Customer Service FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions

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Contact Ustop

Call toll free 9am - 9pm (Eastern Time) We're open now!: 888 636 8162
Local call number if you're in Ann Arbor: 734 477 6986
Email service@zingermans.com
Fax (We dig the sound it makes): 734 477 6988
Mail (Secret admirers and love notes welcome.)
Zingerman's Mail Order
422 Detroit Street
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104

Why this food?top

We seek traditionally made foods with full flavor. Foods that have been part of people's eating for a long time, or newer foods that are made with traditional methods. (Of course there are always exceptions. We make sure the exceptions — like our all natural gummies, which aren't traditional at all – are also very delicious!)

We try to keep the selection tight and focused. We taste lots of different foods so we can narrow down to what we think is the tastiest. We want to help you find what you're looking for faster and easier.

Paper catalogs are cooltop

Fill in this form. We'll put a catalog in the mail right away. It should be with you in less than two weeks.

Corporate gifts, professional presentstop

Zingerman's specializes in delicious custom food gifts for one, one hundred, or one thousand clients. Your corporate gifts are handled personally by your own personal shopping concierge. Order in advance; we guarantee arrival by the date you want.

Learn more here.

Featuring
- Concierge service. One person guides your order from beginning to end.
- Add your own personal items, gift cards or logos.
- Guaranteed arrival dates.
- Holiday discounts

Lead concierge Jackie Evers
TEL 888 636 8162 extension 4

Email professionalpresents@zingermans.com

Frequent Foodie reward programtop

If you spend enough to earn a prize we'll let you know. It's that easy!

No membership fee. No account number. No pin. No need to even sign up!

You will rack up Frequent Foodie points by eating your way through our catalog and website. Every dollar you spend — on yourself or as a gift purchase — counts towards a Zingerman's Gift Card.

Frequent Foodie qualifying period is October 1, 2009 to September 30, 2010.

Philanthropytop

Zingerman's gives to a variety of causes. Our main philanthropic mission is to help end hunger in Washtenaw County, Michigan. We founded Food Gatherers in 1988 and continue to give them the majority of our philanthropic and volunteer support, regardless of the level of our profits.

If you have a contribution request for your organization you can learn more about our giving and request a donation here.

Illustratorstop

Ian Nagy has been an illustrator at Zingerman's for eighteen years. He's an avid fan of outsider and children's art. Influences include Kate Uleman, Ben Shahn, Matisse, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Gary Panter and that of his family; mother, sister and father. A concise history of his work and more images at www.iannagy.com.

Ryan Stiner attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and started illustrating for Zingerman's in 2005. Inspirations are Istvan Banyai, Justin Bua, Jasper Johns, and Gerhard Richter. See more of Ryan's work at www.ryanstiner.com.

Previous Zingerman's illustrators, whose drawings are still part of our website and catalog, include Raúl Peña, William Charley, Kate Uleman, Phil Stead and Adam Forman.

Writerstop

Zingerman's shopping website and catalog prime authors are:

Mo Frechette
Brad Hedeman
Ari Weinzweig

Designers, Editorstop

Catalog & Print Design
Nicole Robichaud
Betsy Bruner

Editorial
Jackie Evers
Susan Ederer
Brad Hedeman
Pattie Shaffer
Pete Garner
Alissa Surges
Ari Weinzweig
Mo Frechette

Illustrators
Ian Nagy
Ryan Stiner

Programming & Testing
Charissa Fields
Mike Feustel
Thomas J. Bauer
Glenn Maxwell
Kane Koval & Associates

Director
Mo Frechette

Video of us in actiontop

Recipe: Mo's basic vinaigrettetop

Mo's Basic Vinaigrette

Guaranteetop

If you experience a problem with any of our products, customer service, shipping — or even if you just plain don't like how it tastes — please let us know. We'll do whatever it takes to make it right for you.

Customer service is our passion, our charge, and our mission. Stuff happens. Things go wrong. We consider it an honor when you let us help fix a problem.

No Hassles
Whatever the problem we’ll fix it immediately, no questions asked.

No Supervisors
Every one of our staff is authorized to do whatever it takes to make it right for you. While we welcome any requests to speak to a supervisor, manager or owner, you never feel like you have to in order to get things taken care of at Zingerman's.

