Honesty, pricing, process and quality scores appear once 5 customers have rated them.
About bistroMD
At bistroMD, we reject the idea that healthy weight loss food must be bland and boring. We are passionate about providing delicious and healthy meal delivery plans that are perfectly suited for weight loss. Our programs are created using Dr. Cederquist's proven science for healthy weight loss. You choose and customize your weekly menu from our wide selection of delicious entrees. Our dietitians create a recommended program that is nutritionally balanced for healthy weight loss and fits your lifestyle. It doesn't get easier than this!
bistroMD (bistromd.com) has 642 customer reviews on The Fair Hearing, with an average rating of 3.7 out of 5.
Customer service is horrible. I put in my meals and they they sent the wrong order, I ended up getting food that I didn't want or order. They wouldn't work with me at all to reship the meals that I ordered. They offered me a 25% refund for the inconvenience... This is the second time I've had issues with the customer service. When you pay $200 for a meal service, you'd think they'd work with you when they screw upon there side.
By melissa
Response from bistroMD· Apr 16, 2020
Hello Melissa,
We’re sorry to hear your frustration and we would love the opportunity to make it up to you. Our customer service team will contact you shortly if you could please provide your contact information.
Thank you,
bistroMD
Food poisoning by the 3rd meal
During our first week, both my husband & I got severe food poisoning requiring 3 days out of work & a visit to urgent care. When I called customer service to cancel my next week, I was told it was too late. I now have $250 worth of food in my freezer which I am afraid to eat, plus 3 days of lost wages, since my husband doesn’t get paid sick leave, plus what I am sure will be a large bill from urgent care. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS PRODUCT
By Sharon
Response from bistroMD· Mar 19, 2020
Hi Sharon, we're so sorry to hear your frustration. This is not the kind of experience we want for any of our customers. We can assure you that our meals did not cause your illness, however, we do understand your concerns and worked with you to resolve those for you.
Terrible Customer Service and Complete Rip Off
Completely incompetent and inconsiderate customer service. They have no issue taking your money and screwing up your order and then doing nothing to make it right.
This is just the most recent of several interactions with the company. I was on a 7 day meal plan, and made the request to change to 5 days. I had already selected a menu for the week. They then processed the request, reset the menu, and provided less than a 6 hour window to log in and change the menu before the deadline. I now have five days worth of food that will be thrown out as it is items that are not at all something I will eat. When I contacted them about this issue I was blown off, and told it was my fault I didn’t log in. Wouldn’t it have been easier and more satisfactory to simply remove two day of my already created menu, then to reset the entire thing? You might think, but they obviously don’t! A complete waste of money.
You should also know that the food choice you have are hit or miss. Some weeks somethings available and other weeks it’s not. It is completely inconsistent. They’ll also email you about new food items and suggest you try them, when they aren’t even available for you to try. A complete rip off.
By Jill
This company is a RIPOFF
This company is a RIPOFF, they have hidden cost hidden everywhere on their site! We bought a diebetic plan for someone, their pricing page CLEARLY states 119.00 per month.....there is NO other info on that pricing page that states the price will nearly DOUBLE after the first week! Customer service horrible, they hung up on me when i called to complain about their shady tactics....STAY AWAY!
UPDATE: After your response below....I DID NOT MISUNDERSTAND...the pricing .....it is NOT on the page....I have sent you the screenshots of your own web site pages that you apparently dont know whats on them!
ANYONE go to this page and see the "pricing" ..you tell me if you see anywhere that they state the price will change, or "ony for the first week".....
By joseph Z.
Response from bistroMD· Jan 16, 2020
Hello Joseph,
We are sorry that you misunderstood the pricing of our weekly meal delivery service. We did issue you a full refund for your second delivery due to this misunderstanding, despite our policies and website messaging that clearly state that our offer for new members is for their first week/delivery.
Contrary to the point you make about our order page containing "no other info on that pricing page that states the price," our order page (https://www.bistromd.com/order) is quite clear in showing the original price of each program offering, less the 25% off and free shipping offer that we provide to new customers. This first week trial offer is intended to allow new customers a chance to try the meals at a reduced cost for their first week.
We do not in any way attempt to hide that the discount is on the first week only, and in fact the second line of text on our order page states, "Get 25% Off + Free Shipping on Your First Week." Further, there is a banner immediately below the "order now" buttons on the page that restates the "first week" language for the 25% offer. Even further still, the special offer details just below that banner indicates that, "Future weeks will be billed at regular price."
In our shopping cart, we clearly state both the "weekly price" as well as the "first week total". Our shopping cart has terms and conditions that clearly state each of the above elements yet another time. In addition to this, we send an order confirmation email that shows the breakdown of the price you paid today as well as the price for future weeks.
Anyone who wishes to confirm the statements above can simply visit https://www.bistromd.com/order to see for themselves.
Again, we are sorry that you misunderstood the terms of our service. We are a family-owned business that prides itself in transparency and integrity in everything that we do and felt the need address the multiple false claims that were made in your review.
Thank you,
bistroMD Team
Unfair Advertising
My initial order with Bistro MD was initiated on a Wednesday at the end of their order cycle, which caused them to void the first week delay of my deadline to edit my second week shipment. After receiving a phone call voice message today (6 days after my order) from BistroMD stating that the last day for editing my next weeks order was tomorrow, Wednesday, I called mid-day today, and requested that they honor what they state in the website regarding the Sunday deadline for first week buyers. I had not yet received their food, and tracking information indicated that I would not receive it for two more days at the end of Thursday, now nine days after my initial order. All they gave me was The possibility of reviewing the next order til Thursday at 5 pm, rather than honoring their own statement. There was no possibility that I could've tried any of their food by that time based on the tracking information. The policy description on the website is confusing and contradictory and very poorly structured. First week buyers should be given time to try the food before being required to commit to a second week of food, particularly at the average meal cost of more than $9 dollars. They state on their website that the reason for an amended deadline for first week buyers Is so that customers will have had a chance to try the food, thus effectively a fraudulent statement for first week buyers. My initial order was made on a Tuesday at 2:59 PM, my food arrives late on Thursday of the following week, and I am penalized for their slow shipment of the food.
