Passanante's Home Food Service

My wife and I decided to have a home demonstration of the company's product(s). While the presentation was decent, I had trepidation about having to provide so much information to a business and have a credit check done. The pricing was OK, but did not entirely fulfill our needs. We signed up that night, with the promise we had 3 days to cancel if we so chose. Once my wife and I had time to think, we realized it was not a good deal for us. We sent the official letter of cancellation and called our representative; mainly to make sure our records were destroyed and a credit check not ran.
This month, we had a $200 charge we did not recognize. It was from Passanante's deposit. Our credit card company is settling that and we will be reimbursed. The end of the end was that we also received notice from the credit company they use about a loan. This means they ran my credit check I asked them not to run. I am incredibly displeased by all of these events.
While I'm sure they have good food, the methods by which this was handled were awful and displeasing. It just turns me off to any service of its nature to think it would or could happen again. Even worse, I wonder how many people do not find these errors when they cancel.

Sales very friendly and low pressure. Delivery was quick and staff was friendly. Quality of product is superb!

My family has been received twice-yearly food deliveries from Passanante's for the past few years. Their customer service is very responsive, helpful, and pleasant. The food quality is amazing. We cannot find quality as good at our local grocery store. The meats are portioned with the weight listed so that we can be sure we are eating the correct amounts of protein. It also makes it easier to budget the amount of money spent on food each month. I am very satisfied with my service, and I will continue to be a customer for the foreseeable future.

Such a difference in the quality of Passanante's food as compared to the grocery store!! We had their chicken last night and you could cut it like butter with your fork. No stringy mess or chewy texture....just moist and tender. Love it! And the stirfry veggies--Delicious! Can't wait to work our way through the entire freezer.
They also were great about getting back to me with any questions I had...the owner even called and I spoke with him. Such great customer service.

It was a wonderful experience from the beginning to the end. Ordering was good to have someone to explain the difference between our previous supplier and you. The delivery was on time and the guys were friendly and efficient. I especially like the groceries that were included. The pots and pans I choose were more than I expected. Thank you for your services.

We liked the food, but felt cheated by the sales rep on the cost of the freezer and the actual credit inquiry made (I was told it was not going to be a hard inquiry, but it was)

Review: The sales rep. eluded us to believe the meat was paying for the freezer." That this was an amazing deal". The use of saying that the food would pay for the freezer, knife set and cook ware. This was "just a bonus" Again with continually stating not to pay attention to the numbers because they didnt actually mean thats what we were going to be paying. As we said before the rep. Eluded us to believe we needed this freezer. when we stated we didnt. Then He said that we had to have it bc the meat wasnt going to be covered for if damaged in our freezer. I called them to ask them to please take the freezer back and they refused. They said it was out of the question. I would like to finish my 6 months and pay off the meat. the knives set and cook ware thats fine. but I do not want to continue services with them. But as they have informed me that was not an option to cancel out our business arrangement. I have no complaints other than we were miss led and when we asked why it was so much the rep. continued to say dont worry about the numbers its not really that much. BUT it is that much. I am grossed out that they got us for almost 10,000$. and we had no idea. Then to top it all off no one wants to work with us.Desired Settlement: I want to return the freezer. and discontinue service. Id like to pay for the 6 months of meat we used. and cookware and knife set. and return the freezer. I want this settled!

Business

Response:

This customer purchased food and several other items including a freezer. The customer signed numerous documents including financing agreements which detail each individual purchase and a customer receipt which enumerates the general terms of the purchase. Delivery was made in early October 2013. Until this point the customer has paid for their order in accordance to the terms of our agreement. I do not have any notes in this customer's file that they attempted to contact us to voice any displeasure or concern. I am very sorry that they feel as if we failed to address an enquiry or if we did so in an disappointing manner. For nearly 100 years our primary goal at Passanante's has been to satisfy our customers. Admittedly we do not succeed 100% of the time, but we do our very best to be prompt, courteous, understanding, and flexible.

