Too Good To Go: End Food Waste Reviews

by Soundseclectic4

I order off TooGoodToGo several times a week. For the most part I’ve had a wonderful experiences. However in the few times that I’ve gotten orders from new vendors and the item has been inedible or should’ve been in the trash I’ve reached out to the customer service and have not been able to get a refund. I have even submitted documentation of what I have received but in their eyes if it still looks like food then it must be edible. I literally got wilted and mushy produced from a local grocer in town and they told me that that food could repurpose for some thing so therefore I shouldn’t get a refund. Another time I received food that was totally in edible and again was told technically I received $16 worth of food for $4.99 so I should be happy. The customer service on TooGoodToGo definitely needs to be better.

by BeeVixen

...it needs work. a lot of work.

the rating system seems intentionally misleading and vague. they interchange metrics (3 stars vs 4 stars) and hope you won’t notice. for instance, “80% of customers rate this place 3 stars or more” could mean that 80% rate the restaurant at 3 stars, 20% rate it at 4 stars, and 0% rate it at 5 stars... OR it could mean that 100% of customers rate the restaurant at 5 stars. just use a star system like every other rating website does?

additionally, it’s super easy for restaurant owners to game the system. i paid $5 for a bag valued at $18.. i got a reheated can of Campbell’s soup that probably cost the restaurant less than $1. i lost money on food that i didn’t even eat (i love clam chowder but not old canned chowder) and i lost money on gas driving over there. i reached out to the company via the receipt for a refund and did not receive a response.

for this to work, it needs to be fruitful and fair for both restaurants and customers, there need to be consequences for restaurants who cheat customers and they need to have a responsive customer service team for when these things happen. buying a “mystery bag” of anything requires trust and i don’t feel like this company presents itself as being very trustworthy. i hope they get things ironed out.

by Missjackie916

I was very excited about finding TooGoodToGo and being able to help save some food from going into the trash. New to this area of Brooklyn, NY I thought this would be a fun and inexpensive way to try some of the local bakeries and restaurants. Unfortunately I had a terrible first experience and will not be testing my luck again. I picked a bakery semi-close to my area that had great feedback on TooGoodToGo but ended up receiving a bag of 15-20 stale rolls that were hard and inedible. A big waste of my time and money and a disappointing end to something that should have been a fun experience.
App needs to let new customers read actual reviews from people to get a better idea of what to expect and to keep stores accountable and prevent them from selling food that should go in the trash. Customer service issued a credit to my account instead of a refund and a message that said it was acceptable for stores to give stale baked goods and expired items and included a link to recipes I could make with my rock hard rolls 😳

by Kim178

The concept of TooGoodToGo is great as it prevents food waste, but it seems more catered to restaurants than to customers. There is a lack of a review system besides star ratings, and it would be nice to get an idea of what to expect even if things change on a daily basis. Also, customers are only allowed cancellation up to 2 hours before pickup time. However, the store can cancel your order whenever. The fact that I had an order cancelled 20 minutes beforehand was bothersome considering how I made the drive and was given such short notice that my order was cancelled. I understand it’s hard to determine how inventory changes on a day by day basis, but why are restaurants available for next day pickup rather than making it available hours before pickup so that they can at least determine the amount to distribute on TooGoodToGo so it minimizes cancellation?

by Treesplosion

I love the idea of TooGoodToGo and Ive really enjoyed loved grabbing orders from places so far (bakeries have by far been the best).

However, TooGoodToGo really needs to execute its dietary preferences better. Filtering restaurants by vegetarian / vegan entirely hides the places that do have vegetarian / vegan options. The ingredients and allergens section is basically useless because it gives the same “Your bag will be a surprise” message across every page. It will indeed be a surprise to me if I can’t eat anything I get from a place :|

I think it would be a lot better if we could mark our preferences to a place in advance, then have the charge for the order go through once it’s picked up. If a restaurant can’t provide a vegetarian / vegan option, an order should just get cancelled, or moved ahead to a different day if possible. Something in-app instead of just asking at the restaurant! It feels like beggars being choosers to ask then, maybe ahead of time would be better.

