Morrisons shoppers in Edinburgh turned away from picking up Christmas dinner orders as car park not owned by store

Customers who had ventured to Morrisons at the Gyle on Christmas Eve to collect festive food orders were left disappointed after they were turned away as they could not pick up food orders from the car park in line with company policy - as it is not owned by the retailer.

Shoppers at the Morrisons at the Gyle were left disappointed when they arrived to collect Christmas food orders

Due to Covid-19 social distancing guidance Morrisons’ company policy is that those wishing to collect Christmas food orders would have to do so from the store’s car park, however at the Gyle the car park is not owned by the supermarket so staff were unable to set up to allow customers to collect.

Shoppers were left scrambling at the last minute to cobble together a Christmas meal with what was left in store after showing up to the store and being told they could not collect their orders.

One customer said: "I left the house at 7am to collect a food order in a slot I had booked for 8:30am. When I arrived I asked the security guard where to collect from who told me to speak with customer services.

"When I went to the desk I was told a manager had to speak to me and when the manager arrived I was told that as a result of Covid, the store were supposed to have food orders collected from the car park, but as it wasn't owned by them they could not set up."

Staff at Morrisons advised the customer that emails had been sent out to those who ordered from the Gyle, to let them know that the Gyle store was not able to fulfill their orders this year and that they should place them with another local Morrisons store, however some customers say that they had not received any notification of the issue.

The company added that the majority of customers did make the amends needed and that the store team were trying to help customers on Christmas Eve who are coming in and making sure that everyone gets the items they need.

The customer added: "I had ordered the Christmas food on October 20, and I received a full refund of the deposit at the till. I was able to collect the majority of what I needed in store including a turkey, but I was at the store early and there were hardly any there and no more coming in.

"I've no idea how many more people are in a similar position but it is likely some people would be left without.

"It's not just frustrating for the customer, the staff could get abuse from other people coming in who have been left without a Christmas dinner."

A spokesperson for Morrisons said: “We contacted customers a few weeks ago to let them know that the Gyle store was not able to fulfil their order this year and had asked them to place the order with another local Morrisons store.

“The store team are working hard today to assist those customers who had not placed a new order to help them get the Christmas items they require.”

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