I recently placed a delivery order with Total Wine & More from the Shrewsbury location while preparing for a very important family event--my father's 90th birthday, combined with another celebration and my daughter being inducted into a nationally recognized business school for being at the top of her class.
I want to be clear: I understand deliveries can be busy, but this experience was extremely disappointing and caused unnecessary stress at a critical time.
The driver arrived and parked down the street without hazard lights, remained in his car on his phone, and made no attempt to approach the house, ring the doorbell, or identify himself. I was outside speaking with my landscapers near my driveway--where delivery drivers typically pull in--and had no idea he was there.
When I approached his vehicle and knocked on his window, thinking he was lost or something, he stated he was delivering for Total Wine and needed my license. Given that I am currently disabled and recovering from shoulder surgery, I politely asked if he could bring the order to my door, as most drivers do. He showed no willingness to help.
I went inside to quickly retrieve my license, and within what could not have been more than 45 seconds, he had already left. The order was marked "missed delivery" and returned--despite the fact that I had made contact and was actively completing the process.
When I called customer support, I was told the best they could do was reschedule for the next day--completely unacceptable given that my event was starting within hours. The store was equally unhelpful, offering only to have me reorder (including paying delivery and tip again), with no effort to resolve the situation in real time--even though the driver was likely still nearby.
As a result, we had to scramble and send someone to another store during the event to salvage the situation.
This was not about the cost--it was about reliability, professionalism, and basic customer service