How did my story change?

First you "looked" at your neighbor's porches. Then you decided to talk to a single neighbor where you located your groceries.

Then you say you spent 30 minutes walking up and down the street going door to door.

Yes, I looked at my neighbors porches while walking up and down the street while on the phone with Amazon. I have many neighbors, and I checked everyone on my street. I cannot see their porches from my house, so looking at their front doors involves walking. The associate asked me to look for the groceries but did not tell me to knock on the doors, so that's what i did. While on the phone and looking at the neighbor's houses, she issued the refund and attempted to re-order. I followed all of her instructions on places to look.

I did not say I spent 30 minutes going door to door. I spent 30 minutes on the phone with the associate looking at doors, and then decided to talk to my neighbors directly after ending the call. I have two direct neighbors and I suspected the groceries were most likely with them, if they were delivered at all, since the addresses are the most similar. I started with the one I know the best, and lucked out. If he didn't have them, I would have kept going.

I have spent thousands and thousands of dollars with Amazon, with a clean record. They know I'm not trying to scam them, and they responded appropriately. I'm pretty surprised at these responses and implications that I did something wrong.

Chi, they didn't deal with it. Don't worry about it. Amazon screwed up.

ETA: I too have ordered an uncounted amount from Amazon. I have only had one problem in years. They lost it at Christmas. I have only returned one item for a defect and one for my misorder (which I told them about). You have no problem.

My ethics would require a second call to say that the stuff had been found. While probably refund is already processed my conscious would be clear but that is just me.

I did email them to let them know. The representative had sent a nice email apologizing and detailing the refund, and I replied to that. Mostly because I want the feedback to go back to the transport team so they can take steps to prevent this from happening again.

Amazon's mistake. Believe me, they afford to spot you $200 worth of groceries. I would have no qualms about it.

You have done more than they asked you to do. It was their mistake and a bad one especially since it was groceries and they could have spoiled. You don't need to do anything else. That is Amazon's policy. If they are responsible for the mistake and you are inconvienced they do exactly what they did for you. I have had similar problems and they did the same thing. They also told me not to worry about it if the product arrived somehow. Most recently they took a picture of the delivery at my door, that's very helpful. Especially if you see it's not your door!

Go on with your family visit and your meal! Happy Thanksgiving!

Since your dinner is free, you might consider sharing the wealth with some of those less fortunate. Community food banks typically run low during the holidays.

They delivered to the wrong address, Chi attempted to locate the groceries visually, and also attempted to re-order. She could not know that the groceries had been taken indoors by the neighbor. IMO, since the neighbor presumably was not expecting an Amazon Fresh order, s/he should have looked at the delivery name/address and returned the groceries, or at least let Chi know s/he had them.

He said he thought his son ordered them. He doesn't speak English well so I don't blame him at all for not reading the label. I'm not sure if he even knows my name, and 4 of the 5 digits of our street numbers are the same so it is an easy mistake. These grocery bags aren't clearly labeled like the boxes are.

I'm sure once he talked to his son he would have let me know, but by then the groceries would have probably been ruined.

Seems like the delivery person and the neighbor have a problem reading labels.

Enjoy the Amazon dinner!

Please don't tell me your last name is Smith and the neighbor's is Shotzensteimer.

I'd be interested to know what delivery service did this. I recently posted about problems I've had with on-trac misdelivering, or leaving things on the curb, outside my fence. Others in my area have complaints about them, too. No problems with USPS or UPS or FedEx, usually.

Lucky you! Amazon is very nice most of the time.

Enjoy your dinner with your family. It isn't like you were out to scam anyone. Amazon made the mistake and you did what you could.

Amazon has been AMAZING any time there has been a delivery/order error - whether on their end or mine...I have no complaints with their customer service, this is the only reason I continue to pay for Prime.

Raven mentioned that amazon took a picture of her delivery and sent it to her. That happened to me the other day. It’s a good thing I looked at my email before I left the house. The picture amazon sent me showed my package was left leaning against my closed garage door. If I had left the house before looking at my email I would have driven over it. My front porch is 5 steps away.

I noticed Amazon does that for packages. It's such a good idea! I asked her if they do that for the groceries and they don't. They really should.

I recently ordered a pair of shoes from Woot, an Amazon company. They were a brand I've worn before (Sketchers), so I was surprised to find they were too small. Woot has daily deals that sell out quickly, so I couldn't exchange them for another size. When I contacted them to ask about the return process, I was told my money would be refunded and I could do whatever I liked with the shoes. I gave them to a young friend who wears a smaller size than I. We both appreciated the generosity.

Have a delicious Thanksgiving, Chi!

Enjoy the meal and your company.

You've been given a freebie....enjoy! and Happy Thanksgiving!

I ordered a range hood last week from Amazon. It said it was out for delivery, I stayed home ALL day waiting for it....highly anticipated.....holding up my remodel.....and it never showed up. ;c( Next day it showed being "returned to sender". I called Amazon...no one knew why. No phone number to contact the 3rd party sender, they emailed them & later that day.... found it'd been damaged. So instead of OVER NIGHTING a new, undamaged one....they wanted me to reorder...start again. No refund until they had it back and processed.

