NutriSystem promotes itself as an “effective, safe, and customizable weight loss program” that lets you “lose weight and still eat the foods you love.”
That’s the marketing. Now what are all the things they should also tell potential customers?
1. NutriSystem won’t tell you: “Our food tastes bad.”
It’s hard enough to lose weight when you eat fresh and good-tasting foods. How can you be expected to lose weight when the food you are eating is not even fit for animals? Unless NutriSystem’s plan is to make food so bad that it makes people despise eating, they have failed in the taste department.
2. NutriSystem won’t tell you: “We won’t send you the foods you ordered.”
The absolute biggest beef with NutriSystem is that they are substitute-happy. They will quickly and without warning substitute up to half of your selected food order. This is frustrating for the average customer. This can be devastating for those with specific dietary needs based on health issues. It’s also bad form to send meat-laded substitutes to vegetarians, or foods that are allergy-triggers for those with allergies.
Substituting foods without proper notice is just poor customer service. If NutriSystem cannot supply the foods they offer, they need spend less time selling to new members, and spend more time exploring how to make their supplies and distribution best suit their customers.
3. NutriSystem won’t tell you: “We will send you subsitute foods for substitute foods.”
NutriSystem is really good at making a bad problem worse. When substitute food is returned, don’t expect foods from your original selection list to always be sent. They will instead send even more replacements and substitutes.
4. NutriSystem won’t tell you: “The food does not taste fresh.”
How could it? The food is pre-packaged, can spend weeks in transit, and then has to be reheated by the customer.
5. NutriSystem won’t tell you: “You will have to pay shipping for returned orders.”
Many customers have had problems with not being reimbursed for returning wrong orders. What gets worse is when a return order is the second or third wrong order, and a customer’s shipping costs and frustration are equally elevated.
6. NutriSystem won’t tell you: “Our portions are secret.”
Know how much bran cereal you are getting from NutriSystem? One bowl.” The nutrition information they include incoporates nutrients from the added skim-milk, not just the cereal. Why pay for bran cereal from them when you can portion out your own 100-calorie serving (3/4 cup) of Total bran cereal?
7. NutriSystem won’t tell you: “Our pre-packaged foods are loaded with sodium.”
Anyone knows that pre-packaged foods are full of sodium. Sodium is a preservative, and without it, some foods could not be packaged. Anyone who is watching their sodium for health reasons, or is sensitive to sodium and bloating needs to avoid this weight loss system.
8. NutriSystem won’t tell you: “Our food costs way more than it would if you bought it at the store.”
It costs less to learn about nutrition and portions than it does to eat lesser quality prepared foods bought through Nutri-System.
9. NutriSystem won’t tell you: “Our food is only part of what you should be eating.”
The NutriSystem, even though it can cost you between $50-$70 a week, is still not nutritionally complete. The customer is expected to buy fresh foods on their own, including fresh fruits, vegetables, and milk.
10. NutriSystem won’t tell you: “Our system does not teach you how to eat better for a lifetime.”
The most disheartening aspect of this “weight loss system” is that they offer a weak and temporary fix to a larger problem. Even if someone is happy with the program, and actually loses weight, it does not address what will happen when the person no longer subscribes to the NutriSystem plan. By not educating their customers on truly nutritional practices, NutriSystem is best serving their bottom line, and not their customers.
