Hi all! Had a recent experience with Kitchen Charm / Dinner4Two after attending/signing up at my first bridal expo and decided to post to answer questions for those looking for more detail than what can be found online. Long story short FH and I got the call, went to the presentation, signed up to the buy the pots they were selling and cancelled. Details of our experience are below and in sections so you can get to the point you wanna know quickly. Feel free to ask about anything I missed. Hope this helps.
Initial Contact
I received a call from Kitchen Charm or Dinner4Two . They said that we had won a 3 day 2 night stay in the Bahamas or Mexico. They had called me a couple times and left a voicemail but I thought it was a scam. The last time they called, I accidentally picked up and they said they had been trying to reach me because I had won a trip that they draw for monthly. They told me I had to pick it up at a local hotel where they also happened to be holding a cooking demonstration for pots that they sell. They scheduled us to meet with someone at a local hotel at noon on 6/2/2018. I asked if I had to do anything specific to get the trip they said no so I was under the impression that the presentation was optional.
The Presentation
That Saturday, I went to the hotel with my FH to get the trip. There was one guy/chef there in an apron and a set up of various pots. When we got there, he was explaining the trip to a group of people which I thought was odd because I thought that we had been the only ones that won that month. I also thought it was odd that there was no way to just get the trip before the presentation because the lady on the phone said we didn't have to do anything but we went along with it. He took our names and numbers and asked us to be seated. The presenter was personable and relatively funny. The pots seemed amazing (FH was impressed and he barely cooks). He made us chicken and steamed veggies which werent terrible. People tried to come in late but he refused them saying that the gifts (i.e the trip) were in exchange for thier time and they were too late.
The Prices
The prices of the pots we're hefty. During the presentation, he made references to various price ranges of pots ranging from $100 to $6000. By the end of the presentation you realize it was to prepare you for the price of the pots he was selling which he said we're originally $4500 or something but with a 40% discount $2600. You could also purchase a large set of pots for $2900. If you finance they claim that they will pay your interest if you call them when the pots are paid off. Taxes for the pots are due up front but I saw one couple give their card information and post date the taxes so they could pay when they actually had the cash. Another paid the taxes in cash. For the $2600 pots the taxes were $134. For the $2900 pots it was $160. This may vary by state. USED pots are not refundable. I'm not sure what happens if you receive them but do not use or open them.
The Trips
Sitting through the presentation earned you the 3 day 2 night trip to Bahamas or Mexico (this may vary) OR some alternative gifts like champ glasses or rings. I don't remember the details of the other things because we got the trip. Buying the pots got you all of that plus an ADDITIONAL 8 night honeymoon stay elsewhere. We have not tried to redeem the 3 day 2 night yet. You are responsible for flight and room tax. Food/drink is only included at all inclusive resorts. If you aren't visiting an all inclusive they essentially only pay for the hotel. You can buy additional nights for the 3 day / 2 night Bahamas or Mexico trip. I think the presenter said it could cost around $200 but the prices vary depending on time of year and resort location.
The Outcome
We decided to buy the pots while we were there. I was kind of on the fence about it but FH was all in which was odd because he's more frugal than I am but I went along with it. We picked the $2600 set. We weren't forced to buy anything some people walked right out (presumably with thier trip information). The presenter said he was not commission based. We filled paper credit application just in case we decided to do financing once the bill came. The presenter filled out a order form for us and said the pots would arrive in 8-10 days. Once we got home we really started to do some research. It honestly didn't occur to me to do so before which is odd because usually I'm like that however after reading the reviews and doing some math WE DECIDED THEY WERENT FOR US. The reviews I found we're split. Some had a great experience with the pots, others did not. Some thought the presenters were bad. I left the reviews feeling like I didn't have a clear answer so FH and I just applied our own logic to the situation and went with that. For one, for no name pots they seemed over priced which led us to believe that the $2600 we we're paying was more for the vacation rather than the pots. We we're okay with this at first but then we we're concerned that we might run into some type of restrictions or loopholes for the 8 day trip which was a risk we didn't want to take. We we're also concerned that the pots weren't going to be all that great once we got them. All of these things are things you find out when it's too late and we didn't want to take the risk.
The Cancellation
The following Monday (6/4/2018), FH and I decided to call and cancel. We had trouble finding a number to call. Hours of operation and cancellation policies are NOT readily available online and facebook messenger took 24 hours to respond. Finally (by calling repeatedly until someone picked up, we found that they open at 9 AM EST we called and they transferred us to the cancellation department. Apparently there is a 3 BUSINESS DAY CANCELLATION WINDOW after order placement. The company they fianced with was called Hy Cite. Hy Cite was able to reference the unique numbers at the top of the order form and finance form without us prompting. They also provided us with a cancellation number. They were not able to provide us with a cancellation email which I thought was odd. My FH's card was not charged for the taxes so far however he did get a hard inquiry on his credit AFTER WE CANCELLED. I did not however and my information was on the form as well.
Again, hope this helps. Wish you all the best!
