct-to-boot spot and they brought them out to the car, half the order is apparently unavailable.

      I immediately went back inside Coles and I found every single item in the exact size/price that I ordered where they should be on the shelf. Every. Single. Item.

      They 100% had that rice on the shelf.

      • franco cozzo on 23/11/2022 - 14:55

        theyve done this to me with beer on coles online…bloody lying bastards

      • Kill Joy on 23/11/2022 - 20:32
        +1

        Often times they pick your items many hours before the order is due to be pickedup and store them in a back office area (with your freezer/fridge items in separate bags in their own cooled areas). What has actually happened is those items were restocked before your pickup time, but after the pick time for the staff. Sure its not a great process for the customer, but it saves lots of money and time (they can pick multiple orders at once instead of on demand, and focus on other tasks). There is no comspiracy here.

        • ZachBlasphemy on 23/11/2022 - 20:45

          Or, the packer has way too many orders to fill while the store is understaffed so they knowingly miss items just to keep up with the high demand of both customers and internal KPI's.

          We know the packers themselves are doing the best they can. Coles has been making insane profits though and they choose not to allocate needed resources to keep up with a system they put in place.

          So it's more like, do it properly or not at all. (That's for Coles, not their public facing employees.)

          • Kill Joy on 24/11/2022 - 08:33

            @ZachBlasphemy:

            miss items just to keep up with the high demand of both customers and internal KPI's.

            KPIs are heavily influence by customer satisfaction. Skipping items would contribute to not meeting either.

            You are attributing malice of these grocers brands without any evidence. I'm telling you whats happening based on the work I've done with these internal systems, and its truly a timing issue that is for sure a problem, but its actually a decision by the grocer to take pressure off workers at the expense of some customer complaints.

  • Mcuser on 22/11/2022 - 18:14
    +3

    fried rice tonight

  • bdl on 22/11/2022 - 18:44
    +1

    I feel like I'd be better off returning the rice and getting a refund of $10 at which point I can wait for another sale and get 5kg.

    So do that then!

  • franco cozzo on 22/11/2022 - 18:51
    +2

    just buy your groceries online…its so convenient!!!

  • JimmyF on 22/11/2022 - 19:10
    +3

    Am I incorrect in thinking that this is unfair? They way I see it is I purchased 5kg of rice — they couldn't fulfill that and gave me what they could and gave me credit for the difference.

    They supplied 2kg of rice at the same $/kg rate as the rice you wanted to purchase.

    I guess the choice was either get no rice, or get 2kg of rice at the same $/kg rate as what you wanted.

    On these substitutions, you win most, but every now and then you get some odd ball substitution like you did. At the end of the day, you still paid $2/kg for rice just got a smaller amount.

    I feel like I'd be better off returning the rice and getting a refund of $10 at which point I can wait for another sale and get 5kg.

    But you didn't pay $10 for the 2kg of rice, check your docket, they charged you $7.70 for the 2kg of rice, and have now since refunded you $3.70, so you paid $2/kg aka the same rate as the 5kg for $10.

    • moo on 22/11/2022 - 19:31

      The likelihood of a smaller pack from the same brand/make/type with the same unit price, well thats pretty slim. Im going to hazard a guess that they replaced it with a lesser name brand, e.g their home brand.

      • JimmyF on 22/11/2022 - 22:24
        +1

        The likelihood of a smaller pack from the same brand/make/type with the same unit price, well thats pretty slim

        Same brand/make/type, highly likely. Same price, never. Hence why they 'adjusted' the price to be the same $2/kg that the larger packet was sold at.

        OP ordered 5kg @ $10 aka $2/kg.

        but OP was charged for 2kg @ $7.70 aka $3.85/kg instead.

        OP complained, and Coles refunded $3.70 aka $1.85/kg to bring the price back down to $2/kg.

        • picklewizard on 23/11/2022 - 16:32
          +1

          I think you and I are the only two people in this thread that realise this.

  • bigticket on 22/11/2022 - 19:30

    I feel like I'd be better off returning the rice and getting a refund of $10 at which point I can wait for another sale and get 5kg.

    The OP has it all wrong. This statement clearly shows the OPs misunderstanding. Returning the rice will only bag the OP $4.

  • EmCKay on 22/11/2022 - 20:47
    +3

    I ordered 8 packs of 50 cups for a large event. The substitute was 9 packs of 15 cups. Not even close!

    • kolorijo on 23/11/2022 - 07:22
      +1

      Worker's logic:

      8 is close to 9
      5 is 5
      0 is close to 1

      Conclusion: Substitute!

    • BartholemewH on 24/11/2022 - 00:51
      -1

      They only have to substitute by $, not quantity in my experience. If you ordered $20 worth of cups and they supplied $21 'worth', they are in the clear.

  • Windows98 on 22/11/2022 - 21:11
    +6

    Leave Coles alone. They only made $1B in profits last year and need help saving costs where they can.

    istandwithcoles

    • WhyAmICommenting on 22/11/2022 - 23:12

      I know right, that must be really profiteering hurting from the pandemic!

    • franco cozzo on 23/11/2022 - 06:27

      down down the savings are down

  • Ryk on 22/11/2022 - 21:20
    +6

    As you ordered 5kg they should have sent 3x 2kg bags for a $10 total, or 4kg for $8

    • JimmyF on 22/11/2022 - 22:25
      +3

      and they normally do! I've found most subs to be a 'win'.

    • bbinc on 23/11/2022 - 10:08

      If they have enough rice for everybody. Remember the great toilet roll disaster?

  • drfuzzy on 22/11/2022 - 22:19

    I wish my life was so simple I had the free time to devote to solving a 5kg rice problem

  • Save 50 Cent on 22/11/2022 - 23:26

    People usually order groceries online to save their time. You wasted about 5 ozbargain man-hours for this BS.

    • franco cozzo on 23/11/2022 - 06:28

      rice is serious business around these parts!!

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