Varadarajan, who hails from Mylapore, organized a summer vacation with his family to his hometown in Thanjavur last week. He is his Chennai As he was planning to stay away from home for a week, he wanted the regular delivery of milk to his home from Avin to be stopped during this period.
In the past, Varadarajan would inform the local Avin office to stop the Avin milk delivery service when he was not at home to collect milk packets or when he did not need milk delivery for 3 or more consecutive days.
Next month, when he goes to the office to pay the bill for the purchase of milk in Avinil, he will pay the balance after deducting the cost of the milk packets for the days for which the milk packets were not delivered.
For example, if he does not buy milk at home for a week, he will only pay Rs 506 instead of Rs 660 per packet of green graded milk per month.
However, with the introduction of online milk card purchases during 2023-24, there is no longer an option to suspend milk delivery during non-home periods.
When Varadarajan approached Aa’s office in the area about this, he was advised to speak to the delivery agents. Unfortunately, the agents told Varadarajan that the milk packets could not be redistributed elsewhere as a large number of families were out of town for summer vacations.
Consumer rights activist D Satagopan told Times of India that milk packet delivery agents often recommend taking help from neighbors or relatives. When there is no one to buy milk, packets are piled up in milk baskets on doorsteps. As a major milk supplier, Sadakopan stressed that there should be a system in place to suspend deliveries when cardholders and long-term customers are away. He pointed out that even small e-retailers that offer a wide range of products, including groceries, allow customers to temporarily hold their orders.
Speaking on behalf of Avin Milk Dealers Welfare Association, S.A. Ponnusamy noted that although Aavin operates offline, the suspension of delivery depends on the cooperation of delivery agents. If an agent does not cooperate, the consumer has no recourse. S Vineeth, Managing Director of Aa, said that they are planning to introduce rescheduling opportunities soon.
