Apple Spice Box Lunch and Catering

Edit: I updated my star rating from a 2 to a 4 because of the thoughtful reply from the owner. Also that they pointed out that the local office is not responsible for the website UX. The folks at this location seem nice. I do hope they can force some change at the home office regarding the website user experience.

Original review:
Pros: First, the people. Norma, who I spoke with, deserves 5 stars and is the only reason this review has more than one star. Second, when I have had meetings catered by this company in the past, I really enjoyed the food. I was looking forward to having it again.

Cons: The online ordering process is deeply flawed. First, the interface is not intuitive at all. I had to download and read the detailed instructions on how to place an order, which shouldn't be necessary. An online UX should be simple and intuitive, and not require an instruction manual. In fact, my first order attempt got messed up. I had to delete it and start a second one.

My biggest complaint is that they deleted my order before I could finalize it. I had set up an online order about 6 weeks in advance of the event for which I was ordering. I sent the link to the 19 people attending, who filled out their orders (one of whom had trouble filling out his order and called me for help - again, a non-intuitive UX). Two weeks later (and 4 weeks before the event), I received an e-mail saying that the order was ready to process. I did not attend to it promptly because I was going to handle this and other event arrangements all at once at a later date. There was no indication that the order would expire. No message like, "you have XX days to complete your order." No reminder e-mail that my order was about to expire. The entirety of their e-mail communication to me was, "Your group order is ready for checkout / Hey Ian Slinkman, your group order is ready for checkout now, you can proceed by clicking the link below. [link: Checkout group order]"

A week an a half later, I went to complete the order and it had disappeared. I called the local office and a very nice lady (Norma) tried to help me out. She was polite, understanding, and went out of her way to assist me. But she couldn't - the record of my group order had been permanently deleted.

My advice to Apple Spice is to 1) revisit your online ordering system to find ways to make it more intuitive, 2) include a clear message that there is a time limit in your communications about the order, and 3) send a reminder e-mail if the time limit is about to expire.

Because of this situation, I have chosen to cater this event with another company.

On behalf of STOLADI Property Group, we appreciate Apple Spice for always coming through with excellent service and coordination!

HUGE shoutout to LeeAnn for her confirmation call, her understanding of directions over the phone using Google maps, her arriving early, her swiftness with setting up and willingness to help elsewhere, and just having a kind heart.

HUGE shoutout to Gema! For making everything work after giving her the wrong date LAST MINUTE. We are truly appreciative of your execution!

Was absolutely delicious. So fresh!

Great food, but pricey

Great food, but pricey

Gema at Apple Spice was a pleasure to coordinate with! She was very prompt with emails, the lunch was delivered exactly on time, and the food was excellent! As a tour operator, I'll be suggesting them to my clients looking to incorporate catered on-the-go lunch. Thank you!

This place is amazing!!

Highly recommend!! Order: 150+ Classic Boxed Lunch’s Company: FedEx Ground - St Paul, Minnesota Fantastic presentation: The Lunch Box was made of high quality cardboard, crisp edges, well branded, easily displaying the contents within. The branded paper box liner was reminiscent of a classic deli tray. High quality food: 1. Turkey Bacon Ranch Wrap First let me mention the presentation. High quality checkered deli paper and finished with a durable cling wrap. Well sealed, and neatly folded to the underside of the wrap. The tortilla itself was a flavorful green spinach wrap that held its shape, pliable, and an upgrade from typical white flour tortillas. The turkey was moist, and freshly sliced. The tomatoes were ripe and firm The lettuce still had a slight crunch. (Leaf only no stems) The chilled bacon was flavorful, without being too greasy and still breaking apart with each bite. 2. Dill Pickle This simple accompaniment was proof of the thought and effort put into each lunch box. Let me explain. * CUSTOM ZIPLOCK PICKLE BAGS! * The little bags were specifically designed for a pickle slice. Sealed up for maximum freshness. Often I’ve seen pickles tossed in a sandwich baggy or leaky plastic wrap, tossed inside sandwich wrap and treated as an afterthought. Not here! My pickle was perfect! 3. Chocolate Chip Cookie The branded paper deli pouch was a nice touch. A true classic chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie. There’s not much to more to say. It was exactly what you’d expect it to be! 4. Classic Lays Potato Chips (Added a dash of Valentina hot sauce from my personal stash) 5. The plastic silverware pack. Here ‘Apple Spice’ included a Quality Black Plastic kit. Well done. All in all. The portion was perfect. My hunger was satisfied. I felt content after the meal. 10/10 will recommend!!

They did a great job with our catering order, and the food was delicious and they had great options for all types of food preferences. The potato salad was delicious as well as the carrots with dip.

The boxed lunches are AMAZING! So much food and by far the best sandwiches we have ordered. Also Lee Ann the delivery person was very prompt and friendly. We are definitely going to order again.

Coordination of an out of state meeting was made easy by working with Apple Spice for catering. They listened to our needs, made suggestions, and communicated well with me. The food was high quality and the service was perfect! We had two morning breaks and two lunches catered for our meeting and the staff handles this with ease. Actually, they went above and beyond to assist us. Please do not hesitate to contact Apple Spice for your catering needs.

The presentation of the meals was amazing, and the food looked fresh and of high quality. My son was the lucky recipient of the turkey, bacon, and jack sandwich. His feedback:-Sandwich was delicious and very filling-Loved the mini cheesecake that was included-As a ravenous 16 yo, he couldn’t even finish all of the food, and had some left overKudos to Apple Spice for preparing and packaging such a high quality lunch. Will definitely recommend Apple Spice for any future catering needs!

This place is AWESOME, they've always been there when I needed them for large cooperate orders. Will definitely use them again and again.

Great food!!! Great customer service!!! Easy to order from!!!

Easy ordering experience, on time delivery, and quality ingredients. We will order again for our next meeting!