What A Crock

It actually makes me sad to have to write this. I’m a big fan of supporting local businesses and try my best to do so. However, after having given What a Crock every opportunity to do address the issues I have experienced, nothing has happened. It can only lead me to the conclusion that they just don’t care.
The sad part is, overall, this was a great solution for someone like me and with one exception (see below), the food has been very tasty.
Below a is a brief summary of what I have encountered:
(1) Basic Nutritional Info
One of my first experiences was in talking to the manager of their store in Brookhaven and I asked about Nutritional Info. I am working with a dietician, and like many other people, I need to know what the nutritional info is on these meals, in order to plan accordingly and ensure I am staying within the parameters of my diet in terms in Calories, Fat, Sugar, Sodium, etc.
The response I got (summarizing, not a quote): It’s so hard because we cook in big batches.
My thoughts on this: It’s just math! Take the total from the product label (even fresh products have nutritional info readily available) for your entire batch. Measure your portions of each product and divide. Too hard?
(2) The Bad Meal — BBQ Ribs
I’ve tried several dishes from their menu, and with this one exception, they were all good.
Wow, though — what an exception!
These ribs looked terrible, they smelled terrible and I was able to take ONE bite and had to throw them away, as they tasted as bad as they smelled and looked.
I expressed this experience to a cashier in their store, who was apologetic and ensured me nothing is more important than the quality of their food. This employee took my name, phone number and said the manager would be in touch. I was given a $ 5 gift card at that time.
What happened after that? Nothing!
No phone call, no follow-​up — radio silence, folks!
A $ 5 Gift Card is barely 50% of what the I spent on the bad meal.
(3) Cooking Instructions
Seem to be inconsistent, at best. I’ve had meals some with no instructions what-​so-​ever. Side dishes that come with a meal, such as Rice or Pasta, is hit or miss. Some have all the needed info (eg. Boil rice in bag, 10 — 12 mins), other have sketchy instructions (eg. Boil rice in bag) (Hint: The amount of time is missing). Pasta sides never had any instructions, what-​so-​ever, on them.
I realize this may sounds stupid to some, but if you know nothing about cooking, these instructions are important! Surprisingly, a business of this type may tend to attract people like me, that know nothing about cooking.
(4) Loyalty Program & Discounts
They have several «loyalty» programs that run through their app. Discount coupons come out fairly frequently, along with other discounts sent by Square (their payment processor).
Don’t get too excited though? It is difficult to actually use these discounts. Allow me to explain one example:
One of the loyalty programs they have through their app is a facebook check-​in. In other words, check into their store on Facebook, while you are at the store, a total of 6 times and you get a free meal. I reached six times with my last order. So, I expected to receive my free meal. No dice!
I placed my order through their website. So, here I am, standing in their lobby with a $ 45 order in my hands and their manager telling me «You need to buy something else to redeem your coupon because it doesn’t work with on-​line orders.» Out of frustration, I respond, «Just forget it». Does their manager stop? No! She continues, in almost preaching manner, speaking to me as one would scold a small child: «Well, I’m just telling you what I need to make this work».
What you need? I’m the customer! I’m spending $ 250 (on average) per month in your store. and you’re more interested in having an argument than honoring your promotion? Wow! That’s good business right there!
How’s this for a solution: Redeem the coupon (something code they punch in on the app to redeem it) and I walk out with my meal. You then have your struggle with your POS System on your time, instead of making it my problem and telling me what «I need to do to make it work for them». How’s that for a quick, customer oriented, solution?
(5) Customer Service
(or the lack thereof)
Despite the #1 — #3 (above), which I found ways to work around, the overall theme of not caring about the customers, the experience and being more concerned with being «right», then doing «right» is what finally broke my back!
After #4 (above), I emailed both owners about these issues.
It’s been over a week, with no response, what-​so-​ever.
That just confirms to me, that they truly do not care about their customers, at all!
After providing 4 separate opportunities for them to resolve this, enough is enough — I had to tell my side of this and hopefully save another consumer to hassle of having to deal with this!

Over all was a pretty good experience. The lady I spoke with was super helpful when i was choosing what to get. Ended up going with the cheesy chicken and scalloped potatoes. Packaging was pretty convenient with each portion separated and included instructions. The food it self wasn’t amazing. Wasn’t very cheesy and kind of bland. But still decent. I’ll give at another go hopefully another meal will end up a little better.

