'It was a total scam': $492 meal delivery service leaves bad taste in customer's mouth

Catered meals can be a convenient way of enjoying home-cooked food without the hassle of grocery shopping and cooking. 

Unfortunately for a man who ordered a 10-day meal delivery service for his elderly parents, the experience turned out to be less than satisfactory. 

The 43-year-old man made a complaint about the catering service to Stomp on Friday (Feb 18), saying that he had to order the catered meals as both he and his parents had contracted Covid-19 and had to self-isolate in their respective homes. 

His younger brother found the catering company after doing some research online. 

"They claimed to use less salt, no MSG and offered healthy home-cooked meals, especially for the elderly," he told Stomp. 

The total cost for 10 days' worth of lunch and dinner — including delivery — for his parents came up to $492, which the self-employed man described as a "hefty sum". 

Contrary to what was advertised on the company's website, the man's parents "complained the meat was hard and not fresh", and that it was also oily.

Although he expected the food to look different from the photos on the website, the customer did not expect it to "taste awful too". 

"It was a total scam," he said. 

Appalled, the customer called the catering company to cancel the subsequent orders and ask for a refund. To his dismay, the company rejected his request and said that their meals were non-refundable. 

Left with no choice, the man asked his friends to send some food to his parents' place. 

The man also told Shin Min Daily News that the company responded to his email saying it would take his feedback into consideration and work together with its kitchen staff to improve the quality of the food. 

It also emphasised that the dishes were low in salt, oil and MSG. 

Reiterating that it was unable to cancel the order or provide a refund, the company suggested that the man deliver the meals to someone else or donate them. 

The company did not respond to the Chinese daily's queries.

claudiatan@asiaone.com