I'm a mum of two kids, I don't get out much. Despite what I joke about here, I don't really drink a lot, I don't smoke and I rarely tuck in to a big bar of chocolate.
But I do like to spend my money on the odd takeaway. A Friday night pizza, curry or Chinese in front of the TV with my hubby. That's my idea of a good time.
Unfortunately, due to a less than good time ordering from Just Eat on Friday, I won't be using them again.
Why?
Well...
Our order from restaurant, Holmer Green Kebabs, took forever to arrive, was cold, hard and congealed. So we did as recommended by Just Eat and called them to resolve our 'issue'.
They weren't very sympathetic, excusing the problem and instead offering a replacement. My pizza was inedible, Matt's kebab was cold, the chips were lukewarm at best. When we explained it was a bit late to send out another meal they reluctantly agreed to a full refund of £18.80.
And normally, that would be the end of the matter wouldn't it?
But, apparently, it can be quite awkward to arrange a refund through Just Eat and so they offered to refund us in cash. We thought it was a bit odd but agreed and a little while later the driver arrived and handed over the cash.
£8.00
So Matt politely pointed out that the refund should've been £18.80. The driver checked the receipt, saw the original amount and produced an extra £10.80.
So surely that is the end of the matter?
Nope.
Less than half hour later the driver was back, demanding we give him the extra £10 which he claimed 'hadn't been agreed with his manager'. He quickly became agitated when we disagreed. He said we had to give him the money back or it would be taken from his wages. Matt apologised and said that we'd call the restaurant.
This wasn't good enough and the man turned abusive and intimidating.
"You people always do this. You take the p**s."
Matt went to close the door and at this point the driver shoved his foot in the door and attempted to push the door open whilst shouting for his money and threatening us.
It was bloody scary. You don't expect a reaction like this from something relatively simple. We went from trying to be understanding to fearing for our safety. We told him we'd call the police and he was shouting that he didn't care. That he'd break in if he wanted. That it would 'end badly for us'. He said he didn't care that we had children in the house, that I was on the phone to 999, that his manager had upheld our complaint.
Strangely, he asked Matt how we paid, and when Matt said we'd paid by card he ran off. We have no idea what his intentions were (or are now) but were left shaken by the whole incident.
At which point we turned to Just Eat. Afterall, we paid Just Eat. We picked the takeaway because it was on Just Eat. We trusted that ordering through the Just Eat website would carry a guarantee of service.
But from Just Eat the response was:
"if their's a problem between the customer and the restaurant it's your problem alone because the restaurant is the one who is preparing the food not us just eat."
And I don't think that's good enough. For a company who claims to 'deliver your night in' they certainly provided us with a really awful evening. Their website tells restaurants and takeaways that Just Eat will: "publicise your business like never before, ensuring it comes up in more searches, and on more screens. We’ll offer new ways to attract customers, and work with you to ensure existing ones keep coming back."
Am I wrong to expect that this promise should also come with a responsibility to the customers they are advertising to?
If you order a takeaway via a 'reputable' order app or online, you expect a level of service and quality of food.
What you don't expect is to have a delivery driver attempting to barge into your home and threaten you.
It appears there is no route of escalation for this type of complaint through Just Eat. They'll help you place your order, but after they've taken your money you're on your own - even if that means having to call the police and staying awake frightened all night.
And that is why I won't be in a hurry to order from Just Eat again.
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