Some things seem like good ideas and some just don’t. This falls under the “don’t” category.
I’ve told my wife, “If I ever buy meat from a door to door salesman, please just shoot me on the spot”.
TACOMA – You might buy candy or cookies from someone selling door-to-door, but would you buy meat? Is it safe? And what are you really getting?
Door-to-door meat sellers hit the streets every summer and some are in our area right now. Based on what just happened in Tacoma, they’re raking in the dough.82-year-old Helen Swanson thought she was getting a deal.
“It’s in these different packages,” she showed me, pointing to 9 boxes and some loose vacuum-packed steaks in her freezer.
The guy that came to her door said one of her neighbors had just bought some — steaks, ground patties, and marinated boneless chicken breasts. In all, it was about 38 pounds of frozen meat.
How much did he charge? “$392,” Helen answered.
June Peterson, Helen’s neighbor, says look for two clean-cut college age guys in a black SUV with a hatch back.
“He first asked if I knew where there might be a freezer for sale,” she said.
Next thing she knew, he was making the pitch: $378 for the beef with the chicken thrown in for free.
She didn’t receive any professional paperwork, just a hand receipt. He cashed Helen’s check the same day at local check cashing company.
Neither woman got an itemized list. Quick calculations show they paid about $10 a pound, for ground sirloin, sirloin steaks, chicken breasts and breaded chicken tenders.
June’s family tried the steaks on the barbecue.
“It didn’t even cook like meat and none of ’em would eat it,” she said, adding it tasted like filler.
June says she called the salesmen several times but only got voice mail. “And nobody ever calls you back,” she said.
So I called the guy, and. I also got voice mail. So far, no response.
As for whether June feels she got her money’s worth: “Absolutely not!” she insisted.
The men call the company Chef’s Choice. I searched and made calls to companies that had Chef’s Choice in their name but could find no meat company with that name.
According to former salesman with established, reputable meat companies, the men June and Helen encounter raise several red flags. All reputable door-to-door meat sellers have business licenses, and business cards. They provide brochures and lists describing their product with contact information, and they provide itemized receipts with clear, professionally printed information about the brand.
Source: Komo News.
Another alternative is just getting the meat on the internet
Amazon
So, I think this falls under the same rules as just about everything else. DO YOUR HOMEWORK.
I’ve never heard of anything like this… I’m especially freaked by the All reputable door-to-door meat sellers have…” line. There are reputable door-to-door meat sellers? People will buy anything! ;)
Considering the financial matter it’s pretty cheap but if you think at your own health it’s just not worth it. After all the salesman doesn’t carry a refrigerator on his back.
These guys come to my neighborhood all the time. They drive a compact pick up usually with a refridgerator on the truck bed. I don’t eat meat but if I did, I still wouldn’t buy from them.
They are worse than the Kirby Vaccuum cleaner salesmen! Beware!
This is something new. I still love traditional idea of shopping for my feed. I cannot imagine just buying off from them like that!
My relatives out in “back woods” have someone that comes by every few weeks, and she buys various lunch meats from him. I think he is associated with a store, but I’m not certain. The relationship with him has gone on over 20 years, perhaps much more. It always seemed odd to me, and yeah, that seems like an awful risk to do it.
Well, I can honestly say the meat truck has never driven up our street. I don’t think they’d get a lot of buyers around here.
Although, there are quite a few people getting home delivery of the milk (but that’s completely different since it’s a legit company)
Strange, a guy stopped by just this afternoon and offered us meat from his truck. We politely declined.
You know, I have been purchasing meat from a company called great american steak, off and on for the last 6 years and thouroly sattisfied. they get thier meat from a local meat proccessing plant here in sacramento. I havent bought meat from a store in a long time
I’ve been in the business for 5 years, and there are guys who are legit, and guys who are not legit, I have my power inverter in my truck so the freezer constantly runs. All our steaks at best choice have a 1 year gaurantee. for taste tenderness and against freezerburn
I can tell you to stay away from US BEEF. The filets are NOT REAL, they are chuck shoulders. All the meat is not choice, it is sellect so they lie about that as well.
