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Over the past month, summer has hit New South Wales with a scorcher. Our hottest day reached over 40°c and our air conditioners struggled with each rise in the temperature.

For the past couple of months, I have had a mad craving for DARE Iced Coffee - Espresso. During the heat wave, my cravings became worse and I had to have that coffee fix. One day, I decided to go to Coles supermarket to buy my favourite iced coffee - it was out of stock. I drove through 5 towns to get to the next Coles, where I ended up buying six 2 litre bottles. Placing them inside of my fridge bag, I travelled home and immediately placed them in the refrigerator. Three days later, my coffee started smelling and tasting weird - I kept drinking it, even after many hours of throwing up and being sick. I thought that the weather was affecting me, so my mum decided to try some of my coffee. "This is out of date, it has expired". I checked the date on the bottle, it said 17/01/2013. I then checked my iPhone 4s for the day's date, it was 13/01/2013. I found the receipt which was dated 04/01/2013 and contacted Coles.

I received a reply via email, within 24 - 48 hours. I also received a phone call, from an apologetic manager. I returned the two remaining bottles of Iced Coffee and received a refund for them. My mum had thrown away two other bottles, so I wasn't able to get a refund on those... obviously.

Today is exactly one month since I made the purchase, when I received a letter in the mail. I have attached it to this blog and a link to the photo, in case it didn't appear. The letter explained some of their procedures and where they think the problem may lay. Also in the letter, was a $10 gift card - given as a gesture of good will and as an apology for the incident.

I don't blame Coles for what happened. I understand that dairy products can only last so long and must be refrigerated as soon as possible. Being summer and during a time of the heat wave, I took the incident as: 'food that spoiled due to natural occurrences, which cannot always be stopped'.

I 'Thank' Coles for the duty of care that they have given me, as a customer. And I thank them for making me feel valued, as a customer. Thank you for the card, it will be put to good use - two 2 litre bottles of DARE Iced Coffee Espresso.