AI reviews summary
Overall sentiment towards Coles is significantly negative, primarily driven by systemic failures in the online delivery service and perceived poor value for money. While isolated instances of friendly in-store staff and specific product lines receive praise, these are overshadowed by recurring reports of missing items, delivery to incorrect addresses, and a customer service process described as dismissive or unreachable.
Pros
Cons
Verdict
Coles is currently failing to meet consumer expectations for reliability and service, particularly within its digital and delivery ecosystems. While in-store shopping remains a viable option for those seeking specific home-brand values, the online service is currently too inconsistent to be recommended for essential or time-sensitive grocery needs.
Terrible client support! It took me almost a day just to talk about my refund request. I finally got 1 refund for an uncollecter order and had to forfeit a smaller refund of the unsatosfied subatitute in another order as I couldnot bear to wait for their response on the chat.
Last week, I got my first Coles online order. I'm dealing with medical issues. I used my phone without any problems. The order was perfect and so easy and convenient. The messages to update delivery details are welcome. Thank you kindly you are a wonderful service❣️
OZESAUSE Is the only tomato sauce that is 99% Australian the rest are less that 10% and the other is made in Poland. You can no longer buy OZESAUSE at coles anymore. That is extremely sad . Shame on you COLES. Show details
Reviews with attachments
- +2
My Manager ordered me some flowers to be delivered to my workplace today for my birthday ( uber eats delivery) The flowers looked somewhat tired & you could tell they were days old.... however when I got them home & unwrapped them they were even worse... absolutely disgusting! They smelled, the flowers were old soggy & shrivelled up, others were… Read more
flopping over at the top and some of the leaves had dark black spots on them. These were hidden under the carefully placed wrapping. I called customer service and I could give them the order name and where they were delivered to, but as they were a gift I don't have the order number, so they don't want to know about it. Shame on you Cole's.
I gave Coles Online another chance because of a $20 voucher, despite having a disappointing experience previously. Unfortunately, it reminded me why I stopped using the service. One example was the bok choy I received. If I were shopping in-store, I would place fresh produce in a bag for hygiene and protection. Instead, it arrived unwrapped,… Read more
dirty, and covered in soil (see photo). It certainly wasn’t presented in a condition I would have chosen myself.
To make matters worse, I ordered chicken as part of my weekly groceries. The payment was deducted at checkout, only for me to receive an email later saying the item was out of stock. This means waiting several days for a refund on money that should never have been charged in the first place.
I was also automatically charged $2 for bags. My order arrived with only three bags, which at $0.25 each should have cost $0.75. I cannot understand how the charge reached $2.
Between the poor produce presentation, charging for unavailable items, delayed refunds, and questionable bag fees, I cannot recommend Coles Online. I’ll be returning to shopping in-store where I can personally select the quality of the products I’m paying for.
Bought product today (coles kichen real fast food chipotle cheese Guacamole & corn chips) pull plastic back to half way and the plastic wouldn't come off. I pull until it rip off with all the biscuits flying everwhere. So I didnt get to consume most of the product, very disappointing. I will never repurchase it. Coles needs to do better. From Joshua Tidy [Content Removed] Show details
I pay a lot of money for organic bananas that are mostly rotten in a couple of days. They were good months ago. This week alone I've had to throw out maybe 10 bananas which were very black. $$$ 6.50 a kg.
Don't buy any electrical item from Coles – I bought Thomson 12L AirFryer from Coles and after 3 months here we are. Nothing works other than digital displays and lights. The warranty says to return it to the place of purchase, and it was 86 days; but Coles don't accept it. If they can't handle returns for electrical products (at least within 3 months), they shouldn’t sell them. I am… Read more
contacting the THOMSON AirFryer company and going through it, what a waste of time and money!
Update: THOMSON support team is far hilarious. They expect me to drive 20km and courier the air fryer at my expense.