When my grocer started home delivery I was beyond thrilled. With my first order I received a whole pork loin unordered by me. I quickly called the store and they said they couldn't take it back so keep it at no cost. I did not run up to the store and insist on paying for it!

Thanks everyone. My customer service agent replied again and said to please keep it, so no guilt whatsoever. :) She gave the information to the head of the transportation company letting them know they delivered to the wrong address, so hopefully some more precautions can be put into place.

>> Since your dinner is free, you might consider sharing the wealth with some of those less fortunate. Community food banks typically run low during the holidays.

I wish I could "Like" this comment a million times. You got a gift. Pay it forward. Just a suggestion.

I should give my groceries away? The biggest part of why I ordered was for the convenience, and because I need them. I do donate, especially during the holidays, but donating my Thanksgiving groceries because Amazon made a mistake doesn't make any sense to me.

My charitable contributions aren't tied to my grocery shopping and aren't related to money I save elsewhere.

It's nice now and then to step outside our current "giving" campaign and do something that stretches a bit. To me, this would be a great opportunity for that. You were expecting to pay; you don't have to. Why NOT pay it forward?

Yeah I am feeding 12 people in 48 hours and I need these. My family, who I haven't seen in years, is in town and I'm not leaving them to battle the crazy grocery stores for food I already have.

I don't really appreciate the guilt trip. If you want to donate your Thanksgiving groceries, that's wonderful, but publicly shaming me for wanting to keep the groceries that I ordered is not very nice.

Chi, I agree with you. Your charitable deeds do not have to be prompted by this mixup. The groceries are yours; Amazon took responsibility for the delivery mistake. Keeping the groceries and accepting Amazon's graciousness should not be big deals or moral dilemmas. Enjoy your company and dinner.

Thanks happy, I will! I hope you have a lovely Thanksgiving as well.

Chi...I agree with you too.......it was unexpected...now enjoy it!

Chi, you did nothing wrong, except maybe the title "dinner is feee this year." Enjoy your thanksgiving dinner with your family,

You informed Amazon of the situation - it was THEIR choice to tell you what to do with the groceries... it's not like you lied to them about it. They said keep them so that's what you're doing. It's no one's business who or what charities you donate to.

I went to the grocery store today briefly - it was a zoo! Stay home and enjoy your family!

LOL Some REALLY strange comments! Nothing wrong with what you did Chi, including the title of your post. They screwed up, they settled with you, you went out of your way and you notified them of the end result. There was a suggestion to (and I despise the term) "pay it forward" and it should be taken as nothing more than a suggestion. It's wrong for people to jump on you that you choose to not follow the suggestion. None of their business anyway.

IDK who delivered it but they're the ones who screwed up. Amazon didn't screwup but they're the seller and it's their reputation that is tarnished when their shipper doesn't deliver properly. I'm glad to see you had a better experience with Amazon than I have. I'll never buy from them again. Bought a $150 Garmin GPS unit, it died in about 1/2 hour. They refused to replace, refund or give an RMA to return it. So for me, never again. I had never had to deal with a return to them but with this customer lack of service, they'll never get my dollars again and I bought a fair amount from them prior.

Enjoy your gift. You earned it. You have nothing to feel guilty about. (Unlike others! lol)

Good for you, Chi! Enjoy your Thanksgiving.

That's surprising, cynic. Amazon's customer service has always been top notch for me. I'm amazed they wouldn't help you.

I detest pay it forward. So if I'm in line to get a black coffee and someone pays for it I am to pay for the one behind me that has 4 big over the top "coffees" and 4 big breakfasts? I don't think so.

Amazon builds the mix-ups into their pricing structure. It costs them less to write off the mistakes, than to try to fix it. Not to mention, that since it is food, it is more than likely illegal to transfer food from one address to another.

That's a good point, Sherry. I was thinking about how she never instructed me to ask my neighbors. Maybe it's a liability issue for them in case it goes badly.

I doubt they can ask me to pay for groceries that ended up in someone else's home. It wouldn't be a safe policy for quite a few reasons.

Chi, speaking for myself, I never meant to imply you had done anything wrong. In fact, you did way more than expected of you first time around by checking out nearby porches. I just thought once you found out what had happened to the package it would be nice of you to let them know so they know where the weak link was, and I think after you E-mailed them what had happened, you probably felt better about the free Thanksgiving dinner. I never doubted that they would stick to their original gesture of keeping the groceries should they arrive, and keeping the refund when it arrives. It was not your fault it was delivered to the wrong address nor your responsibility to track it down.

If you want to donate your Thanksgiving groceries, that's wonderful, but publicly shaming me for wanting to keep the groceries that I ordered is not very nice.

No one suggested that. Like you said, you got your groceries for free. Why not donate a little of that free cash? Amazon screwed up; you benefited. Why not share the wealth?

