Packaged Meals and Clinics - Nutrisystem, Medifast, Jenny Craig, EtcFor support and questions about diet meal delivery programs, or weight loss clinics that offer prepackaged meals and products.
I'm pretty new to the forum, but I really need to blow off some steam. I am very upset at ediets. I know, I know, the problems with their shipments are well known, so I shouldn't have been surprised, but I guess I just didn't take it as seriously until it happened to me.
I've been on their program for a week, and I was really enjoying it. Most of the food was pretty good, and I was feeling very good about myself. I started working out and made a lot of fun plans to work out this weekend, also.
Then they lost my week 2 shipment. It was supposed to arrive on Wednesday, but when it didn't, I gave them the benefit of the doubt until today (plus, it's such a pain to be on hold for 10-15 minutes before being able to talk to anyone). I had read somewhere that they ship between Wednesday and Friday, so I thought maybe they had bumped me to Friday for some unknown and obnoxious reason. The week 1 delivery had arrived a day late (because the website insisted that the delivery guys would leave the box even if we weren't home, and didn't tell us to leave a note confirming that), so I actually still had food to last me through Thursday. Today, Friday, I carefully measured out a breakfast of comparable calories and patted myself on the back for being a good girl. Then I waited for the delivery that I still hoped would come. I thought that if it arrived, I could still eat the lunch and be on schedule, except for one breakfast. At 12:30pm, I called ediets, and talked to Renee, who became increasingly assertive, talking louder and louder as she explained that they had no idea where the shipment was, or when I might receive it, and to call if I received it to figure out how many individual days of meals they would credit me, and that in any case my next shipment (week 3) would arrive next Wednesday. I had to ask to talk to someone else because I felt like she was getting so hostile. Finally, Wendy said that she would call Fedex to try to find the shipment. The result? The shipment was never prepared, packaged, or given to Fedex to ship. It was like pulling teeth to even get them to admit that it wasn't a "shipping issue" or Fedex's fault, but was something on their end. So no food until next Wednesday. No week 2 at all.
Now, I know that computer glitches happen (even though they never contacted ME and had no way of bridging the gap between weeks 1 and 3). I know that before last week I was an adult who was perfectly capable of feeding herself for a week. But once I started the program, I was so happy to NOT be responsible for feeding myself. To put my trust in someone who was going to tell me what to eat and when. I felt free, free to focus on other things besides what in the house I could put in my mouth. I felt strong and happy. I guess I'm not very emotionally stable, but this whole experience has really broken me down. I feel more desolate than angry, at what has happened to my cheery outlook on life.
I'm trying to decide on next steps. I don't want to give up on meal delivery, because it felt so good. But I've fallen off the wagon on so many other diets in the past, that just never worked as well the second time around... how can I prevent that from happening? Should I stay with ediets and try to regain my optimism when week 3 finally arrives? Should I go with a different meal delivery service? Will I be as committed to it? I don't want to end up jumping from program to program every week, with my trust in the system (and commitment to not cheating) whittled away with every failed experiment.
I'm sorry if this post sounds deranged to some of you, but I've found so many of the posts here so motivating and uplifting, that I hoped I could find some support here.
Hi there, I just wanted to respond to you because I feel your pain -- big time! I've been on DY for 4 weeks and they've gone really well and I've lost some weight. You actually may not be aware of this, but unfortunately they have undergone this crazy website "upgrade" that has completely messed everything up, and a LOT of customers are unhappy about it. They lost my delivery this week, too, and I also spoke with someone on the phone who was so unhelpful I actually cancelled my service at that very moment.
What a bummer -- and the degree to which they are ignoring the concerns of their customers is just horrifying! I'm so sorry you're struggling like this.
I'm shopping for a new meal delivery service now. Meal delivery was working REALLY well for me for all the reasons you articulated beautifully in your post. I felt really free and confident, too. I'm not sure what I'm going to do now, but I'm considering another service called PureFoodsFreshStart that has a lot of the same food as DY (apparently it comes from the same big plant??).
