foodpanda asks customer to 'improve success rate of orders'

Delivery service foodpanda has been placed in the spotlight online for its response to a refund case. In a post seen on an online forum by Marketing, a netizen said his/her friend got a "rude and ridiculous" reply when asked for a refund when three orders were not delivered. The post goes on to show that foodpanda declined to process the refund, asking the customer to "improve the success rate of orders" instead. 

Although this got the netizen riled up, many other netizens jumped to foodpanda's rescue. Many questioned if the consumer has asked for refunds multiple times, to warrant such a clause from the delivery platform. One other netizen has even said he/she has asked for a refund three times without a problem. 

A quick check by Marketing also showed that foodpanda has been receiving more criticism about the way it handles refund requests recently. In the comment section of its latest Facebook posts, a few netizens pointed out that the refund requests took long, with one saying he has been chasing for a refund for an undelivered item for a couple of months to no avail.

Netizens also criticised foodpanda's standard reply template when it comes to dealing with their requests. One netizen asked to get support from "real people" instead of standard template email replies that come in over and over again, while another claims foodpanda's customer service team does not read inbox messages and just sends template replies. Another netizen blatantly said: "You cannot get refund when order not received. Please do not order food by foodpanda with debit or credit card."

In a statement to Marketing, a spokesperson from foodpanda said it encourages its customers with enquiries to reach out to its customer service team directly with their details so the team can assist with their feedback, requests, and refunds. To better communicate with its consumers, the delivery platform has also created an Instagram highlight to address frequently-asked questions, which will be updated regularly. According to the Instagram highlight, customers are entitled to a full refund if their food is not delivered, if there is a vendor cancellation, if the food is spoilt, or if there is a wrong order delivered. The company will provide partial refund if there is a missing item or spilt drink. It added that all refund requests should be made within 24 hours of the order delivery, and the refund process might take up to 21 days after it has been processed, depending on the payment method by the consumer. foodpanda also confirmed that users will be able to get a refund, should their orders have missing items. 

Last week, foodpanda was embroiled in a cheating case, where a teenager made a series of fradulent refunds from foodpanda, according to Channel NewsAsia. The article added that the series of refunds amounted to SG$14,000 over eight months. The teenager claimed that his items were not delivered and was successful in obtaining refunds for the alleged missing items.

Separately, earlier in May, foodpanda made headlines in local media outlets for its sarcasm, riddle-filled humour. Following one of its customer service staff's sarcastic remark to a disgruntled customer, the brand apologised for the incident, and reached out to the customer for rectifications. The customer help staff was seen replying “oh” and “so sad” when the customer said her order had been cancelled by the restaurant and she would like a refund. A spokesperson has since said the delivery platform has "stepped up measures" to ensure that our customer service agents conduct themselves professionally at all times, and to provide helpful, sincere assistance to customers who require support.

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