After receiving this complaint from the Revdex.com, I phoned the customer in an attempt to resolve their dispute. I spoke to the husband on Wednesday 2/26 and tried to open up a line of communication. He stated that he was very busy and asked for me to call him back the next day between 4-5pm. I called three times and finally left him a voicemail. Throughout the past week I have phoned several times and finally left another voicemail (this time on the wife's cell phone) on Wednesday 3/5.

While we generally don't wish to void a legally executed contract, (after all, we have performed in exact accordance with the sales agreement) we do have options in these circumstances such as an exchange or perhaps a credit toward the customer's next order. I'd be happy to discuss these options with the customer if they'd care to get in contact with me directly. The Revdex.com has all of my necessary contact information.

My thanks to the Revdex.com for giving us the opportunity to be of better service to our customers.

Regards,

President & Owner

Passanante's Home Food Service

Review: We received a referral from family/friends about their service & the quality of the food. We agreed to meet with one of their representatives ([redacted]) on Feb 9, 2013. He was very nice, explained most everything to us. Although, he was misleading in that he stated that we would be financing the food and the freezer at 0% if we agreed to a 3 year contract, which we did. We now know that the freezer is being financed at 21%. [redacted] was here for 3 hrs. He told us that he would be the rep that would come back in 6 mo. to help us with our next order and that meeting would only last 30 min.

On Aug 1, 2013, we met with a different rep ([redacted]). We mentioned that a friend of ours had referred her friends, and [redacted] proceeded to trash talk them, as he was the rep that went to their home (providing way more info than we needed to know, very unprofesstional). Clearly, that concerned us, but since we liked the food, we went ahead with our 2nd order.

[redacted] arrived at 6pm and was here until 8:45pm. He wrote figures down on a piece of paper (which he conveniently took with him when he left). We were very clear with him that we did NOT want to increase what we were paying per month for our food. He told us that if we agreed to “extend” our contract to 4 years that we could get 50% off our food purchases and that we would “earn” 500 points towards stainless steel cookware. He never once mentioned that we would be financing at 21% for anything. We would NEVER have agreed to sign anything at this point in our lives at 21%. We can barely afford what we’ve already agreed to. He kept telling me to pick items out of the book. I kept stating, “I don’t want a roaster, I’ll never use it. I don’t want a rice cooker, and I don’t want the knives”, and joked that I’d most likely cut a finger off. He continued to reiterate that it was within the 500 points that it wasn’t costing us anything. Again, we asked him to explain it to us again. Again, he pulled out his piece of paper & wrote down figures, again never mentioning that we were going to be financing $5000 worth of stainless steel (totaling $8000 when all was said and done). At the 2 hr mark, [redacted] started to fill out the contract. We asked why we had to sign a contract again. He told us it was because we were “extending” our contract for an additional year. While he continued with the paperwork, my husband (who has a broken right shoulder thus needing surgery in a couple of weeks) excused himself, telling [redacted] he needed to take his prescription pain meds so that he could attempt to sign the paperwork with his right hand with minimal pain. [redacted] staggered the contract(s) in such a way that we only saw the food contract with the 50% discount, and held them down for us to sign (to make it easier for my husband to sign, as [redacted] stated). His representation was extremely deceptive and fraudulent. We were trusting the “good faith” of their company to do the right thing and VOID this "contract". We wanted all the stainless steel items returned and the financing (which was NEVER mentioned to us) terminated immediately. When we received payment coupon books for 3 new loans, it absolutely and completely threw us for a loop. We trusted what your rep was telling us, which we now know were all lies. This is just plain wrong, misleading, and fraudulent. The president of Passanante's sent one of his "top" reps to our house for, yet again, another meeting. They offered to pay our 1st payment (of 60+payments) in the amount of $390 (for 3 new loans that we didn't agree to). If we returned the stainless steel items, they would charge us a 20% restocking fee because we took the stainless steel items out of the packaging, although we never used them. We have spoken to an attorney about what our rights are, and that fraudulent misrepresentation should have voided our contractual agreement(s), but Passanante's would not budge on their willingness to do anything other than pay the 1st month's payment. Our credit is ruined because of them. We have been physically and mentally distressed over this entire situation.Desired Settlement: We want other consumers to know "Buyer Beware" that their policies, practices, representation are unethical thus resulting in ruining our credit. Now, we can not make our monthly payments for our mortgage, hoa, electric, etc. They were willing to "work out an arrangement" that was satisfactory to them ONLY. We feel completely conned and are absolutely disgusted with this entire experience.