I put my order in at 11.23am today for rapid delivery. They said 100 minutes, It has been 5 hours now, and I am still waiting. I called them - 5 times, because the first 4 calls never picked up and I ended up with a recorded msg telling me to try again later. When I did get through, I was told that me order had been prepared and has been waiting… Read more
for the uber driver to pick it up. I have fresh chicken in that order. The one that's been waiting for 4-5 hours to be picked up. The Coles guy on the end of the phone didn't give even an apology, let alone any sort of 'customer service'. It is abysmal. My neighbours tell me they no longer use Coles Rapid Delivery - that it's quicker to lock in one of their standard delivery slots. The neighbour on the other side of my house tells me they no longer use Coles and have gone over to Woolworths. Think I will be following them. Screenshot attached at 4.26PM - and I am still waiting.
Don’t buy the Coles brand Beef Stroganoff in Creamy Sauce it had several bones in it with one being quite large. The best they could do was tell me to return it to the store for a refund. Show details
Customer service on online live chat is appealing. Doesn't even answer the question you ask and after waiting 5-10m for a response they close the chat immediately..
Prices going up every week Pasta salad used to be $5 couple of month ago. Two weeks ago price $6 today I bought it $6,5 why? Sometimes they show rice discounted & when you go for payment they charge extra I call assistant she says they didn't pass discount to register till I get the photo to show her then she change it Do many times happen but… Read more
didn't give attention Last week capsicum price $7 a kilo just I found the shopping too expensive Today I paid $163 unbelievable cost of living
Find out how Coles compares to other Supermarkets
Know better, choose better.
Horrible experience with online shopping. We filled up the shopping trolley with items that appeared to be in stock, but on checkout we discovered many, many basic items were missing. Tried replacing them with other basic items, but they too disappeared on checkout. If a shop doesn't have basic items, I expect it not to waste people's time, and… Read more
not to attract them with this false pretence of a 'ghost' stock (the attached screenshot shows just part of the failure - it was repeated with frozen fish, toilet paper, bread and more)
An online order for a 'ham hock'. Order number 253246040. This is what I unpacked. It was more than 14 days ago that I purchased this so not entitled to a refund and Coles have dismissed my complaint. The cost is irrelevant but the store/staff responsible should be spoken too.
Cancelled my over $600 online home delivery order today, WITHOUT A REASON! Refused to honour discounts and savings from the order in replacement order I needed to make, nor would they explain why they cancelled it either! Unbelievably POOR SERVICE!
I purchased Australian lamb ribs with sticky BBQ rub and after following the cooking instructions the meat was of revolting taste and flavour. It is obviously old lamb which is called mutton which is essentially cheap rubbish meat. I paid $16.50 for 750gms including the bones and it was the most expensive revolting meal I have had since I can't… Read more
remember. Now I can see why these despicable [Name Removed] are making so much profit by feeding the masses this inedible disgusting rubbish. I challenge Coles executives to cook this meal and feed it to their very own families and see if they can eat it all up. Cmon I dare you!
Latest follow-ups
Currently Unavailable – This product, "Coles Spring Water 8x1.5L | 8 pack $6.40" has been unavailable to purchase online for the last eight weeks. I have personally visited my local Coles store and this product is available in-store. I spoke to management in the store and… Read more
I rang Coles online support, but no one can explain the reason why this product is not available online. Got told to clear my cookies on my web browser, did not solve this issue.
Follow-up · I have tried other browsers and there are no other delivery options. I can go into the store and purchase the item which was unavailabe/out-of-stock for delivery. Some people that require their groceries delivered are elderly, disabled, or disadvantaged. I would think these xustomers deserve priority over those that can drive into the store to do their shopping.
I placed an order and not only was it delayed well after the booking window - I booked 2pm - 8pm and it was delayed to as late as ETA 11:40PM. I couldn't wait up any long with the constant delays, so when I called I was told to call back in the… Read more
morning to organise a redelivery. When I called the following morning, your customer service representative kept cutting me off when I was told that it would be redelivered THE NEXT DAY and it was "out of your hands". I don't care if there is a disconnect between the store and your call centre/head office. This is INSANE service! Why did the rep I spoke to about my order that evening not rearrange for the delivery to be made today? There was literally one message in the whole evening saying there was a delayed by an hour and it kept getting later and later, then your service representative was so quick to cut me off, refused to put a manager on and then only told me it was "up to the store". If your delivery is going to be delayed by HOURS at the very least, use your millions of dollars in profit to invest in a rebooking and communication system so customers aren't waiting all night for their order. Your virtual agent sucks, you limit complaints and feedback to 500 characters, you don't respond to the SMS service and your customer service representatives are no different than dealing with Uber. What a scam!
