Goldbelly

I ordered a Mother's Day gift well in advance that was scheduled to be received the Friday before Mother's Day. On Mother's Day it had not arrived so I sent an email asking for the status. There was no one answering phones - according to the message it was due to Covid, so email was my only option. I did receive a response back saying that Goldbelly were looking into it and would get back to me. 24 hours later (Monday) I had not received a response so i went online and saw that my question was marked as completed. I submitted another request for status and finally received an email today (Tuesday) that my order was delayed and that it might ship later this week. It is already 5 days late and I am first getting a notification today? This is incredibly disappointing. I understand that delays happen, especially with Covid, but why wasn't this communicated to me early on? They obviously knew 5 days ago that nothing was sent out and it was delayed. And the rep from Goldbelly obviously did not follow up on the order timely either. I love the concept of the website but unfortunately after this experience, I will no longer be a customer.

Goldbely delivered a box of goo to me that was supposed to be $100 worth of ice cream. When I reported it to them Goldbelly said they would not issue a credit to my original form of payment but would apply a credit to my Goldbely account that would automatically be applied to my next order. But the next time I went to order the credit had evaporated. When I followed up with their customer service again they told me that the credit was only good for 90 days, something that they failed to disclose previously and that is against the laws of my state. Since we were beyond the point of a chargeback their ruse had deprived me of the ability to get my money back for the service they failed to deliver. They were arrogant in their unwillingness to do anything about it and seemed completely fine with the idea of taking my money and leaving me empty handed. I regret giving these people my business as they clearly don't value me as a customer. In addition to a complaint letter to my state's Attorney General I'm going to write directly to all of the food companies that I've patronized via Goldbelly to tell them that they are tarnishing their own brands by being associated with Goldbelly.

I have purchased from Goldbelly.com without any issues. As with any business there are bound to be times where there are hiccups and I understand that. What I don't understand is a terrible customer service model that doesn't assist the customer through the bad times. I just had my first hiccup with Goldbelly.com and it is atrocious. Their customer service is email only for starters, which I don't mind but the problem is Goldbelly DO NOT RESPOND! The one time they did respond they didn't answer the questions asked at all and just wrote exculpatory statements about COVID.
By way of background my order was for ice cream which shipped on the 20th and was delayed by UPS. Then it was supposed to be delivered on the 23rd but by 10 pm UPS still had not arrived. Then the tracking registered that I refused the package at 10:10 pm which didn't make sense because I wasn't even awake to refuse and additionally deliveries after 10 pm of perishable items is unacceptable. Then they said they would redeliver on 24th which was a no show and now it says delivery on 27th. Who in their right mind believes that ice cream can hold for 7 days without refrigeration? Oh and through all this I only received one terrible response from Goldbelly.com which addressed nothing. All I wanted was to setup a new delivery or a refund.

Businesses the work with this company should keep in mind that Goldbelly.com's poor handling of these hiccups represent poorly upon them.

I guess my only next step is to dispute the charge because there is absolutely no dialog with Goldbelly.com

Update: Took a long time to get resolved but it was. They still need to work on timely customer service.

My son's future mother in law ordered a Christmas Steamer Pot +Pie and Cornbread for my son's birthday, which is December 26th. The order arrived at our house on the 18th, a week before the birthday celebration. We followed instructions and refrigerated the seafood, vegetables, pie and cornbread in our overflow refrigerator. When we took out the ingredients on the 26th, all of the seafood was spoiled and our refrigerator reeked of spoilage.
I kept all of the paperwork and instructions that arrived with the food. Nowhere in the instructions was a "use by" date or "what to do if you are not going to use right away" information. I exchanged emails with the company starting on December 27th and ending on January 15. Although I did not want money, as I did not pay for the food, I did want the company to acknowledge that the information was missing and agree to add that information with future orders. Goldbelly claimed that the information was on the website; however, if I did not order the package, I would have no reason to go on the website. The company offered a $15 credit if I ordered something before March 1st. Again, I did not want money, but my son's future mother in law paid over $200 for this and should be compensated for some of this. I will NOT order from this company.

I ordered pizzas for a Christmas party. I ordered them a month ahead of time. FIrst, Goldbelly were sent to a wrong address, in another state. OK. I still had over a week until my party. I emailed Goldbely. They said they'd have them to me in time.

From then on, I couldn't contact them again. They wouldn't return my calls or answer my emails. Finally, the day I was supposed to get the pizzas, I got another number. A rep actually answered, but his story was highly unlikely. He said, "Oh. We just heard an hour ago that Geno's East can't fill your order." What a coincidence - when I finally talked to someone, it was just an hour after they had an answer...

