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A man in Singapore found himself getting chicken rice without chicken and stock replies from the customer support service after his Foodpanda delivery order was being processed and delivered -- without the main dish.
The customer then took to Facebook on Mar. 8, 2021 to share screen shots of his conversation with the Foodpanda customer support, which insisted on completing the delivery, even though the main dish of roasted chicken was unavailable.
To be sent four portions of rice and one portion of vegetables
The man's order from Kim Kee Hainanese Chicken Rice at Boon Lay Gardens, besides the roasted chicken, included four portions of rice and one portion of oyster sauce vegetables.
Image via Prem Kumar's Facebook
Upon checking in with Foodpanda's customer support, he was told that the restaurant was already "preparing" the rice and vegetables -- sans roasted chicken.
As a result, he was to be refunded for the roasted chicken item only.
Image via Prem Kumar's Facebook
Image via Prem Kumar's Facebook
Not entitled to refund for whole order cancellation
When the man insisted on cancelling his entire order as he refused to "eat rice with veg alone", he was told by Foodpanda he would not be entitled to a refund.
While the whole order could be cancelled, the customer support explained that a full refund was not possible because the food had already been prepared.
Image via Prem Kumar's Facebook
Image via Prem Kumar's Facebook
The customer support response also included replies such as:
"We would have loved to resolve this issue, but sometimes it is beyond our best efforts. Truly Sorry."
Foodpanda eventually provided refund for the chicken
In response to Mothership's queries, a Foodpanda spokesperson confirmed that the platform does not cancel orders on behalf of customers or restaurant partners when an ordered item is out of stock.
Instead, the Foodpanda app is designed to allow customers to "pre-decide" how they’d like to proceed if items in their order are no longer available, the platform said.
At checkout, customers can choose to remove unavailable items from the order, cancel the entire order, or have the restaurant call them to arrange for a replacement.
The order and service is then processed based on the customer's selected preference. This means that if an individual selects to remove the specific item from the order should it become unavailable, customer service would then respond accordingly based on his selection.
Screenshot courtesy of Foodpanda
Screenshot courtesy of Foodpanda
Foodpanda said that it has since refunded the man for the chicken only:
"We know this has been an unpleasant experience for Mr. Kumar, and we have refunded him for the unavailable item, consistent with our process. We hope this is a satisfactory resolution for Mr. Kumar."
Top image via Flickr & Prem Kumar's Facebook