It's great to know that I'm not the only one who was seriously ticked off by this. It was kind of freaky--after hanging up with "customer service," I marched over to the pantry and ripped open the doors, looking to do some serious eating damage. Luckily, I restrained myself, but the urge was definitely there.
I had a total emotional meltdown, and was feeling kind of sheepish about how I'd overreacted. My husband came home and was very supportive. After talking it through with him, I decided that I might give ediets another chance, because I had enjoyed it so much, and no other service really promised to be any better. Also, I have a history of never doing as well on a diet the second time around as the first time around. I'm hoping that my subconscious will interpret continuing with ediets as still being the "first time around." I think a different service might seem more "second time around."
We went to the store to get me something to eat and I went through all of the frozen meals there and bought all kinds of goodies, trying to match up the general calorie range of what ediets had been sending me for each meal. Cost was no object, because the fanciest, most expensive frozen meal was STILL going to be cheaper than ediets!
Other people have posted that instead of meal delivery they just buy lean cuisines on their own, and thus save on cost and also have more flexibility. I couldn't understand how that could be done, because I have so little self-control myself. So far it's been pretty fun subsisting on frozen meals, though. There's a huge variety of flavors, and the vegetables are all fresher and bright green because they're frozen instead of pickled (or whatever it is that ediets does to them). I think that my one week on ediets established the pattern for me to do this still based on their calorie allotments without cheating. But I still wanted to go back on ediets next week (if my delivery arrives!) so that I don't get careless and lose the drive.
Yesterday, Wendy (a nutritionist?) gave me a direct phone number (954-573-1060) for Omar (a supervisor) because I was threatening to cancel on her. I think it might be his personal number or something, because when I called today he just answered with "Hello?" I originally intended to just confirm that I would be refunded for the missing week 2 and maybe try to milk some other kind of compensation out of him, too. But to my surprise, he was kind of impatient and brusque, and kept saying that he would "try to find out where the food was" but that the department with the information was closed until Monday. This was very confusing to me, because yesterday Wendy had just confirmed to me that the food had never been prepared and packaged for shipment. It took a good 10 minutes to get him to admit that the food didn't need to be FOUND but actually didn't EXIST! And then he said, "well, what do you want, because I thought you were calling to cancel." It sounded like he WANTED me to cancel, so that he wouldn't have the hassle of dealing with me. I had really expected him, as a supervisor talking to a customer who was threatening to cancel, to be much more conciliatory! He made me so mad that I'm once again on the fence about whether to stay with ediets or not. I don't think I'm ready to try another service just yet, so it's really a matter of whether or not I trust myself to stay disciplined eating lean cuisines (etc.).
The sad thing is, if ANYONE at ediets were just NICE about the situation, then I would be fine with staying with them.
Let me know what you end up deciding to do! The PureFoods websites look really good--I looked long and hard at the PureFoods Low Carb. When I was more seriously considering another meal delivery plan, it was down to them or Diets to Go, and I also looked for regional delivery services. I'm in Texas, so I looked at DietGourmet... which has great pick-up options and delivers twice a week, but didn't have enough structure (their 3 meals a day provided 1100 calories or 1700 calories, but they said what we snacked on or drank was up to us to account for the calories). I'm much more into structure than flexibility, because it seems like flexibility can only get me into trouble!
Believe me, you are not alone. Actually, if you're able to get on eDiets.com, you can check out all the angry rants on their OWN forums!!
But I just want to say, I really don't think you overreacted at all. I think your reaction is completely understandable. Weight loss is a VERY big deal and it is a very emotional issue! And you really felt you like you found "THE THING" that was going to help you, and now here you are not being appropriately helped. It sucks, and the fact that the company doesn't seem to have any interest in making you happy (or keeping you as a customer) is completely ridiculous. And now, here you are, feeling like you may be totally derailed because of them. That SUCKS.
When I called to check on the delivery I never received, the person I talked to seemed to have no interest whatsoever in keeping me as their customer, and, like the person you talked to, my representative got all aggressive and defensive with me (while I kept my cool). It is just totally out of control.
