Plated

Extreme caution is advised when using Plated. We were given a gift certificate for an undetermined amount of deliveries. When gift amount was completed, we were not contacted. Plated continued to deliver, not divulging that gift amount had been used. This resulted in charges close to $300 on our credit card unbeknownst to us. On trying to cancel Plated - deliveries continued - tried to return $75 of food - it was refused and now sits rotting at the UPS shop at a cost to us of $35. To stop deliveries we had to cancel credit card. Plated did not need our credit card, but insisted on having it on file to activate gift. The practice smacks of fraud. We suspect its a common scam used to deceive unsuspecting seniors, as they would, like us, be the primary gift recipients.

My first box from plated was 4 meals-2 persons. When the box hadn't arrived by about dinner time, I called, and they could not even track it, and advised me to go to the store for dinner supplies for that night. First meal was barely edible, due to way too much lemon juice included in the recipe. (About 1 1/2 lemons in each serving.) The second meal was very good, BUT they sent peanuts to use in the Pine Nut Encrusted Salmon, resulting in a 30 mile round trip to shop for Pine Nuts at the nearest store where they were available. Phone calls were made, and refunds, and credits were given, but the "credits could not be applied until the next box, even as they charging for the delivery. I'm still waiting for the refunds... I'll get back to you on that. There are some good meal kit services out there, but Plated is not one of them.

Plated is ideal for people who love food, and they customize all of your meals to perfection: desserts, seafood, meat and veggie meals.
What I love most about Plated is the variety of food options on offer. This Meal Kits services company offers an incredible 20 dishes every week. These menus are designed for newbies and experienced pros alike. Some of the menu items can take a while to prepare, from 20 minutes up to an hour so bear that in mind.

For more meal kit reviews, visit https://www.themealkitreview.com

I wanted to get something different for my parents that live out of town. After researching three different companies, I decided to go with Plated.

Here is a timeline of events:
1) Just before Christmas 2017, I placed an order for a gift card for two meals each for two people. When I was placing the order through the website, I received a message stating that the recipient would receive an email immediately when I completed the order. The email wasn't delivered.

2) I had to call after Christmas to have the email (gift card) sent. A cheerful and polite person answered and took care of the situation.

3) When my parents went to select the meals they wanted to try, they were required to provide a credit card number even though this was just a gift (to try out the service).

4) I ended up placing the order since I had to set up an account just to purchase the gift card. My parents made their selections and sent me an email on a Saturday.

5) The very next day, Sunday, I tried to place their order but all of the menu options had changed.

6) I called Plated to find out what was going on. I was on the phone with a customer serve person for almost 35 minutes explaining that they change the menus at midnight on Saturday, which is not very clearly communicated on the website.

7) Then I had to contact my parents to have them make all new selections.

8) When I went to place the order again, an item was sold out, which required me to contact my parents again to make another selection. Keep in mind, they shouldn't have to be bothered like this just to use a gift card.

9) I called customer service again, to share my frustration with the whole experience. I was on the call for over 53 minutes. During the conversation, I was asked if I would like my account to be canceled once the food was delivered so that I would not continue to be charged! Why would I continue be charged for meals that I am not ordering? I only purchased a gift card.

10) Finally, an acceptable solution. I was given an additional credit which allowed for one additional meal for each of my parents plus a desert. This was a nice gesture and good customer service.

11) On the delivery day for the meals, the roads were icy and the food was not delivered. I received an email (not a phone call) that a full credit would be applied to my account and the food can only be guaranteed fresh until midnight of the delivery day so the delivery driver was instructed to discard the delivery.

12) I called once again. This time it was to request a full credit back to my credit card. Unfortunately, my parents never received their Christmas gift, and will never have the chance to try any meals from Plated.

The whole experience, as you can tell from the timeline, was just not a good one. Hopefully, Plated will review the phone conversations and read customer reviews to learn how they can improve their customer service and customer experience. As for the actual food itself, I am unable to provide any review.

Maybe others will have better experiences.

I agree with the many complaints regarding the scam requiring credit card information in order to redeem a gift card.
I am also concerned with the many complaints regarding spoiled food being delivered.

It is amazing to me that the Plated company does not address these complaints on these review forums.

In these days of intense competition in the food service arena and Amazon's ability to have amazing delivery and customer service skills, one wonders how a company like Plated will survive!

Do NOT recommend to use Plated Gift Cards or food service.

Judging by other reviews, I think the freshness of food probably depends on where you live and how close you are to their distribution centers. For me, everything has been good to great in terms of freshness. I've tried almost all of the same type of service (Blue Apron, Hello Fresh, Sun Basket, Marley Spoon, Home Chef) and Plated is still the one that I think has the best recipes. When I say best recipes, it's in terms of a) how good the final result tastes, b) whether the ingredients/process is easily reproducible and c) how well the recipe is actually written in terms of time management/clarity. One giant caveat: Plated doesn't publish their recipes/you can't retrieve archived meals or the other meals in your delivery you didn't purchase.
I'd say 90% of the time, the meals turn out great. There was one or two that I questioned their choice (large pieces of eggplant in lo mein, not what I'd choose but hey) but overall, just fantastic. The instructions are also always very easy to follow, and any highlights are printed separately for you to keep note of. I've also cooked a dish or two I've loved again and they were also great. It's slightly pricier than some of the other choices, but I think it's worth it.

