Warning to Studio Pass Buyers

I wanted to share a warning to those considering purchasing Studio Pass. I bought the Joule before it was actually available. I waited over a year past when it was initially promised to finally receive it. I also made the mistake of purchasing a "lifetime" Chefsteps Premium membership. The recent switch to Studio Pass sidesteps the lifetime offer to the original Chefsteps supporters by changing up the service offering. My warning to the folks considering buying into Studio Pass is what will stop the company from taking your money and walking away. Chefsteps already has acknowledged that they are on shaky financial ground.

Before buying into Studio Pass you probably should think about how long Chefsteps will be around to provide the service you are purchasing.

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robert.c.brown15

If you can't afford a one time $70 payment for one year, you shouldn't be buying a Joule to begin with.

I don't know why you have lifetime in quotes. You still have a Premium membership for your lifetime. They didn't take that away from you.

I'm sure I'm just baiting you and everyone else, but all this board has become is a bunch of people bitching about having to pay $70 one time, for an entire year. How people can feel so entitled is beyond me. Either pay it or move on with your life.

ChefSteps was acquired by Breville. They are not hurting for money. And even if they close at the end of this year, I payed under a dollar per recipe for an entire year. Recipes that included conversations and feedback with the developers of said recipes, video footage to go along with it, and other things a cookbook can't provide.

I'm good with that. If you can't be good with that, then that's your problem, not ChefSteps problem. Once again, it's $70. If they closed up shop tomorrow I wouldn't be thrilled, but I've already gotten my $70 worth. That should say something about the quality they've already put out.

Allan_Snyder_240327

I think you're missing the point chief It's not about affording the cost, it's about being able to trust the promises made by the company. To your point, Breville aquired Chefsteps so, "they are not hurting for money". But that's not stoning them from not honoring their promise to their earliest supporters. I could throw $70 out in the street, but why would I do that? And why should Lifetime members have to pay again?

I think people thinking about spending their money with this company should just be aware that any promises made by Chefsteps need to be suspect. Maybe you will get a year for your funds. Maybe it'll be six months and then they'll switch all the new content to Premium Plus Pass.

dancurren

They are still publishing premium content. They needed to come up with a new model because the old model failes. Would you prefer the have folded and taken down the site including the premium content already in place? Do you really think they made those promises hoping or knowing the business would not succeed?

As mentioned above, if you are not happy then keep your money and move on. It has been months now.

Brendan_Kelly_276468

Bottom line up front: You betrayed your early backers and whether you realize it or not, Chef Steps comes off as greedy...

Signed up for CS Premium as part of our initial Joule purchase. Granted, it was free, but it was pitched as being a premium add on for being an early adopter. And at the time it was a paid subscription. For the first year the content was great and really helped people become better cooks.

For the past few years that service has been outright neglected... Now you have a new paid subscription service that omits any existing premium members who have received little to no new content for quite some time and in order to get new content, we have to pay for another service that in essence replaces the premium level package we were told would be there for us. Why should we expect that this whole scenario wouldn’t play out again?

I work in an industry where past performance is one of the key discriminators regarding wether we give someone our business, or conversely, if we are to get someone’s business. I am absolutely going to pay for culinary content that helps me become a better cook. I’m just not going to spend my money with team Chef Steps. They have lost my trust and my business

Your biggest fan - Once upon a time

fisher23

I couldn't have said it better, thank you.

montebello1964

I count a total of 96 Premium recipes of which 40 have at least 1 video, with 3 added in the past month. So, at the very least, for the price of a cookbook, we got the content equivalent of a very nice cookbook. Yes, we definitely got scammed.

Tiffany_263218

You don't need to be unethical to implement a new profit model. They could have grandfathered everyone with the lifetime subscription into the new model while strategizing new acquisitions. Instead, ChefSteps has proven itself to be unreliable and untrustworthy.

Nobody needs to "move on". This is a forum. It's purpose is discussion. This is an issue that affects this community and has many people upset. Take your own advice and just don't read or reply to comments that discuss this issue if it bothers you so much - or don't. That's why we're here. To talk.

Tiffany_263218

It doesn't matter how much value was received from the initial subscription. The subscription was advertised explicitly as being lifetime access to the content that ChefSteps produces. This isn't a cookbook. It's an online recipe website. The vast majority of online recipe collections are free. People were willing to pay for the extra quality and advanced techniques. I would never have purchased the subscription if that lifetime access guarantee wasn't there.

montebello1964

You have received lifetime access to the Premium recipes, which are still available and still being added too.

Of course, if ChefSteps wants to go out of business again, they should probably follow your advice.

Tiffany_263218

It was not initially advertised as just access to just "Premium recipes". There was even a section in the FAQ specifically talking about this concept and how it would truly be a one time purchase to access everything on ChefSteps.. Tell yourself what you need to to to rationalize it. It doesn't change the fact that a good many people have felt betrayed by this move and that ChefSteps misrepresented their initial offering.