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[UPDATE on Jun. 2 at 10:35am: This article has been updated with a statement from foodpanda, which said it would provide the customer a full refund.]
A total of 136 items of groceries worth S$259.32 destined for a children's home in Singapore have apparently gone missing.
The groceries were ordered by a customer who sought to donate them, and placed the order via pandamart, which is foodpanda's grocery delivery service.
However, the customer discovered later on that the delivery never made it.
Even though the customer managed to get in touch with foodpanda representatives via email, their repeated reply was that "upon checking", they concluded that the order was successfully delivered, as the rider had provided "proof of delivery" in the form of a photo.
Screenshot via Facebook post by Estelle Liu.
The customer was unsatisfied with the explanation, and with the photo.
The image showed what appeared to be a single plastic bag hanging from the edge of a fence outside a building that was not the children's home.
But when the customer sought further assistance via foodpanda's live chat function, she encountered what she called "patronising and empty promises".
This led to a detailed account of the experience on Facebook group Complaint Singapore, advising others to "please think twice" before ordering from pandamart.
Order placed in advance with address and point of contact
The customer, who goes by the Facebook handle Estelle Liu, wrote that she had placed the order on May 22, two days in advance of the intended delivery on May 24.
She provided the delivery address, and indicated the delivery time as 11am via the foodpanda app.
However, Liu said the delivery did not arrive, and that "no footage of any delivery from Pandamart" was "captured", no drop-off of goods was recorded by the multiple CCTV cameras at the children's home.
"There is no reason for this package be delivered wrongly or not be located," said Liu, who explained that she had put down the name of the delivery location as Chen Su Lan Methodist Children's Home, together with its address, 202 Serangoon Way, Singapore 556057, as well as including the details of a point of contact.
Issue with the address indicated
Commenters on her post pointed out that the correct address for the children's home was 202 Serangoon Garden Way, and not 202 Serangoon Way.
However, Liu responded that the rider could have relied on the postal code, or called the phone number provided.
foodpanda's apparent response to this, as seen from screen shots of emails that Liu uploaded, was that the order was a contactless delivery, and thus, "the rider straight away drop the order to the drop off point" without notifying the sender.
Screenshot via Facebook post by Estelle Liu.
Another screen shot of an email from foodpanda stated that the foodpanda representative had apparently ended the conversation by saying that "we unable to proceed with further assistance since the rider has provide us with proof of delivery."
Screenshot via Facebook post by Estelle Liu.
The topic of a refund was not raised in Liu's post, nor in the screen shots of the emails sent by foodpanda to the customer.
Live chat ended as it was "not coming to any conclusion"
Liu then tried to contact foodpanda via a different medium: their in-app live chat function.
This, too, turned out fruitless, as Liu did not receive any follow-up emails or calls after explaining her situation, despite being promised that foodpanda representatives will follow up with her issue.
In the midst of the conversation, a foodpanda representative made a pun, which was understandably not well-received by the frustrated customer.
Screenshot via Facebook post by Estelle Liu.
"Not only is the delivery a disappointment, the standard of customer service is even more appalling," remarked Liu.
The chat was then summarily ended by the foodpanda representative who said that "this is not coming to any conclusion".
Screenshot via Facebook post by Estelle Liu.
Could delivery have been left at wrong location?
While foodpanda was not able to provide a satisfactory answer to Liu's question as to what happened to the groceries, a commenter on the post apparently found a clue as to what may have happened.
The commenter observed that the building and fence seen in the "proof of delivery" image matched the appearance of a building just down the street from the Chen Su Lan Methodist Children's Home.
Screenshot via Google Maps street view.
Furthermore, the commenter showed, a search for "202 Serangoon Garden Way" on Google maps did not show the children's home, but the same part of the fence where the rider had apparently taken the "proof of delivery" photo.
Screenshot from Google Maps (left) and "proof of delivery" photo (right).
The building in the photos is apparently the Ling Kwang Home for Senior Citizens, which has been marked on Google Maps with the same address and postal code (202 Serangoon Garden Way, Singapore 556057) as the Chen Su Lan Methodist Children's Home — perhaps erroneously, as the Ling Kwang Home's actual address, as stated on its website, is 156 Serangoon Garden Way.
Screenshot from Google Maps.
Given the incorrect address, the rider could have delivered the items to the Ling Kwang Home, or at least, brought the goods to the fence around it instead.
This, according to Liu, would not have been an issue:
Screenshot via Facebook post by Estelle Liu.
Mothership reached out to foodpanda for comment and received the following response on Jun 2:
“We understand the frustrations that Ms Liu felt, and are very sorry for the negative experience she had with us. We are in touch with her and will provide full refund on her order.”
Top image via Google Maps street view and via Estelle Liu on Facebook