Digital coupons may be more convenient in many ways – but paper coupon fans would be happy to point out that technical problems can’t cause your paper coupons to disappear right before your eyes.
That’s what has happened to the New England grocery chain Hannaford. Owner Ahold Delhaize said several of its grocery chains, including Stop & Shop and Food Lion, were impacted by “a cybersecurity issue” (update: that issue appears to have impacted truck deliveries as well, as many customers are reporting shortages of items in stores). The issues seem to be most pronounced at Hannaford – for several days, its website and app have been down, taking digital coupons, online orders, the online sales circular and other services down with them.
As of Monday morning, they have yet to be restored. Website and app users are instead greeted with a stark message reading “Sorry! We’re having technical issues with our servers. We’re working as quickly as possible to restore service.”
“Immediately upon detecting the issue, our security teams began an investigation with the assistance of external cybersecurity experts. We also notified law enforcement,” Ahold Delhaize explained. Their attempt to resolve the issue “includes taking some systems offline to help protect them.”
Some customers said they first experienced issues using credit cards in stores last Wednesday. A company spokesperson acknowledged a day later that some stores were “temporarily unable to accept credit cards.” For most of Ahold Delhaize’s stores, that particular problem was resolved by Friday. But while all other Ahold Delhaize retailers’ websites and apps are currently online, Hannaford’s is not. “Our website is still impacted by a network issue,” Hannaford last updated its shoppers. Any pending online pickup and delivery orders were canceled, “as our associates cannot view orders placed.”
And anyone who had hoped to clip some digital coupons ahead of their Hannaford shopping trip had better hope they can find some paper equivalents – or pay full price.
“Will the expiration dates on the app clipped coupons be extended?” one shopper asked on Hannaford’s Facebook page. “I think I had some expiring this weekend but I can’t get into the app to check.” Her question was not answered, but other shoppers said that digital coupons previously clipped appeared to be coming off at the register, at least.
Others pointed out that redeeming coupons was an issue at the pharmacy. “Folks should know that while you may be able to purchase your prescriptions they may not be able to process coupons like Good RX,” one shopper wrote. “In my case, that almost doubled my cost so I left my scripts for the time being.”
It’s not just the lack of coupons that’s frustrating shoppers. “Wish I could see the online flyer!!” one shopper wrote. “In this area, they stopped sending out the paper flyers,” another pointed out, “so it will be nice once they are back online.”
And then there are the complaints that some might categorize as first-world problems. “This is a nightmare,” one shopper wrote. “I don’t write down things when I run out of things or when I think I will want more of something, I put them in my online cart so I don’t forget them and when I place my order everything is right there. But because the site was down I had to just go shopping and work with a quick list I made.”
Apparently unable to function without Hannaford’s website and app, another shopper lamented that “it has been 5 days now. My refrigerator and freezer are just about empty.”
There are, of course, other places to buy groceries. And those who are loyal to Hannaford can seek out other online sources for Hannaford’s weekly ad. And unless they’re unable to leave home, they can always shop in person instead of ordering online.
But the lack of digital coupons?? When we have to pay full price, the cybercriminals win.
For some, this issue might help make the case for universal coupons, the new type of mobile coupon currently in development that you can store on your own phone and use anywhere coupons are accepted, without having to rely on a retailer’s website or app that may go down without warning. For others, this might bolster their case for legislation that would mandate an alternative, as several states have proposed laws to require paper equivalents of all digital coupons, or the automatic application of all available digital deals. That initiative was designed to help those without easy access to online coupons and deals – which, in Hannaford’s case right now, is everyone.
Among some shoppers, their frustration is boiling over. “In the tech world, a few hours’ outage is acceptable but multiple days is egregious,” one customer complained. “Hannaford has heavily marketed the reliability of their pickup and delivery services.” Others are urging patience. “Thank you to the tech folks working to resolve this issue,” another wrote. “Thank you for every other day you do your best to keep this service running smoothly.”
And when it’s all over, all systems are back online, and the digital coupons that Hannaford shoppers have been missing come back to life? “A coupon for the inconvenience would be appreciated!” one shopper suggested.
Might want to make that a paper coupon – just to be safe.
Image source: Ahold Delhaize
