$259 worth of groceries missing? Foodpanda apologises after woman's donation to children's home not delivered

Have you ever ordered groceries online only to find out you did not receive some of the items you ordered?

Unfortunately for one woman, her entire $259.32 pandamart grocery order has gone missing, she claimed in a Facebook post on May 30. 

Foodpanda is "very sorry" for the woman's "negative experience" and will provide a full refund on the order, a spokesperson told AsiaOne on June 2. 

Recounting the "utterly disappointing" experience, Estelle Liu said she had placed an advance order on foodpanda's grocery delivery platform on May 22, requesting for the groceries to be delivered to Chen Su Lan Methodist Children's Home on Monday (May 24) morning. 

The groceries were meant to be donated to the home, but they never arrived, she said. 

In her post, she stated that the app had notified her of the successful delivery but her contact at the home did not receive the items. There was also no footage of any delivery captured on the closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras surrounding the children's home.

After contacting foodpanda through their live chat the same day, Liu claimed that she only received an email from the company on Wednesday (May 26). In the screenshots she shared, the company concluded that the order had been successfully delivered as the rider had provided a picture for "proof of delivery". However, the attached picture only showed what appears to be a single plastic bag hanging on an edge of a fence.

The fence in the photo does not belong to the children's home, Liu said, citing her contact who works at the home. 

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Unsatisfied with foodpanda's response, Liu said she attempted to clarify the situation with the company, but it refused to admit it was wrong or to help her locate the package. 

Issues with address and customer service support

Liu then sought further assistance through foodpanda's live chat function only to be met with what she called "patronising and empty promises".

After explaining her situation to foodpanda's customer service personnel via live chat, she was told that they would contact her within 30 minutes but received no response. She tried multiple times to reach out before finally getting a response at 11pm. 

However, the conversation did not go well as the customer service representative abruptly ended the chat because it was "not coming to any conclusion", according to Liu. Halfway through the conversation, the representative even made a pun, she added, sharing a screenshot where she was asked if she had anything to "taco'bout".

So where is the "missing" order?

Netizens were quick to point out that the address for the children's home was 202 Serangoon Garden Way and not 202 Serangoon Way, as stated in Liu's order. 

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Liu, however, responded that the rider could have keyed in the postal code given or called the contact number she had provided.

But netizens may have found a clue as to what may have happened to the missing order. According to one commenter, the building and fence in the proof of delivery picture appears to match the exterior of a building that is just down the street of Chen Su Lan Methodist Children's Home, Ling Kwang Home for Senior Citizens.

To add to the confusion, Google Maps lists Ling Kwang Home for Senior Citizens' address as 202 Serangoon Garden Way, identical to the children's home. However, according to Ling Kwang Home for Senior Citizens' website, its address is 156 Serangoon Garden Way.

mardhiahhaslan@asiaone.com