This site is an absolute scam. Don't count on getting what you ordered. Now, I'm waiting to see if the promised refund actually happens. I'm doubting it.

I'd read the positive reviews about Goldbelly so I sent a $58 babka from Oneg Bakery as a gift to my mom, which she threw out because the bottom and top were "rock hard". It arrived stale, badly wrapped in paper, slung in a shipping box without the card I filled out. Goldbelly doesn't oversee the shipping or even impose standards. If a business is set up to ship like Zabar's, Goldbelly ship well. If it's not set up to ship and have to use Goldbelly, they'll probably sling it in a box with no care. I think this service is for people who moved cross country and want a pastrami sandwich sent from their favorite deli for 10 times the price. Clearly, there's a market for this but do your friend a favor and don't send them an expensive mess in the mail for their birthday. They offered me $15 off of my next purchase. Oh, boy!

My 8 year old daughter was so happy with so much anticipation to receive her birthday cake on February 12th, 2021. We placed the order two weeks in advance, with Goldbelly asking us to pick out a day for delivery. So we picked out the day before the birthday(February 12th). The item shipped out the day before it was suppose to arrive. The cake did not arrive till the day after my daughters birthday. She was so bummed and cried all night. I brought my issue to Goldbelly and Goldbelly could care less. I explained to them, I had to go get a cake from Vons and now have paid double for a cake, because your cake did not show up on time. Their customer service sucks and Goldbelly does NOT take care of their customers. BEWARE! If you need something on a special date, don't take their advice and pick a delivery date. Place the delivery date at least a week out. They do not take responsibility for their screw-up. I will NEVER buy from them again.

My 1st order went well. The mini bundt cakes were well packed, and arrived as expected. However, my 2nd order was an utter disaster. The cake was packaged like it was supposed to be "indestructible" and arrived destroyed. It was a carrot cake from Carlo's and looked like someone had put it through a blender. When I emailed Goldbelly's customer service (the same day the cake was delivered), and provided photos, I was offered a new cake.

That was not an option, since I knew another cake would arrive in the same condition. I requested a refund. Goldbelly agreed, and told me Goldbelly would process my refund of $69.95 immediately, and "depending on my bank", it could take 5-10 days. I thought, "Wow! Goldbelly really isn't too bad--they did their best to make me happy after this disaster." Boy---I should have held off on my judgment.

I paid via PayPal, and refunds typically take 3-5 business days, so I wasn't worried. It has now been 10 days, and there is no sign of a refund from Goldbelly.

I ordered a Red Velvet cake for my birthday about 3 weeks before delivery On the Friday (today) Before my Monday birthday. Yesterday, the day before my delivery date, I received an e-mail from Goldbelly informing me that there was a delay and the cake would be delivered on August 25, THE DAY AFTER MY BIRTHDAY! Goldbelly are total scammers! No substitution offered, not willing to work with me to make it right.
Got another email from "Jennifer" basically asking me if I wanted to cancel! So, no birthday cake for me this year bc there is no time to get another via delivery. Since we live in rural AZ, 2.5 hours from Phoenix, I can't even buy a crappy cake from a grocery store!
Honestly, do not use this company, they're only in it for the money and couldn't care less about their customers—horrible quality control, abhorrent customer service! They don't even deserve 1 star!

I'm torn on this site. The food is overpriced and the shipping is unreliable but the customer service is decent. I ordered babka for my family. I checked on the date it was scheduled to be shipped - it did. I checked the next day, still hadn't shipped. I contacted Goldbely. Suddenly it magically shipped within an hour of my email. The bread would now ship over the weekend though, so instead of arriving to its destination within 48 hours of shipment, it would be 5 days after shipping that it'd arrive. It ended up arriving dry and stale. Yuck. But Goldbely was apologetic, claiming it was the vendor's fault, not theirs and that they'd happily credit my account an equivalent credit.

So a week later I decided to use the credit. My birthday was coming up and I ordered crab legs for myself. Again, I checked on the day Goldbelly were to ship - they hadn't. I checked the next day - still hadn't shipped. I contacted customer service and they replied, oh sorry, the company ran out. They can send them next week. I'm very disappointe that I was not notified of thisprior to ME contacting THEM. My birthday happens to fall on New Year's Day so I was planning on having a special dinner with the crab. Also, it's about 36 hours away and I have no backup plan now. Forget it, just cancel the order and refund my money I said. I doubt I'll get a refund. I'll probably end up with another damn account credit but at this point I don't want to deal with them again and suffer further disappointment. Also, I realize things can be the fault of the vendor, but Goldbely chooses which vendors to deal with and needs to hold some accountability. Anyway, I suppose it's kinks to be worked out with a new business, but I don't plan on doing business with them again.