Anyway, my life is a little weird for the next couple of weeks because I'm going out of town a week from Monday, so I'm kind of doing a combo thing where I am going to try Pure Foods Fresh Start's 3-day sampler and then probably go with either them or with the 3-Hour Diet. My partner has already decided he is going to try 3-Hour Diet. Did you know that the company that owns Pure Foods Fresh Start is "PurFoods" and they make ALL the food for PFFS, 3-Hr Diet, AND eDiets Deliciously Yours? It all comes from the same place, and many of the choices are identical service to service. The meal plan structure varies slightly plan-to-plan though. I've looked into it in depth so I can give you more info if you want.
You might want to check out 3-Hour Diet because you actually get even more structure with them than with DY (since with DY you have to provide your own 3 fruits and 2 dairy servings). With 3-Hr Diet AND with PFFS, if you don't add anything, the provided food alone is around 1300-1400 calories. (DY is 1000-1200 with the provided food alone; when you add fruit & dairy that makes it more like 1300-1500 -- as I'm sure you know.) 3-Hr Diet is the 3 meals + 2 snacks and a daily "treat" (like a cookie or whatever); PFFS is 3 meals + 1 snack + treat.
I hear you on doing Lean Cuisine and I know it's cheaper, but for me it's about convenience and limiting the temptation of the grocery store! (The "self-control" thing you mentioned!!)
Anyway, I will send you a private message with my email address so we can connect off-board if you want. Thanks for posting. It's nice to commiserate!
I have just yesterday received my week 2 shipment from BistroMD and, despite some issues requiring interaction with customer service, I am really blissed out happy. They really seem to care and want me to succeed, and have credited me for every mistake they've made thus far (seems to be that mistakes will just be bound to happen with these diet delivery services. There's just so much to keep up with and so many customers, I guess).
I know that doesn't help take the sting out of your situation but I just wanted to chime in and say that I am happy you didn't "take it out on YOU" when you were so frustrated with them. Your body deserves better than that tantrum! Good for you, not turning your anger into an excuse to "rage eat."
That's awesome that you're having a great experience with BistroMD. Woo hoo!! I love what you said about your body deserving better and "rage eating". I guess so many of us are experts on punishing ourselves, eh? But we can do better!!
That's awesome that you're having a great experience with BistroMD. Woo hoo!! I love what you said about your body deserving better and "rage eating". I guess so many of us are experts on punishing ourselves, eh? But we can do better!!
Yes! Goodness knows! I can recall so many times I've had a challenging experience with a coworker or loved one or even a stranger out in public somewhere and felt the urge to "show them" with a splurge of food or a stiff drink or some other destructive choice.
What did it for me was get me thinking to myself, "When's the last time I said, 'Oh, that so-and-so makes me so mad! I really need a plate of green beans!'?" And the answer to that question was NEVER.
So, we've sort of trained ourselves to see the foods we love and crave as ways to treat ourselves for the ways we're being mistreated elsewhere... but what really happens is we add to the mistreatment by letting those treats come to our rescue. It's tough to break out of the cycle, but it's quite empowering, when you do that "stop and count to ten" thing and get it under control. Even for a minute.
My little mantra is "every bite is a choice." That helps.
So, we've sort of trained ourselves to see the foods we love and crave as ways to treat ourselves for the ways we're being mistreated elsewhere... but what really happens is we add to the mistreatment by letting those treats come to our rescue.
Yes, yes. Totally agreed! The food may feel like comfort at the time, but it's actually (often) just another form of self-abuse.
Thought of you guys and this thread today when I went to the FedEx tracker and saw that my Week 3 BistroMD shipment hadn't left Indiana yet, after scanning in on Monday evening.
I called FedEx to ask where it was (maybe the website just hadn't been updated?) and was informed they (BistroMD) scanned the tag but never provided the delivery (to FedEx).