by You Yours New App

This review is for San Francisco. The concept is a great idea but it’s not very practical in SF. First, there aren’t many restaurants participating so in order to get food you often have drive across the city at a specific time. Waste of gas, time and a parking nightmare. Second, the portions are horribly small. You have to order two to three orders to complete a real meal. Thus, you’re paying full price for mystery food that you might not even like. Last, the apps review system is misleading which is a big strike against TooGoodToGo . You’ll see the reviews say something like “80% of users give this restaurant at least three stars”. That sounds like a good review “80%”. But it’s not. Three stars isn’t a good rating. And you can’t see comments about why that restaurant got such poor reviews.

I ordered from two restaurants in one day and like one and the other was a joke. I spent over an hour driving around town to pick up the food. Not worth it in any sense.

Great idea but not practical as current set up.

by Dungeon Diva

I’ve been so excited to try TooGoodToGo as soon as I got back to Brooklyn - I LOVE the idea! Unfortunately one small design feature makes it completely impractical for a New Yorker to use. The smallest distance range you can set is 2 miles - small enough for a car based city, but utterly useless if you’re looking for options within walking distance. Two miles puts me in range of three different boroughs! No, I will not be hopping the subway into Manhattan to save $10, thanks... Let me reduce the range to .5 miles (or offer a map based list of places to choose from) and I’d probably use this all the time. For now, another great idea app parked on the last screen of my phone 😕

by Eejum

This is such an awesome idea. I used it for the first time today to pick up something extra from the local grocery store. The process was quick and efficient. I’m glad the waste is going to good use too!

The one thing is, I would LOVE it if I could narrow down by gluten-free options or specify to vendors not to give me... like not get 2 loaves of bread and fried chicken tenders. Which is what I got today from the grocery store’s bag. I purposely chose groceries since I thought it was more statistically likely to get old produce than stale baked goods. I’m lucky my roommates can eat it at least, but it was a HUGE bummer to open it up and realize I couldn’t eat anything.

by Reviewer_in_Boston

I love that TooGoodToGo gives users a bargain and helps to reduce food waste! I have enjoyed trying it out but probably won’t use it often because it was challenging with my food allergies.

I have tried TooGoodToGo at a few businesses in my area. At one the staff asked me about allergies and nicely packed a bag based on my input. Another gave me a prepacked bag. And at one place they packed a bag when I got there but seemed very frustrated when I mentioned dietary restrictions (though I can eat almost everything they sell).

I think TooGoodToGo could better accommodate customers with dietary restrictions with a few enhancements:
- Encourage businesses to include a bit more of a description of the type of items they provide. I understand that it will vary, but even a general description or an example of typical items would be helpful.
- Add a flag to identify businesses that are willing to try to accommodate dietary restrictions.
- Allow users to share comments about their experiences with participating businesses, such as what kind of food they got.

by Milesofedgeworth

The concept of TooGoodToGo is great. Food waste is a massive problem and bringing awareness/sustainably reducing it is great!

T he one star docked is only because (as other reviewers mentioned) the filters and map variables could be greatly expanded. Things like keywords, food sensitivities, and better options to section/parse the map would make the user experience much better. Encouraging vendors to list/update their offerings would make customers easier to find (and vice-versa), and it’d be less overwhelming than browsing the many dots on the map.

Basically: You find restaurants with extra food, and pay for it at an extremely reasonable price. Every place I’ve gone to gives a really generous amount of food for the cost, and can last a couple days especially if it’s a bakery or grocery store (disclaimer: I’ve been at 90%+ rated places so far, so it could be hit or miss). Needless to say it’s amazing for those on a budget, and it’s benefiting small shops as well. I really hope this concept becomes widespread because we waste so much while many have very little.

by IPhoneApp

Love the food and service and I am hoping this helps to contribute to food waste at the same time but I am not sure. My observations only…the few places I visited (with TooGoodToGo ) where the ingredients could have been refrigerated and perfectly safe to use for another day may seem to me that the local biz is trying to acquire new customers through a low cost initial visit. Nothing wrong with this and I hope they are not paying high cost to be on TooGoodToGo . If this is the case I rather help the local biz by paying full price.