I was unaware of the policy surrounding refunds and/or exchanges and that Goldbely decides on a 'case by case basis' in the handling of orders that arrive damaged or not still cold. My most recent order arrived in poor shape due to the dry ice escaping from the unsealed plastic bags. I ordered seafood and dairy so I was not going to take a chance and serve the items delivered. I contacted Goldbely in short order and was surprised to find that even though orders are done on a 24/7 basis, their customer care department is only available Monday thru Friday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Once Goldbely reached out three days later, I was given a satisfactory resolution in that Goldbelly would resend another order of the ruined products that I received. However, going forward I will be more cautious in what I order for fear that I may be stuck with spoiled products and not given a remedy.

I ordered a $74 double chocolate cheesecake with Ghiradelli Chocolate from Eli's Cheesecake Company for a special Mother's Day celebration for my Wife. It was delayed a day, but arrived the Saturday before on May 9. I was saddened when I opened it and saw that it was completely not what I ordered. It was a candy cookie cheesecake sampler with peanut butter, caramel and other ingredients we don't eat. Contacting Goldbelly, the rep was very dismissive, first saying the confirmation email showed the cookie sampler. I advised that I already emailed my original receipt which showed the correct order. She admitted I was correct (Goldbelly changed my order without my authorization!). She said I was sent an email at 10:33am the day before that I had to respond by 12p (<1.5 hrs) or the substitute would be sent. I don't know about all of you, but I'm not sitting at my laptop waiting to respond to Goldbelly in the middle of a workday within an hour. I didn't authorize use of my credit card for any other product than what I ordered. I also lost our Mother's day dessert now. In explaining this to the rep she kept interrupting me and saying it was the restaurant's decision and there's nothing else she could do but she'd refund me. Great, but you authorized my card for a product I didn't order and you robbed us of our Mother's Day dessert celebration. The 'substitution e-mail' also came from Goldbelly, not the restaurant. Goldbelly is supposed to the liaison to protect our transaction here, not the conduit for unauthorized activity. She literally said she didn't have time for me and had to go 'handle' other customers. She wouldn't give her name. This is not a company that cares. FYI, we ordered almost $1000 of products from Goldbelly in the few months prior.

I ordered a birthday cake for my son and paid $40 for expedited shipping. The date I ordered it for came and went: no cake. I received a text from FEDEX indicating that the estimated delivery was over three days after the day I had paid for it to arrive on. I ordered another cake and emailed Goldbelly to cancel and have cake rerouted to them if it was in transit.

I was told how great it was that it was only going to be one day late now rather than three; Goldbelly completely ignored my comments and concerns. Cake arrived and came with "Happy birthday Jenn" instead of my son's name. Are you kidding me? Just because I ordered it doesn't mean I want my name on it. I shared that issue with Goldbelly too. They gave me a $15 credit but ensured I would never use it.

Customer service agents are either dumb or are told to intentionally ignore concerns and gas light customers.

I went back through the order process and when selecting delivery date, there's nothing about the date being "estimated."

I just received the cake I ordered well in advance for my wife's birthday. Everything pointed as an extremely pleasant experience with Goldbelly and their customer service was prompt to reply when I reached out to confirm the cake would be in fact shipped.
Cake shipped 2 days ago (Goldbelly didn't offer a faster delivery) and site clearly explains that the product is properly packaged and protected to keep the products in the best temperature (as possible). Well, I can't really explain how disappointed and mad I am by what just came out of the box. Pictures speak for themselves. Cake looks like it had been tossed around. Plastic cover is damaged, it was really poorly cooled with just 1 ice pack and the shipping box was damaged and did not indicate fragile in any way or form. I've reached out to Goldbelly and still waiting for a response. Will definitely ask for a refund because the cake has gone bad and is inedible.

I paid $50 for expedited shipping to have lobster rolls and whoopie pies for my birthday dinner. When the tracking showed that my order was not going to be delivered on my birthday, I tried to contact Goldbelly. When I called, I got a message that because of the winter storms, Goldbelly was not answering phone calls. It was the worst customer service experience - because there wasn't any service. I sent two emails before receiving a response, and the response I got was that Goldbelly cannot control weather and only provides estimated shipping dates and therefore won't even refund my expedited shipping fee. That's nonsense. I also ordered pizzas from Talia di Napoli the same time I ordered from Goldbelly. The pizzas arrived - from Italy - but the lobster from Goldbelly did not arrive. When I checked the box for delivery on February 24 and agreed to pay the expedited shipping fee, it was with full understanding that I was paying an exorbitant sum to get my item here on a specific date. My lobster sat for more than 24 hours in a Fedex warehouse. Not okay for such a perishable item. If the weather is going to prohibit prompt delivery, then the item should not be shipped and the customer should be notified and refunded in advance.
Goldbelly clearly does not care about customer experience or even food safety. Goldbelly clearly only cares about getting paid and then disappearing.

