3/28 CONVERSATION WITH WELLNESS

Status
Not open for further replies.
Marje and Gracie

Marje and Gracie

Member Since 2010
Moderator
Good evening Lantus Land!!!

As many of you know who feed Wellness (especially turkey, chicken, and beef/chicken), there is a difference between the food made and canned in the U.S. and that made and canned in Canada. We were always able to get the US cans until about the last six to ten months. I know several of you who always got the Canadian cans have been getting US cans. And our little picky cats seem to like one or the other.

So I called Wellness Customer Service as our cats do not like the Canadian cans; they'll eat it but with much chicken dust applied and Ella's Rusty does not like the US cans. Ann's Maggie also likes the Canadian variety.

I spoke with a supervisor who explained the situation. Food is made and canned at a plant in Utah and one near Toronto. While the recipes are the same, the manufacturers buy local produce and so the flavor and texture can vary. There used to be two distributors...one in the Western US and all the food made in Utah went there and they supplied all the western states. The other is in PA and the Canadian food went there to supply all the eastern states. About six to eight months ago, they consolidated the distributor and now everything from both plants goes to PA. When pet food stores.....in your town or online....order food, the distributor just grabs a batch and sends it out. Sometimes it's the US made, sometimes it's the Canadian made.

I explained how different the foods are (although he claimed he had seen them and did not think they were that different....whatever :roll: :roll: :roll: ). I asked him why the food from the US can't go in one area of the distributor and the Canadian food go in another so if a retailer is ordering it, they can get specific ones, if need be. He said it was "just too complicated" for them to do that. Supposedly, they are dealing with alot of different lots made at different times depending on availability of ingredients, etc. He said the only way I can be assured of getting the US made cans is if I personally go to the retailers in town and only buy those marked as made in the U.S. I told him that was well and fine except we HAVE done that and been to as many as 10 retailers and all the food was Canadian.

He did say that management was trying to find a solution to this issue which makes me strongly suspect that I am not the only one to complain. But he said even if they were to find that solution quickly, implementing it would take a while so we couldn't expect to see any changes any time soon. I told him that I felt it was a true lack of customer service, especially for a loyal customer like us. We've been feeding Wellness since it was first made and owned by Old Mother Hubbard. I told him we spend about $150/month on Wellness foods. Evidently, that is just not important to them because he was very dismissive.

I intend to write the president/CEO of the company and I urge any of you who have the same issue as Ella, Ann, Jaclyn (Jetta's mom), and us to do the same. The more people that complain in writing to upper management, the more they will make the effort to find a solution. BTW, I did mention that many of us in the forum, where there are hundreds of members, feed Wellness. If I could have been in the same room with him, I bet I would have seen him shrug.

Heres' the place to write:
Mr. Tim Callahan
CEO, WellPet
200 Ames Pond Drive
Tewksbury, MA 01876-1274
 
Time after time, Wellness has disappointed me over the years. Ages ago, when they were still owned by Old Mother Hubbard, I got a batch that was just plain nasty...it was a weird texture and smelled foul (like cat urine). I didn't risk feeding it; I tossed the can I opened, and returned the rest to the store, explaining why. (I don't know if they re-shelved it, but I hope not). I wrote to them, and got a similar lack of interest in their response...in fact, what I got sounded virtually identical to what you got (same recipe is used every where, blah, blah, blah.), and this was probably close to 10 years ago.

I've written off Wellness for a variety of reasons, and this latest incident has further solidified my decision. I hate that this company is continuing to frustrate LL, and is not at all responsive to their customers. Good luck with your efforts...and thank goodness we have Dr Lisa's lists!!!
 
I certainly intend to write a letter. It had been my experience that all of the 3-oz. cans were "product of Canada", but that is no longer the case. The last two cases of Wellness 3-oz. cans that I had my local feed store order for me were "made in USA" and Rusty wouldn't eat the food. Apparently it is now hit or miss, since you cannot specify "Canadian" food (or "USA" food). If one lives in a small town, 50 miles from a real pet-food store, one is stuck! (Fortunately Marje and I traded cases, but this is hardly a solution, and it could get expensive shipping food back and forth across the country!)