Follow-up · There was no redelivery, Coles Lutwyche refused to send the order by rapid delivery and Cole's online would only offer next day delivery (2 days after it was meant to be delivered). I also had to repeatedly keep chasing up my refund and Cole's online chat kept putting me back in the queue to avoid answering any questions or taking any… Read more
So far, so good – I've just had my first online delivery from Coles, having given up on Woolworths. Am actually pretty impressed. Yes, there were a couple of items close to their use-by date, and they didn't have a few items in stock etc. But there were no items I… Read more
paid for that were not delivered, and the person who made the delivery couldn't have been more professional or helpful. ( Note that our apartment is a difficult one to deliver to, given virtually no on-street parking and no lift to the ground, but the groceries were delivered with a smile right to our door.) With Woolworths I was sick of whole bags of groceries going missing, and not all missing items being delivered the second time. I hope that the first impression is right. It'll be one of life's stresses taken care of.
Follow-up · Twelve months later and I'm still very happy with Coles online. They communicate accurately on delivery time. There is the odd item out of stock but I've never been inconvenienced by not getting something I've needed urgently. Packing is good, nothing's arrived damaged. The delivery people are uniformly cheerful and helpful. The only suggestion… Read more
Positive reviews
Store:4091 served by: Chloe Register:007 Date: 20/05/2026 I just wanted to thank Chloe again, My shopping is for my aging brother, my special niece and myself oh and the dog every fortnight, so it can be a challenge to accommodate all. I shop with 2 trolleys trying to stay out of the road of other shoppers while not missing items I need,,,, to… Read more
go back and get something can be a mission.
So by the time I get to the checkout,, on a good day,,, its a relief. Having 2 full trolleys I let other customers with smaller amounts of items go through first, we can take time. I tried self service once but I just have too much to juggle in the small space provided. So there was one checkout open with a couple of customers waiting and our 2 trolley train, a staff member opened up next to the other open one, I waved others to go ahead, then another staff member said to us to come through while she was opening up the register, I said we were 2 trolleys and she smiled and said no worries come on through.
We worked great as a team and got through with different bags for each of us and paying separately, I thanked her for helping us by opening up She said thats ok and could I put up the register closed sign,,, so she really did just open just for us,,,,
and that my friend is what real service is!!
Thank you to Coles and Chloe!!!
Chrissy Melville
Why Don't Coles Albany Creek keep more 13 LOR Capsules in stock . I love these capsules and they are often NOT in stock . Surely if they are a good seller you would stock more of them . If I have to go elsewhere to shop for them I may not come back to Coles and you may miss our business . Please order more of this Ultimo13 for us as we love this store and the Staff are excellent .
Find out how Coles compares to other Supermarkets
Know better, choose better.
I like Coles Supermarket very much, there’s an excellent range of food products, fresh fruit and veg, deli food, and household needs. Their stores are clean and tidy, much appreciated. Also the staff are very helpful. They responded most positively a few years ago when there was a crisis in terms of cost-of-living expenses. They developed an… Read more
excellent wide range of home-brand foods which are much cheaper and better than the big brands! Find them often on the lower shelves or simply labelled ‘Coles’. Generally, they have less sugar content than the known brands, eg love their breakfast Cornflakes, Wheat Biscuits, plus Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup, Pineapple in Juice, Tuna, Pasta; just a few regular buys. Lately, their ‘Yellow Label Simply Coles’ products are excellent value too: pasta sauce, cheese, washing powder, cling wrap, foil. The savings are very significant. I’m sorry they have been caught in the business of promoting discount prices which are not actually discounted. I’m not a fan of buy 2 for a perceived discount, eg Tim Tams 2 for $7. I have a designated amount that I spend on food and household per week. It’s just in my nature from my upbringing to do that. Whereas I might buy one packet of Tim Tams, I will not purchase two as it puts a hole in my weekly budget for a non-essential. I believe it’s tough on lower-income families, when they have to buy two to achieve a fair discount. Coles, think of your family heritage and serve your customers well, especially those who are struggling. You remain my favourite supermarket.