There are many good door to door meat guys. I should know because I buy from one here in PA called Enterprise Steaks. I have sued Us Beef and won due to what I listed above. Enterprise Steaks has nothing but great steaks, and a really great price. I haven’t found a better deal ANYWHERE else!!
I work for US beef. Some of what you’re saying is not true. The filets are real, they are not choice but they are real. Everything in the case is choice except the filets and the burgers. I really find it hard to believe you sued us beef as we guarantee everything for a year. If you had a problem it would have been taken care of.
whats going on? hey you get bad people in all job fields. Not all guys that come to your door are out to get ya. I have been selling meat for 9 years .I carry a very good product. with a lot of repeat business.
Hey, i was a meat salesman for almost 4 years and worked for several different companies. ALL meat companies are not as bad as you people are making them out to be. I’ve worked for a couple shady companies, but i’ve also worked for a few really good ones too. Needless to say, as long as i was in that field of work, i ate nothing but the meat that i sold every day. I never had a complaint about the quality of the product that i was selling. I also had a lot of repeat customers as well. So, be wise in your decision making and you will almost always be satisfied.
I was a meatman for a #of years. the key to getting good meat off a meatman IS, check the tempature of the freezer, read the boxxes, and for god sakes the #1 thing is the colar of the fat.no yellow fat. if you follow these 3 rules you will be happy with your choice to buy. if you want good meat look up great american steak company, in sacramento cal. google them. look for your self. a.m
One was just at my door trying to sell door to door with out a license. I would think a reputable business would have one. Purchase meat to feed to my family from the back of a truck? No Thank you.
hey karen~ where the hell do you think your meat comes from that you buy in a grocery store? guess what, it is delivered in a TRUCK! So get a clue b4 you get on the computer and write ——– —- (edited by admin).
Lots of input on this post. I was actually just talking to some friends of ours out at the lake and they have been very happy with the meat they’ve gotten from a commercial meat delivery service. I think the key here is to make sure you know who you are buying from and what you are getting. As someone in the comments stated, every industry has bad apples. When people show up to your door wanting to sell you something, regardless of what it is, you should do your due diligence and make sure they are legit.
I thought I would google “meat peddlers” because I have a friend who is a recovering crack addict and he was selling meat door-to-door out of his truck. Thats how he kept his crack supply going. He said all the others doing it were addicts as well. Have you seen these guys? Beware!
to those who dont do sales, i sale meat door to door, a product that i feed my family and friends. but if i had to buy a soliciting license for every city, county, and town ship i worked in,i would spend prob over 10 grand a year on them permits. our country was built on peddlers, doesnt give anyone the right to charge me 20-100 to work some where for a day,
i have been the meat industry for 10 yrs. there are good and bad companies. yes, there is alot of ‘shady’ sales people in the business because of the way they are paid, daily. I am a 40 yr old woman trying to support my family in a legitimate business. Just make sure all the beef you buy is USDA CHOICE and above, and check their freezer. If they dont have dry ice or an inverter (plugged in through the battery) do not buy the beef. This is an outside sales job and we work hard everyday. The responces that i get at the door sometimes are worse then what i would say at my #1 enemy…..just remember that most of us are sales people (working class just like you!!) trying to support our families too. Take some responsibility and do your homework before you buy.
I have been selling meat for 9 years…Prime Selection in California has pretty good stuff.
We are regulated by many agencies, and members of BBB. The beef lacks pumps, preservatives, and tenderizers is all natural. Over the years we were forced to offer pretty consistent
quality. There will always in any business be customers who fall through the cracks..it is unfortunate, but for the most part I have huge customer base…I am also sure that in other parts of the U.S. there are other meat guys like me and customers who feel the same way.
David, Morgan Hill, Calif.
