"Fish in a Box" is not delivered fresh
UPDATE
A pleasant chap contacted me early this morning, 16 December. Understandably, he is more in tune with telephone conversation than emails, hence the lack of email (which is okay, given they start work at 03:00). He could not understand how fresh fish could deteriorate in only two days to the point of smelling. I explained I had washed my hands several times over the rest of the day since opening the already partially opened box but still smelled of fish. I suspect that the carrier not only delivered late but with ice and snow on roads the driver had his van heater persistently on, and two overnight storage events did not help keep produce fresh. I also suspect one of the several batches of fish I bought was went off early due to adverse road transport storage conditions and a partly open "cold box". Without prompting, the chap offered to refund. For now, I refused that offer given the undertaking that, although clearly no longer fresh as expected, the fish should be okay to eat. I did agree that for those portions that were unfit to eat I would accept a refund. Thankfully, my wife put the delivery in a separate part of our large freezer to prevent further deterioration.
I've learned from this. First, I've had enough of persistent late deliveries, particularly by DHL and APC. In future I shall check which delivery service is used and if either DHL or APC are in the delivery chain I shall not buy, fresh food or otherwise. Second, I shall buy fresh produce from direct sources. It's no good to me to buy "fresh" fish from anywhere that sources from harbours like Grimsby or Peterborough (which requires delivery to the fishmonger), or fish farmed further afield like Thailand or Turkey. For me now, fish from harbour suppliers (this supplier is in or near Birmingham), and fresh meat from farm shops who sell from local farmers only. Quality is worth paying an extra 1-3% when ordering around £90 or more.
Having spoken with the fishmonger I concluded he's a decent chap making a living as a fish expert since 1982. Unfortunately, he's placed himself in the hands of untrustworthy delivery services more in tune with parcels on a computer than either their paying customers or people waiting in expectation of their goods.
I've upgraded 1 star to 4, but it would be wrong to give 5 star rating based on sentiment.
Ironic that the Berlin AquaDom tank should explode the same day! (Link not allowed).
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PREVIOUS...
My email to them, below, says it all. Fresh fish, a day late and received un-iced and stinking: no! No other fish supplier has done this. I appreciate the problem may be with their carrier, APC, but if they are advertising fresh fish it should be fresh and their carriers cannot deliver late.
Let's see what happens. :)
Email...
Hello again,
Order #2344 of 09Dec22 (received 15Dec22).
I did not receive the courtesy of a response. The fish arrived about 25 minutes ago, a day late. It was not cold or frozen. The box stank when opened. We are not using this fish, which was supposed to be fresh for a reason. I have not had this issue with other suppliers. The carrier, APC, did not send an SMS message or email to confirm a rough time for delivery.
I left a message for someone to call me on (my mobile num) but you were closed at what is normally lunch time. My message asked for someone to arrange collecting the fish, then replacing it or issuing a refund.
For now, I shall leave a reference on TrusPilot. I shall amend it when you have resolved this issue.
Mike...