Groupon: Collective Buying Power

HELLO ALL!

The Groupon is for both new and existing customers.

There is NO FEE for delivery as long the delivery address is within the allowed zip codes .

This Groupon entitles you to a $50 credit toward an OrganicDirect purchase.

You can give it as a gift someone who is using OrganicDirect or a new customer!

This Groupon can be used toward delivery to your office, home delivery or pick up!

This Groupon IS LIMITED to 1 per household/physical address – meaning 1 per house, apartment number, etc.

You have 2 months to redeem this Groupon and you must wait until 2/25/10 to start redeeming to allow time for OD to enter all the codes into their system.

PLEASE wait to receive your Groupon for further directions on how to redeem.

Enjoy your organic delicacies!
Lina
Groupon

WARNING: Check your zip code before buying this Groupon to ensure they deliver to your desired drop-off location i.e. there are NO deliveries made to Central Harlem, Washington Heights, and parts of Battery Park City.

I checked their website, clicked on frozen foods & it says that they don’t deliver perishable items at this time. I live in the 10023 area code, so what’s up? They don’t deliver frozen food, fruits, veggies, or most dairy to upper west side?! That’s most of my shopping list & what about meat eaters? Please let me know if this is a temporary situation. I’ll still get the Groupon but I won’t be able to use them on a regular basis if I can’t get any perishables :(

I’m a bit weary of this site as parts of it do not load and I got an error message when I tried to check out. Also, I live in 11213 which is DIRECTLY north of their facility but yet I am not in their delivery zone. What’s with that?

yeah…I’m trying to figure out why they don’t deliver to central harlem and the closest pickup location is in Brooklyn…wtf?

So do you deliver fruits and vegetables to the upper West side, zip 10023? It seems you do, but I want to make sure before I buy. Thanks.

I was excited about this and bought one til i realized they dont deliver uptown, that makes no sense… :( glad i had time to return it

Yes, what does " we do not deliver perishables" cover??

They go to Brooklyn and that rocks!

I can’t get their website to load. Do they deliver to Long Island City?

It looks like they ship out of the city via fedex, so maybe they will deliver perishables but won’t ship them? That’s my guess.

Also, their website seemed to be working 15 mins ago. Maybe their servers weren’t prepared for groupon-intensive traffic!

Their website says they won’t SHIP perishables…my guess is that they deliver them.
Also, if it helps anyone — I was on their website before it went kaput and they deliver to Astoria, 11103.

aaargh. website doesn’t work.

If this coupon is only good one per address, how does that work if you order to it your office? Do you have to just hope none of your coworkers are participating?

I signed up for an account & got the message about perishables after I added a frozen item to my basket. There was a message at the top of the page & at the bottom it said that some of the items in my cart weren’t available to my area & would be removed when I checked out. When I went back to the main page the frozen category (& all the other perishable item categories) had disappeared. The message was gone & the missing options reappeared when I logged back in 10 mins later, & I was able to add perishables to my basket. I’d appreciate some clarification – I was going to grocery shop after work today & I’ll still need to if they won’t deliver veggies.

It says you must order a minimum of $50 of groceries for free delivery. So if I spend my Groupon (which is for $50) does that count, even though I’m only spending $25? Or do I have to spend my groupon plus another $25? Thank you.

when i checked my zip code (07302), it said there is a $4 shipping charge — that is not true, because there is free shipping with this offer, right?

also, it said i have to order a minimum of $75. is that because of my zip code, or does that apply to everyone?

something i also noticed that everyone should be aware of — if you live on the 3rd floor of a walkup or above, there is an additional $5 charge.

Unfortunately company does not deliver to Harlem or anywhere above 125th street as of now, all other areas of Manhattan should be served though especially Battery Park city.

All perishables and frozen are available for delivery in Refrigerated & Frozen trucks.

*The message about not delivering perishable products and frozen items is not applicable for local deliveries, but for shipping to other part of USA (not a part of this Groupon offer).

Please make sure on the right hand side you select OrganicDirect Delivery and not FedEx Ground.*

Astoria & Long Island City are both parts of delivery routes so perishable products may be ordered to these areas.

By purchasing Groupon coupon for OrganicDirect you receive $50 gift certificate toward OrganicDirect purchase. You are actually spending 25 not 50, which is our minimum for free delivery it will be considered as $50 order and delivery is free.

Hi all,

Shipping is different than delivery- everything OD offers is deliverable!

Delivery is free!

Thanks,
Lina
Groupon

Hi all,

There can be multiple Groupons used toward office delivery but each transaction must be used with a different credit card.

Thank you,
Lina
Groupon

Wow, they can deliver to astoria, but not to upper Manhattan. great. They won’t be getting my business. groupon or not.

OrganicDirect does deliver to parts of New Jersey & Long Island. However, this Groupon is only valid for customers part of New York City, Brooklyn, Queens & Staten Island.

Just purchased! I’ll report back on how it goes.

What about roommates?
I’d love an answer on this, because I don’t share my food with my roommate but I’d feel bad that he missed out on this deal because I beat him to it.

Per my post above, they do NOT deliver to some parts of lower Manhattan, and this includes the World Financial Center where thousands of people work.

Good luck to all of those who bought this Groupon. Ditto to Heather H’s comment: they won’t be getting my business anytime soon…and so sad too, b/c once I like something, I let the world know, thanks to social media!

What zip code in lower Manhattan are you referring too? We can add them to our schedule instantly.

Unfortunately offer is valid per one household so roommates would not be eligible for 2 separate discounts.

Thanks!

10285 is currently a zip code that Organic Direct does not include in its deliveries.

