I’d like to apologize for causing many of us a “Maple Syrup Headache” this weekend. I felt like I had done enough homework on the deal before I posted it, but I definitely see now that I should have checked into it further before sharing it with you. :(
I know many of you are frustrated with VitaCost for how they handled the situation and for how they “discontinued” the product and cancelled many of our orders and such. Yep, I’m pretty frustrated too. I do not like how they handled this and felt like they could have done a much better job and could have definitely used a better word than “discontinued” since apparently that product is still listed on their site as “coming soon”. Weird. Strange. I don’t get it. It’s kind of maddening, actually. I plan to call them tomorrow to discuss the issue with them.
While I completely understand and respect that many of you are unhappy enough with VitaCost to make the decision not to be a customer of theirs anymore, I’m also hoping that you’ll respect my decision to continue on as a customer, and to continue to occasionally share special deals they are offering with you. I’m miffed at VitaCost, to say the least, but I do still appreciate what they have to offer and while I will certainly be more cautious in the future, I will still use them as a resource. I’ve appreciated them up to this point and have benefited from their services and prices on healthy foods and supplements my family uses. I live in an area where ordering online is a must, unless I want to drive two hours to the nearest Whole Foods store. VitaCost has been a valuable resource to me and is typically less expensive than other resources I’ve found.
So now, I will take a deep breath and move on. Who knew maple syrup could be so frustrating? I’d much rather drizzle some on my pancake and sit down with a tall glass of milk.
Thank you all for being loving through this mess. I appreciate you.
And now on to our menu plan this week, which, not surprisingly, does include a little bit of maple syrup (which I got at the Farmer’s Market, not at VitaCost). :)
Sunday, February 12
Oatmeal, fruit
Potato soup, raw veggies
High School Huddle – Turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, honey whole wheat bread, butterscotch bars
Monday, February 13
Whole wheat waffles, blueberries
Easy noodle stir fry with broccoli and carrots
Hamburger sauerkraut dip with chips, veggies
Tuesday, February 14
Scrambled eggs, strawberry smoothies
Heart shaped pretzels, steamed veggies, cheese, summer sausage
Spaghetti, tossed salad, corn
Wednesday, February 15 – Justus’ 12th birthday!
Easy breakfast casserole, fruit
Chili with cheese and fritos
Cheesy turkey stromboli, fruit salad
Thursday, February 16
Giant breakfast cookies, clementines
Pizza casserole, tossed salad
BBQ meatballs, baked potatoes, green beans
Friday, February 17
Peanut butter honey toast, pears
Beef and cheese burritos, raw veggies
Pasta bar with spaghetti sauce and alfredo sauce, salad
Saturday, February 18
Biscuits and turkey sausage gravy, scrambled eggs
Leftovers
Beefy vegetable soup, cornbread
Serenity Summers says
There is no way you could have known the deal wouldn’t work out. Truthfully, I don’t think there was any way to research it more :) Please keep posting the awesome deals you find. Minor irritation for a minute does not outweigh the awesome deals you share with us!!!
C. Dazey says
Completely agree. My order was cancelled too, but that is just the way it works out sometimes. I wish Vitacost would have handled it a little differently, but it isn’t the end of the world.
Rachel says
Laura, I’ve altered your potato soup recipe and I think you will love it. IMMERSION BLENDER. I blended all the ingredients at the end before stirring in the raw cream. AMAZING. Creamy and so yummy! I also added a few other spices like parsly and garlic. Delicious!
Brooke says
Ditto to what Serenity said. I was really bummed b/c when I woke up and checked my email on Saturday to see that they “discontinued” the syrup I called Vitacost right away. I asked them to cancel my order (it was just toothpaste tubes left to ship) b/c I didn’t want to pay that much for shipping toothpaste if I was not getting the syrup. The guy on the phone was really friendly but he couldn’t help me, nor could I cancel my order so I was really frustrated with Vitacost. I should have asked to speak to a manager b/c they should not say something is discontinued and then say the product is coming soon. I don’t think that’s ethical as a company to do that. Please let us know how your phone conversation goes this week and if there willing to give us the price they quoted (hopefully without the shipping costs) since THEY messed up!
Thank you Laura, and I/we really do appreciate your hard work to keep us in formed of great deals :)
Tracy Compaan says
Yes, I agree too, it wasn’t a lack of research on your part. And I’m a little put off by them, too. I did call them too, and the explanation given to me just really didn’t completely make sense to me, that the company had discontinued the product before letting vitacost know. I would think that they should offer it back up to those who previously ordered it if it really is coming soon. My order form even said “backordered” but none of it really seems clear to me.