Wellness Turkey and Wellness Chicken are our staples. I have not found another food that Rusty will eat day in and day out (with the exception of FF T&G, but I don't want to feed that exclusively).

Thanks, Marje, for calling the company and starting the ball rolling!

Ella
 
Marje,
First off thank you for doing all of that! I think your "error" was in talking to a supervisor. I would have had "fun", I think, with that conversation. ;-)

I explained how different the foods are (although he claimed he had seen them and did not think they were that different....whatever ).
Click to expand...
"Well, they may look alike, but have you actually tasted them? They are drastically different, trust me!"

After a few minutes, he was like :shock: :o nailbite_smile :roll: thinking "OMG, it's one of those crazy cat ladies! I'm going to have to fire the person that directed this call to my desk!"

He's a supervisor. He's used to people doing what he tells them to do, and not a big fan of questions or debates. :lol:

He said the only way I can be assured of getting the US made cans is if I personally go to the retailers in town and only buy those marked as made in the U.S.
Click to expand...
"Hey lady, you want to have things your way, you do the work...."
I told him that was well and fine except we HAVE done that and been to as many as 10 retailers and all the food was Canadian.
Click to expand...
"Not my problem. Drive further and find a store that sells 'Made in the USA' if you have something against Canada"

He did say that management was trying to find a solution to this issue
Click to expand...
"Yes, ma'am, we're working on it..."
But he said even if they were to find that solution quickly, implementing it would take a while so we couldn't expect to see any changes any time soon.
Click to expand...
"When pigs fly out my butt" :lol:
I told him we spend about $150/month on Wellness foods. Evidently, that is just not important to them because he was very dismissive.
Click to expand...
"Wow. I'll spend that much on lunch and 18 holes this afternoon - on the corporate dime - as soon as I can get off the phone"

All kidding aside, I completely agree with you here, Marje:
The more people that complain in writing to upper management, the more they will make the effort to find a solution.
Click to expand...

This is pretty sad that any corporation would deal with loyal customers this way. Last year, I had nothing but a positive experience when I called Purina to ask about the "new formula" and new labeling on Friskees and FF canned. When I mentioned that hundreds of cats depended on their products to manage diabetes successfully, the lady was thrilled to hear that, and did everything she could to address my concerns. And I'm thinking Purina is a lot bigger than Wellness, but I happened to talk to a customer service agent who probably like her job and was doing it for the right reasons. If I had asked to talk to her supervisor, it would have been to suggest he give her a pay raise.

If I could have been in the same room with him, I bet I would have seen him shrug.
Click to expand...
I would have paid good money to see that, Marje. I have a feeling the next thing he did was fly across his desk, led by your hands on his lapels. :lol:
 
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: Carl!

And what makes you think Im such a tigress ;-) actually, my powers of persuasion in a meeting are....persuasive :lol: :lol:
 
And what makes you think Im such a tigress actually, my powers of persuasion in a meeting are....persuasive
Click to expand...

Well, let's just say I wouldn't argue with this...

file.php


:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
I actually called Wellness earlier this week too. I had a similar conversation about there being one central distributor now. I also told her that I'm now forced to drive all over town to find the US cans and it's pretty ridiculous. I told her how I made quite a scene in Petsmart unloading their shelf, opening cases and flipping over every uncased-can. She seemed to think that was pretty funny but gave me credit for going to such lengths. :? Such lengths??? Well, my cat has to eat so I'm not sure why this seemed unreasonable to her. cat(2)_steam

I also really reinforced to them how different the formulas were. I told her that if I dumped one US can into a Tupperware and one Canadian can into another bowl and sent it to them they'd never believe that it was the same food. She told me that if I wanted "cookie cutter" formula food with no variation I needed to feed a mass-made product like Fancy Feast. I got pretty irritated at that point and that was about all I could take. Anyway now I have half a case of Canadian product I'm still trying to get rid of when I can find more US to exchange it for. Fortunately I found enough US cans to last Jetta about 10 days.

She did say they've had A LOT of calls on the issue, so maybe they'll take notice. But given the attitude I got on the phone and reading Marje's experience I don't have much hope...But I will write a letter too.
 
If I may make a suggestion....