My zip code (10305) has a minimum delivery of $75. Can I get this groupon? Would I have to order the extra $25. worth of groceries?

10285 has been added to our schedule, we are offering deliver there 5 days a week now.

Staten Island residents must meet a minimum of $75 to receive delivery. However they are still eligible for Groupon Discount.

Can we add 10032? Or make Washington Heights residents meet the $75 requirement? Also curious as to why most grocery delivery companies don’t service Harlem or the heights?

Can you schedule a delivery time or just the date? I want to get this groupon, but don’t want my groceries sitting in the lobby of my building for hours.

I’d like to second the question about delivering to an office (as opposed to a house/apartment). Is this possible, particularly if more than one person at that office location buys the groupon? Thanks.

I second the request to add 10032 Washington Heights. We don’t have a lot of good grocery options up here, and I know a lot of people rely on FreshDirect or lugging home groceries from Whole Foods in Columbus Circle!

I’m having trouble viewing the site. The selection constantly changes: for example, only pears show up in the fruit section. Is it just that their server isn’t used to so many viewers at once?? Please advise. It seems like there are few products to choose from.

Man! There are some passive aggressive people in here!

“they won’t be getting my business anytime soon…and so sad too, b/c once I like something, I let the world know, thanks to social media!”

I mean geez? Did you ever think of just asking the nice organic grocer if he would deliver to you? Or if it was a glitch in their new system? Whatever happened to trying to give constructive advice to new businesses getting off the ground instead of stomping on them? It seems he will answer your request without you threatening to trash him all over the internet!! Everyone threatens that now without ever reaching out to the vendor…I’m over it! I hope a bunch of you are too!

Has anyone on here actually dealt with this company to give some REAL advice on service? I think it’s great they are trying to carve a niche here.

Man, I am so going to blog about Karla S.‘s attitude on my tumblr account that’s read by all five of my online alter egos!

NOTE TO OD: Could you please start selling seltzer?

At this time we do not have a sufficient amount of customers requesting deliveries in Washington Heights, Harlem & Riverdale. Our network is constantly growing and we will be glad to accommodate all clients interested in our services. Please submit request to info@OrganicDirect.com and delivery will be available as soon as we have enough clients in currently non-serviced areas.

When you are Checking Out you will be asked to select a DAY and TIMESLOT to receive your order. You can check the full schedule of your area by entering your zip code in our Delivery Info Page ( https://www.organicdirect.com/delivery_info.php )

We will honor multiple coupons to office locations as long as each other has a different credit cardholder name and credit card billing address.

Thanks for all the support!
OrganicDirect Management

Eugene,

Per your message above, I did select “OrganicDirect Delivery” (NOT FedEx) and am in 11101 and I still was not allowed to add perishables to my cart. Is it possible there’s a glitch? Please help! I need frozen stuff.

I just wanted to clarify: first paragraph of the deal says, “For $25, you get $50 worth of organic groceries delivered straight to your doorstep, stoop, or zeppelin-dock from OrganicDirect. Delivery is available and free to those inside the Tri State–area travel zone. Search your zip code here to see if your home is in or floating above the zone.”

But above you say the deal is for for NYC only? Jersey City is not included?

Bummer.

Hi! How do you redeem this groupon? It’s an online service. where do I type in my groupon number to get the deal I just bought? The only instructions I have been given are how to print the groupon. That makes no sense in this case since it’s a website. Thanks, Ros

All troubleshoot questions will be answered directly if you email info@OrganicDirect.com

This coupon can not be redeemed for delivery in New Jersey or Long Island.

Once the sale is over we will process all the discount codes purchases into our system. This will take 2 days and then you can redeem the gift certificate.

Eugene – Any way you can deliver to your northern neighbor in Crown Heights, BK 11213? It’s right there, en route to Manhattan. ;)

i signed up for the deal and now that i have an account with organic direct i’m noticing a lot of the products advertised are no longer available…..very misleading. i’m regretting signing up.

Felicia,
please submit an email with your zip code to info@OrganicDirect.com. We will be glad to accommodate your request once demand increases.

Noella,
OrganicDirect has an inventory of almost 10,000 products, the size of most supermarkets. If you noticed some products disappeared please make sure that you select OrganicDirect Local Delivery on the right hand side.
We have a FedEx option for non-New York customers that can only view non-perishable products.

Is pick-up option available ? If so, where can items be picked up from ? Does it have to be on any specific date ?

Hi,

I picked up 2 groupon’s – one for myself and one for my neighbor as a gift. We do not live in the same apartment (actually we live 6 floors apart). He does not use credit or debit cards. Would it be possible for me to use my credit card billing info and have the groceries delivered to his apartment? Thank you.

Raj,
Pick Up is available from 5349 Kings Highway Brooklyn NY 11203. When you are checking out you have the option to select which day you would like to come.

Corrine,
You can not use 2 Groupons from the same credit card

Eugene (or someone from OD): Can you please clarify this? Will I need to spend ANOTHER $25 in order to get free delivery or is the $25 that I spent on my Groupon sufficient for free delivery?

“By purchasing Groupon coupon for OrganicDirect you receive $50 gift certificate toward OrganicDirect purchase. You are actually spending 25 not 50, which is our minimum for free delivery it will be considered as $50 order and delivery is free.”

If someone I refer buys this, how do I get the “credit”?

Jennifer,

You will purchase a coupon a code from Groupon for $25.
Coupon will be redeemable starting 2/25/10.
When you are complete your shopping at OrganicDirect at Checkout you will be asked to enter a coupon code. $50 will be deducted off your invoice. You will only have to pay extra if you order over $50.