I have been selling meat for 3 years…and i am here to tell you that in every business i have ever worked in there has been bad guys and good guys, lets take a look at Berni Madolf…a reputable man that even the president would have invited over to dinner at his house…and all the while this man was stealing billions of dollars from hard working class people like me and you. Now lets take for example your local grocery store, mad cow disease was sold through the grocery store, salmenila is sold through the grocery store, atleast with our meat, you know its going from the butcher to your door, not to your rest stop were the trucker turned his truck off and forgot to turn it back on, and then to the back door of the grocery where it sat before it even went on the shelf. I have many satisfied customers, i have some dis satisfied customers, but atleast with our dis satisfied customers we have a Guarentee. Your local grocery doesn’t have a guarentee :-)….So before you go around dissing meat sales man….maybe you should thnk about where your so called “good meat” really comes from…my wife wont even eat meat from the grocery any more, she thinks its repulsive…..she would much rather eat the meat that we sell, not just because we sell it, but because she is satisfied with it, and knows where it REALLY comes from.
and for the people who are discussing “soliciting permits” thre was a case a couple years back with the Johova Witnesses, who by the way won the case, and if you are a traveling “door to door” salesman, you dont need to get a permit becasue that is how you make your money…and 9x out of 10 not even the cops know that, but it is true, look it up…also, if your going business to business no one should really bother you either…but there will be some idiots, like people above, that will give you a hard time for just trying to make a living for your family, we dont step on your toes when your doing your job do we? atleast were not doing illegal things like selling drugs or better yet ourselves!
DO NOT get meat sellers confused with Schwan’s Food Service. The two are completely different! Schwan’s is the way to go.
i have sold meat door to door for 6 years.let me tell you how to know the difference in a scam and a legitament bussiness.1rst make sure they are inspected by the department of aggricullture and make sure they show you that the beef is not injected with solution and that your buying choice and not commercail beef. its not fair that because of a few we are all treated like scam artist
Intersting subject! I have been a door to door meat sales guy for 12 years, managed a company,Distict Managered for a company, and now I own my own Meat company, we are opening a 3rd Office in Hollywood California July 5th, All you experienced meat sales guys n gals, if you wanna come to Hollywood Ca, We are hiring now, we are also in pre production for reality tv show based on the Door To Door Meat Man!
For all the meatmen out there: you all know that no matter what company the meat comes from it is all the same sub-par product. Let’s be honest, go to a real meat counter and buy out the volume that is offered in six packs and the number is way higher than the $70 price tag we pay. The quality and urgency of the sale are an act that is customized purely to get them to buy. The biggest load of crap is when meatmen use words like “my customers”. C’mon, we all know what we do, so on this board atleast turn off the BS pitch. I’ll be the first to say it, I hustle the crap out of these people so I can pay my bills and put food on my table, and it usually is not the crap I sell. I stopped eating it after the first year.
well if you think about it… most of everyone’s meat comes from the back of a truck .it might be a semi-truck or a pick up truck what’s the diffents…as long as it’s frozen and has the u.s.d.a seal of approval…i thnk i would be more afaid to drink milk that was delived…but,guess what i still drik milk…did you evern think that the meat is good and the chief is a bad cook…hummm…
Ive sold meat before, and before that I bought the meat. I liked it, tasted great, easy to make. 1 case, 6 boxes, 6 DIFFERANT boxes for about 189 each. And I thought that was an awesome deal, then I went to work for the meat company, and I had to laugh at how much the box really cost me. As a former meat man, I wont reveil my price. But as a customer I was satisfied. Our company sold Angus, there were bad meat companys out there. And some times you would run into their former marks, eerr I mean customers. And of course, because they had a bad experience its ALL my fault. Just remember, were people too, and jobs are hard to find. Be thankful were trying to sell you meat to feed our families, instead of robbing yours.
I worked for Country Choice for quite some time in Phoenix AZ. I loved the job, but my crew moved to California so i decided not to fly solo. THe product i sold was very good, my family and friends ate what i sold. I also used an power inverter , and since im in AZ i backed it up with 2 25 lb blocks of dry ice.
In my experience the people that think most meat sales men are bad is because we slammed your wife for 4 or more cases^^ Just gonna put it out there since i so not work for them anymore. Sure there are bad apples out there. But most of us and our product is top notch.
I got this afternnon a box of ribeye from a door by door salesman froma a company called anchors away fron NJ. I got one before a year ago, and quality was really good, but i’ve been searchng in google about this company and there are no references. have somebody heard about it?
