Vitacost

I, along with droves of previously loyal Vitacost customers have become extraordinarily exhausted and infuriated over the endless problems and time to unsatisfactorily and sometimes (hit or miss) satisfactorily resolve issues that shouldn't have been a problem to begin with, and expecting Vitacost to be what they were just a mere few years ago.

Evidently, Vitacost is under new ownership, Kroger, I read causing customers including me who have poured tons of their/my hard earned money into waiting a week or longer to receive desperately needed orders while repeatedly checking on the status of each order then after finally receiving each order (not always receiving it or it being piecemealed into multiple deliveries per order increasing the likelihood of damage; although piecemealing may have been due to shipping costs) just to find out the wrong items were sent, missing, crushed or damaged. Additionally, if you need to do an even exchange, I repeat EVEN EXCHANGE, Vitacost will not honor this as they previously did; the original brand and Vitacost discounts I relied upon for the original item will not be honored for an exchange, only a lousy 10% off offered for another purchase of the item I really need of the same monetary value.

Adding insult to injury, Vitacost dropped a number of products I relied on without notification (recently seems to have changed) causing me to panic and spend time finding another source and/or researching to find a suitable substitute. Perhaps some no-longer-offered products are due to providers, yet I can find a number of products through the manufacturer and other resources in a number of instances. Also, some products don’t display on my saved list or some just simply disappeared. At one time, I was told to use a different browser - not acceptable. It’s not difficult to write code to include all browsers. I’ve repeatedly had to give them software programming lessons.

I've also had countless website issues after spending huge amounts of time to complete then place my order to find that the advertised discount wasn't honored or it's not being honored wasn’t disclosed at the time of purchase, the full amount wasn't disclosed prior to completion, items were suddenly out of stock after my purchase with no opportunity to choose a substitute yet the out-of-stock items showed up just after my purchase as in stock, the order was sent to the wrong address then waited for customer service on endless chats and phone calls and never resolved it ever within five or ten minutes if at all, but always taking an inordinate amount of time and energy many times repeatedly after losing connections, chats timing out, no response, no website feedback, etc.

Commonly, needed items are almost continually out of stock and you can expect this during a good sale even post COVID peak while other items force a minimum driving my final costs out of reach. In other words, you can’t just buy one; you have to buy twice as many as you need so if you need yellow and brown mustard, expect to be forced to buy four total, same with dishwashing liquid - instead of over $4 each, you can expect to pay over $8 just for dishwashing liquid, even $7 and $8 boxes of cereal that are rarely in stock. This makes no sense. You can also watch the prices in the cart you've been working on go up before you've placed your final order, and there have been a plethora of website issues the past year or so. Some of which I’ve previously included in this review.

These problems have become a pattern with Vitacost. They really need to change the name as they are not honoring what Vitacost was and have not been in business for 25 years with the same management. In fact, it should be a law that the name be changed once a company changes hands or at least obviously disclosed and all past reviews deleted since they no longer apply as the philosophy and ethics are almost always disregarded and the reputation that took years to establish is obliterated. It certainly has been in this case. **

It took several calls to receive about half of my invoices, after which time the invoices simply stopped coming, with no explanation. For the record, I had no such problem with other supplement companies (Swanson, IHerb or Life Extension) who supplied what I needed right away. When I called Vitacost a fourth time and explained to a customer service associate that I was still waiting for eight invoices, she asked for the remaining order numbers and dates which I provided. I was assured I would receive the invoices in 24-48 hours. I didn’t. And so, I contacted customer service a fifth time, and asked to speak to a customer service supervisor. I was connected to Crystal who said that invoice copies might take as long as 72 hours. I said I would wait, then, and recontact customer service if I did not get the invoices. I did not get the invoices.

I contacted customer service one final time and attempted to reach Crystal to see if, at very least, I could get some explanation for the missing invoices. I was told that Crystal was on a call with another customer and would return my call within an hour. I did not receive a return call. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever been treated this badly by any customer service department anywhere. This is especially puzzling in light of the fact that I’ve spent a lot of money at Vitacost over the years. I’m swearing off this company, and I suggest that you heed my warning and do the same.

When I tried to replace the items online and then contacted customer service told me it would be shipped out the next day. It was not and I received no email that they had cancelled the order again. I had to call in four days later and when I tried to replace the order they said the system wouldn't let them. I personally think they didn't want to honor all the coupons and sale prices I had. But my biggest issue is when they cancelled the order they did not issue a refund immediately! What kind of company does that?? I should not have to call four days later to start the refund. Now I will have to wait 2-4 more days while Paypal issues a refund as I don't have the money to make a $60 order twice. Meanwhile I'm in severe pain from my neuropathy and the arthritis in my knees and hands because I'm out of all my supplements.

Now I am beginning to question the quality of the Vitacost brand as well. If customer service has gone downhill (and overseas) this much then how long can it be before their products follow? I'll have to go back to Swanson which was always my second choice. Way to kill your business folks! I admit I should have dropped my old address but they should have been able to correct this quickly and ship out another order. At the very least they should have offered some huge coupon for all my pain and time to fix this issue. I'm really not sure I will order from this company again. Linda V