'Christmas ruined': Cold Storage apologises after failing to deliver food for customers' festivities

Cold Storage has issued an apology after dozens of customers complained that their Christmas had been ordered after failing to receive festive meals they had ordered and paid for in advance.

Stomper Steven shared that his family had made an order and paid in full for their Christmas holiday feast to be delivered on Christmas Eve (Dec 24).

"The order was confirmed for delivery between 2pm and 5pm," he said.

"However, the food failed to arrive by 5pm.

"Attempts to reach out to Cold Storage were stonewalled via chat on their website and messages on Facebook were replied to with boilerplate answers.

"It is inconceivable that despite being an established company in Singapore, it has failed to deliver and ruin many once-a-year celebrations for many."

Stomper Linda was also extremely disappointed and said that her Christmas party for over 20 guests was ruined.

She had paid $273 for her order on Dec 18. When her food did not turn up, she found that contact information was given for office hours only.

She also said that when she reached out to the company via Facebook Messenger, she was given standard replies with claims that their fulfilment team had reached out to her. She added that nobody had contacted her since Dec 18.

After checking Cold Storage's Facebook page, she realised she was not the only 'victim'.

"This is ridiculous!" she said.

"We are unable to purchase any festive food at the last minute.

"We have more than 20 guests and it has been such a shame, a party without food!

"It has been the worst awkward moment for us!"

"We demand a full refund and compensation, both monetary and the embarrassment you have caused us, for ruining an important event for us!"

She also demanded a public apology.

In a statement on Dec 26, Cold Storage said they encountered 'unexpected challenges' due to a sudden surge in Covid-19 cases which impacted their workforce in their stores and supply chain.

They acknowledged that they let some customers down and said: "We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused to some of our customers and we extend our heartfelt apologies.

It urged those affected to contact their customer support line for assistance and resolution.

Cold Storage added that they are working to prevent such occurrences in the future.

This is not the first time Cold Storage has had to face disgruntled customers during Christmas.

Last year, long queues were seen at Cold Storage outlets across the island on Christmas Eve. Some people reportedly waited up to three hours to collect their pre-ordered Christmas food.