Sunday, February 23, 2025

Checkers Sixty60 Is Taking Serious Strain

Checkers was very quick out of the gate, gaining an advantage over the likes of Woolworths and Woolies Dash, but the retailer is now struggling to keep up with demand.

[imagesource: Facebook / Checkers]

The Checkers Sixty60 promise is simple – shop rapidly online, and have your goods delivered in under an hour, with a delivery charge of R35.

Online grocery shopping has exploded over the past 15 or so months, and every time we enter another COVID-19 wave, there’s a noticeable spike in use.

Checkers was very quick out of the gate, gaining an advantage over the likes of Woolworths and Woolies Dash, but the retailer is struggling to keep up as the third wave continues to worry South Africans (other than those at Nkandla).

A quick search on Twitter shows some positive reviews, but also a number of complaints about the slowing down of turnaround times.

In response, Checkers Sixty60 has repeatedly acknowledged that it’s under strain from “unprecedented demand”:

The uptick in complaints caught the attention of consumer journalist Wendy Knowler, writing for The Sunday Times, and it’s not just Checkers on the receiving end.

Wendy highlighted these complaints:

There were also users having a go Pick n Pay’s Bottles online offering.

When contacted by The Sunday Times, Woolies said it encouraged customers to make use of its free click-and-collect service, which is offered at 74 stores across the country.

Great, but that defeats the purpose of me not leaving the house.

As for Checkers Sixty60:

Checkers said its delivery slots are “filling up very quickly”, which means it may take longer than an hour for your groceries to arrive at your door.

To ensure speedy delivery, “customers are encouraged to place their orders early in the day,” the supermarket added.

Get in there early, and hope for the best.

Something else that’s worth considering – the person who responds to your tweet, or complaint on Facebook, isn’t the person responsible for your delivery arriving later than expected.

Everyone is taking serious strain. Where possible, try to be kind.

[source:sundaytimes]