February 2015: Month in Review (Hits and Misses)

As we did last month, I wanted to do a review of the hits and misses for subscription boxes for February. There were utter disasters again, as well as lots of amazing arrivals and new subscriptions.

MISSES

As I did in January, I think it's better to start with the constructive so you can end on a positive note. Some of these are seriously bad and others were just not fits for me personally, although sadly I have to say I've seen less of just meh items than outright terrible business this month. I have noticed that you can get a fairly good sense of the quality of a subscription box by the service via email or on social media. The more active and engaged the company is, the more likely your box will really be what you expected and the more the products will be higher quality. Companies who seem to be interested in just jumping on a bandwagon of where they think they money is, or those who are far more interested in being huge, tend to place customers at the bottom of their priorities and it shows not only in their interactions but also in the way they put together the boxes and select products. Some are beginning to feel like a cardboard box full of nothing but ads.

Try the World Paris Box Review

I have to admit I'm confused. I signed up for Try the World back in December, and the deal was that I would get the Paris Box and gift card, as well as start my subscription with their Venice Box. However, clearly something got lost in transmission, because they didn't send me anything, didn't know I wanted the box, and basically had no idea I even had an account. So after a nightmare with customer service, I got my money back and was done with them. 

Needless to say, I was therefore surprised when I got an email with tracking info on my Paris Box. It's been almost two months, and I never got Venice and ended up canceling. So why were they sending me anything? To confuse matters even more, lately Try the World has been favoriting my posts on Twitter. I thought we had clearly had a breakup, but they don't seem to know we did.

I'm all for second chances, and I might have tried again down the line if it looked like they got things together. However, I witnessed something unacceptable yesterday. Several customers had posted complaints on their Facebook wall. A couple hours later, they were gone. Try the World sends endless messages promoting themselves and talking about how Huffington Post loves them, yet silences paying customers with legitimate concerns. One woman has waited three months for shipment and can't get a reply via email. Another received broken and expired items. It is not ethical or reasonable to present your business so falsely.

Anyway, I did get the box out of the blue, so here's what was in it and what I thought. 

Try the World Venice and Paris Box Reviews (Buyer Beware)

I was so excited to sign up for Try the World. They seemed amazing - a box of snacks and treats from cool locations around the globe? Awesome! So right after Christmas, they had a deal where you could sign up and get the Paris Box and a gift card. I signed up - and never heard a thing. A few days later, I followed up and they confirmed that they'd received my order and the Paris Box would go out soon, and that I was scheduled to receive their upcoming Venice Box.

This post has no pictures, because Try the World SENT ME NOTHING. They charged me and sent me an electronic gift card code with little use since I can't even get a response via email in less than a week. Eventually I got an email saying there was a shipping delay and that the box would go out at the end of January.

So suffice it to say I was surprised when blogs starting posting reviews of the Venice Box - ones they received free for review. I mean, I had PAID $40 for this box and hadn't received anything except confusing emails and excuses for delay. So I contacted Try the World again. No response. I tried a few days later. Still nothing.

Finally I received a vague response saying my Paris Box must not have gone out and that they didn't know that I wanted the Venice Box (I mean, you would think a subscriber would want the current subscription, right? Apparently not). They talked in a circle yet never once apologized, and they still didn't answer my question. I logged in, saw nothing had been shipped and my account couldn't be canceled by me, and so I contacted them again. I decided it just wasn't worth it anymore.

They canceled my account after another week of not replying, so I guess I won't be trying the world or this subscription. They also disabled the gift card, which was all I received from them after paying. I'd be impressed if they lasted until fall with this kind of organization and customer service. Good luck if you try them (although apparently they'll be happy to send you a free box if you have enough Twitter followers - with the money that the rest of us paid for an empty mailbox).

I would encourage you to avoid this subscription. Ideally I will see a refund, but regardless, they clearly don't want customers if this is how they treat people who are excited to pay them.