Shari,

Groupon can not be combined with any other offers.

However we do have an Referral Program you can participate in and earn $50 off your order after your initial purchase with the Groupon Code:
If you refer OrganicDirect to someone, and your referral results in 3 sales, you will get $50 worth of food free! (on top of minimum order, so your purchase must exceed $100)

More info: http://www.organicdirect.com/refer_a_friend.php

I don’t get this resistance to Upper Manhattan. If you only knew how many of us there are who desperately want organic groceries and have NO other choice but Fresh Direct (which doesn’t have the best produce). We live in Harlem and it takes us 12-15 minutes to get to Midtown on the subway. You deliver to Staten Island—across the water(!) but not one mile north of 125th st? Do you realize Harlem has a lower crime rate than the UES and more street parking? Sorry for the tirade, but this happens so often with these kinds of companies. Ah well, guess I’m missing out on this groupon. Too bad for me.

Hi Eugene- maybe I was unclear. I can use a different credit BUT the billing address would be the same. Is this ok or do I need to cancel a group on?

Corrine,
Offer states that this is valid per 1 household only. We will only honor multiple Groupons to same address if it is not a residential building and we must have significant proof that it is being used by 2 separate customers such as different credit card information.

I’m not sure what I’m saying wrong- I specifically stated that it is 2 separate households. I also stated one group on is for an elderly neighbor that does not have a credit card. The building is the same and the apartment is different- we live 6 floors apart. You said in one post different credit cards were needed now you are saying different credit card “information” is needed. Does different credit card “information” mean different billing addresses. This is my 3rd post asking basically the same question can you please give me a direct answer?

Upon further review the “Fine Print” states

• Limit 1 per household, may buy multiple as gifts. Not valid with other offers.

You may purchase Groupon for your neighbor, we will honor it.

Thank You

Thanks Karla for your directness. As I’m sure you know, when consumers find a quality product/service, word spreads fast, and this applies to negative experiences as well. People trust ‘real life people’s reviews, hence why I supposed each Groupon reference Yelp, CitySearch, and other consumer reported sites.

Yes, props to Organic Direct for trying to break into this niche market. Hopefully all of the feedback received on this forum and emails sent to their info email will help them create a great(er) customer experience and that they’re able to (1) profit from this exposure on Groupon and (2) fulfill all Groupon buyers’ orders.

Buyers – I look forward to hearing about your experiences with this Groupon!

the best is the organic site itself offers referras – and you get $50 more – now we gotta start referring each other!!!!

how do i pay ? they only accept credit cards !

Woo Hoo! I just got 9 frozen Amy’s Meals ($50.71 worth) for $25.71! Yay!

Total rip-off, delivery to 10023 and the selection was scare. Barely anything worth ordering!

Do you need to use all $50 in one go? or can it be used up over time?

Inocencia – after you log in or put in your zip code a box will appear on the right of the screen with the ‘My Basket’ link, below that you’ll see ‘delivery method’ with a drop down box. Make sure the delivery method is OrganicDirect Delivery & you’ll see all the options. For some reason FedEx shipping gets chosen as the default sometimes. I just ordered a great selection of food & we’re in the same zip.

Sarah – groupons are just like coupons (or coupon codes when you use them online), unless the business is going to exchange your groupon for a gift card, you’ll have to use it all at once.

when will i get my coupon code? i was supposed to get it yesterday.

I tried to place an order by using one of my coupons. It kept rejecting my credit card info then when it finally took it, it said it was a duplicate order and rejected it. Now, my Groupon coupon is marked used. I called customer service and they told me to send an email. This whole deal is looking pretty bad to me right now. Not only that, the soonest delivery is a week and a day away. What’s that all about?

my groupon is also “being processed”. when will I receive the code?

I tried to redeem mine today – first of all, I agree with some of the posts saying it’s a ripoff – it is. But also, it says coupon invalid when I enter it. Am I doing something wrong? I’m using the code on the top right corner of the groupon

I just tried to redeem my groupon on the site and the website is not putting it through. I put the code in under “coupon code” and clicked “redeem.” nothing happened. do I need to put my cedit card info in first or something? thanks.

OK, scratch that previous post. I figured it out. If you scroll up you see the confirmation. If you don’t scroll up though it looks like the Groupon has not processed. The deal is pretty good although I have to wait a week to get my food which is a long time. Ros

Wow, this company did not prep well for this groupon. So, I have to wait over a week to get my food AND additionally wait more days for some items? hmmm.

FOR GROUPON MEMEBERS ONLY:
Most orders are delivered in their entirety, but due to heavy demand items may become temporarily unavailable and you may receive your order with missing items marked “Short”.
Your credit card is never billed until the delivery is made. You will not be charged for missing items. Final invoice will be e-mail on the day that your order is going to be delivered. Any remaining credit will be applied to your next order. Groupon coupons have no cash value and are not subject to cash back.

Hello everyone! My name is Vladimir and I am a part of administrative team of OrganicDirect. I want to take a chance to thank you all for the opportunity to be able to offer you and your family organic grocery delivery. I also want to assure you that day and night( night is not a figure of speech in this case), we are working hard to provide the best services to our client at discounted prices.

