Meals on Wheels didn't knock loudly enough on Monday, March 5th. My mother's home health aide was vacuuming my mother's bedroom and she was in there, too. (It does say in the driver's notes to try calling if she doesn't answer the door, but he didn't.) Someone called my mother later and said he would bring her food on Friday. He did and she wrote on each one the date - 3/9. When I went to my mother's house today (Thursday March 15th), I looked in her freezer and saw no "new" food that was supposed to have been delivered on Monday, March 12th for this week. When I looked at my mother's tablet where she keeps careful notes, I saw that she had written on Monday that Meals on Wheels had not come. Rather than scold her for not informing me sooner, I called the company that delivers the food. They told me that she signed for it and they had her initials!! There were only two possible explanations that I could think of off the top of my head. One, that her home health aide had taken the food home with her, or the delivery driver "made a mistake." The woman I spoke to at the Meals on Wheels company, told me that she would call the delivery driver to see what had happened. He didn't answer his phone, so she said she would email his supervisor and call me back. I never got a call back, but at 4:30, my mother called me and said that someone had called her and said that her food is always delivered on Mondays. Like that's an answer. I wondered if anyone else had experienced this. Meals on Wheels claiming that they had delivered when they hadn't. My mother has me to fight for her (and bring her food if she has nothing to eat). But, what about the shut-ins who have no one to advocate for them? P.S. I called back to say that I would like more information, but no one has called me back, yet. There are worse problems, I guess, but that's one of my challenges for today.
Cwillie, I hadn't even thought about how it works in rural areas -- Thank you for pointing that out.
Well done to you both :)
UPDATE: The delivery driver DID call my mother today because he couldn't find her apartment within the condo complex. He was across the parking lot. That's probably what happened last week and "someone" signed for my mother and got her food (??) Anyway, the guy today was very nice today and when my mother asked if she could have an extra box of food because she didn't get her food for last week, he happily complied.
Now, I am concentrating on being grateful for the service because it's wonderful that my mother (97 years old) doesn't have to prepare meals and this company does a very nice job with their menu.
May be for 2 or 3 deliveries you could actually be there?
Good Luck
I would insist on seeing the so-called initials on the form. And I think at this point I would also write a letter to the company, sent by certified mail, stating that you need to see the so-called initials. I'm beginning to think now that there's more to the situation that originally "met the eye".
If there was no food, yet allegedly it was delivered, where did it go?
Your post reminded me of something I learned about years ago. A felon was colluding with a driver for either the Salvation Army or Goodwill, stealing some of the donations and reselling them. I never would have thought that anyone with ill intentions would do exploit a charity, but the individual who shared the information hadaccurate information on what was stolen. And that was verified when the police became involved.
Sometimes there's just no explanation for scum of the earth who exploit others.
I'm even less confident that the disappearing food was just a mistake after thinking over the situation of an apparently for profit company managing the MOW program. I think volunteers are more reliable, companionable, and better than someone who's poorly paid to do a service that probably doesn't pay very much.
And I would stock up on reserve food in case it happens again.
Do you have any idea which agency contracted with this company? You might contact your local Area on Agency, or Senior Center, to see if they have any advice on the entity that granted the contract to the deliverer of food that mysteriously disappears. I believe there's a federal agency involved as well but can't recall which one at this moment.
Worked for me. :)
Good luck
Sometimes they aren't able to make the run, or don't leave food unattended at the door if the homeowner doesn't answer. Usually they call in to the Senior Center, and someone calls me directly to confirm that my father is at home and available to answer the door.
Once a volunteer helped my father when he help at the door, called the office and someone called me with a description of the event, so I could go out immediately to determine if he needed to go to the ER (he didn't).
There might have been an error, or a new volunteer went to a wrong address...anything could have happened. But I think the long term relationship with the MOW staff and volunteers is too important to focus on one missed meal. The volunteers are too precious to be put on the spot for one meal.
And buy some back up frozen meals, such as Lean Cuisine (which is preservative free) in the event that it happens again. The care helper could easily microwave a LC so your mother has a meal.
I would do this:
Contact the company and ask that they call YOU if a volunteer arrives and no one answers.
Make sure no vacuuming or noise producing activity is in process when the anticipated arrival of the food normally occurs.
I really would consider this a learning situation and not make an issue of it.