The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.
When I wrote my “New Year’s resolution” blog, one of my goals was to not ask the question, “What’s for dinner?” I truly understood how difficult and irritating it must be to come up with something to eat EVERY single night.
Since writing that, I have discovered this is almost a universal irritant for both sexes – most men really look forward to eating a good meal and most spouses hate to constantly have that responsibility. Therefore, I sought a solution.
There are many complete meal services out there. They deliver a set number of meals every week. Some just send the ingredients and preparation instructions; others send complete meals with microwave instructions. I chose to try the latter. I will not give the company name for reasons that will become obvious.
I placed an order for six meals to be delivered on February 1. That would take care of three dinners for the two of us that week. You use their packaging; pop the dinners in the microwave for three minutes; let it sit for two minutes and eat. No fuss and no muss – perfect!
On Monday, February 1, we had a major snowstorm. I was informed that our meals would not arrive until the following day due to road conditions. I understood the problem. They credited my account for $10.50 and apologized.
On Tuesday, February 2, I received word that our meals would not be delivered that day either. Again, the problem was weather-related.
On Wednesday, February 3, via email, we were asked to pick out our meals for the following week. I called customer service to explain that we still had not been able to try our first order and that I was apprehensive to order again until I was satisfied that this was a good idea. They understood and put us on “Pause” for the following week.
Later that day, just before dinner, our six meals arrived. We were excited to open the package and dine. We did and the two meals we chose for that night were quite good. I then received the following email which said, in part,
“We’re sorry to say we won’t be able to deliver your order in time this week. Because of this delay, your meals will have been unrefrigerated for an amount of time that makes them unsafe to eat. To not further inconvenience you, we have asked the carrier to discard your package, although there’s a chance it will still arrive. If this happens, please dispose of the meals without eating them.”
We certainly could not abide by the “without eating them” part; we had already eaten one. The other meals looked fine so for the next two days, we ate the rest of them. We are still alive. They refunded our money for those meals.
We scheduled our next delivery for Monday, February 15. They arrived. The problem this time was that two of the six were meals we did not order. And, we did not care for the substituted meals at all. I, again, went on their chat site. They again apologized, refunded some money and promised to do better.
Monday, February 22, was up next. We ordered six meals again. Two emails arrived confirming two separate orders of six meals each! Twelve meals were scheduled to arrive on February 22. Back to the chat room I went, explaining that I had only ordered six meals. They said I had been assigned two memberships and they chose the other six meals for me. I saw they had billed me twice and they promised to credit my account. I said I would accept the meals we had ordered.
At that point, I canceled my subscription. Or should I say, subscriptions, since they sent me two emails to say Goodbye for now
On Monday, February 22, our meals arrived – not six, but 12!! Two that I had ordered, but the steak dinners were not included.
I wanted desperately to make life a bit easier for my wife. It did not work out.
No one can say that I didn’t try.
ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
- As the Phillies and MLB starts their spring training, it is apparent that the Phils find themselves in one of, if not, the toughest division in baseball – the NL East. The Mets are revamped under new ownership; the Braves are the defending champs; the Washington Nationals won the World Series two years ago; and the Miami Marlins made the postseason last year. All five teams look like contenders.
- The 76ers’ Joel Embiid scored 42 points in a game this week against the Cleveland Cavaliers. He is averaging 30 points a game and 11.4 rebounds. If he stays healthy, along with Ben Simmons, the Sixers should contend for a championship.
- The District basketball brackets came out on Saturday amid some surprises. Both the Easton girls and Easton boys opted out of the playoffs. Both had very good records – the girls were 7-2 and the boys were also 7-2. Both would have been seeded quite high. The Stroudsburg girls team also declined to play. Covid continues to rear its ugly head.
- The Colonial League opted to have basketball championships this year, even though the EPC decide against it. The Colonial League crowned the Northwestern girls and the Bangor boys after their wins on Friday night. Congratulations on not only winning the title, but maintaining Covid protocols that allowed your teams to play.
- The District basketball tournament begins this week with Pigtail and quarterfinal rounds. We will have high school games on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. On Saturday, the Patriot League playoffs begin. The Lafayette men play on Saturday in a quarterfinal game. RCN-TV will bring the games to you.
