A disappointed Lao Gan Ma chili crisp lover was saddened by the way Amazon delivered the condiment.
Concha (@selfconcha) posted a viral TikTok which has accrued over 2.9 million views as of Friday. In it, she shows the end result of a delivery driver’s handiwork in delivering the oil-based food.
The TikToker writes, “Ordered chili crsip on Amazon and I saw the package sitting in the driveway.”
She then adds that it was “quite a distance away from the gate [so she] just knew.” What did she know? The Lao Gan Ma chili crisp was broken.
@selfconcha @Amazon ♬ Carmen Habanera, classical opera(1283412) – perfectpanda
Concha gasps and says, “Oh hell no, no!”
She lifts the package off the ground, revealing its red contents seeping through the bottom of the box. Remnants of the sauce decorate the pavement as she continues to groan and show off the damage on camera.
The chili crisp sauce she’s referring to is an oil-based hot sauce that is Chinese in origin. According to All Recipes it’s “a spicy, crunchy, and aromatic condiment.” The outlet adds it’s “traditionally made with chiles, Sichuan peppercorns, spices and other aromatics, such as garlic and scallions.”
Amazon’s package breaking
Glass jars, which is the type of packaging that Lao Gan Ma chili crisp sauce comes in, are prone to crack during shipping. There are several Amazon customers who’ve hopped on the website to complain about broken glass jars.
For instance, this customer who ordered empty Ball Mouth 32 ounce jars. Thankfully, they didn’t have anything inside so this customer avoided a spicy mess like Concha did. However, they still ended up with shards of shattered glass inside of their packaging.
It seems different sellers handle broken jars differently. Another customer also complained about receiving an item that came apart in the mail. But that didn’t stop them from giving the seller a 5-star rating: “I ordered these jars and one was broken. The people at Miloo Kitchentoolz replaced it and added an extra jar just for fun! thank you! I am using these jars to water-glass eggs and also to store fruit in the fridge. Perfect size and also the opening is large enough to put ur hand in. Heavy glass not cheap at all. highly recommend!!”
Returning defective items
The online mega-retailer clearly delineates on its website how it facilitates replacements for damaged, defective, or broken items. If you’ve received a product you believe was broken as a result of Amazon’s delivery protocol, first, head to your orders.
Once you’re on this page, you’ll need to pick “the item that you want to replace and select a reason for return.” Next, follow instructions on how to return the defective or damaged product. Oftentimes, Amazon will allow buyers the opportunity to bring the product to a drop-off point. Kohl’s, for instance, has drop-off counters where employees will scan items and help process your returns. You could also print out a shipping label and attach it to the box your item is in. Then, all you’ll need to do is take that item to a parcel service provider to ship the item back to Amazon.
Note: if you’re going the Kohl’s item drop-off route, make sure you have the return code emailed to you from Amazon. Employees can scan that right from your phone screen, too, so you won’t need to print anything out.
Where’s the fragile sticker?
Viewers wondered just why in the world the box wasn’t labeled to be handled with care.
“Why is there no fragile sticker on it?” one TikTok user queried.
Another person, who seems to have worked in an Amazon sorting facility, gave some insider insight. According to them, the retailer doesn’t exactly have the most tender of hands when it comes to package care.
“I wish y’all could see what goes down in sorting the packages,” they wrote. They added that “many get squished and the[ir] tape torn.” The TikToker concluded, “So many busted packages too it’s so crazy just to break open at the destination.”
Someone else surmised that the Amazon delivery driver simply threw the package over the gate.
One delivery driver in the comments said they’re often instructed to toss packages over fences. They added that although they do engage in this practice, they try to be as careful as possible while doing so.
“I’m ngl a lot of people put in the notes to literally throw their package over the gate if it’s closed,” they said. “I always try to be gentle if that’s the case but they didn’t care at all.”
And then there were others who thought that Amazon’s packaging protocols were the culprit.
“I ordered three jars of garlic and they arrived broken, just like this,” a user wrote. “Because for some reason Amazon thought a single sheet of packing paper was sufficient padding.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Amazon via email and Concha via TikTok comment for further information.
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