A father has expressed utter disbelief and disgust after a food delivery driver discarded his family's substantial £45 KFC order directly into a household bin, an incident starkly captured by doorbell camera footage. Rob Taylor, a resident of Fleetwood in Lancashire, utilized the Just Eat platform to order Kentucky Fried Chicken for himself, his wife, and their three children on the evening of March 28, expecting a routine family meal delivery.
Shocking Footage Reveals Bin Placement
The delivery took a bizarre and unacceptable turn when the rider arrived at the Taylor household. Clear video evidence shows the driver removing the order from his insulated courier bag and deliberately placing it inside an external household waste bin before closing the lid securely. Rob Taylor reported that he did not hear any knock at the door and was uncertain if any phone calls were attempted, though he later acknowledged noticing some missed calls on his device.
"I Was Gobsmacked"
The situation only became apparent to the father-of-three when he observed the delivery driver departing his garden shortly after the supposed handover. "I looked out the window and said, 'That's my order', and he [the driver] said, 'I've put it in the bin'," Mr. Taylor recounted. "I was just stood there thinking, 'Did that really just happen?' I was gobsmacked. I couldn't believe what I was hearing."
Given that the food had been discarded into a bin, Rob Taylor immediately deemed the meal "not fit for human consumption" and refused to serve it to his family. He was forced to make an alternative dinner arrangement, driving out to purchase McDonald's Happy Meals for his children instead.
Just Eat's Response and Policy Confusion
In a statement addressing the incident, Just Eat confirmed that their delivery driver had attempted to contact Mr. Taylor on eight separate occasions. These attempts included seven phone calls and one message sent through the Just Eat application, all of which reportedly went unanswered. The platform also stated that the rider waited outside the family's home for more than twenty minutes before taking action.
A spokesperson for Just Eat explained that delivery personnel are generally instructed to leave orders in a "safe place" if they cannot make contact with the customer. However, the spokesperson suggested that in this particular case, the rider may have confused Just Eat's policies with those of other courier or delivery firms, leading to the highly inappropriate decision to use the bin.
Customer Insists Reaction Was Unjustified
While Mr. Taylor conceded he had seen some missed calls, he firmly insisted that this did not justify the delivery driver's "mental" and extreme reaction of disposing of the food in the rubbish. The incident has sparked significant discussion about delivery protocols and customer service standards within the rapidly growing food delivery industry.
Just Eat has reiterated its commitment to customer satisfaction, stating: "At Just Eat, we want all of our customers to have a positive experience when ordering food online and we have robust systems in place to ensure a smooth order handover. In this instance, the courier was left waiting outside for the customer for over 20 minutes, with eight attempts to contact the customer to let them know their order arrived. We are in touch with the customer to discuss their experience further."
The company is now actively engaged with Rob Taylor to address his complaint and review the circumstances surrounding this highly unusual and unsatisfactory delivery experience in Fleetwood.