Business

Response:

The customers

met with a Passanante representative on August 1, 2013 to place their second

order with our company. The representative put together an order that totaled

$390 per month for meats, vegetables and groceries. The customer was given the

option to purchase other kitchen items such as cutlery, cookware, commercial

microwaves etc. The rep explained that with the purchase of these rather

expensive kitchen items the customer would receive additional consideration in

the form of a 50% lifetime discount off of all food purchases from

Passanante’s.

As the customer

asserts in their email, the term of the financing on these kitchen items would

span 48 months. However, because of the considerable discount on Passanante’s

food that the customer would receive as a result of this purchase, the

customer’s monthly payment for the food and the additional kitchen purchases

would together total the same $390 per month.

The customer

agreed to these terms and signed a customer receipt which summarizes the entire

purchase. The customer also signed three separate financing contracts: one for

the food, one for their new cookware purchase; and one for an assortment of

small kitchen appliances which we term the “Chef Passanante 500 package”. The

terms, rates, and payment amounts are all spelled out very clearly on these

agreements as required by Federal truth-in-lending disclosures. These documents

have been attached to our response.

Shortly after

the customer received their first invoice for these items they called our

office to dispute the terms of the agreement. In separate conversations, both

our regional sales manager and the president of the company spoke to the

customers (often together, on speakerphone) in order to settle their dispute.

Even though

Passanante’s believed, and continues to believe, that there was no wrongdoing

on the part of our representative, we reassured the customer of our commitment

toward a fair resolution and we made several offers of settlement. These offers

were relayed to the customers on a visit from the regional sales manager at the

home of the customers on Saturday August 31, 2013.

The Passanante

manager offered the following terms of settlement:

Passanante’s

would rescind the entire purchase of the kitchen items with no fees or charges,

provided that the items were unused and unopened in the original packaging. We

would void the two contracts for the kitchen items and rewrite the entire order

to reflect the customer’s purchase of just the food items at the original

agreed upon price of $390 per month.Passanante’s

still offered the rescission terms above however, should the kitchen items be

opened or used, the customer would also be liable for a 20% restocking fee. Since

opened or used items cannot be resold, Passanante would have to shoulder the entire

loss in this scenario. In these situations we believe that it is fair to have

the customer help assume some of that burden with a restocking fee.The

customer could keep the sale exactly the same and, in a gesture of customer

service, Passanante’s would make their first payment on each of these three

contracts which would total $390.00.The

customer chose to keep the food and the kitchen items. As promised,

Passanante’s made a payment of $390.92 to the customer’s accounts. [redacted],

Passanante’s assignee of the accounts, verified this payment in an email to the

customer on September 13, 2013. We have attached that email here.

It

should also be noted that, in addition to the above settlement, Passanante also

agreed to ship the customer more food which they claimed was missing from the

order. We sent the items [redacted] overnight on dry ice at our own expense. This

shipment was delivered on September 6, 2013. The tracking number is [redacted].

Furthermore,

at the time of the rep’s visit on August 1, 2013 the customer gave Passanante a

$200 deposit check for the new food order. This check was returned for

insufficient funds. Passanante agreed to take a new check from the customer and

wait for two weeks before depositing the funds. We also agreed to waive any

bank fees from the returned check.

Finally,

the customer has claimed that Passanante’s has hurt their credit. In fact, this

customer has made all payments to [redacted] in a timely fashion. Their

credit has not been impacted in the slightest bit from this transaction. The

credit manager at [redacted] has provided an email which is attached to our

response. He affirms that [redacted] has reported no negative information to any

credit bureau.

