Sam I am

One of the spicier dishes I’ve ever had.  Delicious chicken with hot and Sichuan peppers at Legend in Chelsea, NYC

Michael Ruhlman wrote a great piece on filming on farms and making them more transparent. It’s worth reading: Farm Transparency v. Farm Secrecy | Michael Ruhlman

A couple of years ago or so, I subscribed to the Gevalia service. I make coffee every morning for someone close to me, and it’s nice to have a consistent supply of coffee. We had picked up some specialty coffee at one point, so I changed my subscription in late summer to deliver every six weeks or so. In August, Gevalia decided to upgrade their website; I received the following bulk note from Dana Vogel, a manager at Gevalia:

In October, we will be launching a brand new website and making it easier for you to
order any of the rich, always smooth and never bitter coffee you love.

Plus, our improved auto-delivery program is going to be simpler to manage and now
you’ll be able to get our most exclusive varieties year round.

Aannnddd when October rolled around, I stopped being able to manage my coffee orders. Of course, they have helpful links to contact customer support. I sent two email messages and heard nothing. Over the past couple of months I’ve tried to manage my account, but my email address and password do nothing.

I called up Gevalia today; I figured that I would try to fix the subscription. I chatted with a nice gentleman named Gary who was not able to help me with the account problems other than to say that it was a “system problem,” and I should try again in 30 minutes. He wasn’t able to say why I had never received a response from email; he was not able to troubleshoot the problem at all.

So goodbye, Gevalia. I’m not going to pay a premium for bad customer service. There are plenty of places in New York City to purchase high-quality coffee beans. I’m not sure why I should support roasters out of the city if you don’t offer convenience.