Some Morrisons customers have still not received their Christmas orders after the supermarket experienced “systems problems” on Monday.
One customer told the BBC she was waiting for around £200 worth of groceries, while another said he was struggling to get a response from the firm.
It follows scenes of chaos at the UK’s fifth-largest supermarket on December 23 – the biggest grocery shopping day of the year – with deliveries canceled and promotional discounts not applied.
Morrison has apologized and insisted deliveries are back to normal but has yet to reveal the cause of the problems, despite repeated requests from the BBC.
‘in waiting’
A Morrisons customer in Worcestershire, who does not want to be named, pays for a delivery pass which gives her priority access to busy areas such as Christmas.
An hour before her delivery on Monday evening, she received a text message saying the delivery had been delayed.
As of Tuesday morning, she still hadn’t heard from Morrison and hadn’t received the delivery.
“I don’t know if my order is coming or not,” she tells BBC News. “So I’m at a real loss.”
The customer had an order of around £200, and saved vouchers throughout the year to take it up to £100.
She says the lack of communication has left her “in limbo”.
“I could go. [out] Spend another £200 today and then come home and Morrisons come with £200 worth of purchases,” she adds.
“The complete lack of communication is the biggest thing, because you can’t have a Plan B, and you can’t plan when it’s Christmas Eve.”
The problems began early Monday morning, when customers ordering for Christmas began receiving emails saying their deliveries would be delayed or canceled.
Then, when the stores opened, in-store customers found their vouchers were not being accepted at the till.
In response, Morrisons applied a 10% discount to members of its More card loyalty scheme and other discounts for non-More cardholders.
“The Morrisons store experience has returned to normal today, but all More card users will still receive 10% off their entire store throughout the day,” the supermarket told BBC News on Tuesday morning.
It added: “Click and collect and home delivery are operating as normal. We are committed to not leaving a single customer disappointed this Christmas.”
Another Morrisons customer, Matthew Welch in Northumberland, had his delivery canceled yesterday morning.
She said the manager she spoke to on the phone was “less than helpful.”
Matthew told BBC News: “The manager said he had to wait until the problem was resolved and then he would get back to me, which he didn’t.”
He added: “I have since discovered that four other people in the village where I live also canceled their Christmas deliveries yesterday.”
The BBC spoke to two other people in Northumberland who had. Delivery was canceled yesterday.
Morrison insists the cancellations were separate from its underlying “systems issues,” but won’t go into further detail.
Mr. Welch ended up buying his groceries locally, but he had no information about Morrison’s order.
“Especially with Christmas slots, you’re booking them six to eight weeks in advance, and there’s no excuse to cancel on the day delivery is due,” he says.
“I will switch to another supermarket, but I will never use Morrisons again for anything,” he adds.
‘will not forget’
Consumer expert Kate Hardcastle says supermarket chains need to be honest and transparent with their customers.
“It’s something that won’t be forgotten too soon in the new year,” he told the BBC.
“I think it’s about trying to lean in, as much as they can, to be very honest about it,” she adds.
She says the way supermarkets use loyalty schemes has changed in recent years, from offering points to offering discounts for members.
“If we’re going to see retailers implementing systems where you can only access a certain price through schemes, you need to make sure they’re watertight,” she says.
“Our grocery stores, they’re built on legacy IT systems that can really take a hit at critical times of the year… It’s about trying to figure out in the new year how they can connect with their loyal customers. How to work for payment.”