Ultimately,

Passanante’s feels that this matter has been settled to the complete accord and

satisfaction of both parties. When the customer first contacted us with their

concern we responded promptly, professionally, and courteously. We sent out a

manager to settle the dispute. We offered several options to the customer one

of which they accepted. We followed through on the settlement by performing

completely to the terms of the agreement: we shipped them more food; we held

their replacement deposit check and waived all bank fees; and we made the

$390.92 payment to [redacted].

Passanante’s

Home Food Service really does try and go the extra mile to make our customers

happy. Certainly it’s impossible to please 100% of the people 100% of the time,

but we dealt with these customer’s caringly and we operated with the utmost

degree of good faith. Once a settlement was struck we followed through and

performed exactly as we promised to. We feel that it is unfair and unjust for

the customer to now change their mind once again and demand additional action

when this issue has already been resolved.

Respectfully,

Passanante’s

Home Food Service

Consumer

Response:

Review: [redacted]

We reject the business response. We, too, are very disappointed with this situation. As we have stated to Passanante’s on numerous

occasions (verbally and in writing), we NEVER agreed to purchase/finance anything

during our August 1, 2013, meeting with their rep, [redacted], except for food.

After consulting with our attorney,

we have just cause and the right of rescission (and are within the statute of

limitations) due to their rep, [redacted], deliberately misrepresenting material portions of

the contract, which constitutes fraud, and we have the right to cancel the

contract, as well as sue the fraudulent party for damages.

Further, we informed their rep ([redacted]) that **. [redacted] was taking strong pain medication

for a broken shoulder (we have documented proof) at the time of our

meeting. A contract is not

considered legally binding if the party entering into the contract is under

duress and/or inhibited/incapacitated by drugs, alcohol, injury or mental

impairments.

We do not want to file a suit

unless we have no other option. We do

not want six months of free food. We

will return all “thank you” gift items (per [redacted]), but will NOT pay any

restocking fees. Again, repeatedly, we

expressed that we were not interested in these items, but [redacted] kept insisting (under

false pretenses) that it was part of the “500 points” – as a thank you for us

buying their food for an additional year.

He completely conned and manipulated us.

We have paid nearly $1000 to [redacted] Financial Services for items that

we didn’t want.

This entire experience has been very emotionally draining, has

created stress-related health issues, and has made us not trust anything that

has been said and/or written by Passanante’s.

The only

way we would even consider signing anything from Passanante’s would be if these

non-food “contracts” are null and void immediately. Also, our attorney will thoroughly review any

and all documents from Passanante’s prior to us signing any settlement

agreement to ensure that our consumer rights are not violated any further.

Best,

[redacted] & [redacted]

Business

Response:

We appreciate the customer's response. As stated previously, we feel that this matter was already settled to the accord and satisfaction of all parties.Nonetheless, we will keep our offer of a free food order on the table until midnight May 31, 2014 should they reconsider.

So far so good! We had a great sales rep (Bryson). We received our food exactly when scheduled and the freezer was set up and packed efficiently. The food has been yummy! Love the big meatballs and the steak. I still have yet to try the fish. Chicken to me doesn't seem better or worse than store brand. Bacon and pork seem a bit fatty. Veggies are great and yummy! Wish there were more. My only question is about the bill - When will I get the first one?

Review: I got a 20% discount on 6 months worth of food for 2 people by buying a deep freezer. My monthly bill was 350 for food (6 months) and 100 for the freezer (2 years with interest). After 2 months my freezer started to build up ice on the shelves. I called into the home office to speak to my rep and mentioned that the freezer had ice build up. My Rep asked if I would send pictures and I did.

Jason, Owner, called me and stated that this was normal for a commercial deep freezer to have ice buildup. That it was a perfectly functioning freezer. I told him that I disagreed and that I wouldn't have bought the freezer, if I knew I had to defrost so quickly. He then insisted that there must be some other problem and that is why I called in the first place. Jason insisted that I must have some financial issues. I've had bad customer service before, but this is the first on the list!

Insulting behavior toward a customer that has a difference of opinion about an OVERPRICED DEFECTIVE product! Takes the cake!

I ask Jason to pick up the freezer to return. Jason would only agree if I paid for the remaining contract on the food 3 more months at $350, plus another $860 for the initial 20% discount that I would lose for returning the freezer and a $250 restocking fee.Desired Settlement: Return the freezer and get my money back on what was paid up to date for the freezer.

