Full Circle

I have now received the last two bags I will get, I will be cancelling, last week I asked for a total replacement as all of the food had been contaminated by slimy greens in the bag and this week I received 2 unripe peaches that were moldy the next morning… I have tried to contact Full Circle but to no avail… so now it is cancellation time.

Overpriced fruit and vegetables and greens that are wilted, already spoiled or too unripe to eat before they spoil. I have had a subscription for over a year and every box in every season has at least three items that cannot be used and I’m not looking for perfect produce, just edible stuff. The family size «garden share» has a small amount of vegetables — I could get 3 times the amount of organic produce for the same price at any store and 4 times the amount at a farm coop store.
Delivery is prompt, website is easy to use and box is customizable — you can see what you’re going to get every week — but I just cannot stomach the sad vegetables anymore. I don’t want to throw away very costly produce every week. I would save my grocery dollars and pick out beautiful produce at the farmers market/​store — even with a rambunctious toddler in tow — rather than this delivery.

I keep wanting to like this service (as Amazon Fresh is no longer free with Prime, there is a separate fee — something around $ 300! a year!!) So this was my back up for grocery delivery. On a few occasions, I have received rotten produce. A cucumber here and there. I keep forgiving them. Stuff like this can happen (I guess). I have contacted customer service about this in the past whenever this happened and they would refund me for whatever was rotten. Nice that they did that, but still annoying that I have to go through this kind of hassle.
I have held my orders for a few months now and decided to start back up. I received my bag this week and noticed that there was some webbing on my bag. Not a big deal I guess. But upon further inspection — there were multiple webs with SACS OF EGGS on my bag and near the inside of my bag! SO GROSS. I can’t believe I brought this bag inside my house.

I received my first order from Full Circle today. I ordered the Organic Sprout box (good for two people) which contained:
2 Red Bartlett Pears
1 Cucumber
1 Broccoli bunch
1 Texas Honeygold Grapefruit
2 Artichokes
4 Apricots
1 Beefsteak Tomatoes
0.33 Spring Mix lettuce
1 Red Kale
1 lb La Pasta Ricotta Potato Gnocchi (add-​on)
Package was delivered as promised. I inspected the produce and found the quality be very good, no issues. Made a wonderful salad for dinner.
The only comment I really have is about their website and the inability to peruse the items because it thinks you’re trying to modify your order? Not sure if others find this to be an issue but it would be nice to be able to look at the items anytime. Oh well. Other than that, looking forward to next week’s delivery.

This company is laughably incompetent. My orders are packed incorrectly so often that my reaction has transcended from frustration to extreme bafflement. I mean, we are talking about being able to read a list and put correct items in a box. This does not require an IQ greater than 60 and yet this company seems to make mistakes on my orders at least 25% of the time. Perhaps this company doesn’t drug test their employees. Who knows. Anyway, I’m looking for other options. I can’t take it anymore.

DO NOT ORDER FROM THIS COMPANY — I purchased a gift box from Full Circle Farm for a friend from Groupon, and to redeem the gift coupon they had to enter their debit card on the website as a «member.» Their card was charged $ 700, and when I called to ask them to reverse the charges and simply deliver their gift, the customer response to my request was that they would «get around to it.» This company is intentionally deceptive in offering gift box options while misleadingly demanding debit card information. Do not use this company unless you want your debit card charged incorrectly with no helpful customer service option.

With so many options for organic produce delivery in Seattle, you would think companies would want to have exceptional customer service to compete. Sadly, that is not the case with Full Circle. First, they are overpriced — on their budget plan you will $ 25 for $ 10 worth of produce. Second, the delivery schedules are very erratic — I received deliveries the night before my delivery date, in the middle of the night (which nearly got the delivery man shot because I thought he was a prowler), as well late evening on the scheduled delivery day. To make matters worse, the delivery person consistently ignored my instructions as to where the delivery was to be left, which were printed on the bag’s label. Due to the driver’s failure to conceal the bags as requested, they were stolen twice — no credits, of course; they basically called me a liar when I told them what happened. The last straw for me was the poor customer service. Any time I politely voiced any complaints, their representatives were downright hostile. This is a service-​based business and there’s just no excuse for Full Circle’s many failings. There are many other options for produce delivery in Seattle, and I would recommend using any of them — or just going to the market yourself — before using Full Circle. I’d sooner eat the trimmings from my lawn or go entirely without veg in my diet than go back.

Like others, I’ve experienced nothing but headaches with the delivery. Examples include: almost never getting side door delivery (something I even called customer service for help with); receiving numerous broken eggs; and receiving a bag intended for another household. The produce has been good, and I like the small («seed») bag… but, the delivery mess-​ups are too much of a hassle to justify staying with the company when there are many other similar businesses in town.

