When What’s Up Downunder journalist John Westbury heard that caravan park guests were refused serviced by a major supermarket chain offering delivery, he reached out to two major industry players to find out more. Photo Woolworths.
It does happen, mainly for those with motorhomes but it can happen to the average caravanner. You arrive, plug the power, water and sullage into the motorhome and then realise you do not have bread, milk and other essentials you meant to pick up earlier. This results in you having to disconnect everything, put it away again for safety and head to the nearest supermarket.
Wouldn’t it be great if supermarkets delivered to caravan parks and you didn’t have to worry about it? There are some supermarkets that do not deliver at all and a couple that do. Recently, I was told that a supermarket who does deliver refused to deliver to a caravan park, so, I decided to find out why.
DO THEY DELIVER?
The supermarket in question (Woolworths) was surprised that this happened and has taken steps to ensure their stores are aware that deliveries should be made to caravan parks.
Nathan, a spokesperson for Woolworths, says they offer delivery services to millions of customers in eligible areas, including those residing in caravan parks.
“Most caravan parks allow us to deliver, however, there are some instances where we are unable to do so because operators don’t allow it or for safety reasons. If this is the case, we’re happy to work with customers to see if we can find an appropriate alternative drop point for a delivery,” he said.
You can place an order as you normally would at home through the Woolworths website and, at the same time, check if the area you are in is eligible for delivery in the booking system. For caravan parks, please add in in necessary delivery instructions in the applicable field such as site number or, for driver to call you and meet at reception, especially if after hours.
DRIVER CONCERNS
Please also bear in mind some drivers may refuse to enter caravan parks for safety reasons, such as children on bikes, skateboards etc as they do not want to be involved in accidents. Also check with reception at your caravan park on these issues.
I also asked Coles to respond but they declined to comment saying they only dealt with home deliveries.