The internet is powerful. Got to places like PetFood Direct or other on-line distributors and rate the products. Complain. Lots of people who are thinking about what food to give their cat, will read the reviews.

Post a note on other places, like Yelp. Go to the Wellness FB page. If Wellness thinks they were getting a lot of calls before, getting slammed on social media and pet food distribution sites will make them crazy.
 
Hi Marje, thanks for calling Wellness. I think so, too, on Sienne's suggestions. I just checked on my order from WAG.com, and it's the Canadian food which is perfect for lil Mags. Not too long ago I bought a few cans of Wellness Turkey at our Petco, and it was the USA food. So here in SD I can only buy the USA Wellness food, whereas online with WAG is Canadian. Mags prefers the Canadian, as it's more chunky, and she can sink her teeth into it.
 
I wrote and mailed my letter this morning to the Wellness CEO.
If WAG.com seems to get the Canadian Wellness, I think I'll do my next order there. (But I'm of two minds, since my very small local feed store will lose a sale.) I wish there was another food that Rusty will eat on a regular basis. (EVO and Merrick's BG are definitely not favorites!!

Ella
 
Thank you Marje - It's great to see everyone rallying around this and writing letters. That's the way to get things done, when it works. I like Sienne's comment too with social media. We are trying our first variety pack and it is Canadian. I'll keep my eyes open and at least give Leo the chance to try both. He seems to like Pate consistency rather than chunks, but he's given a couple Wellness flavors Two Paws Up!
 
Ella & Rusty & Stu(GA) said:
I wrote and mailed my letter this morning to the Wellness CEO.
If WAG.com seems to get the Canadian Wellness, I think I'll do my next order there. (But I'm of two minds, since my very small local feed store will lose a sale.) I wish there was another food that Rusty will eat on a regular basis. (EVO and Merrick's BG are definitely not favorites!!

Ella
Click to expand...

I don't think Wag is a foolproof way to go Ella. I got about 6 or 8 US cases in a row before I got 2 Canadian. ohmygod_smile I shipped those back to them but the reality is now that the distribution center is combined there won't be any rhyme or reason to what any online retailer is sending. I asked if Wag could send me only US but the warehouse said no since they can't see the origin point without opening the cases.

I also like Sienne's social media suggestion. I'll work on that and my letter this weekend.
 
Jaclyn

The last three, and only cases, I got from Wag were Canadian. The supervisor at WN told me ordering online is the worst place to get their food if you want food from a particular plant because they just ship out what they have. While if you buy locally, you can at least spend tons of time on gas to try and find a store that has the food you want. :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :YMSIGH: :YMSIGH: :YMSIGH: :YMSIGH:
 
Agreed Marje. I'm not ordering online anymore because it's not worth the hassle of returning it when it's from the wrong plant. I've got my 18 Canadian cans in the car ready to drive around this weekend all over creation to find US cans. Should be fun... angry(2)_cat The more I think about it the more frustrated I get. A cat like Jetta-with IDB among her other issues- is very sensitive to the food she eats. I did get her to nibble some of the CA food and she started vomiting. So for her it's not so much a matter of pickiness as it is a health concern. The food CA HAS to be pretty different if it upsets her stomach and the US does not. OK- off my soapbox. I have a letter to write.

One positive note- I received $15 in coupons from WNS today. That'll at least offset some of my gas costs...
 
Would you all be willing to pay about 2 cents more per case? Here's an idea for the rocket scientists who supervise the shipping departments of their factories.

Place a damn sticker on any made in America cases that says "U.S". And the ones in Canada can save money by only putting a "C" on them. They could probably buy stickers for less than a penny a piece in bulk, and pass the cost on to the consumer. I used to be in charge of a shipping/receiving operation for a pretty big manufacturing company. That "Idea" would have probably meant a decent bonus or pay raise if I'd come up with it back then. It might require that they come up with a bar code that differentiates the cases of US and the cases of Canadian, but I'd be willing to bet they already have different bar codes on the outside of the case packaging. Since that's what bar codes are for. Just sayin'

The problem is, we have to deal on the phone with "bosses", and anyone who works in a factory knows that the bosses aren't the people who come up with any customer service improvements. They just get the credit for them. If we could talk to the poor guys or gals that are actually doing the work, we could probably improve their customer service in leaps and bounds.
 