The star rating is averaged. The first two years we were using Full Circle would have been a 4 star review. Within the last 6 months delivery has been inconsistent. They have failed to deliver by 8am on multiple occasions resulting in our box sitting out for several hours at a time. We have experienced 3 non-​deliveries. The one yesterday is 3 strikes, you’re out. In fact, it’s 10:30 the following day and no delivery. They did not hesitate to bill for it though. It’s New years Eve and we had planned on using produce that should have arrived yesterday to prep for guests. As I said before, I would have loved to give them a 4 star rating. The concept is great, the website works well. The only complaint I would have had was that spinach arrives dirty, some items like avocados are either not ripe or too ripe. But, not enough of a problem to complain about. Not delivering on time, on multiple occasions, and still billing for it? That’s a one star rating. So, a 2 rating it is.

It’s really annoying when they assume I want another 10 weeks of boxes when my original subscription runs out and charge me $ 370 without even telling me! I got the first 10 weeks because I was going to be in Seattle, I didn’t get a 20 week subscription because I was going to go home during winter break because I am in school. Now they’ve recharged me another $ 370 and they refuse to refund me the full amount because they’ve already started delivering (unbeknownst to me!). I was planning to resubscribe with them AFTER I’d returned home from break but now I don’t want anything to do with them

I loved getting produce from Full Circle. The produce was fresh and if ever there was a problem with my delivery they were quick to take care of it. Then three weeks ago that all changed. They changed their delivery service. My produce is delivered to my workplace which closes at 5PM. Since the change the delivery service has been trying to deliver after our business has closed. The driver even left groceries that belonged to other people, not at my office, on our shipping dock. One week they tried to make our night janitor to take the delivery, something he is not authorized to do. Full Circle has done NOTHING to rectify this delivery problem! I received a refund for the order I did not receive, but I’ve cancelled the service. I’ll go to Sunshine market instead.

Unreliable but good at apologizing. This is the first review I’ve ever written. I’ve given Full Circle many chances over the years but they continue to disappoint. 10% of the time there will be inedible produce (not fresh, damaged) and 20% there will be substituted items or items left out. Each time I receive appropriate customer service (refund) however the order is already just above my affordability. Tonight, the night before Thanksgiving, my order delivery changed twice and is still not received. I am willing to pay real costs and will forever support CSAs but I’ve hit my limit with this one. NEXT DAY FOLLOW UP — delivery bag was in the lobby, don’t know how or when they got in. They mistakenly doubled the green beans and I didn’t recognize the kale; it was so thin and wilted I thought it was lettuce. The leek is also in poor/​inedible condition.

I signed up for Full Circle but never received my first delivery. We were so looking forward to our veggies and had even planned our next few meals around what we were scheduled to receive. I emailed their customer service twice but still no response.
In theory, this service is great. In practice, it’s horrible. What good is a delivery service that may or may not actually come through and fails to respond to the customers it left in the lurch?

I received my first Full Circle delivery yesterday, after having purchased a Groupon for $ 12. The regular Groupon price is $ 14.95 for the Sprout Box (smallest box), but there was an extra 25% off last week so I scored a better deal. Regular sprout box price is $ 29.95 delivered.
First off, I really appreciated the ease of using the FC website — I ended up switching/​changing a lot of the pre-​assigned product in my box to other items I had never tried before. I also appreciated the awesome delivery window — between 3am-​7am. I left home at 5:45am and the bag was already on my doorstep.
Now let’s be real — I tried Full Circle because of the stellar price of $ 12, with the knowledge that if I was happy with my produce & delivery I may re-​order again. I would say I definitely got $ 12 worth of organic produce, but if I had paid full price I don’t think I’d be as pleased. I realize organic produce that is delivered will be at a premium price, but I really don’t see how I got $ 30 worth of produce. I wonder if because I used a Groupon, they really only gave me $ 12 vs. $ 29.95 worth of produce.
I knocked a couple stars off because of this — and the fact one of the summer squash had a rotten spot. I’ll easily be able to cut it off and use the rest of the squash, but still.
Would I order from Full Circle again? Possibly, but probably only if I could use another Groupon. I just don’t feel like I’d be getting my money’s worth paying $ 29.95 for another delivery.

I’ve been a client for a several years, but finally reached the end of my patience. Between bruised fruit/​veggies to playing «find my delivery» because the drivers are rarely able to read and follow the delivery instructions, I give up. The service sounds like a great idea, but the lack of attention to details and frustration isn’t worth it.

