Since the summer rolled around (yes, last summer), I've majorly fallen off the bandwagon with meal planning and preparation for the week.
I got bored of my typical go-to recipes and tired of trying out recipes online that I didn't like, so I just kind of stopped for awhile.
I had seen a lot of ads online and heard from a lot of friends that have had a lot of success with dinner kit delivery programs, so I decided to give one a try after my friend Robyn sent me a code to try Blue Apron Meals for free.
How It Works: Blue Apron picks out meals that satisfy your food preferences (land, meat or veggie) and sends you a box each with all of the ingredients, along with recipe cards. Each box is meant to make 3 meals for 2 people and costs $59.99.
Given my weekly grocery budget, I thought this was a great way to get 3 meals in and still stay within budget, while also trying out some foods I normally might not try and getting a taste for different things.
My first delivery was scheduled to arrive on Thursday. I ordered the veggie plan. I was really excited about the planned meals I had for the weekend and looked forward to my delivery which was scheduled to arrive between 8am and 8pm on Thursday.
I got home from work Thursday around 6. My delivery hadn't arrived yet, so I headed out for a quick run. I was planning to start on the Braised Carrots when I got home, but since my delivery hadn't arrived post-run, I just whipped up some pasta and planned to start whipping up my Blue Apron meals on Friday.
At 9:30, there was still no delivery, so I took to Twitter.
I didn't expect a response that night, so sent an email, hoping I would get a response the next morning. I didn't actually get a response until 2pm.
Umm ok? What does that mean? When am I getting my box? So, I responded right away asking when my box would be delivered. Two hours later, I got a response from their Customer Experience Associate that read:
Hi Christy,
I got bored of my typical go-to recipes and tired of trying out recipes online that I didn't like, so I just kind of stopped for awhile.
I had seen a lot of ads online and heard from a lot of friends that have had a lot of success with dinner kit delivery programs, so I decided to give one a try after my friend Robyn sent me a code to try Blue Apron Meals for free.
How It Works: Blue Apron picks out meals that satisfy your food preferences (land, meat or veggie) and sends you a box each with all of the ingredients, along with recipe cards. Each box is meant to make 3 meals for 2 people and costs $59.99.
Given my weekly grocery budget, I thought this was a great way to get 3 meals in and still stay within budget, while also trying out some foods I normally might not try and getting a taste for different things.
My first delivery was scheduled to arrive on Thursday. I ordered the veggie plan. I was really excited about the planned meals I had for the weekend and looked forward to my delivery which was scheduled to arrive between 8am and 8pm on Thursday.
I got home from work Thursday around 6. My delivery hadn't arrived yet, so I headed out for a quick run. I was planning to start on the Braised Carrots when I got home, but since my delivery hadn't arrived post-run, I just whipped up some pasta and planned to start whipping up my Blue Apron meals on Friday.
At 9:30, there was still no delivery, so I took to Twitter.
I didn't expect a response that night, so sent an email, hoping I would get a response the next morning. I didn't actually get a response until 2pm.
Umm ok? What does that mean? When am I getting my box? So, I responded right away asking when my box would be delivered. Two hours later, I got a response from their Customer Experience Associate that read:
Hi Christy,
I apologize again. This was an unforeseen issue and we are handling it the best we can. Unfortunately, we cannot send you another box for this week. Let me know if you have any other questions or concerns. And again, I truly apologize for the inconvenience.
So, let me get this straight. I ordered something to be delivered. Somehow, it got lost (which, I don't understand at all...how does one lose groceries?) and instead of delivering the next day, they just cancel it out right and tell me that I can't get a box at all?
This was enormously inconvenient, especially since I had planned my weekly meals around getting a delivery on Thursday. I was told that I would not be charged and that I could take $10 off my next delivery. Problem is, this was supposed to be a free trial, so now, I lost my free trial, never got a delivery and all you want to do is offer me $10 off a service that I can't rely on to actually show up? No thanks.
I was tremendously disappointed with Blue Apron. Not only for flat out not delivering my food, but for their response. I should have gotten a phone call or an email first thing Friday morning, apologizing for the inconvenience and letting me know that my order would be delivered that day. I should not have had to chase them through Twitter and Facebook with no word or explanation for most of the day.
It's obvious that I wouldn't recommend Blue Apron. If trying out a dinner kit is something you're interested in, I know that Plated and ChefDay both do the same thing, so I"ll be looking to try one (or both) of them out soon.
Have you ever tried a delivery dinner kit? What did you think? Any recommendations?
Oh wow, I've only heard of BluePlate once or twice - mainly from Julie @ Peanut Butter Fingers - she raves about it! I'm pretty sure I won't be giving them a try now, I wasn't really convinced I would give them a try to begin with just because I'm kind of frugal, but it's pretty set in stone now unless they make some dramatic changes and I hear more about those than the complaints. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI'd be unhappy too. Businesses without good customer service are so stupid.
ReplyDeleteI've heard great things abut ScratchDC, but I'm not sure if they have vegetarian options. Definitely worth checking out though!
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