https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/mar/16/mushrooms-swapped-for-tampons-among-bizarre-uk-supermarket-substitutions?
Which? survey finds a third of online supermarket shoppers have been given a substitution
Last time I did a pickup from Asda I didn't check my substitutions properly.
I had ordered a curry deal, 4 items for a tenner. Ordered 2 curries and 2 rice. Thought they had substituted the rice for a different rice but they had substituted the curries for rice.
So I paid a tenner for 4 microwave rice portions and nothing to go on it.
I felt like Asda had just reached into my pocket and taken an orange note out of it. Bastards
The article is from the guardian ( a reputable UK newspaper) reporting on an article by 'Which?' a UK consumer magazine with some very specific standards. The Which? Press release has citations.
Ok but it doesn't read like something a human would write.
Maybe it was a substitution? 🙃
Mushrooms are basically the opposite of a tampon. Mushrooms are almost all water. Can't absorb much.
I have heard of this phenomenon, but I still don't understand how this happens. I can understand if someone grabs e.g. a can of pears instead of a can of peaches. But getting beer instead of washing powder? Does nobody actually read the customers shopping list?
The Packers are generally on minimum wage. When something isn't in stock, the computer automatically offers an alternative. The packer can either follow the suggestion, or use their judgement. If they blindly follow the computer, they can't be criticized. If they use their judgement, and a customer complains, then they are blamed. They really have no reason to stick their neck out, even if the computer is being idiotic.
Always, always, ALWAYS select "do not substitute" for everything. Substitutions always cost more and I'd rather go without than take my chances on what they charge me for.