Note: this is a subscription service like any other type (handbags, shoes, etc). You will be charged recurring weeks unless you deactivate your account or skip a meal. It's sometimes difficult to remember, but I always skip all the meals for the upcoming month or so to be safe and then go back to unskip once I'm not as busy. I'm pretty sure this is outlined in the sign-up somewhere, so it's not a surprise.

Plated, like other meal kit plans, require you to provide a credit card number before you can look at the meal plans. I never chose or authorized meals to be sent to me & when I received the email stating I was receiving meals, I called customer service & they told me I received emails confirming my order & the meals that were chosen by me. No time did I receive an email from them until the one that stated I was receiving the meals & there was no way I could cancel or get a refund! I'm getting meals I don't even like & being charged for it! Stay away from these meal kit plans if they require credit card information before you even begin!

I must have ordered plated 20 times and made 60 meals. I wanted so bad to like it because I loved the variety of recipes and they were pretty tasty and easy to follow. The quality of the food however week after week was not acceptable. I would get a $12 credit whenever I would report moldy, or expired food. I even had garlic that was growing mold once. My final straw was I had a meal that was completely inedible. The romaine lettuce was brown and moldy and when I opened the chicken my son could smell the stench from the other end of the room. I explained that $12 credits just aren't cutting it, I want to feel like I have consistent meals. What did I get. A $12 credit and heard nothing about my complaint on the chicken. I'm done. There are other companies, Blue Apron, Hello Fresh etc. that have good food and you don't have to be scared of it.

We were very excited to try Plated since we already receive Blue Apron and like it. Of the recipes we've tried, they have been pretty good. Plated comes with dessert and that was a huge plus for me. We have had 3 or 4 boxes and at least 2 times we have received items that are spoiled. In addition, there have been items missing from the recipes. It is super inconvenient and disappointing to get to the middle of the recipe and find that there are items missing or spoiled. We get Blue Apron to save on time and money since we live busy lives. Plated made things very stressful at home when we were on a time crunch. Go with another company if you want to try boxed recipes. Home Chef and Blue Apron have been good to us.

I have no complaint with the food or deliveries. The food was good. However, the poor rating I gave this vendor is because when we received a gift card, our credit card number was required. I wanted no more than what I ordered to redeem the gift card. And the boxes kept coming even though I didn't order them or specify the dates. When I saw the charges on my credit card statement, I called Plated. They said I should have been told that it was a weekly service. I asked to be removed from their list and credited back what I did not order. Didn't happen. Plated needs to correct this. It will improve their rating significanty.

I have had no trouble with deliveries at all. In fact the first week I was supposed to get my shipment but UPS couldn't deliver on time (severe storms) they had UPS dispose of the box for me and put off my free box (everyone gets their first one free) until the following week. I had no trouble contacting them or getting it resolved. While this is expected in my opinion, it's important to note. The food has been great, and there are a lot of options to choose from every week. This service also offers 3-serving meals, which is often not the case with other ones. The price ends up being lower for us than choosing another service and paying for an extra serving at each meal. My 3 criticisms: 1. Pretty much no low-calorie options, just low carb. 2. This is the biggest one. A couple of times an ingredient smelled/tasted off to me. The first time I went ahead and used it (corn), cus I'm dumb. It kinda ruined that side dish for me. The second time I left the ingredient (fava beans that smelled vinegary) out, which didn't seem to affect the meal at all, but inexcusable nonetheless. 3. Poor cuts of steak.

We subscribed to Plated for about 3 months, and loved the food. However, of the 12 deliveries, only 2 came during the 8 am-8 pm window. We had deliveries that didn't come at all, some that came in the middle of the night, and some that came a day late. Most came around 10 pm, way too late to use for dinner that day. And none of the delays were due to storms or issues outside of Plated's control. We live in the Boston metro area, so it's not as if we're far from a transportation hub, either.

They gave us a few credits in response to complaints, but were never able to sort out the delivery, so we ended up cancelling.

So, zero stars for delivery and the convenience the promise. You can get good food elsewhere without the hassle.

The first meal delivery I received was good nothing wrong with it however the next delivery the mushrooms looked old and got some extremely rotten black beans. It takes a long time for those to smell as they did. I chatted with a customer service person and they said I was too late to make any claim of problems with food. I then cancelled the service with one more delivery coming. That delivery had a rotten onion and rotten peas. I am not talking mildly rotten. The peas were partially brown and stunk and the onion had a brown core. I fought diligently to get some kind of credit but they kept telling me I must notice all problems upon delivery ha. At any rate I will not be going back!