Some families are without Thanksgiving groceries after the online arm of Vons grocery stores failed to deliver on time -- or at all.
A Vons shopper who is also an NBC 7 employee was hoping to be halfway through her holiday cooking Wednesday evening, but a Vons online delivery issue delayed her start for hours.
When she e-mailed customer service to check on her delivery, she got a "system unavailable" response.
Her hour-long wait to reach customer service caused a scare.
“When I first talked to them on the phone, they said my order might not be coming at all," the shopper told NBC 7. "I was like, wait. Thanksgiving without food. What is that?”
She was not alone in her holiday scare.
La Mesa resident Natalie D' Angelo tweeted her frustration. Over the phone, she said she tried to keep it all in perspective.
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"I’m trying to remind myself of what really matters, and what Thanksgiving is all about," D’ Angelo said. "And I’m grateful I can afford food and I can go to the grocery store. It’s not the end of the world.”
Vons issued the following statement:
“A routine security update unexpectedly caused online orders not to be routed correctly to stores. We began working on a resolution immediately in the early morning hours when we learned of the problem. Unfortunately, orders were delayed throughout the morning and early afternoon. We worked throughout the day to catch up as quickly as possible to ensure as many orders were fulfilled. We recognize the inconvenience that this unexpected issue caused before the Thanksgiving holiday and sincerely apologize to our valued customers. As soon as possible, our team will reach out to customers whose orders were unfulfilled today so that we may extend an offer for us to regain their trust with our home delivery."
D’Angelo was not happy with the company’s delayed communication.
“I will not be using Vons' online shopping ever again,” said Duran. "First and last time. They said they’d credit my account for all the hassle I had to go through this time. There will not be a next time."
Vons is not saying how many people were affected, only that California is one of five areas impacted across the country.
