Who knows what was going through the mind of an Asda driver who has made headlines this week after refusing to help a pregnant Feltham mum up two flights of stairs with the £200 worth of shopping he'd just delivered?
Perhaps he was under pressure to get to other deliveries, or felt it wasn't in his job description, or maybe he just didn't fancy the climb.
But what's clear is that his actions, which were captured on camera by the 20-year-old mum concerned, show zero compassion and no inkling of community spirit.
The video, our sister title The Mirror reports , shows mum-of-one Amy Botten panting as she climbs the stairs carrying shopping to her second floor home, where her young son is audibly bawling his eyes out.
She comforts him before heading back downstairs again where, out of breath, she begs the delivery driver to help her carry up the last lot, much of which has been left on the floor unbagged because, according to him, "there are no more bags".
Their conversation goes as follows.
Amy: "I thought you said you put everything in bags for me?"
Driver: "There's no more bags."
Amy: "Can you not help me with this last little bit because my little boy is up there crying his eyes out?
"Can you not hear my little boy crying his eyes out?
"Can you not even be a decent person, I am heavily pregnant."
The driver repeatedly refuses to help Amy with her shopping and finishes unpacking the crates before gathering them up and promptly leaving.
The footage understandably sparked outrage on social media after Amy posted it on Facebook.
It was shared 13,000 times and received more than 5,000 comments.
Some of those comments leapt to the driver's defence, pointing out that he was "only doing his job" but a description of delivery drivers' roles on Asda's website, as well as Asda's apology over the incident, clearly suggests he wasn't.
Asda's website states: "Being a customer delivery driver is much more than just driving around. It’s about being a friendly on-the-road Asda colleague, helping your customers from the moment the order is in."
It adds: "The job doesn’t end when you pull up to the customer’s door. In fact, it’s just the start, as you deliver their products with a smile, carrying the delivery to your customer."
Asda also outlines the terms and conditions of its delivery service on its website and states: "Our commitment is to deliver your order to your front door and offer to take it into your home."
It does, though, add that "there may be circumstances where this may not be possible".
These include "but are not limited to":
- where the driver believes they are at risk of injury
- where the driver believes any stairs are structurally unsafe
- where the driver believes it is unsafe to enter the property
- where the driver has not received clear permission to enter the property
It seems unlikely the delivery driver in question felt he was going to be injured on a set of stairs negotiated daily by Amy, who is heavily pregnant
And it's improbable that he felt her front door was about to crumble at his feet.
What did Asda have to say
Asda apologised profusely for the way Amy was treated and sent her a bottle of champagne and flowers to say sorry.
In a statement an Asda spokesman said: “We always try to offer our customers great service but clearly we got it wrong on this occasion and we are truly sorry.
“We have offered our full apologies to Ms Botten and are in contact with her to try and make amends.”
But perhaps we should all just pause for thought before rushing to condemn him.
Social media loves a witch hunt and Amy's video prompted scores of people to berate the delivery driver.
Are all of us, though, completely incapable of making the same ill-advised lapse of judgement?
We all like to imagine ourselves in the delivery driver's shoes, immediately leaping to Amy's aid.
But all it takes is getting on the Tube at rush hour to see how quickly most Londoners revert to an introspective "survival of the fittest" mode.
Living alongside more than eight million other Londoners is tough and it's easy to focus only on ourselves rather than around at those beside us in the crowds as we make our way to and from work.
Do you always offer your seat if a pregnant woman or pensioner gets on the train and it's packed?
Even if you've had a really rough day?
If you see someone struggling up a flight of stairs with a heavy suitcase do you always offer to help them?
Even if you are in a rush?
If someone is looking lost do you stop to point them in the right direction?
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Even if it might mean you miss your train?
If the answer to all of the above is a resounding yes, you truly are a model citizen.
The reality, though, is most of us will have fallen short on occasion of the high moral standards we all expect of others.
The Asda driver clearly should have helped Amy with her shopping and it has to be hoped that the public's scorn will mean he shows more compassion next time he is asked for help.
But before we vilify perhaps we all need to assess how we react whenever a fellow Londoner is in need of a small gesture of kindness on any given day in this manic but brilliant city of ours.