What a Crock Meals to Go is Amazing! I first discovered the company at Booth’s Corner and was so intrigued by the name alone that I followed their signs through the massive market just to find them. I work all day and the last thing I want to do when I get home is cook. Most of the time I don’t even have much in my refrigerator to cook since I haven’t had time to go grocery shopping. What a Crock Meals to Go was the perfect product for me! I walked out of the store with Baked Ziti and Vegetable Chickpea Curry. I was so excited and couldn’t wait to try to the product. I was also thrilled the company had vegetarian options. Both products were delicious! Since then, I’ve made the chocolate molten cake and french toast bread pudding. I’ve also tasted the peach cobbler and spinach artichoke dip. I have yet to find a dish I don’t like; everything is so delicious! I’d recommend the company to anyone, especially those looking to save time prepping and cleaning up meals. It’s so easy to just open the bag and put the frozen meal in your slow cooker.

The food is great and the staff is always friendly and helpful. Great for those days we don’t have time to cook!

Grabbed two family portion meals from these guys, figured it would be easy to make on a busy day. I got the jambalaya and and the fiesta chicken. Both were so full of flavor and proportioned very well. I’m a bigger sized guy and it filled a family of 4 easily with leftovers. The jambalaya was by far my favorite, big pieces of protein in there and very juicy. Overall I couldn’t have asked for more. Delicious fresh food, great sized meals, staff was nice and friendly, family owned which is always a nice touch. I will be getting more for sure.

The staff is very friendly and helpful, but other than that, I am fairly disappointed in my experience at What a Crock.
I got the Jambalaya, which contained overcooked rice (even though I followed all of the cooking instructions), very little shrimp and sausage, and even less flavor.
I also got the Chicken, Spinach and Artichokes meal, which was similarly flavorless.
The macaroni and cheese was also quite bland. I still have the garlic mashed potatoes in my freezer, but I don’t have very high hopes.
The crock pot liners were the best purchase I made there. I will be purchasing those again, but probably not at What A Crock.

What a great idea these people had!!! It’s a busy person’s dream (or lazy person… haha). The owners and employees are knowledgeable and friendly. I’ve liked every meal I’ve tried from there so far. Will definitely keep getting a couple meals from them a week and feel good about it because I’m supporting a local, family-​owned business. :-)

Friends gifted us with What A Crock after I had surgery. The food is DELICIOUS. The costs for meals are VERY reasonable!
Please trust me– this is GREAT!

If you read what others have written here, you will get a good understanding of this unique Delco takeout spot. Two of the best Unilocalers on here both have great reviews about it — Steve S and Dee. The owners are awesome. The idea — unique. The service in the shop — excellent.
Here is my experience with my first Crock meal. Ordered the Cajun Beef for two. Essentially it was two pieces of a pot roast in a gravy (didn’t taste very Cajun), two portions of rice and beans and an asparagus. Only the beef goes in the crock pot. The rice and asparagus were in bags and are cooked in boiling water 15 minutes before the beef is done. I was told allowing for 12 hours on low for the meat will make it very tender when you are ready to eat.
The meat was tasty. Enjoyed that very much. The rice was ok. I hated the asparagus and could not eat it.
I will try it again as they have so much to offer. This time: Food — 2 stars Service 1 star Total 3 out of 5

Its the easiest and cheapest way to have a 5 star dinner at home. Its like having a personal chef at your house cooking all day so that when you get home the house smells of amazing food and the only thing you have to do is sit down and eat. I love the Braised Beef! They even deliver! If you haven’t been there stop in or place an order the service is top notch and the meals are the same price as fast food but SO much better tasting and better for you! If you cant tell I love this place!
The only thing this place is missing is food facts but the staff is knowledgeable and answered all of my questions about ingredients.

Awesome concept, Great food, great people! Love that I found this place. Working long days makes it hard to cook a good meal so this is now my solution. Def recommend checking them out!

Amazing food and service. There is nothing better than coming home from work and smelling your gourmet meal simmering in the crockpot! I love this place.

We’ve tried majority of the menu so far and love it! A few things we didn’t like but it was more personal preference than anything. The quality of the food is awesome! Everything is flavorful and delicious. And the ease of throwing it in the crockpot in the morning and having it ready for dinner.
Overall I’m super glad we found out about this place it’s been a godsend and the staff is super friendly and nice! Love it!

