From groceries to food delivery, almost everything is available at the click of a button. However, sometimes the items we order is not available and the eCommerce vendor “substitutes” the item. Sometimes, there are genuine mix-ups in the distribution causing hassle for customers.
A recent tweet from Nick James alerted Digirati to a viral marketing ploy by Tesco, the British supermarket giant. In his tweet, the 50-year-old James shared the photos of the iPhone SE that came with his grocery order. Thanking the service provider for the surprise gift, he wrote
“On Wednesday evening we went to pick up our click and collect order and had a little surprise in there – an Apple iPhone SE. Apparently, we ordered apples and randomly got an Apple iPhone! Made my son’s week!”
A big thanks this week to @Tesco & @tescomobile. On Wednesday evening we went to pick up our click and collect order and had a little surprise in there – an Apple iPhone SE. Apparently we ordered apples and randomly got an apple iphone! Made my sons week! 😁 #tesco #substitute pic.twitter.com/Mo8rZoAUwD
— Nick James (@TreedomTW1) April 10, 2021
Nick James, who was shopping from a Tesco was in for a sweet surprise. Instead of receiving his order for a bag of apples, he got an Apple iPhone SE with a note that read
“Amazing things happen when the worlds of supermarket and mobile come together, and so Tesco Mobile is surprising select Tesco.com shoppers by substituting Click+Collect grocery items with a fun Tesco Mobile Substitute”
While James’ story had a happy ending, not all mis-delivery stories end well. In March, a woman in China ordered an Apple iPhone and ended up receiving an apple-flavoured drink instead. (story link) A woman named Liu in China reportedly received a bottle of apple-flavored yogurt drink inside the box of an iPhone 12 Pro Max which she had ordered online. Liu explained that she spent over $1,500 to buy a new iPhone on Apple’s official website. When she later opened the package, someone had switched the contents with a food item instead.