The 'stolen' turkey dinner... UPD #331 p23

[GrammarNerd]

My sister shared this with me and I was just curious what others thought of what happened with this situation.

She lives in an area where there seem to be a lot of church charity auctions.  She went to one such auction that was not for the church she attends (possibly important later).  (background: She was going to her SIL's for Thanksgiving dinner, and then she was hosting my family on Saturday so the cousins could all see each other.)  One of the items up for auction was a family turkey dinner from the deli of a grocery store in town, valued at about $50.  She bid on it (presumably for the $50, although I'm not entirely sure) and won it.  Generally, these things are pretty generic (like they say 'turkey dinner', but they really mean a value of $X that can be used for anything in the deli within a month or two). So my sister thought she might be able to trade it in for chicken or something else, and we could all eat it when we came to her house on Saturday. 

After she got the info, she saw that the auction was very specific; it HAD to be a turkey dinner, and it HAD to be picked up between Monday and Thursday.  Well, she waited until Thursday and called the deli to say she was going to be picking it up.  She had a coupon of sorts and described it to the manager.  The deli manager didn't know what she was talking about.  Even he said that typically, people just get a $50 gift card in cases like this.  She faxed the coupon to the deli manager so he could see what she was talking about.

The manager called her back, and this is where it gets a bit wild.  Apparently, my sister's turkey dinner had been picked up already by someone else!  The manager said that some other lady had been calling all day, wondering if the dinner (my sister's dinner) had been picked up yet.  When it hadn't been picked up by a certain time, this other lady came and picked it up herself!

My sister's take on it was that this lady is the one who donated the item to the church auction (I don't know if she knew this for sure or was supposing).  The other lady was counting on nobody picking up the dinner, basically hedging her bets, hence the specificity of the type of dinner and the short time frame for picking it up.  That's why it wasn't done in the 'typical' way (the $50 gift card), b/c then she'd have no way of potentially getting it back if she'd just donated the gift card.  So my sister was out her money AND her dinner.

I asked what my sister was going to do.  She hadn't done anything yet b/c she was really busy on Friday.  Personally, I think a bit of public shaming would be in order, and that my sister should call the church and explain the situation, and request that they ask that the Turkey lady actually provide to my sister what she donated, or give my sister back her money.  Perhaps my sister could overlook the large 'donation' to the church and just write it off if it were her own church, but this is a different one.  I thought if the Turkey lady was going to going to try to get the goodwill for her actions AND eat my sister's dinner, then she should be called out on her actions.  And to do this to a church?  Really?

So, what do you all think of that?  I thought it was pretty shady and conniving of Turkey lady, personally.

[yokozbornak]

Wow!  That is dirty and lowdown.  I would be calling the pastor ASAP and letting him/her know what happened and asking for a refund.  That's just terrible.

[WillyNilly]

I absolutely think your sister needs to contact the church.  Regardless of who it was who took the turkey dinner, the fact of the matter is there were no safe guards in place to ensure the customer (your sister) got what she paid for.  And since she paid the church for it, the church is the responsible entity.

[LazyDaisy]

I'm a bit against the grain on this. I actually think that it's the fault of the deli rather than the church. They shouldn't have released the dinner without the gift coupon. Sister should have taken the coupon in and insisted that they honor it -- whether or not someone else cheated them out of a dinner. But I don't think that Sister is totally in the right either to wait until the very last second to even contact the deli about a turkey dinner. What if they needed advance notice to prepare it? Maybe nobody picked up Sister's turkey dinner but the deli just didn't have one prepared to give. I think Sister can bring it up with the church to alert them of a potential scam either from the donor or the deli, but I don't think that they bear the burden of making it right.

[O'Dell]

Another vote for calling the church and getting a refund.

Unless she's sure it's the lady who donated it, she shouldn't accuse her. Just give the church the facts, including anything that possibly identifies the woman who picked up the dinner, and let the pastor take it from there.

[Sharnita]

I find the whole story confusing to be honest.  I have never heard of a dinner like that where you didn't pre-arrange a day and rough time where you wouldbe picking it up.  The fact that sis made no re-arrangements might have made it appear that the turkey had been abandoned and if Thusrady passed the opportunity would have been lost.  Is it possible that somebody from the store could have called the church to mention that there had been no arrangments made and the clock was ticking?

[DottyG]

I'd contact the church.  But I'd do so in a confused, "I think something went awry" way.