A local biz around my area who is not on TooGoodToGo is known to have unsold food at the end of the day at a steep discount to local customers. This way when I buy at the end of the day I know I am helping food waste.

by Smack Me

I never write reviews but honestly, I’m surprised it took someone so long to come up with this idea. I’ve worked in the restaurant industry and I’ve seen firsthand how much gets thrown out nightly, especially baked goods.

I’ve ordered from several bakeries and, with a couple exceptions, generally distribute all the contents of my bag to my local homeless. For $6, I get to help restaurants make a little extra money, minimize food waste, and feed several homeless people. And the food I have kept for myself has been consistently delicious.

A perfect app at the perfect time. And so great to see new businesses being added all the time. Everyone should use TooGoodToGo!

by Daisy De Nueva York

I was delighted to have a great meal on my first purchase on TooGoodToGo. I ordered three meals and the menu for the weekend had the chivó picante. When I saw the menu I explained that I love spicy goat so they gave us three portions with different sides. One had arroz con gandules and the other had habicuelas guisadas with white rice on the side. Everything tasted great and the order was shared with two people who never had Dominican food or goat. They really enjoyed the meal and I was proud to say that it tasted authentic! I’m from New York City where a lot of Dominican restaurants offer these meals. I felt right at home. Will order again and definitely visiting that restaurant for the mondongo and sancocho.

by Frencheyyy

I just picked up my first order and loved it for a few reasons!
1) you save a lot of money 2) you get to discover new awesome places & venues 3) you also get to discover new foods, it’s a fun way to get a little surprise and excitement in your day to day 4) I loved walking to pick up my food, and getting some fresh air & exercise 5) it’s easy & convenient to use TooGoodToGo : it’s easy to browse, reserve and you get reminders when it’s time to get your food. Most importantly, you’re helping fight food waste and combat climate change and live and eat more ethically! TooGoodToGo is a win-win for everybody involved, absolutely awesome!

by RestaurantJunkie

Used it three times so far, and it’s always been a hearty return on investment. Grocery stores, pizza joints, bakeries - a decent variety of options and pick up times. For less than $5 each go I got more than a couple casual meals and snacks. A better value than any quick pick-up at a gas station or convenience store. Even introduced me to places I was unaware of in my neighborhood. Plus helping eliminate food waste? It’s win-win-win.

Not the best choice for the picky, strict diets, or those with allergies — but if you’re open to random chance, it offers some good, high-value options.

by Mgold215

There are virtually zero downsides to TooGoodToGo. It literally is as simple as spending a fraction of the normal price for, at minimum, one full-sized meal (it is often more). If there was a catch, it would be that you have to be on TooGoodToGo right when the restaurant availability pops up or else they get sold out quickly if they’re popular. I’ve used this many times and have gotten an outstanding amount of quality food for $4 in every instance.

It’s a win-win-win-win, for users getting a cheap meal, for the restaurants making some extra money by selling food they wouldn’t have otherwise sold and needed to throw away, for 2G2G for making a fee paid by restaurants, and humanity in general for reducing food waste. Absolutely no downside for anyone involved in the transaction that I can see.

I never write reviews on here, but I am writing this

to help TooGoodToGo continue to expand its reach to more restaurants and continue growing and thriving. Huge thanks to whoever had this brilliant idea and executed it so perfectly!

by SilverKittyKat

I’ve done two Too Good To Go pick ups now and there are so many excellent options in my neighborhood (probably 50 participating stores within 2 miles). So far for $4 each I’ve gotten 1) a really nice wrap and a fresh green juice and 2) a big assortment of pastries, bagels, and muffins (12 items total for $4!). Both orders went smoothly from browsing to pick up and they’re a great value. I love this idea and the execution (at least in my area where there are lots of options) is exceptional.