No Returns Necessary
We almost never ask you to return anything to us. That means you can shop with us and try something new without worrying you'll have to re-pack the box and go to the UPS station if you don't like it.

No Statute of Limitations
We don’t care when the problem occurred. We’ll refund or replace anything no matter when we let you down.

The Only Taste That Counts is Yours
If you don’t like how it tastes, that’s good enough for us. We’ll refund your hard earned cash or send you something you’d rather eat.

The Only Policy is: Whatever it Takes
We don't have any "policies." No "if this happened, then we'll do that." We do what you want. If you'd like us to refund the order, consider it done, no problem. Want us to replace it? Absolutely! Want something else instead? Sounds great – let's find something tasty. Just want to talk and give us some suggestions for improvement? Thank you, we'll listen!

Everyone is Covered
You’re the recipient, not the buyer? Doesn’t matter! We want everyone to be delighted by our food and service. If anything is wrong, please contact us so we can make things right.

On Time Arrival
We guarantee your order will arrive on or before the day you select. We know you often rely on the food to make a birthday special or a dinner come off without a hitch. If shipping gets in the way we promise we’ll cover you.

The Entire Experience Counts
Our guarantee doesn’t just cover food. We ensure your satisfaction with every part of your experience with Zingerman’s. From picking up the phone. To the first mouse click on your computer. Until you finish the last bite of bread. If you aren’t completely satisfied with any part of the journey please contact us. We want to hear about the problem. We’d love the opportunity to make you happy.

Returnstop

We usually don't ask you to return things. If you have a problem, please email service@zingermans.com or call 888 636 8162. We'll help!

Paymenttop

Payment: Online or by Phone

MasterCard

Visa

American Express

Discover

Payment: Mailed in Order
All of the above plus
Check
Money Order

Unable to Accept
Diner's Club
Collateralized Debt Obligations

Order form downloadtop

Zingerman's Mail Order form for one or two recipients (duplicate for more recipients).

Securitytop

All Zingermans.com transactions take place on a secure server. Your information is encrypted before it is sent through the Internet.

If you don't feel comfortable sending your credit card information over the Internet, no problem. Call 888 636 8162 and we will happily take care your order over the phone.

Privacytop

We know this is a sensitive issue. We take your privacy very seriously. To that end, we have a privacy statement that we live by.

We use personal IP addresses to help diagnose problems with our server, and to administer our Web site. Your IP address is used to help identify you and your shopping cart.

Our site uses cookies to keep track of shopping carts.

Our site uses an order form to request information, products, and services.

We collect customers' contact information (like their email address), and financial information (like credit card numbers).

Contact information from the order form is used to send orders and information about our company to our customers.

Customer contact information may be used to get in touch with the visitor when necessary.

You may opt out of receiving any future mailings by post or email at any time. Unsubscribe from email here. Unsubscribe from post by emailing service@zingermans.com.

Financial information that is collected is used to bill the user for products and services.

In the future we may choose to use online surveys or contests in which we will use customer's contact information (like their email address).

If you have any questions about this privacy statement, the practices of this site or your dealings with this Web site you can use the contact information below.

Gift card balancetop

Plastic or electronic, we sell both here.

Redeemable at any Zingerman's business, they never expire and we don't charge fees as they age.

Check your Zingerman's gift card balance here.

Love notes and suggestionstop

We welcome hearing from you. Send an email to tell us what you liked, or what you'd like to be better.

Gift customizingtop

We love to customize! If you'd like to change one ingredient or create a gift box from scratch, we can help. We can include your own materials or logos, too.

Ring 888 636 8162 and we'll take care of you.

For many reasons we recommend using our recipes, especially for gift baskets, since they're designed to look nice upon arrival. But we understand there are many special needs you may have. We want to help!

Gift packagingtop

We package our gifts in three different ways. The choice is described in the description of the gift.

	Wisconsin Cheese Box, aka the ZingCrate Dufeck, in Denmark, Wisconsin, is that state's last wooden cheese box maker - and perhaps the country. Now in its fourth generation, the folks there have been peeling wood veneer off local trees to make round boxes for cheddar since 1912. The crates are handsome, sturdy and - beyond holding foods like our Classic Sourcream Coffeecake - quite handy for storing sewing supplies, old photos and antique socks.
	Zingerman's Cartoon Boxes Thick-walled recycled cardboard boxes, covered in cartoons of cowboys, octopi, monkeys, flying loaves of bread and more. The largest holds our most popular gift box, The Weekender. And cats.
	Baskets Classic woven gift baskets. Markets of Provence is illustrated.