By Ann
Response from bistroMD· Nov 12, 2019
Hi Ann, we're very sorry that you're frustrated with the weekly deadlines and if you have found our policies to be confusing. It's never our intention to cause confusion. Our customer service team is happy to resolve any concerns with you. One of our agents will be working with you on this. Thank you for your patience and again, we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.
Three Major Issues - Ordering - Quality of Food - No Satisfaction Guarantee
1. No satisfaction guarantee. Unlike many similar services, they offer no satisfaction guarantee. Terrible - how did I miss this when ordering??
2. The food is no better than, possibly worse than, your below average frozen TV dinner. The presentation is poor, the quality of the food is poor (soggy, soft, overcooked vegetables), LOTS OF OKRA IN TOMATO SAUCE as your side dishes, portions are very small. The portions worked for us because we don’t eat much, but for the average person, the portion size is more like a childs portion. For example, you may get 1/2 cup of veggies or less and the protein serving is about 2-3ozs if that, very small. Considering you are paying $13+ per serving, it’s really not worth it.
3. The ordering process has some work to be done. If you take time to review the dishes, make your selections, place orders for delivery, THEN at any time need to change your dietary needs, all of your scheduled selections will be discarded and you will get whatever has been selected for you from their system. If you realize it’s been changed, you can go back through and update, otherwise, you get what you get. They do not disclose this little tidbit. Very time consuming. Plus, once you order, you are not able to review your past or future menu items ordered, it’s a very tedious site to navigate to find the simplest information
This has completely soured me on pre-made foods for delivery.
By S. W.
Response from bistroMD· Sep 30, 2019
Hello Chanssez, we're sorry to find that you have not enjoyed your bistroMD experience and we would like to address your concerns.
At bistroMD, we understand that everyone has unique tastes and preferences which is why you have the ability to choose your meals and provide a wide variety of over 100 options to choose from. We do not have a "satisfaction guarantee" for this reason and cannot provide refunds based solely on taste. We hope that you find more favorites on the menu if you choose try bistroMD again in the future.
We take pride in providing the highest quality products and service in the industry. All of our meals are prepared in small batches by professional chefs using real, wholesome ingredients. As well, our meals are designed using portion control and balanced macronutrients to support weight loss. Our meals are much higher in protein and fiber to keep you feeling full when compared to meals you would find in your local grocery store, while also being much lower in sodium, sugar, and unwanted ingredients including preservatives and trans fats.
We also take pride in being able to offer our members a variety of authentic cuisine, and in an effort to keep Cajun meals authentic, okra does find its way into a few of them! For reference when choosing your meals, okra is in 6 entrees: Shimp Etouffee with Cheese Grits, Blackened Salmon, Blackened Chicken with Creamy Smoked Paprika Sauce, Jerk Chicken with Brown Rice and Pigeon Peas, Jerk Chicken with Mango Chutney, and lastly, Chicken, Shrimp and Andouille Sausage Gumbo. These can all easily be removed from your menu preferences if you do not enjoy okra.
We are sorry that you had difficulty with the website when it came to customizing your menu. You are able to view your past menu history in mybistroMD under "Menu History". Our customer service team is very friendly and happy to help answer any questions about navigating the website. When your dietary needs change, such as going from a standard plan to a gluten free plan, your menu options must change. We are sorry that was inconvenient for you and our communications did not make that clear to you.
We hope that this note helps resolve any concerns you have about bistroMD, and hope that you will consider continuing your health & wellness journey with us.
Hide your credit card!
Food is ok. Guys beware! I ended up being charged $278 with obligation to eat 2 weeks of food I didn’t like in the first place! You can’t dispute this with a bank as they point you to terms and conditions (that you suppose to read when you buy food). When you make a purchase it’s actually a subscription and you will be charged unless you cancel.
I build apps for living and companies like BistroMD that try so hard to make a purchase decision for the customer would inevitably go away unless they shift the attitude.
By Roman A.
Poor Customer Service
As an update from my original review...... I was contacted by Bistro MD soon after I posted this review. They offered to refund 100% of the order instead of the original offer of 50%. A fair settlement but only after “pushing”. Nonetheless, I
am feeling better about this company.
I was contacted by the shipping company for BistroMD as their driver was not able to find my home. They had returned the box to the central warehouse. The central warehouse called me the next morning and told me that they did in fact find my location but would not be able to deliver until late that afternoon. They let me know that the box had been in route since Monday and delivery was scheduled for Thursday evening.....since it was perishable, it was their recommendation that I refuse it and call BistroMD to set up a replacement or refund. I agreed. When I called BistroMD, they informed me that somewhere along the way I had agreed to receive ALL packages no matter what even though they had verified my information with the carrier. Refusing was not an option even under the circumstance of a risk of spoiled food. They offered to refund 50% of the cost of the food. The lady I talked to was rude....kept referring to their policy of never refusing.
I am extremely disappointed. It is said that good customer service is hard to find......and that is certainly true with BistroMD. Apparently, they prefer customers to eat spoiled food rather than lose any profit
