Disabled customer alleges abuse by Countdown delivery driver

A Wellington man has been left rattled after he says he was abused over the phone and at his front door by a Countdown delivery driver.

The man, who 1News has agreed not to name, does his grocery shopping online due to a heart condition that makes it difficult for him to leave the house or lift heavy objects.

His house is also located at the top of a steep driveway, which makes it necessary for the groceries to be dropped off at his door and not at the side of the road.

He says making the trek down the driveway and back up with a week’s worth of groceries is nearly impossible due to the amount of energy required.

The man was expecting his groceries last Friday morning when he picked up a phone call from the delivery driver.

"He just immediately launched into a rant," the man told 1News.

"On the delivery notes it says that I’ve had a heart condition for the last two years, but he doesn’t believe it’s true.

"He said: 'Come get your own groceries from the bottom of the path. One of my workmates had a triple bypass and he’s fine'."

Text messages seen by 1News also show the delivery driver disparaging the man’s grocery choices as "unhealthy" for someone with heart problems.

The man said living with disabilities and chronic health issues means it’s not easy to prepare and cook food, therefore he relies on ready-made or pre-cooked meals from the supermarket.

"When we were more able-bodied, we used to drive out to markets on a weekend and buy all our vegetables and actually prepare stuff, you know, in a much healthier way that would’ve passed the Countdown dietitians' standards."

The man didn’t want to engage, so hung up the phone. The driver then allegedly walked up the driveway and continued his tirade.

"He started threatening to expose me as a fraud by taking photos of all this ‘unhealthy’ food and send it to his boss."

The experience was "pretty awful" and "difficult to comprehend", he said.

"It makes me and the rest of my family so fearful for the next time we get a delivery that we've been holding off getting deliveries done since then."

The man says it’s not the first time this has happened to him.

"One of the other delivery drivers on this route has tried to get me to carry my order up my path, and one time I did because he just dumped everything at the side of the road.

"I was so exhausted I couldn't even think or work effectively for the next two days."

With the help of a friend, the man lodged a complaint with Countdown’s online shopping team and was told over the phone that the driver had been removed from the delivery route and given a warning.

"I’ve been verbally told that the driver has been taken off the route. If my address comes up, he is to reject it and not deliver to this address, someone else will."

He also received an apology over the phone, with a spokesperson saying the driver’s behaviour "was in no way acceptable".

A couple of days later, $50 from Countdown "mysteriously appeared" in his bank account.

His partner described it as "pitiful", given the family regularly spends around $600 per week on groceries.

"It's insulting, really, because if you had to go to counselling over something like this, that doesn’t even pay for half a session. It’s kind of ridiculous."

In a statement, a Countdown spokesperson said they took incidents like this seriously and are "deeply sorry for any distress caused to the customer".

"We have been in touch with the customer to understand their concerns and have apologised for the driver’s behaviour," the spokesperson said.

Countdown delivery drivers are expected to conduct themselves professionally and with respect to customers, they said.

"We have clear guidelines and expectations in place to ensure that all our team, including delivery drivers, behave in a manner that upholds our values."