Friday, 17 April 2020

M & S Food Box Review

Last week I ordered an M & S food box online for delivery today.  Shortly after 9am there was a knock on the door and my box was on the mat.  The DPD delivery driver, Simon, was at a safe distance back at the van and after a cheery " alright Bab? " drove off to his next delivery.

The box looked exciting....


This is what I received......


Instead of the veg curry I was hoping for I got chicken pie filling, the tinned ham turned out to be corned beef and the veg soup was chicken and noodle.  So not much for me to eat there. There is, however, tinned salmon which I can eat, some peanuts for protein, and lots of sweet treats ;)
The tinned tomato soup was badly dented (we can have that for lunch today) but I was disappointed to find that almost every tin has a dent somewhere, luckily not the salmon though, so they will have to be used up sooner rather than later for safety reasons.  It's not what I would expect from M & S food.....


I'm thinking:
Pasta bake 
Quorn bolognese
Steak & Kidney with potatoes & veg (half the tin) for G
Steak & Kidney on a jacket potato (half the tin) for G
Chicken pie (if I can get ready made pastry at some point)
Salmon with parsley sauce, mash & veg

Lunches:
Beans on toast
Corned beef sandwiches
Tomato soup

The box cost £38.99 including delivery so not really very good value.  Having said that, we did get tea, coffee and the rare toilet rolls!  In comparison to my Morrisons box it can't compete for value especially in view of the dented tins though.  I won't be ordering again.

Have you tried one of these boxes? How did yours compare with mine?

Gratitudes

For being able to get food of any kind delivered to the door
For the whole street coming out to clap at 8pm yet again last night
For feeling a bit more cheerful this morning despite the announcement of a further 3 weeks lockdown  :)

Stay safe everyone wherever in the world you happen to be x

29 comments:

  1. That's shoddy. Have you complained to them about it?

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  2. That's really disappointing. I agree with Scarlett, you should let them know about the wrong goods and dented tins.

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  3. Nowhere near as good content wise as the Morrison's box. My son, DIL and their new baby get a Morrison's box every week now since you first recommended them and after I had mine.

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    Replies
    1. Absolutely right, Mrs LH, the Morrisons one is far better value. I've now put my sister onto them as she and hubby are 80 and struggling with shopping.

      Delete
  4. How disappointing. Such a shame I must admit Scarlett has a good point, a complaint should be made about wrong goods and dents.

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  5. That looks a bit disappointing to me. I think that a quick email to customer service might be wise. Stay safe and have a lovely weekend. x

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  6. That is disappointing. I'm always glad to have a cup of tea, but the dented tins would put me right off. I agree with the others, an email to customer service could be in order.

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  7. Substitutions are a gamble. I'm sure some staff members have a wicked sense of humour when they cant fulfil the order! 😜

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  8. Sorry there was so many substitutions.

    God bless.

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    Replies
    1. It was the dents which got me a bit cross, Jackie, but email now sent...

      Stay safe x

      Delete
  9. That doesn't sound like a very good deal to me. It's a shame that they didn't have what you wanted. It makes me grateful for my citrus trees in the backyard. I do enjoy my box from our local co-op, but it is all produce from the local farmers.

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  10. Do report the damage theyre usually really good customer service wise . M&S is a weird mix of hideously expensive , but they do have some really nice stuff among it , where else have i managed to get paneer for a decent curry and mr BHs Chinese in a box for his birthday this week

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    Replies
    1. Oh well done, kate, and happy birthday to Mr BH this week.

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  11. Honestly if I were you I would send a polite letter of 'complaint' worded carefully and suggesting they review their packaging maybe, or at the very least the standard of the tins they pick for these boxes.

    They do need to know about dissatisfaction so they can act on it and stop it in the future. What if you were someone who had wanted, or needed, to be able to store these tins for a long time, they would not have been suitable for this.

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    Replies
    1. That is so true, Sue. It has taken me an hour to try to find the appropriate customer services email address (including online 'chat' with an assistant) but I have done as you suggest and also attached a photograph of the damaged items. Let's see what
      happens now. After all, some people could be sending these food boxes as gifts to family members or friends too. It's not really good enough.

      Delete
    2. I forgot about that.

      I had cause to contact M&S Head Office a couple of weeks ago over a totally different type of matter and it took me ages to find out how to get a simple email to them. They did respond quickly though.

      Delete
  12. That’s really quite expensive for what you got, let alone the damage. Hopefully you get a reply from M&S promptly:)

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    Replies
    1. It wasn't very good value, Ann, and I won't be ordering again :(

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  13. Pity about all those polystyrene packing chips too.

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    Replies
    1. I have saved the chips for later Diana. They will be reused at some point in the future.

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  14. Of course, I know from reading the previous comments and your replies that you have complained about the order received, as well you should have done. With so many people now getting deliveries, some mishaps can be expected but should not go unreported. I do admire your resourcefulness in planning our meals from the delivery contents. We are able to go out to the grocery stores and sometimes I have meal planning in mind, but never plan in advance. I am thankful that we remain well and if it takes staying away from most folks, so be it (for now).

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    Replies
    1. It was the number of damaged tins which concerned me, Beatrice, and the fact that the outer box was undamaged so presumably damaged tins were being sent out willy nilly. Stay well x

      Delete

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