Business

Response:

On April 30, 2014 we visited this customer and presented our

service. The customer purchased food, a freezer, two air purifiers, and a

cookware set. Passanante’s extended financing terms on the entire purchase. The

customer was declined for the air purifiers and the cookware and, rather than

paying in full, new terms were settled upon for financing of just the food and

the freezer. The food and freezer were delivered on May 17, 2014.

On Sept 2, 2014 the customer called and reported to

Passanante’s vice president of sales and service that her freezer was building

ice. As requested, the customer sent photos of the ice buildup on September 4 at

318pm. It was clear that the ice buildup of less than 1/16 of an inch was completely

normal for a manual defrost or “deep freeze” freezer. The owner of Passanante’s

phoned the customer back at 534pm on September 4 and left her a voicemail

indicating that the ice buildup was completely normal and that she was welcome

to call back to discuss it should she have any additional questions or

concerns.

Nearly three weeks later on September 23, 2014 the customer

called back and spoke to the owner of Passanante’s. She agreed that the freezer

she received was the exact unit that her rep had promised her but she was still

concerned with the ice. The owner explained why the ice buildup occurs and how

it can be remedied by occasional defrosting. The customer was directed to the

owner’s manual which details defrost procedures. The customer did not like this

response and claimed that all of her food was going to go bad because it had to

touch the ice on the freezer shelves. The owner explained that the heavy-duty

Cryovac film will protect her food and that the company guarantees the product

for two full years against freezer burn. Furthermore, the owner offered to pass

her photos to the operating manager of Broich Enterprises, the manufacturer of

the freezer, and have him render an independent opinion as to the fitness of

the unit. The customer declined this as well.

The customer claims that she did not want a manual defrost

freezer regardless of what she had agreed to previously. We at Passanante’s

take our commitment to our customers very seriously and we always try to meet

our customer’s expectations. In this light, we offered to procure a frost free

freezer at a local retailer, deliver it to the customer, install it in her

home, and remove the manual defrost freezer delivered previously. All of this

was to be done at no cost to her whatsoever. The customer balked at this

suggestion.

We are truly very sorry for any stress or anxiety that we

have caused this customer but it was clear that she had no intentions of accepting

any of the solutions that we proposed or listening to our explanations. Considering the customer’s unwillingness to

listen to reasonable arguments or accept an exchange to give her exactly what

she claimed to have wanted all along, it became evident that this was not about

the freezer at all but that there was a larger issue at hand. When this

customer called on Sept 23 she was nearing sixty days delinquent on her food

and freezer account. The owner suggested that perhaps the food and freezer

payment was a little more than the customer could afford at this time and

offered to speak to the note holder, [redacted] Financial Services, about

lowering the monthly amount by re-amortizing payments in order to give the

customer some short term relief on the monthly amount. The customer then became

very upset and defensive and claimed that she was deeply offended by what we

were suggesting.

At this point the customer exclaims that she can no longer

do business with us and that she no longer wishes to have the freezer. Seeing

no other possible way of satisfying this customer, the owner agreed to remove

the unit and refund the purchase price. In exchange for this, the customer was

to remunerate Passanante’s for a 20% food discount that she received as

consideration for the freezer purchase and to pay a $250 restocking fee to help

Passanante’s cover the costs of pick-up and disposal of the freezer.

The owner of Passanante’s formalized the agreement in an

email to the customer at 834am on September 25. The customer replied at 1119am

on September 29 that she did not wish to pay additional fees. Passanante’s

replied fourteen minutes later at 1133am that we will waive the $250 fee in the

interests of customer service and expediency. All she would need to do is pay

back the discount on her food that she is no longer entitled to by virtue of

not carrying through with the freezer purchase and we will remove the unit and

completely settle the account.

We never heard from this customer again.

On October 22 the owner followed up with an email and

reminded the customer that we had an offer on the table and would like to

conclude the settlement so that both parties can move on.

There was still no response from the customer.

