Terrible Substitutions

 I don't order my food shopping via the Internet but I had been told that the bane of this was product 'substitutions' ....

Which List

 

... which apparently is the supermarket saying that they don't have what you ordered but here's something very similar. The consumer magazine Which, has compiled customers reports of weird and strange substitution as well as listing the best and worst for using substitutions:

I don't know for sure if they charge you more if the substituted item was more expensive than what you ordered, but I am assuming that you pay the lower price. But its a system that often baffles the shoppers, when the substituted items arrive.

Customers also have told Which that amongst the weirdest substitutions received were:

1. 'I received a sack of onions when I had ordered a bottle of white wine.'
2. 'I got extra strong mints in place of beef mince.'
3. 'I once ordered a pack of condoms for my husband and we received a pregnancy-testing kit - presumably for myself!'
4. 'Dog food was put in instead of clothes hangers.'
5. 'I got sent a bar of Dairy Milk instead of a premium salad.'
6. 'I ordered mayonnaise and had it subbed for window cleaner.'
7. 'I received nappies instead of toilet paper.'
8. 'Baby food was replaced with tampons.'
9. 'I was given a bottle of Chardonnay when I wanted some apple juice.'
10. 'I ordered gluten-free bread and got dog food.'
11. 'Tissues substituted for sausages.'
12. 'They sent tinfoil instead of bin liners.'
13. 'I asked for a punnet of peaches and they substituted it for peach shampoo.'
14.  At Asda, one customer received a pack of toilet rolls instead of bread rolls. 
15. Another bewildered shopper received dog chews instead of chicken breasts.
16. One Aldi click and collect shopper had been given a bag of onions instead of a loaf of bread.
17. At Sainsbury's, one shopper reported ordering fruit but instead received shoe polish. 
18. Another ordered BBQ flavoured crisps and received a packet of bacon.
19. One Morrison's shopper said that they were given meat sausages instead of veggie burgers, 
20. Another received a toothbrush instead of apples.
21. A Tesco customer complained that they had received an Easter egg, despite ordering hot dog rolls. 
22. Another ordered a roll of tinfoil which was swapped out for a chocolate Santa.
23. An Iceland shopper revealed that they received strawberries instead of bin bags. 
24. One Waitrose customer said that their bottle of wine had been replaced by an alcohol-free bottle.
25. One shopper got sausage rolls instead of toilet rolls.
26. One shopper got a sponge cake instead of sponge scourers.
27. One shopper got Crème eggs for Hens eggs,
28. One shopper got Duck paste for Duct tape.

But one happy customer reported that getting 3 x £60 bottles of whiskey when he had ordered 3 x £25 bottles. I have seen these supermarket shoppers making up the orders and it never fills me with confidence .... so it doesn't encourage me to try the service (Morrisons, Lidl's and Aldi are all local), but as I get older I may be forced to enter the lottery of supermarket substitutions.