I used to use this company a lot. In fact, I sent all my holiday gifts through them. I don't know if Goldbelly are getting too big or what the problem is but I ordered a gift for Easter to be delivered 4/8/2020. Not only was it NOT delivered but hasn't been picked up from the vendor. No one returns my calls or emails and I have sent many. If there is a problem at the very least communicate. Then I can make alternate arrangements. Now I'm embarrassed because Goldbelly FELL SHORT. Just Communicate. Unfortunately, happening more frequently.

FOLLOW UP REVIEW: I've ordered two more times since this horrible aberration. THEY WERE PERFECT. So I have to think they dropped the ball this one time only. Every company/person is entitled to second chance and they did it beautifully. No problems on the 2 orders placed after this one.

It is already tough to get desserts for meals with my gluten-free dad and keto diet husband. Thought I had the answer with Goldbelly (though it was really expensive!). I had a gluten-free, keto cake delivered express by Fed Ex to make sure it would arrive on time. Noticed it was still in LA on the 20th, when it was ordered on the 17th. Called Goldbelly. No answer. Tracking system said it would arrive on Saturday so we could enjoy on Father's Day. No warning that the order was running behind. When it did not arrive, had to scramble. No luck. Cake arrived Monday. Company implies that it's my fault and referred me to the fine print about delayed shipping. No acknowledgement that Goldbelly failed to deliver on time even though I paid for express delivery. No mention on site that even with paid express delivery, orders will not be guaranteed. No attempt to make things right as of now.

Good: The BBQ I order tasted great and ordering was easy.

Not so good: on Goldbelly's site the ribs were advertised as "a full 3lbs per rack". But what I received was 2 1/4 lbs per rack. So my 6lbs of ribs were really 4 1/2 lbs which meant I was short food for my small gathering. Good weight is variable, I get it, but this is 25% less. So looking at the BBQ website, Goldbelly advertise racks as 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 lbs each. Clearly the issue is with Goldbelly's site. Upon contacting them they basically said "oh well, here's a $15 coupon off your next order" but I asked for a 25% refund or the missing 1.5lbs of ribs. Very poor customer service to a repeat customer.

I can't trust them anymore, and won't recommend them to anyone.

Here's a secret - if you want Snow's BBQ - and it is fantastic - you can order direct from their site and save ~$40 for a 2 rack package shipped to you. That's how much Goldbelly up charges in this case.

I ordered a $150.00 worth of cake and sweets for my son's birthday from Carlo's bakery. I understand Goldbelly can't guarantee delivery specific delivery date. However, my order was placed over a month ago and I had i scheduled to come two days before his party and it still isn't going to make it here on time! That's horrible! Goldbelly needs to plan a little better! I was supposed to receive my order today 8/21/2020 and tracking shows the label just printed 8/19/2020 at 4:45PM. You can't blame that on UPS, USPS, or FedEx. You just failed to do your job when you had a 30 day notice! You can't leave a review on their website which seems really shady to me, especially when the have a bunch of positive review posted on their site. Where did those come from? How can I put my review on there? Oh wait, I can't! No wonder it's all good reviews when you can control what shows up! I will never order anything from these people again!

Ordered $114.00 worth of bagels, cream cheese and lox from Ess-a- bagel of NY through Goldbely.com. Package was delivered but the cream cheese container was opened and it looked like someone had helped themselves. The recipient of my order was grossed out and did not eat the rest. I contacted Goldbelly and Goldbelly told me that they researched it with Ess-a-bagel. They said that the machine that puts the cream cheese in the container makes the cream cheese just look that way.? Lol. Even if this was the case - why do they think that's acceptable?

I asked for a refund and/or possibly another order from another bagel place. The eaten cream cheese put a appetite damper on the rest of the order. (yuck)

They said they would credit me for the cream cheese. I did not accept. I will not waste hours trying to bully them into making the right decision. I essentially just threw $114.00 out the window and was embarrassed in front of my friend (the recipient).

Sadly, I am not surprised at Goldbelly /Ess-a-bagel decision. Like many companies, they've decided that its more important to keep money in the short term rather than create long term relationships with their customers. Because of their decision I will not be ordering from them again, nor will I recommend them to anyone in the future.

The decision they made reflects the same attitude that brings down service- oriented businesses everyday.
At this rate, it will only a matter of time before they go under.