7/14/2007

Fresh Direct Downslide

I've been a loyal Fresh Direct customer since the company launched it's service in 2002. Living in Manhattan - I've always been hard-pressed to find a quality, stress-free grocery shopping experience. When Fresh Direct came along, I thought I found it - and was happy with it - until recently.

Over the last 6 months, I've found the service and quality of food has rapidly declined, while the prices have gone up at a similar pace. The problem is -- I'm still in love with the convenience and I haven't found something that suits me better. The website knows our past orders, which makes ordering consistently beyond easy. We have a doorman, which makes scheduling the deliveries fairly stress-free (although we realize we can't leave our raw food down there for any major amount of time). And best of all -- we never have to step foot into a small, over-priced Manhattan grocery store...

The problem is - the products and service are decreasing so badly - that the allure of these conveniences is fading... The fruits and vegetables come in poor condition, anything delicate usually comes at least part broken, and the delivery guys aren't what I would call "happy to be there." To this end, it looks like their policy on "no tipping" (from the beginning - which they even touted in their commercials) has changed. Look below for their new tipping policy which is posted on their FAQ of the website:
You are under no obligation to tip but have the option of providing a nominal tip if you feel that you've received exceptional service. FreshDirect delivery personnel are not permitted to solicit tips under any circumstances.
I actually thought I'd tip the delivery guy today -- but he was 5 minutes from being late -- and he was rude... Given the status of our groceries -- I'm happy I didn't tip him...

Anyway -- I wanted to share my thoughts -- as I'm sure many of you have heard me praise the service in the past... If anyone knows of good alternatives in NYC - please holla at me.

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