We have been eyeing this place for a little while, finally stopped in this week. The employees are very nice and helpful. We ordered the pork loin and the mashed potatoes, we just made them today. The food was delicious and I will go back to try more. Great place to go!!!

We got the pot roast and it was really good. The owners and employees were awesome and I was real impressed with both the food and the great customer service.

Had I still been relying heavily on crock potted meals I would have beaten a path to their door on opening day. Not in this situation anymore it was however on my radar since it opened a few months back My visit on 5^th of March, 2015 was a pleasant experience.
What a menu! Many items from wish to chose so I imagine this would be a godsend to families. All items are made from scratch and vacuum sealed and stored in their subzero freezer. Prices are reasonable.
As a previous Eliter stated the owners could not be any friendlier. From the guy shoveling the snow outside who made it his business to ensure my safety on this snowy day, to the 2 guys inside (sorry forgot names) these people are pumped about their products and providing the community with good, home cooked products to the area.
I purchased 2 Beef Stews and broccoli which fed 4 people well. I even heard a few «yummie noises» emanating from their lips while eating dinner that evening.
It could not have been any easier. Follow the directions and you come home to a fresh, home made meal in your crockpot.
Great new concept in oft forgotten Southeastern Delco. Give WHAT A CROCK a chance. You will not be disappointed.

I have gone here 5 or 6 times and counting. I will keep returning, not only for the deliciousness of the meals, but for the friendly and helpful owners. I have tried four meals and have been pleased with them all. My favorites have been the chicken crema and buffalo chicken mac and cheese. The instructions are easy to follow and your meal is waiting when you get home! This small business is sure to catch on of they keep up with their quality products and excellent customer service!

Got the Italian style beef stew. It was good, and so easy to prepare. I love the little instruction cards. The staff is so helpful and pleasant. Will definitely be returning.

First of all, I’d like to personally thank the owners for creating the Unilocal listing this week so I didn’t have to.
This place has been on my radar for quite some time. My wife has seen it in her work travels, and told me about it. I have several friends who have been here too.
As a family that relies on their Crock Pot, this place is a godsend for sure.
First of all, I must say that the owners of this establishment may be some of the nicest business owners I’ve come across in Delco. You really do want to root for them to succeed after meeting them, and they bend over backwards to accommodate your needs. I enjoyed talking to them on my visit.
But you get stars from me based on the food. Let’s get right to it.
I have tasted two of the dishes so far: Mexican Chicken Fiesta and Jambalaya.
They create the dishes daily from scratch, and package them extremely well for you to cook in your pot at home with detailed instructions. These dishes have a chef’s touch for sure. You can tell that in the flavors, which are bold and intense.
I can tell you that I’m going to be back for that Mexican Chicken. It goes tremendously well with some sour cream and cheese in a tortilla. My wife and I devoured it happily yesterday. If you like Mexican food, this is your dish.
Today, we tried the Jambalaya. The flavor really kicks your behind. It’s bold and hearty, which if you tried to recreate at home, you probably wouldn’t get it as flavorful in a Crock Pot. It’s not easy to get flavors that bold in a Crock Pot, so for that I give them kudos.
Now, was it perfect?
Well, there’s one thing that doesn’t seem to be perfect. They use diced white meat chicken in their dishes. This tends to come out a little bit dry. I mean, I know how tough it is to cook boneless chicken breast in general, so I get that it’s not easy.
It’s not as noticeable in the Mexican dish as there are a lot of other things going on in that dish to compensate. But it was really noticeable in the Jambalaya. The flavors of the sausage, shrimp, and ham were more than enough to complement this dish, but that just made the chicken stand out a bit.
I still ate it happily though. But if you asked me to chose between the two, I’m choosing the Mexican chicken. It really knocked our socks off. I’m betting the Jambalaya with some dark meat in it would rock my world though.
I still have more to try (two more different dishes remain in my freezer as I write this) and I will be back to try others.
I consider the prices reasonable for what you get. Sure, you can make half decent Crock Pot meals at home a little cheaper, but chances are you won’t be able to do it nearly as well. It’s clear they know what they’re doing here. And isn’t it nice to have someone else do all that recipe prep for you?
Give this place a chance. You won’t regret it.