A couple gentleman showed up at my door this afternoon selling steaks from a company called Country Choice and they are based out of the neighboring town. Years ago, (15 or so) I had a steak for dinner at my neighbors that was vacuum packed in this manner and I absolutly loved it, and always wondered how I could get some more. So I eagerly asked questions, ( to which I thought were good questions and bought 400 dollers worth of meat 4 cases. Thinking I could save a little with my large family.
After they left my roomate told me how pushy they were about trying to come into the house before I had came into the conversation.. After they left I decided to look them up on the better business beureu, and they have a F rating. And I had found previous complaints of a similiar ( if not same with previous name ) Butchers Choice, With E Coli being recalled.. Now i’m a little scared to eat the meat. I assumed that since they had even mentioned that they take state EBT ( food stamps ) that the government must think this company is reputible. I dont know what to do with all this meat know as some previous posters had said, some ppl are good some are bad.. It looks like this company has had alot of issues. Should I try and get a refund and get my 400 dollers back??
I am a door to door meat sales man. I have been employed in this buisness for over five years. Some commented on the legitimacy of it, well I will tell you that the same as every other food establishment, we have to get buisness liscenses, food inspection permits, and soliciting permits where required. As far as the quality of what we sell, it is better than what most grocery stores sell. I am also a Christian and have been for over eight years since I was saved and converted from sin to salvation. And I will tell you this I do not lie to my customers and I am the most honest salses person most people know. Are all meat men like me “NO”, but it is unfair to hold prejudice against the entire concept because it is something you are not used too. As one comment read, and I do fully agree “do your research”, before you buy from any door to door meat salesman, ask to see his liscense and inspection report. If he is legitimate then it is just as safe to buy as what you get from the grocery store, if not safer.
A young couple have asked in our neighborhood. Does any one know anything about Sun Chase Foods, Inc. out of Nixa, MO? Their boxed steaks and chicken products are labled “Culinary*Gold”. If you can let me know if you had a good or bad experience with them or anything about the quality of their meats, I would be appreciative. They seem like a nice couple but I don’t know anything about their product quality so it’s hard to commit or even negotiate with them without a base understanding of what they offer. Thanks,
i have purchased from sun chase foods and was very satisfied with quality;however,,,don’t pay the price in the brochure; it’s negotiable.
My name is james, ive worked for Great American Steaks for the last two years. Im not sure what this guy named big ed is talking about. i pride myself on the quality of beef i sale . its processed locallly and is better than any beef ive ever had. we pay alot for our product, the reason being is you get wht you pay for, and a little integrity goes along way. my custumers are very satisfied . cheers
Door to Door meat men will “NEVER” tell you how much the meat is a pound. They know if you actually did the math you would realize you were getting ripped off big time. They will tell you BS stories like RESTAURANT’S DON’T BUY BY THE POUND THEY BUY BY THE CUT”. Then they will tell you that when you buy by the pound at the grocery store you are paying for fat, water and bone waste, and with their steaks everything is edible. Some meat men will tell you they are selling their steaks for 2.00 a piece and will have 80 pieces of meat in the boxes. What they forgot to remind you of was those 24 sirloin patties, AKA hamburger are 2.00 a piece also. WHEN A SALESMAN TRY’S TO TELL YOU THEY DON’T SELL BY THE POUND THEY ARE BREAKING THE LAW. YOUR COUNTY OR STATE SHOULD HAVE A DEPARTMENT OF WEIGHTS AND MEASUREMENTS THAT YOU CAN REPORT THIS TOO, AND THE PERSON WHO TRIED TO SELL TO YOU THIS WAY CAN AND WILL BE ARRESTED. I hope this information helps people.