EDIT: Joel contacted me right away, and I received a sincere apology and a refund right away. Great customer service. Perhaps I would try them out again in the future, after some time.
Original review:
I just so happened to first try out Full Circle with a Groupon in the middle of an extremely hot week. I even got an email explaining the change in delivery schedule.
The veggies and fruits arrived early in the morning, around 7:30am. The red lettuce was wilted, the plums were overripe and bruised, the carrots were already soft and the tops were clearly wilted. I specifically got up earlier than my alarm to make sure they didn’t sit on my doorstep, so that wasn’t it. I ended up throwing a lot of it out.
But, because of the «extreme heat» email I had gotten, I decided I’d try it for another week. Literally just got my second order about 45 minutes ago and yup — lettuce is wilted, the bok choy looks a little old, and my cantaloupe of all things is bruised. I know for a fact this week hasn’t been hot, so that’s no excuse this time. Just sent an email to customer service to cancel.
Nice concept, perhaps they need to work on their logistics some more.

I’ve now been a client of Full Circle for about six months now. I’m still ‘on the fence’, but not sufficiently unhappy to jump off.
THE ROSES: For a busy foodie, the idea of having fresh produce delivered to your doorstep is a nice deal. As a big fan of «Chopped», I love the idea of my own ‘mystery basket’ of produce that comes each week and forces me to step out of my ‘comfort zone’ and make dishes with produce I may not choose myself. For the most part, the produce that arrives is in good shape. Being able to go to their website to either hold (which I do a lot) or modify (I don’t, because I love the random selection, but I understand those who like the feature) the order. I also really like the insulated bags the food comes in. They are handy for picnics and taking stuff for parties. Eventually you end up with a crapload of them, but then you can set them out on Delivery Day, and the FC guy will pick them up and they’ll re-​use them.
THE THORNS: Like many Unilocalers here, my biggest issues are with (a) the produce is frequently not local. I understand it though, because this is the Pacific Northwest, not Central California. You just don’t get that broad a variety of produce in this climate, and what the hell to you think you’re going to get — local and fresh — in January? I note also that some of my produce doesn’t keep as well as the ‘non-​organic’ stuff I get at QFC (possibly ‘coz it’s natural, organic, and not ‘modified’?), and occasionally some items aren’t that great looking. From what I’ve heard though, if I really had an issue, I could call Customer Service. Many Unilocalers have noted CS is actually pretty good. Finally, I’m not sure about the value for money. At about $ 25 for the smallest ‘box’, I put the prices at the level of rather spendy produce-​mongers like PCC, Metropolitan Market, and Whole Foods Porn. But then, you are paying for the convenience of delivery so what do you expect?
THE VERDICT: For me, the jury is still out on this service. Nice variety and home delivery is tempered by quality, sourcing, and value issues. For now, I’m still in. For the quality-​conscious family on a budget, I’m not sure if this is that great a deal.

Ok, so I tried out full circle despite some of the bad reviews on here for a few reasons.
I wanted to try a CSA but wanted some control over what I get. Full circle does make it very easy to sub what you get.
So far so good, but then we got our first order. First off the AMOUNT you get is a total joke. We got the largest ‘Harvest’ which is supposed to be 45 – 55 servings. Most of the produce is fairly small (and yes I eat organic stuff normally and don’t expect freakish GMO sized stuff but damn!) and I’d say would last 3 – 4 days in our house with 2 adults and 2 toddlers.
Next up was the state of the produce itself. 2 of 3 apples bruised. 1 of 1 tomato bruised. 3 of 3 potatoes mushy and old. 1 of 4 oranges crushed. Rock hard avocados. Mushrooms we ordered missing completely. Kale marginally old. Seemed to be about 50% of the stuff was bad or damaged.
Now I will say customer service was just fine. I got someone on the line almost immediately, he was super nice and apologetic. No problems crediting us and didn’t try to convince me to not cancel. So that’s 2 stars instead of 1, but I can’t in good conscience recommend this. Guess I’ll continue to go to my local farmer’s market instead of getting door delivery. Much better value and quality.
Good luck to Full Circle getting their stuff together because the website and customer service is on point, but that does no good without a good product.

Full circle literally has some of the worst customer service I have ever experienced. I have contacted the business multiple times (5 to be exact) with no response. Save your time and just find another CSA service from local farmers.
**Update**
Once I FINALLY got ahold of someone they were very apologetic and cooperative in solving my problems. They listened to my concerns and did everything I asked of them, including closing my account. I am disappointed that Full Circle did not work out for me but I think if they keep focusing on improving their customer service, their ratings will definitely go up.

And… it gets worse.
Called to find out where my refund is and the rep said «I see there is a billing error, but no credit was issued. Can you give me background on the issue?» Seems to me she summed up the issue with that statement, but I told her to visit Unilocal and read the story. Then, she asked if she could call me back at some other time. Really?
By the end of my call I was promised a refund again, but they were not able to do it at that moment. So, the drama continues.
This company is right up there with Comcast and AT&T for some of the worst customer service in the world.
My recommendation is to spend your valuable time driving miles to the big chain stores to buy your produce and get the cancer causing non-​organic food before working with this company.