This Meat Seller May Not Guarantee Satisfaction
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- It's a popular gift during the holidays, but a Twin Cities couple has a warning for those thinking of placing an order with one door-to-door meat dealer that delivers all across Minnesota.
The Andersons spent hundreds of dollars buying steaks from Halverson's. When they didn't like the taste, they complained. As WCCO-TV found, what happened next is something they want potential customers to know.
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The boxes are taking up valuable space in the Anderson's basement freezer but they won't be eating any more of the steaks sealed inside.
A van had pulled into their Eden Prairie neighborhood selling pork, chicken, seafood, and steaks.
"We ended up getting the beef variety pack," said Bob Anderson.
He paid Halverson's $369 for the order.
"Satisfaction guaranteed. Well, [I'm] a bit befuddled on that part of it," Anderson said, reading Halverson's brochure.
The Andersons tried the steaks for dinner three times, but never liked the taste.
"By then I was like, 'These are not the quality steaks that he was advertising,'" Joan Anderson said.
She says she called the company at least three different times and never heard back.
"I can look a little further into that, but from what I know I haven't been contacted by them either by voicemail, email or fax," said John Schecter, the vice president of Halverson's.
We gave Schecter weeks to look into it, but he still said he couldn't find any record of any complaint.
WCCO tried calling Halverson's and found the company's voicemail to be full many times.
When asked if he thinks that's an issue, Schecter said: "Our mailbox gets full. We keep it so that it only takes 10 messages at a time."
When the Andersons went online, they soon found they weren't the only unsatisfied customers. The Better Business Bureau lists 34 complaints in three years. Most of them came from customers who didn't like the meat and never had their messages returned.
It led the BBB to give the door-to-door meat dealer an F rating.
"It doesn't surprise me now with the way that we've been treated," Bob Anderson said.
Schecter calls the complaints a small fraction of the 20,000 customers they sell to each year all across the state. He says anyone who buys can get their money back within three days, and Halverson's will replace the product within a year.
"I apologize for the experience," Schecter said. "Obviously, that's not how we stay in business."
The apology isn't enough for the Andersons. They're still stuck with a full freezer, and they're still waiting for someone from Halverson's to call back.
"I am done with them," Joan Anderson said.
Halverson's is one of eight door-to-door meat dealers the Better Business Bureau tracks in Minnesota. The highest grade any one of those companies has is a C. The BBB has a list of steps to take before buying from meat dealers.
To learn more, click here.