So, I called BistroMD, livid, and got voicemail (first time that's happened; I always get a human when I call). I left a patient but stern message and then sent an email to my point person with a CC to the woman who has been crediting me for the wrong meals sent, so far.
Within FOUR MINUTES, I received a reply email assuring me that they caught their mistake in-house on Wednesday morning, packaged up a Week 3 shipment for me, and expressed it out, still due ON TIME, tomorrow. Gave me a new tracking number and, sure enough, there it is, on its way.
I have to say, despite the hiccups (which it seems there are going to be, no matter WHAT diet delivery service you try, based on what I've read), the BistroMD customer service is simply OUTSTANDING. So, I guess you do get what you pay for. Yes, it's most expensive, but WOW, are they on the ball.
Still 95% satisfied with this plan (and 100% satisfied with the food. It's delicious). I'll be taking my measurements and posting at my 3FC blog later. It's been a good first two weeks.
I was seriously ready to cry. I walked into the kitchen and thought, "Screw them! How dare they derail me so early on, when I'm being so good!"
And then I caught myself saying that, thought about this very thread, and ate my regularly-scheduled diet food and smiled about conquering the "bad" voice.
And then by the time I was back at my computer, the reply was there.
I've gone to the eDiets website and it looks like whatever changes were made are done, at least there is nothing under construction that I can tell. Are you guys still having problems with it? I am seriously considering them because of the Alli partnership, I'm on Alli and also think it speaks volumes about eDiets if a company as big as Glaxo chose them to partner up with. I also hear better things about their food than other services, but I don't want to sign up if they are still having these problems.
You know, it is possible they have a finished (ie, functional) area of the site for the Alli folks, although I wouldn't count on it. But that's something you could ask them if you're actually able to get through to a human being on the phone.
I've gone to the eDiets website and it looks like whatever changes were made are done, at least there is nothing under construction that I can tell. Are you guys still having problems with it? I am seriously considering them because of the Alli partnership, I'm on Alli and also think it speaks volumes about eDiets if a company as big as Glaxo chose them to partner up with. I also hear better things about their food than other services, but I don't want to sign up if they are still having these problems.
You know, in the past I would have recommended them to anybody who would listen (and I only had 3 good weeks). I was thrilled. But these problems are huge and more importantly, the way they are dealing with current customers speaks volumes about them as a company. I know there are some who are going back but it won't be me. The whole fool me once line and all. My problems are being resolved but there is no compensation for the frustration and time it has taken (literally hours per day for days). And, the uncaring way they deal with customers is not something I will voluntarily sign up for again, when there are so many other plans to choose from. Just my thoughts, but if you are asking, there is no way I'd sign up if I were you.
Tricia
You know, in the past I would have recommended them to anybody who would listen (and I only had 3 good weeks). I was thrilled. But these problems are huge and more importantly, the way they are dealing with current customers speaks volumes about them as a company. I know there are some who are going back but it won't be me. The whole fool me once line and all. My problems are being resolved but there is no compensation for the frustration and time it has taken (literally hours per day for days). And, the uncaring way they deal with customers is not something I will voluntarily sign up for again, when there are so many other plans to choose from. Just my thoughts, but if you are asking, there is no way I'd sign up if I were you.
Tricia
Wow! That speaks volumes!!
My hubby used to work in phone (tech/IT) support for two of the biggest companies in the world (one is an operating system/computer platform, the other is an Internet service provider) and the policy at both was: "Get 'em off the phone in under two minutes." And the underlying philosophy was: "Spend more energy/money on getting new customers than on pleasing existing customers."
That seems so backwards to me, as a satisfied customer can help you get MORE new customers through her word of mouth advertising for you, I would imagine, but it really is an ugly corporate model that a LOT of big companies adopt.
They figure, so what if you hate their service and dump them, most dieters aren't going to be very loyal to a program for very long anyway, so they'd be smarter to spend their resources enticing new customers.
Bleh. It's an ugly policy, if you ask me.
Thanks for sharing your experiences. Very enlightening!!
Upset with ediets Deliciously Yours