Thanks
attention everybody all over the world BE AWARE OF DOOR TO DOOR SALESMAN OF SUN CHASE INC. i purchased some meat from them about two days ago and they used ebt card and yesterday they STOLE MY MONEY OFF MY CARD!!!!!!!! THEY ARE GOING AROUND DOOR TO DOOR TRYING TO GET PEOPLES FOOD STAMP ACCCONUT NUMBERS TO TAKE MONEY OFF OF UR CARDS. IF THYE DO NOT HAVE ADRESS OR FULL NAME OR REAL NUMBER TO GET IN TOUCH WITH SUMONE DO NOT COMPLY IF ANYONE KNOWS OF DOOR TO DOOR SALESMAN FROM SUN CHASE INC THAT R IN CHATTANOOGA, TN PLEASE EMAIL ME AN LET ME KNW MY NAME IS KIM AND I HAVE KIDS TO FEED AND I AM HADICAPPED AND THEY STOLE MY MONEY OFF MY CARD NE VERY AWARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANKS SO MUCH
You don’t stop wearing shoes because you got a bad pair of reebox. You buy nike. You don’t have to slander an entire industry cause some piece of crap company ripped u off. Buy from someone else. Bp spilled a bunch of oil in the gulf, I don’t see anyone swearing off gasoline…get a clue. I sell good high end meat for a good price. I have all my trucks inverted, I make my guys keep em clean, I distribute brochures to my independent contractors to give to their customers, I take food stamps, I make my guys buy soliciting permits if they want to work in certain areas that require them ….and you know what I still get ignorant people that can’t fathom buying meat off the back of a truck saying hay are gonna call the police on my guys because they are knocking on the door. Get a clue. Call them. Then feel stupid when u find out how legit we really are. But don’t expect me to stick around. I will be knocking on one of your neighbors doors when they get here cause I got bills to pay.
The best practice is to make sure you are buying your meat from a legit wholesaler. make sure the salesman has a Mini Reefer System not just a common household chest freezer in the back of their truck and make sure you are buying choice meats not select graded beef.
95% ALL SCAMMERS!! been in business over 15 yrs. first of all, as a consumer. ask them to show them thir licensc/and sellers permit. (if not,they are a scam,and not legit. BY LAW THEY MUST SHOW YOU IT) next, still think your unsure? call the county clerks office where they are from and see. (its for free) I get sick and tired of these losers. so, all american meat,prime selection, us beef,country choice foods, mid-western beef.. and the rest.. are un- licensed! good luck to you.. and to the legit ones out there. keep it honest.
I live in mt. shasta, ca. i puchased meat from this sonoma cattle exchange out of petalum, ca. thier meat is from mexico, it says it right on the boxes. didnt notice it until it was too late, rob rockwell sold it to me. he is a liar, he said he was still working for the company he used to work for which is great american steak co. we have been buying from great american steak out of sacramento ca. their meat is soo good, for three years now. rob falsified he gave us a fake business card, and said he was still with great american. anyways it took me three months to get my money back from this shyster company, sonoma cattle exchange, and 32 phone calls, before we talked to someone. since then we are back with the great american steak co. we recommend great american steak co, to anyone. we love good beef.
Hey guys! IM a door to door meat sales man 4 the last six years and would like 4 it 2 be known that this bussiness is like any other bussiness theres good companys and bad ones .When I was reading some of the comments there was one that was so stupid I think her friend was a crack head selling meat and there was some other ones that worked there 2 so beware of the meat man she said. NO stupid beware of ur CRACK head BUDDY and the crack head crew thats one company.What you dont think theres some cracks working at wal mart bc u can bet ur a## every bussiness has this problem if its wal mart or k mart or the guy working on ur car somebody is using drugs its 2011 and drugs are everywhere .I have 2 kids and a wife and I work 6 days a wk and love what I DO and I dont smoke crack my earnings are 200.00 to 300.00 average a day and I respect the peaple I sale 2 and the ones that I will .I have a large amount of repeats bc they like the service and the food .
HEY girl from tenn who got rippid off the company u bought from probaly wasnt sun chase ur probaly just thinking that bc the box says it but thats the brokers name who they go threw to get 2 get the meat and IM sure the company that u bought from r not going around trying 2 get ebt food stamp numbers just that guy let me explain all these companys have a turn in when they get back to there shop the sales guys pay 4 the meat they have there price and the price they charge the custo this guy has no skill so he had 2 take what wasnt his bc he couldnt sale you enough meat and make the large sale which would have gave him a large profit so he pulled some bull.HERES how you track him down each one of them boxes have a usda stamp on them the numbers by the USDA stamp leads back 2 where he works at call the usda peaple and give them the numbers and they willl let you know which company the meat came from.