The only “downside” is that you can’t adjust for dietary restrictions very much (there’s a filter for vegetarian, but not for allergies), but I feel like that’s just the nature of this sort of service.

by Polliloppik

I think this might be my first app review ever but I freaking love TooGoodToGo. Such a simple idea but the people who made this made the process really easy and affordable. I’ve had it on my phone for about 3 weeks and more restaurants are popping up everyday. My first order was from Laduree in Georgetown. I browse TooGoodToGo everyday to see what great deals I can get. I’ve only had one not so great experience with a restaurant saying they didn’t know anything about this service, but it hasn’t changed my opinion of this app. Great options and great customer service.

by Zak Lance

I understand the left over process cannot predict whether there will be vegetarian food or not, I worked on the service industry for 7 years. But there has to be a way for restaurants to be able to accept a certain amount of likely vegetarian meals that can be potentially cancelled if there are none available. I can’t digest meat, so I either have to contact the restaurant independently outside of TooGoodToGo or risk throwing the food away.

TooGoodToGo is doing a great service for the waste of the food industry, but there has got to be some possible way to enable vegetarians to use TooGoodToGo , without instantly limiting them to a minority group of already trend restaurants. C’mon, like a place called hummus and pita isn’t likely to have a vegetarian meal.

by Kramelove

TooGoodToGo is so much fun. Sometimes it can be a little hit or miss and I wish they would allow you to leave some kind of review messages for people or even just to the company. So far I’ve used it four times and three of four times I’ve been more than happy with what I got. The only time I wasn’t super impressed was when I went to a doughnut shop that had just started using TooGoodToGo and they gave me like three doughnuts (I paid $5) but I went to another even nicer doughnut place and got 8 doughnuts which would have been like $18 for $4. They were delicious! I’m glad I can help save food waste and try lots of new places.

by Buchanc3

Every time I launch TooGoodToGo I get this. It would be useful to be notified when the option to buy begins, the restaurants sell out very quickly in my city.

by Moonlight30333

This is great app. And we should show our support. It's saves food and money. So stop rating it so low. If we give a support it may soon come to the U.S👍

by Hassaan Abdeen

Bring TooGoodToGo to the Middle East please. And take it to the whole world too. All countries suffer from food waste at restaurants and homes too.

by TechiePri

TooGoodToGo sounds awesome & very helpful for college students or anyone that needs to save money. Can't wait for it to come to the states 👍

by Wm490

I can't wait to be able to use it in the US! Great idea to save food when so much is going to waste.

by ArtsieSteph

I love this. I love the idea of this. I want it in our country right now so I can get amazing food and waste less. More the food, I am selfish in this case.

by Gabrielita_a

Incredible platform to rescue savoury bites from your favourite local food places!
Super user friendly, interactive map....AND a way to make a hungry girl happy!

by Seasick Euphoria

I'm in love with this concept! Being a college student I'd love to have some inexpensive, good food once in a while so definitely can't wait for it to come over to the states!

by Webwyrm

Five stars because this is brilliant, and I hope to be able to use it someday!
Is there anything we Yanks can do to help it come to our shores & cities?

by Carlos Campos Larios

I really want to get involved in bringing this all to Washington, D.C.! Food waste is something I've always been interested in and I really want to be a part of this team! This would be so awesome if it could be here in DC! (USA) :)

by Eyethoughtyouweredead

Please, my fellow Americans, stop ranking TooGoodToGo low because you can't use it. If you want to express your frustration, express it in a productive way and pressure restaurants to stop wasting so much. Take the initiative and push local change, TooGoodToGo isn't about deals. So you want it, support it, and support the message! This is a very important and laudable goal (reducing food waste), and the more support we show, the more likely it will be grow.

by Foodsavior

Downloaded TooGoodToGo and have already used it almost every day! Amazing food for cheap prices and you’re doing something good! Sooo cool

by Starticket

This is a very helpful app to save on wasting food. And will save you on lots of money too. Hope you add more restaurants and stores throughout the world.

by Ppindini

As a student I haven’t had that much money to waste on expensive dinners thank to TooGoodToGo I can invite my girlfriend to special dinners at home

by Thoughtful Responder

Love the idea and I can't wait for it to be brought over to the United States of America!