"Hi Pastor Pete,  I was at the recent Thanksgiving Auction at your church, and I won the Turkey Dinner.  I think something didn't get communicated right between the church and the store, because it appears someone else picked up the dinner right before I got there.  I know it was just a mistake somewhere, but I thought you needed to know that some of the items from the auction didn't get to the people who bought them.  Since it's after Thanksgiving now, would it be possible to maybe get a gift card for the amount I spent instead?"

The pastor is the one who needs to determine if Turkey Lady was the culprit and then do whatever's necessary.  But I don't think the OP's sister should make any accusations - even as  possible suppositions.
 
ETA:  Oooooh, LazyDaisy posted while I was posting.  I do see her point here, though.  The deli isn't completely blameless here.
 

I actually think that it's the fault of the deli rather than the church. They shouldn't have released the dinner without the gift coupon.

 

[DottyG]

The fact that sis made no re-arrangements might have made it appear that the turkey had been abandoned

But, if that were the case, it doesn't mean that someone else just gets to swoop in and take the dinner.  It means that the dinner just went unclaimed and could be resold to someone else.  Turkey Lady got a free dinner on someone else's dime.  And that's not right - even if the OP's sister never intended to pick up the dinner.

If nothing else, TL should have called the OP's sister and said, "Hey, the deli called me and said the dinner hasn't been picked up.  I just wanted to let you know it's there and ready for you."  But she didn't do that - she (and I'm making an assumption that it was TL who took it - we haven't proven that) just went over and grabbed it.

[Zilla]

I think what it was that the lady paid for the dinner at the deli and then basically had the store write out something indicating that the dinner is paid for and ready to be picked up.  The lady probably kept the receipt and gave the paper to the church.
 
I think the deli is blameless if this is the case.  If they released the dinner without that receipt or paperwork then the deli is the one that has to make good on the item.  I would actually go to the store and ask for the manager and show them your paper and see what proof they have of whom picked up the dinner.

[lowspark]

I agree that it's the fault of the deli. They let someone pick up the dinner without presenting the valid coupon. And now, they are essentially refusing to honor the actual valid coupon. I would call the church and tell them that. I wouldn't speculate as to who did pick up the dinner, I'd just say that the deli wouldn't honor the coupon. Period. If asked why I'd tell them that it's not my problem why, only that I bid on the auction in good faith, that the deli did not come through, and that you'd like your money back.

If the church wants to call the deli and figure out what happened and who picked up the dinner, that's on them. But if I were your sister, I wouldn't want to get involved in that baliwick at all.

[Sharnita]

Actually, it might mean nobody got anything.  If the store's terms were that they were donating a dinner but it had to be picked up by Thursday - and nobody had made any arrangements then it might look like there would be no turkey dinner. 

OP's sis was not a member of the church so it is possible they didn't have her name or contact info to ask if she was getting the dinner. I am not saying it was handled in the best way, just that I have never heard of her approach either so they may have been confused as to what her intentions were.

[CaptainObvious]

Actually, it might mean nobody got anything.  If the store's terms were that they were donating a dinner but it had to be picked up by Thursday - and nobody had made any arrangements then it might look like there would be no turkey dinner. 

OP's sis was not a member of the church so it is possible they didn't have her name or contact info to ask if she was getting the dinner. I am not saying it was handled in the best way, just that I have never heard of her approach either so they may have been confused as to what her intentions were.

My understanding is that the Church Lady is the one who set the time restriction, not the deli.

[lowspark]

Except that the manager specifically said it had already been picked up by somebody else:

The manager said that some other lady had been calling all day, wondering if the dinner (my sister's dinner) had been picked up yet.  When it hadn't been picked up by a certain time, this other lady came and picked it up herself!

I'm guessing that the store makes up a bunch of these turkey dinners and has them available for purchase by customers without reservations in the week leading up to TG. When no one came and presented the coupon by a certain time, they allowed this lady to go ahead and take one without presenting the coupon.

[Sharnita]

Actually, it might mean nobody got anything.  If the store's terms were that they were donating a dinner but it had to be picked up by Thursday - and nobody had made any arrangements then it might look like there would be no turkey dinner. 

OP's sis was not a member of the church so it is possible they didn't have her name or contact info to ask if she was getting the dinner. I am not saying it was handled in the best way, just that I have never heard of her approach either so they may have been confused as to what her intentions were.

My understanding is that the Church Lady is the one who set the time restriction, not the deli.

Having been to auctions like these, most items are donated by businesses or other private donors and the restrictions are from the donors.

[DottyG]

My understanding is that the Church Lady is the one who set the time restriction, not the deli.

That's how I read it as well.  I could be wrong, though.  OP, is there a way to find out who put the time restriction on it?