Delivery Day Procedures
Producers deliver products to the Distribution Centre.
Products are checked for quality against the Co-op’s quality standards and sorted into Customer Orders.
Customer Orders are compared with products delivered by the producer and any discrepancy noted.
Discrepancies are resolved by issuing a customer Credit Note for missing or rejected products and for products lost or damaged by the Co-op. For any late additions to the order, a Debit Note is issued.
Credit Notes, Debit Notes, and if available, Online Payment Conformation emails are attached to the invoice.
The invoiced Total to Pay is checked to include adjustments, if any, and the New Total to Pay is marked on the invoice.
The invoice with attachments is attached to the products ordered by the customer.
The customers order is now ready for collection at the Distribution Centre or dispatch to a Pick Up Point as per customer instructions.
Collecting Your Order
Pick Up Point
When you placed your order, you nominated your choice of Pick Up Point or you indicated a Delivery option. Unless you email alternative instructions before 12 Noon Monday prior to Delivery Day, your order will be delivered to that location.
It is the Purchasers responsibility to come to the nominated delivery location with appropiate carry containers to collect and pay for the products.
If the products are not collected and paid for they will be disposed of in accordance with the Co-ops Uncollected Products Policy. However payment will still be required irrespectively of products being collected or not.
When you collect your products, make sure you get all the items you ordered. Take the time to check your invoice thoroughly to make sure you get everything. If an item isn’t there, send an email to problems@nr.ecomart.net.au and you will receive credit on your invoice. Alternatively, you can deduct the amount of the missing item(s) from your invoice, and pay the new amount. When you get home, send an email to problems@nr.ecomart.net.au so that your invoice can be properly adjusted. Take the time to check your invoice thoroughly to make sure you get everything.
Complaints
Complaints regarding products should first be brought to the attention of the producer, unless it is a situation where the Co-op itself is at fault (such as broken eggs due to poor packing). The Co-op’s arbitration procedure can be invoked if a successful resolution cannot be found between the producer and customer members or between the Co-op and a member.
Uncollected Products Policy
If the Pick Up Point has the ability to store products not picked up, the Co-op will make one attempt to contact you about picking up your products. That contact will include advising the phone number and name of the person who has your ordered products or missing items.
The items will probably not be at the regular Pick Up Point site, but at someone’s home. It is the member’s responsibility to contact the volunteer who has the items to arrange for a pickup. The Co-op will not make multiple attempts to contact you.
Rules for payment set out above apply.
You should contact us sooner rather than later about picking up uncollected products. If an item spoils or loses quality because you did not pick it up promptly, you will still be expected to pay for it.
Delivery Day Emergencies
We understand that emergencies happen on delivery day. If this happens to you, please call delivery day emergencies on --------mobile------------ as soon as possible. The earlier we know about a situation, the better we will be able to deal with it.
We recommend that you secure a Pick Up Day buddy who you can call to make arrangements if you cannot make it to the pick up site. This buddy should be familiar with the Cooperative pick up processes and should be able to pay for your order.
You can also contact the Co-op before ordering closes about making alternative collection/delivery arrangements. Depending on the circumstances, we may be able to arrange something other than the specified hours for a particular site, but this must be arranged before you turn in your order.
Be Kind to Volunteers
EcoMart Co-op does not have employees. We have volunteers who are investing their time and effort as sweat equity in growing the future of this Co-op. Thus, there can never be a question of an "employee-customer" relationship in your interactions with the volunteer workers of the EcoMart Co-op.
Please do not complain to Delivery Day volunteers or berate or blame them for something that may have gone wrong with your order. Volunteers have no control over what the producers do.
If you have an issue with the producer, bring it to the attention of the producer. If you have an issue with the Co-op, bring it to the attention of the president of the EcoMart Northern Rivers Co-op Ltd. president@nr.ecomart.net.au, or , Chair of Members Committee members@nr.ecomart.net.au.
Mistreatment of volunteers is a serious breech of cooperative ethics.