I asked if Wag could send me only US but the warehouse said no since they can't see the origin point without opening the cases.
Click to expand...

Jaclyn. I think that the cases are differentiated. The two cases of USA food that I sent to Marje in exchange for two cases of Canadian food had the date stamped in larger, bolder black ink than the stamp on the Canadian cases. In addition, a large A in a circle was part of the date stamp in the USA cases. These were cases of 3-oz. cans. One case was Turkey, the other was Chicken and the circled A appeared on both. The Canadian cases (I haven't yet received the ones Marje sent, but I still have some empty boxes here) have only the date, no other letters or numbers.

Ella
 
You're absolutely right Ella. The US case has an (A) and the CA case only has a date. I also noticed the CA case has the bar code label on the end of the case and the US case has the barcode label on the side of the case and it's much larger. The (A) Also appears on that US label.
 
And I'd bet money that some guy running a fork lift in the warehouse has noticed that and asked himself "wonder why we don't just put all of the ones with an "A" on one side of the aisle and the ones that don't on the other side of the aisle? Then we could grab either one or the other"...
We need to get that guy on the phone.
 
Tess also prefers the US made food. We buy the 12.5oz cans and I don't think I have ever gotten Canadian made cans, from either WAG or my local pet store. I get the small plastic "salsa" cups and lids and divide the can into meal sized portions. I keep a days worth in the fridge and stick the rest in the freezer until needed. As an added plus it is much cheaper to buy that way as a lot of the price is in the packaging.

And, yep, the A is w/ the date stamp on the side of the package.
 
Great info about Wellness, thank you. Just wanted to add another note and that is that the coupons they now offer occasionally ($1 off a can of wet; $3 off bag of dry) when you join the Wellness Club or whatever it's called have your full name and email printed right above the bar code. I think that's totally unnecessary and too much information and wrote to let them know. The gist of their reply is that if I don't like it then then don't use the coupon; and the employees processing the coupons are trustworthy. What about the store employees. Hummm. Their justification for putting that info on the coupon is so that people wouldn't be cheating. Some pretty good customer care and service there....NOT!
 
Their justification for putting that info on the coupon is so that people wouldn't be cheating.
Click to expand...

They actually said that? "Cheating"??? They assume people will cheat, and then they really expect customer loyalty? How do they stay in business?
 
Carl -- Their words:
As you may have noticed, we recently made a change to the way you obtain coupons distributed in our newsletter. This change requires your name and email address to be printed on the coupon. By switching to this new coupon technology, we can personalize our offers to you. This change was also necessary to avoid coupon fraud, such as the printing and use of multiple coupons by a single person which was prohibited under our prior coupon rules. This change enables us to continue to extend money-saving offers to all of our Club members.

Here at WellPet we respect your privacy. We take precautions to safeguard your personally-identifiable information. WellPet does not sell your information to others or share that information with others. Per our Privacy Policy (http://www.wellpet.com/privacy-policy.aspx), we share customer information only with subsidiaries we control, affiliates or specific business partners or agents, and only as described in our Privacy Policy. Our coupon program complies with privacy laws and our Privacy Policy which you can read on our website. In addition, we have restricted our coupon clearinghouse from using or selling your personally identifiable information.

If you do not want your name and email address provided to retailers or our coupon clearinghouse, then you can elect not to use the coupon. However, we have restricted our coupon clearinghouse from using or selling your personally identifiable information.
 
WellPet does not sell your information to others or share that information with others.
Click to expand...
"but we do require that in order for you to cash your coupons in, that you share your email address and your name with the cashier at the pet food store and anyone else who happens to touch it before it gets sent to our coupon clearinghouse. But if you choose to actually use our coupons, you assume the risk that your personal information could be shared with anyone else in the world. Because WE care about your privacy!"
 
i'm kind of surprised it took Wellness so long to personalize their coupons.
several people on this very board would post links to printable coupons that Wellness as well as other pet food companies sent them... and this is just one message board. i'm sure it happened on other dog/cat message boards.
some might consider that "cheating" or "coupon fraud".

bcatrun_gif ducks and runs...
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top