Negative reviews
Is it true that you sneak BOVAER additive in your beef supply chains to reduce cattle methane?? If so, I'm disgusted!! Why are you sneaking additives like this in the meat we consume? If you choose to use additives you should clearly state on your packaging that you use synthetic additives with questionable effects on humans so consumers can go elsewhere. People, don't buy meat from Coles. Don't mess with your health. Go elsewhere.
So bad I have not been able to log in to my Cole’s account for over 12 months they say call office witch is hard for me as I am very deaf ..on Sunday 7 June I did a st^pid thing I was on facebook and seen a ad For some glass containers from reject shop I new it was to good to be true BUT it got me I placed a order for $20 pay by PayPal I had just… Read more
reopened after years should have known better ..so later on I get messages from Cole’s SAYING i just paid for groceries for $270 in .SA .BUT I LIVE IN QLD .HOW DID THEY GET MY COLES ACCOUNT ACTIVATED AGAIN I WANT TO KNOW ..BUT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT COLES A DEAF MAN CAN NOT CONTACT THEM THEY LIKE IT LIKE THAT ..COLES HATE YOU .
They have charged my credit card for an order I never received due to their incompetence (it never left the store as they could not get a driver). I have been in touch with their "Customer Care" team about 4 times now and for the first few times I was promised they would rectify it. The last time, when I said I would be forced to dispute the… Read more
credit card transaction if they didn't rectify it, they said they would "pass on my message to the right team". Well, I am now in the process of disputing the credit card transaction with my bank as they still have not reversed the transaction. And I love the way their "customer care" team always finish off by asking if there is anything else they can help with and then immediately end the chat. That behaviour speaks volumes of the culture in that place. Makes me wonder how many other times they have ripped me off as I have never audited all the past promises of putting a credit on my account or refunding my card when there are missing items on my order. Will not be doing online orders again from these crooks.
Recent reviews
I was extremely disappointed to find a cockroach inside a sealed packet of sugar. This is a serious food safety and hygiene concern that has completely undermined my confidence in the product and your quality control processes. I expect this matter to be investigated urgently and would appreciate a prompt response outlining the actions being taken to prevent this from happening again. Show details
Hi, I won 5k with Comes Online lady Thursday on SUNRISE CHANNEL 7. I haven't heard anything from Coles. I am utterly disgusted that you can run this competition and have 20 Coles staff in my front yard but don't hear anything from you. The dopey Comes lady said I would be emailed. What a load of sh.... Not happy Coles or Sunrise..If I could give zero I would.
What an absolute useless joke is Coles so-called Customer Care team. They don't give a d#mn about their customers. They don't take accountability. They don't follow up on promises. And their processes are awfully inadequate. Woolworths does every aspect of the process so much better.
Price gouging and wasting money on Curtis Stone... What value does he add, other than potentially making us pay more for groceries. Coles red meat is over double the price of wholesale, in stupidly packaged and ridiculous prices. Coles vegetables are ridiculous in cost and sizes Coles groceries have doubled in price in a few short years, with… Read more
very limited options in comparison to the past. There's no care factor for in-store customers, giving better options to online shoppers. Clever bookkeeping and capex hides their actual profits, let alone ridiculous bonuses to Executives who do nothing but increase costs to customers, reduce staffing levels, and reduce store foot traffic. And what's with allowing full trolleys through the 12 items or less registers? Open another checkout instead of making people wait so long. We don't work for you, so why should we serve ourselves? Also, some of us have chronic pain and can't use the self serve, nor stand waiting 15 minutes while you stupidly serve multiple customers directed to express registers with 40 items. Boycott them. Pity I can't give negative stars.
ProductReview.com.au has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence our content moderation policies in any way, though ProductReview.com.au may earn commissions for products/services purchased via affiliate links.
At around 7.30pm, after holding on the line for the Coles Online customer service (not the store… Read more