| I have a very large, easy to read sign next to my front door which reads "no solicitors," and goes on to specify that I do not need new windows, magazines, newspapers, frozen meat, religion, etc. We live on a popular "canvassing" street, so my doorbell was being rung multiple times per day by salesmen, missionaries, even homeless people looking for a handout. My spouse is blind, so besides the annoyance it was a safety concern for him to answer the door to strangers multiple times per day. Hence, I posted the sign. It has worked well, and now the only people who come to the door are an occasional homeless person, or these obnoxious "meat" pushers. They must get a lot of business on our street, because at least twice a week I see their shady selves trolling the houses in the neighborhood. They will stop in front of the house and hassle me if I am out in the yard, and brazenly come up and ring the bell, oblivious to my warning sign. Of course, I can see their truck out front, so I just don't answer. Last week, I was engrossed in a movie and didn't see the truck. They came up and rang the bell, and Hubby answered thinking it was a friend he was expecting. The driver/salesman immediately launched into their typical pitch about having a "cancelled delivery" and needing to sell the product. It's always the same story. "Your neighbors placed an order, but they aren't home (cancelled, etc.). I'll give you a great discount on some restaurant-quality steaks if you'll help me out. If I don't sell these today I have to pay for them, because the company won't take them back, yada, yada, yada...." I heard the exchange, and started to tell Hubby to make the guy leave, but he's a sweet, trusting man and invited him in. Next thing I know, this guy is sitting boxes of frozen meat on my couch, and blabbering on about how great they are, guaranteed for a full year, easy to prepare. Hub asked "how much?" The guy just kept talking about quality, convenience, selection, and ignored three requests for price. Then, he started yakking at me about how these steaks are much better quality than our local stores, and vacuum-sealed so they stay "fresh" for a full year. (We have a butcher shop just up the road, so I just rolled my eyes). Hub was still asking for pricing information, and being ignored. When I gave him my "I hate salesmen" glare and said "how. much. are. they?" he rattled off the retail price, handed me a brochure, and said he would give us a "great discount" again. I told him Hub was in charge of the money, so he would have to make the decision. He proclaimed the full price, then said he would take half off if we bought the whole case. This worked out to just under $200. Hubby said "I can afford $50, what can you do for that?" At this point, the guy became extremely pushy. I used to work in sales, so I recognized all of his tactics. I suggested that we really couldn't afford it, and he should check with our other neighbors to see if they were interested. (A polite attempt to say "get out.") He offered half of the case for $90. Hubby again said "I can only afford $50. If that doesn't work for you, I'm sorry." "How about $75. Can you do $75?" Hubby agreed, and the guy told me to pick which three boxes (six to a case) I wanted. I chose the New York Strip steaks, the chopped steak, and the bacon-wrapped filets, thinking these would be the easiest for Hubby to prepare on the George Foreman grill if I was out or busy. Sales Leech handed me the three boxes, and Hubby handed me a pile of cash so I could count out the money (as I mentioned, he is blind). I handed the guy $75 in cash, and started to head to the kitchen to put the meat in the freezer. He said "HEY, there's only $75 here!" I said "Yes, that's what you agreed to." He put on this really devastated, pouty face and started to complain. I set the boxes back down and told him to just forget it, give us our money back, and take his product. He was clearly unhappy, but said "no, if that's what I agreed to, I have to honor that." He urged me to call him when we ran out, and said he would give us "a great discount" if we ordered directly from him as opposed to the website. I hung on to the brochure, not intending to re-order, but so I could contact the company if there were any problems, since he had really pushed the "guarantee." A few nights later, we cooked up two of the New York steaks. They were practically inedible. It's clear once you open the package and the meat begins to cook that it is very low-quality meat which has been mechanically tenderized, and had things added to it. Also, the steaks were less than 1/2 inch thick, more fat and bone than meat, so that by the time they cooked through you were left with a paper-thin, mushy glob of stringy, tasteless pseudo-beef. We were disappointed, to say the least. I wasn't expecting anything fancy, but at least expected it to be decent enough to serve to my family. My cats wouldn't even eat this junk. We thought perhaps we had just gotten a couple of bad steaks. So the next day we tried the filets. These are sold as filet mignon, but were most definitely not cut from the filet. Once cooked, they had the consistency of the cheapest round steak, and absolutely no flavor. The "bacon" was a thin strip of fat, which just turned to a greasy mess when cooked. Just to be sure, we later prepared some of the "ground steak" patties. These had more fat content than meat, and shrunk to less than half their original volume when cooked. The drip tray for my Foreman grill was nearly full after cooking three patties. Rubbery, tasteless. They had that "school lunch" meat flavor, so I would guess they were partially soy burgers, mixed with beef fat. I wrote to the company, expressing my dissatisfaction, but have received no response. The "guarantee" only covers a full-case purchase, and only offers replacement of unused product, no refund. These salesmen prey on "easy targets" like the elderly, or in our case, disabled, who cannot see them for the slimy snakes they are. The fact that the company does not respond when contacted just makes matters worse. I should have just asked him to leave immediately rather than allowing Hubby to get sucked into his sales pitch. I am normally a very skeptical person, and had I been the one to answer the door he would have been sent packing. Homemeatmarket.com is a disgrace to the home delivery industry, and casts a very negative light on legitimate businesses such as Schwann's and Safeway.com. I am disgusted and infuriated that this company is still allowed to practice business. If a "meat truck" pulls up in front of your home, lock the doors and hide. DO NOT buy from these sleazy creeps. |