Now about the progress as of today: Every single Groupon coupon code was entered into the system, and there are about 450 client who successfully placed their orders. Each coupon code has worked just fine. There were few minor hiccups, but we were able to resolve them easily. For example: customers by accident have entered incorrect codes and tried to do it multiple times. So, please be patient, follow instructions and email us at info@organicdirect.com if you need any assistance.
The purpose of us offering this groupon with such a deep discount was to show appreciation to our existing customers who we have been serving for the last five years, but also to start new and long term mutually fulfilling relationship with our new members. We are very conscientious about the way our business is conducted. We are proud of effort and measures we have taken to preserve integrity of our enterprise.
Please, please refrain from unsubstantiated and bold statements like:”
Total rip-off, the selection was scare. Barely anything worth ordering and etc.( unless you have facts which we would love to know to improve)
By writing it, you are underestimate and undermine, my colleagues: hard working, committed, motivated and dedicated men and women, who are eager and capable to do they best to please you, to please you even when our supplier do not deliver produce on a scheduled day, despite of unbearable weather, despited traffic etc . Because we know you are waiting and relaying on our services , because we hope and truly believe we are doing something important and worth while doing.

After you will learn more about us as a company and our mission, you realize that we are the only delivery service company that has free delivery to NYC and offers frequent buyer loyalty program. We have implemented recycling program for our customers packaging waste long before” being green and recycling” become chick and popular. On this note, please lets be patient and understanding and lets not jump to conclusion before you try us. Thanks a lot!

Sincerely Vladimir Grinberg

Hi,

I just placed my order with no issues. The Groupons went through on both orders exactly as the instructions indicated. The selection met my needs and I was thrilled to see the possibility of buying a few staples in bulk- things like milk add up fast and buying a six pack is more efficient and cost effective.

To Groupon- please keep these kinds of Groupon’s coming! They are practical and very much needed and appreciated.

To Organic Direct- people will complain no matter what you do. Waiting a few days for $25 of free food would not bother the majority of the population. I will update once my order arrives. Thank you for offering this deal- I was able to purchase food for my neighbor as well as my own family. He is elderly and ill, without computer access or even a credit card. Due to economic conditions he can barely work and my husband and I have been buying him food at Costco for months. This Groupon helped us stretch our food dollars and considering we live in Bay Ridge the help is appreciated! I never heard of your company before this Groupon so if all goes well in terms of delivery and food quality you will be getting more of our business.

It is Feb 27 and my groupon is still marked “Being Processed”. At first I thought it was because OD had fallen behind, but after reading Vladimir’s post above that all codes have been entered, I am not reassured. Anyone else in the same situation?

Soleilnyc & Yi H – you guys should contact Groupon support so they can put your order through asap & forward Organic Direct your code. If your groupon takes longer than 24hrs to process that usually means something went wrong on Groupons end, not the vendor.

I’m waiting for my delivery now & I’m sorry that some folks will have to wait longer for their groceries. But, that’s the ‘Groupon Effect’ – no matter how prepared a business is, when hundreds of Groupies storm the gates at once they can’t possibly deal with all of us immediately. Organic Direct just redeemed 450 groupons on top of their regular orders. So, I don’t think a weeks wait is unreasonable.

I understand that this was a large volume of groupons to process and people need to be patient, but part of running a business is taking criticism. All companies work hard, but there is often a reason for customer’s complaints. I have used many food delivery services and am looking to find one to stick with, but have been disappointed with the way this was handled – I was under the impression that delivery was free but I’m being charged $20. When I visited the site after seeing the coupon I saw produce, meat, etc. but when I plug in my information for delivery the selection drops to non perishables. This is specific criticism – I think delivery to Brooklyn is far too expensive.

Hi Vladimir,

Frankly, I think some of the comments you made in response to customer criticism are ridiculous. What kind of substantiation do unhappy customers need to make for you to listen? I’m a FreshDirect customer who is looking for a better alternative, both in terms of price and selection of goods. You are clearly aware of FreshDirect as a competitor (or at least I would assume that, given the name of your website). Many of your prices are higher than the price for the exact same item on FreshDirect, which already has some of the highest prices in the city. Your selection, as another user pointed out, IS scant. As for delivery availability, having no slots open for over a week is pretty bad customer service, in my opinion! The website is also not easy to navigate. If you’re trying to grow your business, I would think you would take feedback into account instead of defensively dismissing it.

Melissa —

You state that you are “being charged $20” for delivery, and that “when [you] plug in [your] information for delivery the selection drops to nonperishables.” Are you sure you have selected “OrganicDirect Delivery” and not “FedEx Shipping” under “Delivery Method”? Earlier posts have explained that they can only FedEx ship “nonperishables” — but if you are in a ZIP code they deliver to, you don’t need to have FedEx shipping — just “OrganicDirect Delivery”; this way, your shipping should absolutely be free, and you should be able to order meat and have it delivered (not shipped) to Brooklyn.

I hope you haven’t already placed your order incorrectly — if you have, definitely contact OrganicDirect and/or Groupon.

Good luck!

This Groupon is a complete and total crock. I just filled my “cart” with groceries to find out that there is no delivery available for the next NINETEEN DAYS. Let me tell you, I’m sure they participated in Groupon as a way to get new business, but this guarantees that I will never use this company, ever.

Vladimir, waiting NINETEEN DAYS for delivery is not a “minor hiccup.” It’s a complete and total lack of customer service. And that’s BEFORE I indicated I have a Groupon, so it’s clearly what happens to your average customer. Why on Earth would I ever, every buy from a company—one that is far more expensive than FreshDirect—if it’s going to take nearly 3 weeks to get my order? Who the heck knows what groceries they will need three weeks from now? It’s beyond absurd, it’s just completely wrong and I’m asking Groupon for a refund. We are very involved in the organic/local/CSA/community garden community, and believe me, no one will be using Organic Direct if this is the best you can do.

