Hello, I am concerned you think you have spoken with the owner of Holistic Blend, as the owner I do not belive this is true. I am never rude to anyone, let alone customers. Please give me a call so I can resolve your issues. Sincerely, Debbie Jansen President Holistic Blend

Dear Ms. Jansen, Yes, it was you that I spoke with in August. After your brother, Bob, came by to pick up the food and give me a check, he promised to test the food regarding the strange white shiny substance that was baked into the food. He seemed very concerned about what we both saw and assured me that he would have test results in a few days. I waited for 4 days to hear back and then was told it was not going to be tested. Bob told me that you asked your plant to check it and they determined it was barley husk. I then called your office in Ontario and you called me back. You were very defensive and angry that I wouldn't accept what you told me and said that Bob was trained to just agree with the customers, but you would not test the food. Because I would not just accept your answer and "go away" , you then said I was the rudest customer you ever spoke with and that you wouldn't discuss it any further. As I explained to you and your brother, my only concern was for my dogs. I had no ax to grind with you or your company but I just expected that you would live up to your promise. Because of the pet food scare last year, you bet I'm going to be concerned when I see something odd in the food! You seemed to feel that I was over-reacting about the whole situation. Since Canada Food Inspection has no way to monitor pet food, there was nothing they could do to help. I hope it was barley husk in the food, but because of the way you handled the situation, I would never buy your food again.

Ms. Jansen, I'd also like to include in my reply, After waiting 4 days for a call back from Bob with test results, I never heard from him and had to call to see what was being done. It was clear he didn't want to hear from me. That's when I was told there would be no testing done and there was nothing he could do for me. That was why I called to speak to you.

I am very sorry, but I did not speak with you, although I do recall my sales rep. Linda mentioned to me that she had taken over a situation from Bob in the Martitimes. As I recall we went out of our way, even drivng to your house to have the issue resolved. We do test our food every month, we provide guaranteed analysis from Maxam labs. Something no other pet food company practices. This maybe why Linda told you we would not get the food tested, of the thousands of bags we sell a day, you were the only customer who found this to be an issue. Well we are very concerned with any and all issues brought to us, yours had been evaluated and resolved. I do apologize if you were not satisfied with the end result. Sincerely, Debbie Jansen President

Your brother, Bob, did drive to my house to pick up the bag of food and he did give me a check for $60 to reimburse me. My concern was not the $60; it was the white, shiny hair-like substance baked into the food and your brother said he was just as concerned. I've been buying premium "holistic" foods for many years and have never seen anything like that in any food. Neither has anyone else I showed it to. If it was your sales rep, Linda, who returned my call, I don't understand why she identified herself as "Debbie" and said she was the owner of the company. I was very surprised at how defensive and angry you were when I only asked your company to do what your brother promised would be done. Bob never said the food was tested. He told me that you asked your plant manager and he told you it was barley husk. When I didn't accept that and just go away, I became a "rude customer".

Ms. Jensen, I think it's strange that your staff is allowed to tell customers that thay are the owner and also use your name when they call people. I still believe it was you who called me and not an employee. I never spoke with anyone named Linda; only Sandra. Calling me confrontational and hostile is a bit much! I first called your office on 8-27-08 when I first noticed the substance in the food. I spoke to Sandra and explained my concern. She was very nice and told me she'd have the sales rep contact me. Your brother, Bob, called me the same day and we made arrangements for him to come by and pick up the food and give me a replacement bag. I thought about it that evening and called your office the next day. I again spoke with Sandra and asked if there were any ingredients from China and also said I'd rather not have a replacement bag. She was going to have Bob call me and answer any questions about the ingredients. There was NOTHING hostile about either of these conversations. Bob came by on Friday, 8-29, and gave me a refund. When he inspected the food, he voiced his concern over what he saw and told me it would be tested immediately and he would give me the results in a day or so. I did not hear anything, so on Wed, 9-3, I called at 1pm and left a message on the voice mail. I called again at 3:30 and spoke with Sandra, who told me several people were out sick and she'd have Bob call me regarding the status of the testing. Bob called late that afternoon and just stated " all is ok with the food". I asked when it had been tested and why he didn't call to let me know. That's when he said it would not be tested, and that you had "inquired at the plant and were told it was barley husk in the food". He was the one who got hostile and defensive and said " what do you want from me" and "if there was a problem with the food, it would have been pulled from the shelves." I stated that I wasn't comfortable with that answer and asked why the company didn't do what was promised. He said he'd do what he could about going further with a test. I called your office the next day ( 9-4) and was told by Sandra that your were out sick. I explained the situation with Bob and how defensive he was and felt his attitude was uncalled for. I said I would like to speak to the owner instead of going through Bob, as I didn't think he was being honest with me. By 9-8, I still had not received a call from you, so I called and left another message. You called me late afternoon on 9-10 and you were immediately sarcastic and defensive to me. You told me that Bob is trained to just agree with the customers and you wouldn't listen to a thing I was trying to say. When I tried to ask why Bob is allowed to tell customers that things were going to be done and then blowing them off, you told me I was the "most annoying customer you ever dealt with and you would not discuss it any further". At that point, I knew I was getting no satisfaction from you or your company. It was very clear that as long as I would shut up, accept what I was told and go away, I would not have been an "annoying customer". As I told you and your brother, I didn't want anything from you except a straight answer as I was very worried about my dogs. I can still see that you handle situations by name calling and misleading statements. If someone would have called me back and done what they agreed, I would not have had to call the FEW times that I did.