A month later and with no further correspondence to Passaante’s,

the customer filed this complaint and left a very contemptuous review on the

online review site [redacted].com. The first line of her review was written in all

caps and read “DON"T

WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY!!!”

At this point we feel as if the customer is no longer

operating in good faith. We have done all we possibly can—including a full

return and refund—to try and satisfy her. There is no reason for her to write a

derogatory and spiteful review that is clearly intended to damage the

reputation of Passanante’s and drive away customers.

If the customer wishes to wage a negative campaign against

us then she is welcome to do so. We support the freedoms that we Americans

enjoy to speak freely and have our voices heard.

What we will not do, however, is suffer through the customer’s

negative and defamatory online reviews AND simultaneously negotiate with her

for the return her freezer. Passanante’s offered to bear all of the expense

associated with the return of the customer’s freezer with the exception of the

20% discount reimbursement. We have no legal or moral obligation to rescind

this customer’s duly executed contract but we offered to do so as a gesture of

goodwill. We feel as though the customer has violated the spirit of goodwill by

her reviews and therefore we rescind our offer to remove the customer’s freezer

and pay off the account.

If the customer wishes to delete her [redacted] review and agrees

to take no further harmful actions against Passanante’s then we will consider

reinstating our previous offer. Under those circumstances we would also

consider reducing the amount that the customer must repay in the form of the

lost food discount to $300 rather than $643 as previously requested.

If the customer does not agree to the above terms then we

have no interest in any sort of settlement. The customer will continue to pay [redacted] for the full amount of the food and freezer as was agreed to in the financing

contracts.

Review: I signed a contract with Passantes for home food service. The contract is for 162 meals over 6 months. They only delivered enough food for 97 meals. When I called to inquire about the food shortage we were informed we had to sign an additional 6 month agreement at an increased rate to receive the missing food from our current contract. At the time of contract - the sales rep also encouraged us to purchase a freezer to offset the cost of our food service. This would only be financially feasible if we continued with Passanante's for the next 3 years. We were guaranteed food to feed our family of 3 for 6 nights a week for 6 months at an agreed upon monthly budget. We received food to feed our family of 3 for 3.5 months & are now left with a monthly bill, no food & no resolution.Desired Settlement: We would like to receive the missing 2.5 months of food that we are continuing to paying for at no additional cost. We also want to return the freezer that was included in our contract as this was planned to offset the cost of our food service over the next 3 years at an agreed upon food quantity and budget.

Business

Response:

Unfortunately this customer exhausted their food supply before the allotted time period.

In these circumstances Passanante's generally assumes the liability for any shortfall provided that the customer assists us in putting together an order that will feed the family properly. We attempted to do just that in this case.

Passanante's dispatched our field manager to cure the problem. He put together an order that would feed this family properly. Passanante's added two months of food at no cost in the hopes of righting the customer's order. Even though the price we presented to them was lower then what the average family of their size would typically spend on food products, the customer declined to order.

Several days later I was in contact with the customer and I asked them to submit an order through email that they felt would be adequate for their needs. The customer did and I quoted them a price that was even lower than that of our field manager. I even offered to completely settle the account from their first order upon delivery of the new order. The customer never accepted or rejected my offer and it was only weeks later that we received this complaint filed with the Revdex.com.

We sell food in bulk and "run outs" are an unfortunate part of our business. No order is ever perfect but we can always adjust future orders to better fit the customer's needs.

Passanante's was very responsive with this customer. All of their calls and emails were attended to in a timely fashion and we made an earnest and honest effort to make them happy. My field manager and I worked diligently to present the customer with an outstanding value and we did our very best to minimize any strain placed upon the customer due to their food running out before the payment cycle was complete.

I appreciate the role that the Revdex.com plays in resolving customer disputes and we do not take a complaint like this personally. I would still love the opportunity to try and work this out with the customer. They told us on several occasions that they really enjoy our products. Ultimately the only real issue here is one of quantity and, in my experience, that's a pretty fixable problem.

Please have the customer call me at ###-###-#### and I'm sure that we can find a solution that is both fair and equitable.

Owner and President, Passanante's Home Food Service