I want a refund. Your prices are high—completely out of line with the competitors unless you are using a Groupon—and you simply do not have reasonable delivery capabilities.

As the response to our advertised promotion has been overwhelming we now have a waiting list for certain delivery areas, especially Manhattan.

Providing quality care to our customers is our primary concern. We have done this so that we may better serve you in the long run, not to frustrate or upset you.

All orders purchased with a Groupon Coupon will be honored and delivered as advertised.

Also so everyone has a fair opportunity to try our services we are EXTENDING redemption period for all coupons for an additional 90 days making the EXPIRATION DATE 07/30/2010

Sorry for any inconvenience this may caused and appreciate everyone’s patience in this matter

Thanks and Regards
OrganicDirect Team

Can you advise when the delivery date range will drop? I’m not interested in ordering groceries more than 3 days before I receive them. When can we reasonably expect to be able to request delivery within 72 hours?

We plan to resume to our regular delivery schedule the last week of March.

Once again, Groupon is EXTENDED UNTIL JULY 31, 2010

Thanks

Anne – Organic Direct delivery does not show up in my options, only pickup and FedEx
I have called and emailed organic direct several times with no response and would like a refund. How can I request this?

cant make this stuff up…received this email below, they still dont see where the typo is, and I’ve been told the next available delivery slot is nine days away.

Dear Customer,

Unfortunately due to heavy order volume and traffic conditions we are experiencing heavy delays in Manhattan tonight. We assume some orders will be delivered up to 2 hours late. If you would like to postpone or cancel your order, or would like more information you can reply to this email.

We apologize for any incontinence.

Thank You for shopping with OrganicDirect

THIS IS THE WORST COMPANY EVER! I WAS SUPPOSED TO RECEIVE THE GROCERIES I ORDERED YESTERDAY 3/9 BETWEEN 1PM AND 3PM. NOT ONLY DID THEY NOT SHOW UP, THEY DIDN’T CALL OR E-MAIL ME TO LET ME KNOW THAT THEY WEREN’T DELIVERING. I WASTED THE ENTIRE BEAUTIFUL AFTERNOON WAITING FOR THEM…THEY ARE WORSE THAN THE CABLE COMPANY! I CALLED THEM TODAY TO ASK WHY THEY DIDN’T SHOW UP AND WHEN THEY WOULD DELIVER AND THE SUPERVISOR GAVE ME THE WORST ATTITUDED EVER! HE SAID THEY COULDN’T DELIVER FOR 2 WEEKS…I’M NOT WAITING 2 WEEKS FOR SIMPLE GROCERIES…BY THE WAY, THEY CAN’T DELIVER FRESH PRODUCE. I WANT TO LET EVERYONE KNOW THAT THIS COMPANY IS A CIRCUS ACT AND ANYONE WHO BOUGHT A GROUPON THROUGH THEM SHOULD ASK FOR A REFUND ASAP…AS THIS CORRUPT BUSINESS IS PROBABLY GOING OUT OF BUSINESS SOON!

I just got a refund on this groupon, to do this contact Groupon:

Email Groupon at support@groupon.com or call (877) 788-7858 (during normal business hours, central time)

Organic Direct has lost a customer and I think this looks poorly on Groupon as well, at least Groupon did what they could unlike Organic Direct.

I got my groupon refunded yesterday for myself and my neighbor and if you look up I was willing to wait for my groceries for a week and give them the benefit of a doubt. Here’s what happened with the order for my neighbor:

I scheduled the order to arrived between 8-10pm and they called at 9:50 to say they would be 30 minutes late. They show up at 11pm. This was on a Thursday so there was work to deal with the next day too- they said they were sorry at least all his groceries were there.

My order was scheduled to arrived Saturday between 2 4pm. I get a phone call at almost 11am asking me if it’s ok to deliver them before 12. I told the driver no problem I would be home. The driver arrives before 12 and we sign off and tip him. Guess what? We were missing groceries and he didn’t tell us anything! I called the driver and he apologized and said he would tell the manager. I called Organic Direct and left a message on Saturday. Today is Wednesday and they still have not bothered to call me back. I also emailed them on Saturday no response either.

I called Group on yesterday for a refund. I will not be using Organic Direct again.

I’m not sure why my post has a line though it but here it is again. I get a phone call at almost 11am asking me if it’s ok to deliver them before 12. I told the driver no problem I would be home. The driver arrives before 12 and we sign off and tip him. Guess what? We were missing groceries and he didn’t tell us anything! I called the driver and he apologized and said he would tell the manager. I called Organic Direct and left a message on Saturday. Today is Wednesday and they still have not bothered to call me back. I also emailed them on Saturday no response either.

My first and last Organic Direct experience was similarly bad (unfortunately it was also my first Groupon experience). WERD TO TODD G.

Here is a break down of my experience with OD that has officially made me a one time customer. Long story short: OD blamed their incompetence on me, saying that I should have had a better arrangement with my neighbor so that my food did not go bad. For an explanation to what that means, read on.

I placed my order on a Wed or Thurs. The first convenient and available time for delivery was the following Tues. So on that Tues I wait for my delivery which would arrive, supposedly, between 11AM and 1PM. I receive an email around 11:15AM saying that my delivery needed to be rescheduled because there weren’t enough items in stock. OD went ahead and rescheduled the delivery for Fri between 6PM and 9PM, at which point there would still be two items missing from my order. I called to inform them that Fri would not work for me, so kindly the delivery was scheduled for Thurs between 11AM and 1PM and I was told I would be credited for the missing items or I could choose something else to replace the items. I told them I would like replacement items instead and I was asked to email the desired items. I did so and have all the email documentation to prove so.

