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Comments

• [1] Erin from Brooklyn October 09, 2007 - 10:49AM

  I will not use Fresh Direct until they work with the union and give their employees living wages and benefits.

  
  
• [2] Gary from Manhattan October 09, 2007 - 10:49AM

  Don't mess up FreshDirect with unions. The delivery people and customer service reps are well-trained and very polite. Unionizing the workforce would ruin a great service.

  
  
• [3] ab October 09, 2007 - 10:51AM

  They're trying o unionize because they are being underpaid...

  but as long as the yuppies get their groceries delivired,what do they care?

  Hey...why no Fresh Direct, in the Bronx? Are the people who live there to dark skinned for Fresh Direct? What's the deal????

  
  
• [4] chestine from NY October 09, 2007 - 10:55AM

  i have pretty much stopped using freshdirect for a few reasons - decline in quality standards (less organic and local for example,less environmentally friendly) in my view - and the leadership's attitude toward me.

  I really like my delivery guy and his service - though and feel he deserves better treatment.

  I don't like this guy at freshdirect, never did.

  Their prices certainly are not competitive, are they? They were better in the beginning

  
  
• [5] Christy from Brooklyn October 09, 2007 - 10:55AM

  Dammit! I just discovered Fresh Direct and thought it was absolutely wonderful - but will absolutely boycott them until they work with the unions.

  
  
• [6] JJ October 09, 2007 - 10:57AM

  FD delivers to Washington Heights - only complaint - I can never get early morning delivery. I wish they would allow for pre-tips like pizza website (ex: papa john's)

  
  
• [7] Jimmy from Brooklyn October 09, 2007 - 10:59AM

  Sounds like people that work for Fresh Direct need to go work for these other companies that pay more for the same thing. That's what we do in a free-market society. Unions are fine, but if they're not supported by Fresh Direct, then maybe union fans need to go elsewhere. If the U.S. was a socialist country, things would be very different.

  
  
• [8] Gary from Manhattan October 09, 2007 - 10:59AM

  Hey ab, like all businesses, if FreshDirect thought that it would make money by going to the Bronx, it wouldn't leave money on the table. Don't make everything about race. Doing so detracts from real racial issues.

  
  
• [9] ab October 09, 2007 - 11:00AM

  And again, I agree with the caller from Bed-Stuy..not surprising that they would exploit mostly minority workers since they refuse to serve communities that are largely made up of minorities...not surprising at all!

  
  
• [10] rmk October 09, 2007 - 11:02AM

  I live in an area where grocery options are very limited and I've been using Fresh Direct on a bi-weekly basis. They've been a fantastic blessing for me. But I've been hearing about his dispute for a couple of weeks now and it really concerns me. I really feel like I can't continue to use them until this dispute is settled, even if it is extremely inconvenient for me.

  
  
• [11] Anonymous October 09, 2007 - 11:02AM

  I live in a minority community and they deliver to me. I think that they have been slowly expanding their service area and will continue to do so when they can. I think until there is enough of a market in a neighborhood, it's not economically viable for them to do just one or two deliveries there. So if you keep telling them you want them to come to you, I am sure that eventually that will happen.

  
  
• [12] Gary from Manhattan October 09, 2007 - 11:05AM

  Erin,

  Unionization of FreshDirect would eliminate the entrepreneurial nature of FreshDirect that makes it such a great service. Otherwise, it would become like D'agostino, with indifferent/incompetent employees. By the way, the long-time D'agostino on 57th Street and Ninth Avenue shut down recently. Poor employees drive away customers.

  
  
• [13] LK October 09, 2007 - 11:06AM

  The only time I used Fresh Direct was when they started and were offering $40 of free groceries. I have since received discounted offers, but when I compare prices with what I pay doing my own shopping, it's not worth it. I live on the Upper West Side where we have great food shopping. Now that I hear about the union-busting tactics, that's another reason not to use them--if they were unionized their prices would increase.

  
  
• [14] Rachel October 09, 2007 - 11:07AM

  Why not send a message to Fresh Direct letting them know that if they can't accommodate unions, you will boycott them. If enough customers let them know that their business is threatened they'll need to reconsider their position.

  I sent a message at:

  http://www.freshdirect.com/help/contact_fd.jsp

  Of course, I'll miss them and I let them know that as well.

  
  
• [15] ab October 09, 2007 - 11:07AM

  Anonymous,

  well it would be interesting if they did, right now it looks very bad and there is an obvious demand in certain neighborhoods where they refuse to deliver.

  Note the story of the host about how they won't even cross an avenue to deliver to him because his area code is in Bed-stuy.

  If only it were just due to demand....but it's obvious that it's more an assumption of no demand or even worse...either way..it doesn't look good!

  
  
• [16] Jimmy from Brooklyn October 09, 2007 - 11:08AM

  When a business choses which neighborhoods to serve it's called marketing, not discrimination.

  
  
• [17] ab October 09, 2007 - 11:15AM

  Jimmy,

  When it decides which neighborhoods to service based upon an assumption of demand that work out a long racial lines, that is racially biased. End of story.

  
  
• [18] chestine from NY October 09, 2007 - 11:19AM

  I think there's too much emphasis on "free market" (free for whom?) and not enough on what "mom and pops" used to offer: knowledge of their business and customers, SERVICE and the idea that you are serving a community, something larger than yourself, as being a meaningful component in any enterprise. I think service to community should be as exalted a phrase as free market

  
  
• [19] Jimmy from Brooklyn October 09, 2007 - 12:53PM

  lb & ab

  I wasn't saying i disagree with all your stances. i doubt many here are, either. i'm just pointing out that america, as is, is not a very socialistic nation. hopefully, if opinions are voiced in intelligent ways, and more people vote and are voicing their opinions; we can take a step in that direction (or at least i'd assume you'd agree)

  imagine you were going to make an offer to FD to open subdivision for your neighborhood. you would consider number of internet users, frequency of shopping, income levels, product/customer alignment, etc. you would also have to consider having really high prices (and who can pay them), if you want to have all union employees in your division, with a living wage.

  note that race is not directly considered, nor is if their delivery people or warehouse workers are of the opposite race as their customers. this is not how business is done, at least if they want to make money.

  -not white

  -not racist

  -not going to argue with you

  -all the best

  -j

  
  
• [20] RCohen from Park Slope October 09, 2007 - 03:18PM

  That's it for me and fresh direct. Bad enough the guy who started it screwed over the guy who started Fairway (look up that story). I gave FD the benefit of the doubt b/c the workers are nice but using them is obviously doing these nice workers a DIS-service.

  Boycotting FreshDirect starting now.

  
  
• [21] B from Upper Upper West Side October 09, 2007 - 04:00PM

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• [22] leeza December 17, 2007 - 12:01PM

  you people don't get the fact that your order of one chocolate bar and 2 apples has to go through 6 systems before it hits the del.truck.And to answer the person's q' of "y no del in Bronx"...simple bec some areas are unreachable..just like queens(no complaints that we are too GREEK) or brooklyn (that we are to RUSSIAN), so pls stay calm and civil, the ppl. at FD doing what they are told, just like you do what your boss tells you to do. We all work for someone... and if you are self-employed, you must have money to move to the city, where FD DOES deliver.Happy holidays.