In the United Kingdom, a HelloFresh app customer was left in shock as he received a bottle full of urine as part of food delivery on February 22. Oliver McManus took to Twitter to say that he received a suspicious-looking liquid in a soft-drink bottle with a meal kit from HelloFresh on Sunday morning.
McManus Tweeted to the company with a picture of the bottle and asked why he received someone’s bottled up piss as part of his order. He wrote, “Hey HelloFreshUK, I’ll keep it simple: why have I received someone’s bottled up piss as part of my order? Look forward to your response on this one.”
Give me an address @HelloFreshUK , I’ll send it to you and you can have a whiff in case you’re sceptical !
— Oliver McManus (@OliverGMcManus) February 21, 2021
He further asked the company to give him an address where he can send the bottle so that they can smell it and check if there was any doubt in what he was saying. Harry, a social media representative at HelloFresh, replied to his tweet and apologized for the error. He said, “We truly lack the words to describe how sorry we are because of this.” He further asked McManus to send a DM to the company so that they can further investigate the matter.
We truly lack the words to describe how sorry we are because of this. Could you please send us a DM so we could deal with this as soon as possible?
— HelloFresh UK (@HelloFreshUK) February 21, 2021
-Harry
McManus further added that the bottle was not the only problem with the meal kit he had received. His kit was partially opened, which also raised concerns over the safety of the food items inside the kit.
HelloFresh issued statement
In a statement, HelloFresh said that they were horrified and sorry for the incident, and they have initiated an investigation.
The company said, “We are truly horrified and sorry that the customer received the offending item. Given the wholly unacceptable nature, we are urgently investigating, along with our delivery company, how an open box with this bottle in it was delivered.” It further added that an apology had been issued to McManus, and an appropriate goodwill gesture was offered. “We are working hard to do everything we can to ensure that this cannot happen again,” HelloFresh added.
Puns, memes and a lot of trolling
One might have thought people would be sympathetic with McManus, but on the contrary, the incident attracted puns and memes. While some questioned if it was really urine as he was claiming, others indulged in trolling him and suggested he should use the piss for his next drug test.
It’s Apple 🍏 juice ffs 😂
— Matt Haynes 💙 (@Matt_Haynes18) February 21, 2021
Doesn’t get fresher than producing it on the way to the delivery destination
— John Williams (@johnwill86) February 21, 2021
Bottle neck to small to pee into without making a mess. A lenor bottle is the preferred truckers choice.
— Robert Hutchings 🇪🇺🇬🇧💙 (@Morsmordre25) February 21, 2021
HelloFresh customer service when they receive it. pic.twitter.com/xOtJF1lLKM
— Commander of Cheese (Impeached) (@Eclectic_otter) February 21, 2021
Hi @HelloFreshUK, my box arrived today and I DIDN’T receive a bottle of piss. Is it only for special customers? Not sure why I’ve been excluded.
— Greeners (@itsgreeners) February 21, 2021
“I don’t want anyone to get sacked,” says Oliver
In a follow-up tweet, McManus tried to answer some of the most asked questions related to the incident. He said he is concerned about the working conditions of the UK workers and does not think anyone should get sacked for the mistake.
To answer some FAQs about the HelloFresh fiasco, and this is the last I’ll say on it –
— Oliver McManus (@OliverGMcManus) February 21, 2021
Am I concerned about wider working conditions in the UK? Yes.
Do I think anyone deserves to be sacked? No.
Did I think so many people would care? No.
Will I keep tweeting about boxing? Yes.
He further added that he did not think his tweet will get so many reactions.