When the delivery man arrived around 12:30PM on Thurs, he was carrying a plastic bag and a cardboard box. The plastic bag was some sort of generic ThankYou bag and the cardboard box indicated that it used to hold some sort of organic beverage. I think because the order didn’t seem to be professionally packaged I felt the need to check the invoice list, particularly because I was expected to sign the list indicating that I had received everything that was on the list.

Luckily I did because two items were missing from the delivery. The two items, even though they were indicated on the delivery list, were not in the box or the plastic bag. I asked the delivery man what the situation was and he gave me the “Hey, I don’t know I just deliver the stuff” spiel and so I called OD. The person who picked up the phone was confused and kept telling me I had to sign the invoice slip. I explained I wasn’t going to sign it because it would indicate that I had received everything on the list. He handed me off to a man named Eugene and I explained the situation to Eugene. He said that I could be credited the items or they could be delivered to me at another time. I said I would like them redelivered. He said that that was fine but he would have to call me at another time to schedule the delivery. I agreed and we got off the phone. I followed his instructions to indicate on the invoice that the items were missing.

Saturday morning (the Sat following the Thurs delivery when my items were missing) I’m on my way out of the apt (for the second time that day) and I have a huge Macy’s bag on my door knob. There’s a letter from my neighbor, a little tupperware, and a medium sized brown cardboard labeled with some sort of pepper brand. For a second I thought my neighbor had gifted me something amazing for making her cookies (hence the tupperware) but upon reading her letter and picking up the box I realized that beneath the box there was another OD invoice, identical to the one I received on Thurs (i.e. it had nine or so products listed on it and Thursday’s date, 3/2/2010) and my neighbor had signed for it. My mood plummeted because I realized that inside this box, labeled as some brand of pepper, was my raw chicken that was missing from my Thursday order.

I was upset that 1. Eugene did NOT call me to schedule a time like he said he would, but went ahead and delivered raw meat and 2. That my food was sent in a cardboard box without any indication that the contents were perishable.

The situation gets worse because I ask my neighbor when she received the box for me and she said, “Friday evening.” She felt awful that she did not know the food was perishable, because otherwise she would have popped it in the freezer. I had to reassure my benevolent, 60-70 year old neighbor that it wasn’t her fault at all—-1. because there was NOTHING that indicated what was in the box and 2. because I didn’t inform her because no one informed me that raw chicken was going to be delivered to me on Friday night—the night that I originally did not want to reschedule my FIRST delivery for, because I would not be in my apt.

I emailed OD to let them know what had happened, thinking they would be surprised at how many oversights had occurred in my one order, only to receive this email in response.

Jane,

Several voicemails were left to confirm the redeliver of the missing products. We typically do not redelivery missing or Out of Stock products but did it for you as a courtesy. Our driver followed the same instructions as you had listed on your original order, which were to leave with your neighbor if you were unavailable.

The decision to leave your order with a neighbor were your instructions and we did not do this for our convenience. In the future, please make sure you have better communication with your neighbors when you instruct us to leave an order with them.

Thank You

I really don’t want to get into how many absurdities that email emphasizes (i.e. they are advising me about better communication when their communication is far from clear, they try to put the responsibility on me for the food being spoiled because I didn’t get their voicemails—first of all of my voicemails around that time not a single one was from OD, I got one from a potential employer, from my boyfriend, etc. but not ONE was from OD—they imply that leaving a voicemail constitutes scheduling a delivery time with a customer, and they have the audacity to believe after acting as if their actions will have no consequences, such as implicating their negligence is my fault, they have the audacity to assume, or facetiously suggest, that they will be receiving my business again. The invoice which they used was the exact invoice for my full order, on which I indicated they could ring my neighbor’s doorbell if I wasn’t answering.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Don’t use Organic Direct, they don’t have their shit together and they blame you for their incompetencies. Don’t use your Groupon, return it, burn it whatever.

P.S. I was definitely not one of the 450 clients who successfully placed their orders. My “hiccups” were not minor, but OD seems to think that allowing my food to rot is ok.

Okay, I am really scared to try to use this Groupon — I go ballistic when I do everything right, things still go terribly wrong, and no one is held accountable — which is what seems to be the case with Organic Direct.

I am torn between waiting a while and just ordering nonperishables (Bulk oatmeal & maple syrup, and spices, maybe?) and rolling the dice. But I really don’t want to reward OD with the $25 I spend on the Groupon for the bullshit they’ve pulled on everybody here.

Groupon People: Is it possible for me to get a refund on my Groupon without having even tried to use it? Because, honestly, that’s what I’m leaning toward doing.

This was my first Groupon too, and it’s been such a mess. I finagled my way to get home early tomorrow to receive my delivery (the only time I will be able to be home for their weird and infrequent delivery time options for my area), and I just got an email stating "Your order will not be delivered as scheduled; you will be contacted when a new delivery appointment can be made. "

I placed my order 2 weeks ago for a delivery date of two weeks later— tomorrow, their earliest option, and that is still not enough time to get their stuff together? Now from your stories, I expect to encounter rudeness to get this solved. What a bad company.

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for purchasing the Organic Direct Groupon. Organic Direct will be honoring Groupons, but regrets to inform you that many deliveries will be delayed 2-3 weeks due to out-of-stock items that are waiting to be shipped.

Your Groupon has now been extended from April 23 to Friday, July 30, 2010.

PLEASE NOTE: If you place an order that contains out-of-stock items these items will not be delivered on a second delivery without another $50 minimum order. Our suggestion is to replace these with in-stock items if you do not wish to place an additional order.