Like Suzieque I donate through the year, but kick in a little more around the holidays when the food banks typically run low.

Good for you Chi. Enjoy it. And don't let anyone guilt you into giving anything to anyone. Or feeling bad for not doing so. THAT is certainly no one else's business. What you do or do not do with YOUR money or YOUR groceries is YOUR decision. Geez.

Have a great Thanksgiving.

I have read the food banks run low in the off seasons when people are not thinking about giving. I agree, there are some strange comments on this thread. Guiltlessly enjoy your meal, Chi.

When at DD's home this summer, she noticed that the neighbor across the street had a box from one of those companies whom you order the foods to make a dinner. DD knew that they order from them weekly, but the family was at Disney World. She called the neighbors cell and explained what happened. Neighbor asked DD to take to her house and refrigerate til they got home. Neighbor did call company and cancel for the time they were gone, so no charge for them. Things happen!

Chi, I agree that you should enjoy your groceries, whether or not you make a donation. I think that is strictly up to you and is your business only! I guess that is just one of my biggest pet peeves and I am reacting strongly to all the suggestions that you donate. I give generously all year and nothing bugs me more than someone "suggesting" that I should donate to certain causes. Happy Thanksgiving!

I think you did the right thing, Chi. Enjoy your Thanksgiving!

Thanks for the support. I really appreciate it. Happy Thanksgiving to all!

I have read the food banks run low in the off seasons when people are not thinking about giving.

Donations to disaster relief have spiked this year with so many major natural disasters. That diverts donations from local communities.

Oh please.

Sorry about the Amazon mix up. Glad it ended well and you didn't have to go to the store and brave the lines. Wishing you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving.

I would just add that here, food banks are often overwhelmed with donation at this time of year. There are typically all kinds of food drives sponsored by local organizations and every grocery store of any size will have options to either donate cash (at the register when you check out) or purchase a $10 'gift bag' of who knows what. It is the other times of the year that they typically run low on donations.

Also wanted to say that Amazon generally has an excellent reputation for returns or credits on misdelivered products!! They are usually very prompt and almost never ask you to return the merchandise. With over a trillion dollars in net worth, they can well afford to be magnanimous!!

https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/article_9243bb74-ecfa-11e8-8f73-0f42fb5dada2.html

"The Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank is filled these days with people volunteering their time and sorting food donated for the hungry. But what this 170,000-square foot facility on Choctaw Drive doesn't have as the holidays start is food.

The situation has gotten bad enough that the charity, which serves an 11-parish area, is putting out public calls for extra help, for extra donations of food, and especially for money to purchase additional food.

High-profile disasters, including hurricanes Florence and Michael, as well as the ongoing wildfires in California, have diverted the supply of donated food as well as drawn away cash donations that might ordinarily have gone to help hungry people locally at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

“You would ordinarily see all of these shelves full,” said Mike Manning, pointing to two tall, long and nearly empty stretches of metal shelving at the rear of the facility.

These shelves is where the the charity normally stores its dry, canned and staple foods. Manning, president and CEO of the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank, said instead he is flush with candy, a relic of the Halloween holiday, pointing to a big box of M&M bags.

“We’ve got a lot of candy,” Manning said. “That’s not what we need.”

About 30 volunteers, several of them employees of ExxonMobil, were on hand Monday sorting donated canned food. Many people brought their families. The empty shelves are not visible from their work area.

Katie Skiles volunteered on Monday with her father Joe and brother, James, but she said she has worked there by herself since she first volunteered more than a year ago.

“My parents made me come,” Katie said. “Now I love it.”

A senior at Lee High in Baton Rouge, Katie, 17, said she was not aware of the food shortage. She said she might talk to the National Honor Society at her high school about doing a food drive.

The warehouse currently has about 1 million pound of food in its inventory, about half of the normal inventory, Manning said. One million pounds of food is also roughly what the food bank distributes each month to its 100-plus member agencies, he said.

And to top it all off, this is normally a time of peak inventory, when the food banks stock up in order to have sufficient supply for the early months of the year.

“I’ve never see it this bad going into the holidays,” Manning said.

Besides recent disasters and the resulting “donor fatigue,” another food supply factor is the shrinking donations over time from commercial grocers who carry less excess inventory than they used to, Manning said.

To help restock, the food bank has asked local schools to do special food drives. What would help most, though, are cash donations, which people can donate online on the charity’s website, Manning said.

“We are kind of held hostage by the national situation, unless we can get sufficient money to purchase food,” he said.

It doesn’t necessarily take much money to help. Manning pointed to palettes full of canned vegetables without labels on them. These cans, when they have commercial labels, cost 70 to 90 cents a can at the store, but without the labels, they cost the food bank between 5 and 10 cents a can.

Manning said he’s talking about having a more formal fund drive around New Years to raise money, but he’s been too busy to pull together anything more formal sooner.

“We’re in firefighting mode right now,” he said. “We’re just asking for help.”