Ann Farrell, 60, ordered her festive food more than a week before Christmas but was told on the morning it was due to arrive that it was no longer available
A supermarket has gone ‘above and beyond’ to make amends after leaving a disabled woman without a turkey for Christmas Day.
Ann Farrell says she was left in tears after the home delivery she ordered from Iceland arrived on December 22 without the turkey, sprouts, buck’s fizz and chocolate log she had paid for – and no replacements were offered.
The 60-year-old, who has limited mobility and relies on having her shopping delivered to her door, was due to cook for her family and neighbours on Christmas Day and feared she would have to let everyone down.
But Ann has now praised the company after staff delivered £100 in cash for her to go out for a meal and a personal letter of apology from a manager to her door on Wednesday afternoon.
Delighted Ann, who lives in Dukinfield in Tameside, Manchester, said she was never expecting anything like the gesture from the company, and only spoke out because of the stress caused by thinking she would have to disappoint her guests.
She said: ‘I was shaking, I still am. I just can’t believe they would go to that extreme. I didn’t expect this, it’s just above and beyond.
‘If it had just been for me I wouldn’t have been bothered but I was cooking for family and my neighbours and it was the fact that I didn’t want to let anyone down.
‘My neighbours are very poorly and I cook for them on Christmas Day and every Sunday. I just wanted them to have a nice time.
‘It just goes to show they can rectify something that had gone badly wrong in just a couple of minutes.
‘I just want to say thank you so very, very much to all the management team at Iceland for delivering this heartfelt letter by hand.’
Ms Farrell called Iceland’s customer service to rearrange the delivery but when it came the turkey and other items were still missing
Ann’s sister managed to find a replacement turkey on Saturday after spending the day trawling other supermarkets, so the guests didn’t go without.
And Ann says Iceland’s letter, which was delivered on Wednesday afternoon, arrived on the same day she became a great-grandma for the first time.
Ann, who also has seven grandchildren, added: ‘This has just been an amazing day.
‘I’m just so overwhelmed.
‘Compared to how I felt the other day this is a wonderful, wonderful day.’