Thank you for your patience and understanding,

Kelly
Groupon Customer Support

although i didn’t really have any problems per se with the ordering & delivery process (my groupon went through fine, the delivery came on time), i too was disappointed in the delivery availability. additionally, i ordered 2 items that showed up at “short” on my bill. i didn’t get an email or any correspondence about replacing the items, so now i have a $5 credit at organic direct. i most likely won’t use it due to a) prices of items being pretty high; b) having to order $50 worth of expensive goods to use a $5 credit; c) lack of delivery availability; and d) the bad experiences everyone has listed here. i’d rather eat the $5 (pun intended).

Kelly, I have placed an order with OD, expecting it on 3/23. How are we supposed to see on the OD website which of the items we have ordered is out-of-stock? I am looking at my order but it doesn’t show that. Thanks!

This thing is a ridiculous mess. After placing my order on 3/1 for delivery on 3/14, I get an email today telling me, "Your order will not be delivered as scheduled; you will be contacted when a new delivery appointment can be made. "

Who cares if they’re extending the redemption period if you can’t schedule a delivery until OD ALLOWS you to? What a waste of time, Groupon.

My Zipcode is 10036.
2 emails told me to be patient and that my zipcode is not covered. That’s not what it said on the website. Hmmmm . . .
I will be patient with this company, until the 3rd email.

Wait a minute — I’m 10036, too, and the website did indeed say I was covered! I wouldn’t have bought this damn thing, otherwise. Please let me know what happens, Golden.

I think this Groupon should have NO EXPIRATION DATE since it’s so impossible to use. They’ve already got our money, what do they care when we use it?

I purchased 2 groupons. I tried to enter the second groupon and it says “coupon code invalid”. I entered the first groupon and got this message:

“This Groupon coupon is currently inactive. Due to unprecedented demand OrganicDirect has reached maximum capacity. It became necessary to temporarily suspend registration of new Groupon members untill further notice. OrganicDirect will extend the redemption period. During this downtime, OrganicDirect will be addressing some of the performance issues that many of our most active customers have noted over the past two weeks. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. If you have any questions regarding this issue, please do not hesitate to contact us. If you still decide to cancel your order, please contact Groupon.”

WTF????

I was also told my coupon was inactive. I would have been fine with waiting if they at least allowed you to confirm that it worked in advance. But, to spend time picking everything out, only to have to cancel the order?

I also got this message and when I called them up I was told to contact groupon for a refund since it was unlikely that they will be reactivating the groupon coupons. WTH

Jenny, they told you they wouldn’t be reactivating the coupons???

Just emailed support@groupon.com and they gave me a refund, no problem. I suggest you do the same.

thank you. I will.

I just received the following after spending an hour a week ago ordering, only to be told that they couldn’t deliver until March 24th. What a joke! What kind of due diligence are the Groupon folks doing over there?

==

Due to unprecedented demand and unexpected technical issues OrganicDirect will not be able to fulfill your order.

Your order has been cancelled.

We do understand the inconvenience this has caused and regret that we have to take these measures and that we did not fulfill your expectations.

Contact Groupon.com to receive a full refund.

Please understand that what happened in your case is not typical of our level of customer service.
We will do everything in our power to ensure that this type of error does not occur again.

Thank you,

OrganicDirect team

OG getting rocked!!! what an experience Groupon…

OK, I contacted Groupon a few weeks ago and got a refund, because they couldn’t deliver to me for 3 weeks, etc. etc.

Today I got a new email from Groupon confirming my “purchase” of this Groupon and re-charging my credit card $25!!!

This is a fiasco!

If this was your first Groupon experience, don’t despair…I’ve done many and all were great. OrganicDirect is just subpar.

ATTENTION ….I just received this email from Groupon about this deal. Here’s what it said:

“We are very sorry to announce that Organic Direct has informed us that they will not be able to fulfill your order because they are not able to handle the high demand. Initially they believed they would be able to handle this volume of new customers, but quickly discovered this was not something they could do. We have received a list from Organic Direct of those customers who have not and will not be able to redeem their Organic Direct Groupon and we are issuing you a refund to your credit card.

I assure you that we do our best to anticipate these situations, but in this case we fell short. We feel the least we can do is provide each of you with a $5 Groupon credit along with your refund. We deeply apologize for any frustration that this may have caused you and we hope your next Groupon experience is a more successful one."

Sincerely,

Kelly
Groupon Customer Support

Like Jennifer F., I canceled & received confirmation of my refund yesterday, only to receive a new email “confirming my purchase” — and the Organic Direct coupon is once again showing up in my “My Groupons” section.

I emailed Groupon. I trust it will all be taken care of, but this is ridiculous.

Wow what a steaming pile of hot mess this thing turned out. Nice going OD, enjoy your stream of new customers!
Firstly, they only deliver 2 days of the week. Secondly, the keep postponing the delivery. And finally they just throw their hands up in the air and cancel all orders. Brilliant.
To Groupon, please have businesses like OD cap the number of new customers they can handle (which is probably 1 or 2).

I am very disappointed- I tried calling Groupon regarding being falsely charged 25 dollars for this Groupon today (I didn’t even buy the original groupon? Why charge me now?) and after being on hold for 15 mins I was told no one was available please leave a message

*What’s worse is that I recommended a friend to groupon at the time, and I feel horrible about their experience with OD since they bought this groupon.

Groupon team, please let us know what is the story with these double charges? Were you trying to refund us for the OD fiasco, and charged us instead? What is the timeframe to resolve this? Please shed some light so we feel better.