I have extended every courtesy to you, I have invited you to call me personally. To insist that it is I you spoke with even after I am telling you it was not? Any reasonable person might venture to think there was some truth to this and actually want to call the owner. I am often away from the office for long periods of time, when someone like yourself is so insistent on speaking with the owner, my staff can and will intervine. Sandra, my receptionist is the kindest, nicest person one could ever meet. Now I am absolutely certain you are not looking for resolve here. Again I can only apologize for what you say was your experience with my company. Again, the food is tested every month, actually ever 3rd week as that is how our production is made, (we do not mass produce) the food is always tested twice, once by the plant and once by Maxxam. On a final note, I must stand behind my staff, from what I understand they all went out of their way to provide you with hands on service, including driving out to your house in Nova Scotia to pick up the food in question and provide you with a full refund. Sincerely Debbie Jansen.

After looking at your profile I was curious as to the other 4 ratings you left. All are within 1 mintue of each other and all given a 5 star, done on 10/28/08. The very day I sent you an email with my concerns to help you. It seems to me that your dogs food is not of concern to you, but rather giving Holistic Blend a bad image. I would have to suggest consumers look beyond your comments for the truth. Holistic Blend was one of the very few who were not on the recall list. That should speak volumes. Sincerely, Debbie Jansen

Since you're curious about my profile and my ratings of the other foods, they were actually ratings of foods that I use now or have used in the past. They were all rated on the same day, since that is when I first used this website. I gave them all a good rating since they deserve them. I'm sure comsumers who have had bad experiences with companies will understand my frustration. I'm also pretty sure that people who read this website are smart enough to think for themselves as far as other people's comments and choosing food. If you will read my post, I did not say anything negative about Sandra; I said she was nice; I had no problem with your employees, so no need to defend. If you think I'm unreasonable,you're entitled to your opinion. If it's unreasonable to expect that a company and it's representatives do what they say they are going to do, treat customers fairly, and return phone calls, than I am very unreasonable.

Additional comment regarding your statement that you were one of the "very few" not on the recall list... I'd like to add that Fromms, Hund-n-Flocken, Origen, Flint River Ranch,and Canidae, to name a few more, were not on the list. I'm also curious if owners of the companies should be rating their own food?

Actually, Orijen just had a recall? and Hund N flocken also had a major recall with their product which was made at diamond pet foods a few years back. Fromm is a great product, but different from Holistic Belnd as it uses corn. As does Flint River and Canadae. There are many great foods on the market. I never berate any company. Not one food is going to be effective for all animals, which why there are many quality pet food companys to fit the many different needs. I only provided a postive rating for my company and Go! because I happen to know they are a very ethical company who also produce a great quality food.

I just read the label on Fromm and I see no corn.... I was under the impression that the ratings should be done by consumers not the company. I guess I just haven't seen the other companies put a rating on their own products. Must have missed that. It's nice that you don't berate the other companies. Maybe they should follow your lead and do a bit of advertising here.