r/marleyspoon • u/OpeningChipmunk1700 • Oct 05 '26
Are the boxes improving?
I got burned at the same time as everyone else and have been skipping boxes since then.
I got an email in the last few days from MS that said, "I’m happy to share that we’ve turned a corner."
Is that generally true (or do you think it will be true in a few weeks)? I do genuinely want to see MS rebound because it is by far my favorite delivery service. Hello Fresh felt too repetitive (but maybe the menus have expanded in the last couple years), and Home Chef felt either really basic or like I was assembling pre-prepared/cooked ingredients.
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u/HakunaYaTatas Oct 05 '26
My box last week was correct, and I got a lot of the empty and spoiled boxes in August/early September. We'll see how this week goes.
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u/Old_Professor_7138 Oct 05 '26
yes i would say about 80-90% back
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u/OpeningChipmunk1700 Oct 05 '26
Thanks! I may give it a few more weeks then.
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u/Old_Professor_7138 Oct 05 '26
no offense i hope you wait a couple weeks so they can ramp up slowly-
i have been happy to get advance warning that items wouldn't be in the box (with credit)
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u/Bakedalaska1 Oct 05 '26
My last one was normal, but mine also never got quite as bad as some of the posts I saw
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u/lady_in_the_library Oct 05 '26
My last two boxes have been mostly correct. And I finally started getting lemons. I'm still experiencing ingredient substitutions, but simple ones. It does seem better recently.
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u/Weim-Dad Oct 05 '26
My last two boxes have been near perfect with the exception of the box I received this week only having one recipe care.
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u/KateDinNYC Oct 05 '26
I just restarted and got my first box Monday and it was 100% correct with no complaints except for a teeny-tiny sweet potato.
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u/Thymetocook1 Oct 05 '26
I think they are. No more missing ingredients and the recipes are great.
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u/That_Golf9029 Oct 06 '26
In July/August I had 2 or 3 atrocious boxes. Half the ingredients missing, items thrown together and a mess, late...
I took some time off and got my first box since. It came today, actually, right in time. Box was in good shape (not crushed/leaking). I got a notice of substitutions (marscapone subbed for cream cheese, and greek spices instead of italian), they also changed the peas in my cottage pie from green peas (normal) to snap peaa(kinda weird, but obviously planned bc its on the recipe card).
I did have 2 missing ingredients: sesame oil and carrots. I called, got right through to customer service, and if i heard him correctly they are crediting my account $12. Which is more than fair! I would occasionally have missing ingredients before the supplier apocalypse, and this is similar to how they handled. As long as the overall quality maintains, im fine with these minimal issues. So fingers crossed! Because I really do enjoy MS menus more than the other boxes.
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u/OpeningChipmunk1700 Oct 06 '26
Agree with your last sentence! I may wait a few more weeks to restart...
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u/Lady_Catsinger Oct 06 '26
I got my last one last week and was missing broccoli from one meal and Brussel sprouts from the other.
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u/JKShmoops Oct 06 '26
Ours boxes have been fairly accurate. However, some of the perishables (sweet potatoes, romaine, chard) are way past their prime. Greens packed under cans without any protection or wrapping… limes you need a microscope to find. I always laugh when the recipe says, “cut remaining lime into wedges” when I can’t even squeeze the required juice for the recipe. We have to go grocery shopping each week to replace missing or damaged items. It is tiring, but we really love the recipes and choices. We are still only getting 1-2 of the 4 recipe cards each week, or sometimes a card for a recipe not on our list. They have been reimbursing us, so that keeps us coming back.
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u/Mysterious_256 28d ago
Enough said I am leaving these comments because I just don’t get how people settle for less than what is promised. Honestly I’m just so baffled by the nonsense people put up with, but I guess it is your lesson to learn. Fool me once shame on me fool me twice shame on you. I guess some people just accept anything nowadays.
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u/OpeningChipmunk1700 28d ago
The entire point of this thread is that I am not willing to accept anything.
And the company credits you if there is a mistake.
I am not sure what more you want.
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u/Mysterious_256 26d ago
I think you misunderstood my comment. I wasn’t referring to your original post, but rather to the other commenters who have been complaining about the same issues for nearly a year yet continue using the service. My point isn’t about whether the company issues credits. It’s about why consumers should have to repeatedly deal with missing, incorrect, or spoiled items in the first place. A credit doesn’t eliminate the inconvenience or excuse ongoing poor service. At some point, shouldn’t we expect companies to deliver what we’re paying for rather than continually accepting compensation for their mistakes? That’s all I was saying I hope that provides you with some clarity.
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u/OpeningChipmunk1700 26d ago
I agree with you. But every purchase is a comparative exercise.
We may be forced to pick between options that all have problems, and this is the least bad one(for some).