Watch out buffalo new york,my grandmother had one of these companys stop over last summer in a red four door truck.it looked like a big grill was painted on the freezer unit.The steak nearly ripped her teeth out.He claim the meat was all natural at $35 LB.We tracted his company down to ward Rd In North Tonawanda.He goes by the name Mike>They should bullshiter
This goes out to all you guyz baging on the MEAT MAN you have good ones you have bad ones thats life Ive been selling MEAT for four years and my customers love it I get repeat bizness Cuz my shit is good and people love it and love me Ask anybody that really shops at stores and they will tell you that your saving money ya there are some people that get over priced thats bull shit and there are some guyz that should sell meat NOT EVERYONE IS a crook I Support MY family and to all you fucks that dont buy off a truck your full of shit thats how it get to the store and you dont even now what goes on in the store this goes from a truck to cold storage to my freezer into your house and if you dont try it dont knock it cuz your not a real american AMERICA WAS BASED ON BRAVERY IF YOU ARENT BRAVE TAKE IT DEEP AND DONT TALK SHIT because like everthing your going to have people that like it and people that dont and some steaks are better than others just cuz you had one bad experience your letting the good shit pass you buy
well not sure who will be the next to read this post but meat salesman are not a joke.we r for the most part all decent men and women who r just tryin to make an honest living…as for the one that r theives and drug addicts i cant speak on their part.theyre in a different class.so when the next meat man or woman comes to ur door….give em a chaNce…u might not regret it
I have been in the gourmet meat and seafood business for over 30 years selling high end Steak Chicken and Seafood products and i do 99% repeat business because we carry quality… we service the customer…. and we guarantee the product. i have been blessed to have some of the greatest customers in the world. Because this a great way of making a living if you do things the right way.
Then I see these fly by night meat companies (6 pack companies) just ruining this business with their un ethical way of selling the meat. Ask yourself this question… how can any meat company give you a free case of food if you buy the two other cases?
This is how…. they double up the price on the other two to make up the difference making you believe that your getting something for free. There is no free lunch in this business. Or how they start out by showing you a brochure saying it cost 449.00 but we will give it to you for 279.00 or 225.00 or even 179.00
Most of these companies buy from the same suppliers just change the outside of the box and instant new company.
There is nothing wrong with buying meat from a truck but there is a problem buying from someone who has no morals and doesn’t carry quality products. Remember the saying “you get what you pay for” ?
There are some good meat companies left …so you have to do your homework. If your salesman wont give you a price list or a business card don’t do business with them. if they look hobo’s or gangsters don’t do business with them.
But Remember this….95% of the supermarkets in this country do not carry choice meats. thats right 95 %. A sk yourself this question….when was the last time you bought from the supermarket and said wow that was a great piece of meat? probably not often…. they also don’t vacuum pack the product for longer freezer time. and they don’t deliver to your door.
We offer the customer a service…. a shop at home food service a chance to buy from their home without standing in long lines at the supermarkets and warehouse clubs or having to drive long distances to purchase their food especially with rising gas prices.
So for you people who want to make a living in this business…try your product make sure its quality, stand behind your product and be honest to your customer.
Good Luck, the godfather of the meat business
i take orders and deliver straight from a beef plant so is fresh and usda select
do it for extra cash and our meat is way fresher than what you get at the stores because its sitting at the plant for two weeks b4 shipped to the store
I just don’t understand how people think it’s a deal the case of steaks varies very little between meat companies. Most of the cases weight about 19 pounds. They come with 40 to 50 cuts of meat usually 43. six pounds of the case is hamburger meat. They usually train you to try to sell the cases for 199 and add tax to make it 217.40. The first sell usually just goes to cover Gas (40.00), Truck Fee (30.00) and other minor expenses. If you were to pay 199 thats over 20.00 a pound and 6 pounds of it is ground beef. I’m not seeing the logic in paying 20.00 per pound when six pounds is ground beef.