We love you Laura, don’t take it personally! And keep passing on those deals! :)
Jennifer says
Just had to comment when I saw that the 15th is Justus’s bday. It’s my oldest son’s 10th bday, too! Good day to be born :)
Erin Owens says
I’m surprised anyone is upset at all? I ordered several gallons worth, fully expecting it was a price mistake but hoping it wasn’t. Can’t really expect a business to sell something that far below cost, right?
I’m happy to remain their customer–their prices usually can’t be beat.
Danielle B says
From what I’ve read the cost isn’t in question it’s how Vitacost handled it after the fact.
Karen says
The first time I ordered from Vitacost they just canceled parts of my order that were shown as in stock. They did not put it on back order and ship the rest of the order for free when the product came in. Every other place does this. I had to place an additional order with another company, but didn’t have a big enough order for free shipping. I understand some have had good experiences with them,but that was enough formeto shy away. Also, when I looked online back then there were a lot of negative reviews. just thought I would let others know to be careful!
Rebecca says
Did you receive and e-mail with a cancellation? I haven’t received an e-mail and when I checked my order it said “picked” as the status for the maple syrup. My other item did say shipped though. I too will be sad to pay $7 for a bag of rice flour. :(
Camille says
I did receive a cancellation email, but all I ordered was maple syrup. Perhaps they honored you order because you have other items…?
Rebecca says
Well, I suppose I will try to call in the morning and see what is happening. Oh well.
Camille says
I had some issues with Swagbucks last year… I should probably not use them anymore, but it’s hard to turn down free money! :-) To each his own!
Tiffany says
Sorry to hear about all that. I have never had a problem with Vitacost in the past but I guess every company has their moments. Hopefully they will learn from this one.
Thanks for sharing your menu, here is what we are having:
http://healthynbalanced.com/weekly-menu-213-219
Margaret Potter says
I called Vitacost, due to a billing question, and they are shipping the rest of my order (sans maple syrup) for free. Additionally, I received a coupon in my email yesterday – maybe it would have come anyway….?
I think that we all make mistakes, and while this wasn’t elegant, they seemed to try to do the right thing. I will continue to do business with them, as the need arises.
Debbie says
THANK YOU for the “over analyzing” part of your post today!!!! I get so caught up in what is “popular” at the moment that sometimes I forget to take a breath and just take a whole foods appproach to things. Your post was a good reminder for me today!
Laurie says
I always get the feeling that if you ask 10 people, you will get 10 different answers. I totally agree with you. I’ve done a lot of research too, and have to just do the best I can on our budget, preparing what most people would think is strange, but my kids devour. It’s just real, live food. Blessings!
Nanci says
I don’t think anyone blames you at all, and I don’t see how you could have done any more research than you did. I love reading your blog. Keep up the great work!!! :)))
Brianna says
Thank you for posting your menu plans for ideas.
I’ve always struggled with menu planning. So I would appreciate if you have tips on how you actually write out your menu plans and keep the meals balanced with each other. Do you have some sort of “master plan” for structure, or do you sit down with a blank paper and say, “OK, Monday, breakfast, what do we want?… Waffles sound good, put that down. Lunch, what do we want? … Hmmm, noodle stir fry.”
Maybe I try to think too hard when I menu plan. I want to balance out meatless meals, chicken meals, beef meals; meal styles (Italian, Mexican); meal “bases” (eggs, beans, potatoes, pasta, rice); and economical meals (one “cheaper” meal, then a little more spendy one.)
So I try to keep all this in my mind while I write down and pick out meals, and it just becomes such a big ordeal! So that is why I struggle. Recently I have been following a weekly “base plan”, just for structure:
Monday: Eggs
Tuesday: Spaghetti or Chili;
Wednesday: Meatless bean (Bean burritos or such)
Etc…
So that has been working for me.
But I was just curious how you do it and if you had any tips? And you plan out lunch and breakfast, too, and it’s always different! I’m just trying to make sure I have dinner planned! :)
LindseyforLaura@HHM says
Here is a link to a post Laura wrote about why meal planning can be
overwhelming. We all understand! :)
https://www.heavenlyhomemakers.com/why-my-whole-foods-menu-plan-might-be-overwhelming