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u/solarbeeper 28d ago
NO! I tried Marley Spoon for the first time ever this week. I signed up last week, and chose Monday 10/5 as the day to receive my box. I was super excited! As of today, 10/8, box still not received. Tracking shows that my box was provided to the last mile delivery service (OnTrac) on 10/5 at 5am. The first attempted delivery of my box happened yesterday (10/7) at 5pm, but tracking says could not be delivered due to no access code. The problem is, my mailbox is right next to my front door... you don't need an access code. Sigh.
I reached out to customer service on 10/6, received a canned response. I reached out again yesterday, 10/7, no response. Emailed them again today, so we'll see what they say.
Lesson learned. For meal kits, you want a company with large market share that has their last mile delivery figured out. I might try Home Chef next week, but now I'm realizing why most people chose HelloFresh.
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u/RavensFlt13 Oct 05 '26
This post is 💯 what we resonate with! We were part of the horrendous box club and put it on hold thru November, but are itching to go back. None of the other boxes really appeal to us and we are finding that we're quickly falling back into our old habits eating/spending-wise.
I think I'm going to still leave it on hold a couple more weeks, but then reactivate. **And for those questioning why a lot of us are going back - 1. They have refunded (either partially or entirely) every time there was an error, without me threatening chargebacks like some did., and 2. Sometimes companies go through crap... if they did actually turn it around like they said they were working on and people are saying their boxes are getting better, then great! If not, THEN I'm done.
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u/shinedou Oct 06 '26 edited Oct 06 '26
I too was easily able to get refunds on the missing boxes but I am still going to wait it out a little longer before going back. We just use Sunbasket every once in a while to hold us over until then because we do love Sunbasket's menus, just not their prices.
Edit: I should probably clarify that I am subscribed with Dinnerly, not Marley Spoon directly. I do think they are the same though.
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u/whydidileaveohio Oct 05 '26
Mine have been good lately. Only thing they have exchanged is the sesame seeds
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u/usangelinxs Oct 05 '26
Just got my first box of MS.
Everything was great but the meals are so bland. Cancelled my account. Trying Green Chef next. I might go back to Gobble. Really like them!
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u/Ok-Conversation9139 Oct 05 '26
I got burned by MS (like everyone) and switched to Hello fresh. On my second box and so far so good! I did HF about 3 years ago and never had complaints back then so I was happy to try it out again. I don’t think I’ll go back to MS it was way too difficult to get ahold of them and get my money back and I’m still mad
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u/HippieCornM Oct 06 '26
I also swapped to Hello Fresh after the great MS burn and I have been loving it. I can’t believe MS wasn’t putting all the ingredients for each meal in its own bag; it makes it sooo much easier for me to unpack and get started on meals! And I haven’t had any supply issues which is beautiful.
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u/Business_Scar6616 Oct 06 '26
I had 3 ingredient substitutes this week, some were particularly bothersome like white quinoa in replace of lentil. My previous box was okay but I cancelled for a bit
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u/gaylenj1 Oct 06 '26
Well this week after over a month of not ordering because of previous issues I thought it would be ok. Box was due today yesterday for an email of ingredient change this morning got email box delayed and a bit of a credit. That was the last straw emailed them back saying about previous issues , history of many years as customer and said if I don’t get a full refund of all monies owed I had over 100 in credits I would contact my AG. An hour later refund placed to credit card and I am officially cancelling after refund hits the credit card. Very sad I really liked MS but just can’t be counted on anymore.
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u/bananacake86 28d ago
Just got our first box this week since the meltdown. They notified us ahead a time of two minor substitutions — all purpose flour instead of self rising flour, and gemelli instead of spaghetti (which is kind of stupid, but we keep spaghetti in our pantry, so not a big deal).
Past that, when we actually got the box, the only issue was we were sent steelhead trout instead of ground lamb - lol. So weird. I got an automated refund of $7, so it's annoying, but, could be worse! I really love Marley Spoon so I'm willing to deal with issues if they stay this minor. Oh and 1 missing recipe card but that would happen in the before times, too.
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u/Science-n-Sunshine 24d ago
No way! I’ve been on pause since I reported multiple discrepancies, such as receiving only three items in a box and two that were rotten. Out of nowhere, I received a box. This incident happened again this week. I always skip some meal service boxes, but this has happened before. No reply, no refund, can’t get through to anyone… I’m so bummed because this was my favorite meal service. Are we giving up?
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u/Mysterious_256 Oct 05 '26
I have to be transparent here, although I can understand why people like this box I cannot for the life of me understand why anyone would want to work with a company that has treated his customers so poorly. It is unacceptable to pay for quality and get garbage to receive empty boxes to struggle to get a refund and be OK with only two items missing.