Gift cardstop

Plastic or electronic, we sell both here.

Redeemable at any Zingerman's business, they never expire and we don't charge fees as they age.

Check your Zingerman's gift card balance here.

Sold outtop

When will it be back in stock?
Usually we have a pretty good idea of when the next shipment of a "sold out" item will be arriving at our doors. While we don't have the technology to display that online yet, you can email service@zingermans.com or call 888 636 8162 to find out.

Why is it sold out?
We source most of the food we sell from artisan producers. Some of them are located far away and we directly import from them a few times a year. Some are much closer — Zingerman's Bakehouse is just down the street — and we order from them almost every day.

Almost all of them make their products in small batches and encounter the difficult problems of being a small food maker. Sometimes we ring to place an order and they're just plain out of stock. Mother nature wreaks havoc on raw materials. Supplies run out or are inconsistent. And so on.

We try not to keep a lot of stock in our warehouse. That's not because we're being stingy. Many of our producers make or package to order. By ordering in small amounts, what you get to enjoy is much more fresh.

Search results: no keyword matchestop

If you can't find what you're looking for there might be four reasons. Either way, we want to help so please drop us a line or call!

Technological malfunction
Sometimes the search engine doesn't find things as well as it should. Give us a ring to let us help you suss it out.

On vacation
Foods go on vacation from time to time. Ring or email and we'll let you know when they are due to return.

Retired — or we never sold it
We can let you know if a food is retired from out website, living out its days in southern France, or we never sold it. Either way, we'll help you track it down if it's available at another company.

I know something you should stock!top

Love to hear about it!

Write Mo: moeats@zingermans.com.

Can I send something from another Zingerman’s business?top

Usually, yes! Please call 888 636 8162 or email service@zingermans.com.

Zingerman’s Exclusivetop

Zingerman's exclusives are foods we import directly from the maker, usually family-owned businesses working on a very small scale. You can't find it anywhere else but Zingerman's.

Koshertop

Zingerman's is not a Kosher deli or bakery. We do sell some Kosher items made by others, however.

Bread heat-before-you-eat instructionstop

Even though your Zingerman’s bread may feel hard upon arrival it’s almost magical how well it returns to that “fresh-baked” status with a little time in the oven. Crispy, thick crust; soft, chewy crumb inside.

Here’s how to make the magic happen.

1. Take the bread out of the bag
2. Pre-heat your oven to 325 degrees
3. Throw half, whole, or part of the loaf on the oven rack naked
4. Leave it there for 20 minutes
5. Take time to smell the roses, or, better, the sensual aroma coming out of your oven
6. Eat your loaf

Bread heating after freezing top

This technique works for loaves that are frozen solid, taken straight from the freezer (which is where we recommend you keep all or part of your Zingerman’s loaf, double bagged in plastic, if you’re not going to eat it in a few days).

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
2. Remove the bread from the freezer
3. Take off the plastic bags
4. Place frozen loaf naked into heated oven
5. Leave it there for 40 minutes
6. Solve world peace
7. Eat the bread

Bread stale revival instructionstop

Zingerman’s bakehouse breads may not have nine lives, but most of them can be revived long after you’ve given them up for dead. Try this little science experiment on dry, hard loaves.

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
2. Brush a naked loaf with a bit of water — get it moist, not soggy
3. Stick it into the oven for about 20-25 minutes
4. Write your senator
5. Let it cool for a few minutes and eat it up!

Ships for Flat Ratetop

Wherever you see Ships for Flat Rate the item is eligible for $7.99 flat rate shipping.

The charge is per address. You can order as much as you'd like and pay one flat rate.

When you check out you'll learn when the items will arrive (usually 5 business days at most).

If you need it there quicker, you can choose to upgrade to our guaranteed 1 or 2 business day service when you check out.

Flat rate to Alaska and Hawaii is $17.99.

Arrival datestop

Latest Arrival
Our checkout calendar allows you to pick the arrival date you'd like. You can select an arrival date up to one year ahead. That is the latest date your package will arrive. Your package will arrive by that day, sometimes as late as 9 PM. That date is guaranteed.