Just got a response to having been double-charged:

Hi Anne,
I am so sorry about that. I just issued you a full refund and removed this Groupon from your account. Please allow up to 10 business days for this to be reflected on your statement.

Regards,

Drennen Quinn
support@groupon.com

After reading this thread, I also decided to write in and ask for a refund if it appeared that OD could not get their act together. I received a brief, but courteous reply offering a refund and then a confirmation of said refund. Today, I received the unexplained second processing of the $25 OD charge, followed just now by a second refund email.

I would say this to both Groupon and Organic Direct: Get your respective acts together! It does not appear that you are ready for primetime. Groupon, you should be vetting your prospective offer partners to make sure that they are able to handle the demand that your email can generate. DO NOT rely on their say-so, you need to check them out yourselves and make your own determination before you embarrass yourselves as you have done in this case. This whole OGANIC DIRECT deal is fiasco from every angle. You need to do better. You owe all participants more than an apology and explanation. This was a big waste of my time and energy.

This was my previous post:

“This was my first Groupon too, and it’s been such a mess. I finagled my way to get home early tomorrow to receive my delivery (the only time I will be able to be home for their weird and infrequent delivery time options for my area), and I just got an email stating "Your order will not be delivered as scheduled; you will be contacted when a new delivery appointment can be made. "

I placed my order 2 weeks ago for a delivery date of two weeks later— tomorrow, their earliest option, and that is still not enough time to get their stuff together? Now from your stories, I expect to encounter rudeness to get this solved. What a bad company."

NOW there’s THIS, after a week and a half, and THREE unanswered emails to OD asking for information:

“Due to unprecedented demand and unexpected technical issues OrganicDirect will not be able to fulfill your order.
Your order has been cancelled.
We do understand the inconvenience this has caused and regret that we have to take these measures and that we did not fulfill your expectations.
Contact Groupon.com to receive a full refund.
Please understand that what happened in your case is not typical of our level of customer service.
We will do everything in our power to ensure that this type of error does not occur again.”

This is so completely ridiculous. How is this NOT typical of their level of customer service, when this has happened to so many people?

Groupon told me that people accidentally got charged during the mass refund process today. All those charges were reversed.

I’m annoyed about OD too, but I’ve had many, many great Groupons with nary a problem. I don’t think this is their fault, I’ve had no issues with how Groupon has handled it. Just with OD.

Oh for christ’s sake, I was charged AGAIN today too after I was told I’d be getting a refund…

I love groupon, have decided anything Organic Direct touches turns to sh*t, that said…this is a mess.

biggest disapointment EVER! I was SO excited about this GroupOn, I emailed everyone I knew to take advantage of a such a good deal and spent a long time creating my cart – WHICH went way over $50! Then I got the e-mail about the vouchers being extended, so I thought “oh they are obviously very busy, so I’ll be a good customer and wait it out, I’m not in a rush or anything” only to be told that they ended the program all together! Worst customer service ever! AND I waited off using a Fresh Direct coupon I had to use this, even thinking maybe I’d switch to Ogranic Direct since I buy organic groceries and it would be nice to support a (seemingly) small, local business.

The betrayal to be told for waiting – EVEN after they basically told us to – only to lose the deal all together?! What a disaster! I follow-up emailed them to see if there was ANY way they could still honor my coupon, if the refund had already happened I would re-purchase one even from them, whatever! But they ZERO worked with me and basically said S.O.L. How disapointing!!! AND I still haven’t gotten a refund……..

wow this was a fiasco.

i do think groupon has handled it well, so props to them – refunding my money and offering me a credit, but organic direct is a shady company seemingly run by scumbags.

my order was canceled the night before it was set to be delivered – giving such short notice is very unprofessional. and this came after i waited over three weeks to get delivery!

so last night i wrote a review on yelp, and then looked around other review sites to see what people said, and i found only four positive reviews. and then after i looked into the business, i saw that three of the four were written by people who worked for organic direct! i wouldn’t be surprised to see that the fourth person works for them too!

this is really terrible and i hope in the future groupon chooses better partners.

I got my groceries!!! YAY!!! It was fresh, delicious, and worth the wait.

Yay to Groupon for the refund and the $5 credit.
Boo to Organic Direct…atleast I know to avoid them altogether…coupon or not.

I am angry. Organic Direct failed to complete my order and when I called customer service they basically said there was nothing they could do about it, no attempt to resolve the issue whatsoever. I go on the website and the items are in stock and they refuse to ship them. I have written them emails. NO RESPONSE. My groupon was useless and I am really disgusted with this experience.

I received my food, the wait was a little long but I did receive it, and it was fresh. I’m ordering again.

Golden, the fact that you felt the need to repost about your fabulous experience 11 days after you first posted about your fabulous experience makes me think you’re an OD plant. Otherwise, why would you still be following this discussion 11 days later when you had no problems?

If not, glad you received your food, but after reading all this — including the fact that OD has invalidated all groupons not used yet — you must admit this whole thing was complete fiasco.

I am NEVER ordering from Organic Direct ever again. They would have had a loyal customer as I don’t live near any organic grocery but the way they handled my order was insulting. They think they will save money by not honoring my Groupon but they will have nasty word of mouth from me ad infinitum and lost business from the hundreds of people who have been burned. People talk, and yes “Golden” is clearly a plant. One fake or real positive experience does not negate hundreds of people who are clearly unhappy with this fiasco.

Getting ready for my second order and becoming a regular customer!

Golden is quite obviously an OD FAKE, as they create FAKE postings on other review sites. Disgusting. It’s been a month since I finally had to request a refund from Groupon, and still have not received one.