Coles customer slams delivery system after order left 'dumped'

A Coles customer has slammed the retailer’s delivery policy after their order was left "dumped" in an apartment building foyer.

The disgruntled customer said they had received orders before that were delivered directly to their door, but this time was different.

Sharing their frustration on the Coles Facebook page, the shopper asked whether anyone else had noticed the change in service.

“Tonight our delivery was dumped in the foyer of our apartment block after the driver didn't even have the decency to buzz us to let him in,” the person wrote.

Instead, he buzzed a neighbour, dumped our order, and then buzzed me to let me know the delivery had been left in the foyer.

“THIS IS A FIRST! Up until now, deliveries have been brought to our door.”

The customer said the driver had “no excuses” not to bring the order to the front door as access wasn’t restricted.

“Just beware as if this is the new Coles policy you might want to reconsider ordering from Coles online,” the shopper continued.

“I sent an email and Josh from customer service replied that this is indeed the policy, orders will be left in the foyer.”

But another shopper pointed out that the new arrangement was fair enough to protect the health and safety of customers and delivery drivers.

“It’s to protect the drivers and customers, limited contactless chance of infection. Simple concept,” the person said.

Others are confused about the change too

In a separate Coles Facebook page post, another person pointed out they’d noticed the apparently change to delivery policy too.

“Is it true that living in an apartment building means that I can no longer get my delivery, delivered to my front door, and left there (contact-free as it’s always been)?” the customer asked in their post.

“The delivery driver informed me, due to Covid restrictions he is not allowed to bring the delivery up the stairs to the second floor and leave it outside my door.”

The shopper said they had encountered the same issue last year, but after making some inquiries was told the information wasn’t true and that the order could be left at the door.

However, the shopper said they were now receiving conflicting information from Coles on the policy which seemingly has changed again due to current Covid-19 restrictions.

“When texting the Coles number today, I was advised this in fact it was true, the Coles Covid rules have changed and for the safety and protection of the delivery driver, they are not allowed to deliver to apartments and have to leave groceries to be picked at the main entrance of the apartment building,” the shopper said.

“Coles website states that you are still delivering straight to the door, contact-free.”

Another Coles customer also said that delivery drivers in their building aren’t allowed past the foyer due to Covid restrictions.

“They don't want their drivers exposed unnecessarily and that's fair enough,” the person responded.

“Also, these drivers visit many, many people daily. Personally, I would rather they not enter my building.

"For what it’s worth, my building stopped delivery drivers entering 18 months ago and it has worked really well.”

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Coles clears up confusion

Yahoo News Australia understands that Coles Customer Service Agents have not been advised not to enter apartment blocks or proceed beyond the foyer.

A Coles spokesperson said the store’s delivery policy was to keep their drivers safe.

“Customers have the option to provide delivery instructions for our Customer Service Agents if they live on a busy road or if their property is hard to locate or access, this helps keep our CSAs safe and ensures deliveries arrive on time,” a Coles spokesperson said.

“If a customer is unhappy with their delivery, we encourage them to contact the Coles Online customer care team.”

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