Pandapro user angered by 'template replies' and $4 voucher for 'sour, rotten-smelling' ramen
A woman had a sour experience with Foodpanda after receiving ramen that did not taste quite right.
Stomper C was incensed by the food delivery platform's supposed inaction and refusal to give her a full refund for the dish.
She said: "I am writing to highlight a concerning issue with Foodpanda's refund policies and their lack of accountability for food quality.
"As a loyal customer and Pandapro subscriber, I have supported their platform for a long time. However, my recent experience has made me question their commitment to food safety and customer service.
"On April 2, I ordered a Karaka Ramen with additional soup and ingredients, totalling $19, from Takagi Ramen via Foodpanda.
"Unfortunately, upon delivery, I found that the soup was sour and clearly spoilt, making it completely inedible. This was also confirmed by my husband who said, 'Why is there a smell of rotten thing'."
While the rest of her $33.50 order was unaffected, the Stomper felt that the dish in question was not safe for consumption.
She told stomp: "I immediately contacted Foodpanda, expecting actions to be taken for the spoilt item. Shockingly, they only offered $4 in compensation, refusing to reimburse the full cost of the inedible food.
"Because of their refusal to take responsibility, I had no choice but to resort to eating instant noodles instead of the meal I had paid for.
"This is unacceptable for a food delivery service that claims to prioritise customer satisfaction. The people who served me kept using templates to reply to my concerns, which really angered me.
"Foodpanda's unwillingness to fully refund spoilt food raises serious concerns about food safety and consumer rights. By allowing their merchants to serve unsafe meals without proper accountability, they are failing their customers. No one should have to pay for food they cannot eat, and a company of this scale should have better refund policies in place."
Urging Stomp to "investigate and shed light on this issue", C added: "Consumers deserve fair refund policies and assurance that the food they order is safe. If companies like Foodpanda continue to ignore these basic standards, customers will have no choice but to take their business elsewhere."
In response to a Stomp query, a spokesman for Takagi Ramen said: "Thank you for bringing the customer feedback regarding the ramen soup to our attention. We take all feedback concerning our food quality extremely seriously.
"Upon receiving your enquiry, we have immediately launched a thorough investigation into this matter.
"Our initial checks with Foodpanda and our other delivery partners indicate that this appears to be an isolated incident as there were no other food related complaints on any of our ramen and in particular our Spicy Karaka-men within the 24 hour window period of this complaint.
"Upon receiving your inquiry, we have also proactively reached out to the customer through Foodpanda to gather more specific details and to apologise to them on their experience. We are committed to understanding exactly what occurred and to providing an appropriate service recovery.
"Please be assured that food quality and safety are our utmost priorities. Takagi Ramen is ISO22000 pending and we maintain stringent HACCP quality control measures throughout our outlet food preparation process as well as in our central kitchen. The majority of our suppliers are also HACCP certified, further underscoring our commitment to high standards.
"As part of our investigation, we are currently conducting a detailed product tracing and a comprehensive review of all critical control points in our kitchen and supply chain related to our Karaka-men. This rigorous process will allow us to identify any potential issues and implement any necessary corrective actions.
"We understand the importance of transparency and will provide you with a more detailed update on the outcome of our investigation as soon as it is concluded.
"In the meantime, we want to reiterate our dedication to providing our customers with high-quality and enjoyable dining experiences.
"We appreciate you bringing this to our attention, as it allows us to continuously improve our processes."
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