Earliest Arrival
Your package may arrive slightly earlier than the date you pick.
$7.99 Flat Rate packages: up to 4 days early
2 Business Day packages: up to one day early
One Business Day packages are guaranteed to arrive on the exact day you choose

Why can't I choose some dates?
UPS can't deliver our packages on Sunday.
UPS offers limited service on Saturday.
Delivery by tomorrow is only available until 2 PM ET.
Next month's dates are in grey but you may select them or move the calendar ahead with its arrow button > in the upper right.
You can't choose an arrival date in the past because we have not yet been able to perfect time travel.

Order By 2pmtop

One Business Day Service
Order by 2 pm ET Monday through Thursday and we can ship your box out the same day. You can choose to have it arrive the next day at the earliest.

Arrival days are Tuesday – Friday. Saturday delivery available to some areas.

Two Business Day Service
Order by 2 pm ET Monday through Wednesday and we can ship your box out the same day. You can choose to have it arrive two days later at the earliest (e.g. Monday by 2pm arrives Wednesday at the earliest). If you order a box and select Two Business Day Service Thursday through Sunday, the earliest we usually ship is the following Monday. That way we're cool to the food and it doesn't sit alone in a warehouse over the weekend.

Signature not requiredtop

We authorize UPS to leave your package at the recipient's address without a signature. That way the recipient doesn't have to be home to accept it and the food doesn't suffer from multiple delivery attempts.

Shipping Pricestop

Alaska and Hawaii

Add $10 to above rates.
Five Business Day Relaxed takes 8 days.
Two Business Day takes 3 business days.

Saturday Deliverytop

Not available to all locations. If it is available, you'll be offered a date on your checkout calendar. If you have any questions, email service@zingermans.com or call 888 636 8162 and we'll help!

Pick up an order at our warehouse?top

Free at our warehouse.

Available by phone only.

Email service@zingermans.com or call 888 636 8162.

International Shippingtop

We can send food to all 50 states and Washington D.C. Unfortunately, we can't send Zingerman's internationally.

We'd like to help you find someone who can help you. Email service@zingermans.com or call 888 636 8162.

Warm Weather Caretop

Per shipping address for Two Business Day Delivery only
(charges do not apply to Relaxed or One Business Day rates).

October 1 – April 12: No Charge
April 13 – September 30: $10 additional to Two Business Day Delivery rates.

Why?
Warm weather strikes each summer and wreaks havoc on perishable, melt-able food. It's hot in UPS trucks and warehouses even if it isn't too warm at the recipient's address. We employ an ice pack and insulation defensive strategy that ensures your shipment arrives in great shape.

The extra packaging is reusable on picnics and road trips.

P. O. Boxestop

We can't ship perishable product to P.O. Boxes, unfortunately. UPS is our courier and they can't deliver to them.

If you're concerned that all you have is a P.O. Box, here are some frequently asked questions with answers that might be helpful.

What if I have a Rural Route Number?
Rural Route numbers are OK, UPS delivers to them. Sometimes people confuse the two. Rural routes start with "R.R."

What if I'm not shipping perishables?
If you have non-perishables (things in bottles or tins, usually) we can often send them by USPS to a P.O. Box. Please give us a ring at 1.888.636.8162 and we can help you.

Do they have a street address at all?
Every house in America has a street address that UPS can reach. It may not be the most common way to describe the address, but it almost always exists.

Can I ship to a neighbor?
Absolutely. If they promise not to gobble all the food!

What other addresses can I ship to?
If there's a UPS store in their area we can arrange to ship there and they can pick it up. Many customers choose to ship to a work address.

APO and FPOtop

We ship a limited selection of foods to APO and FPO addresses via the United States Postal Service Priority Mail. We cannot take these orders online but are very happy to help you by phone at 1.888.636.8162.

As you choose your foods, keep a few things in mind.
It can take up to two weeks for delivery.
The USPS doesn't guarantee delivery within a certain timeframe, so sending perishables is too risky.
We cannot send meats, cheeses, breads and most baked goods.
Glass bottles and jars are also risky for breakage as these packages tend to get very rough treatment.
Per address, shipping charges are USPS rates plus $4 for handling.

Alaska & Hawaiitop

Yes we can!

Shipments to AK and HI cost $10 extra per address.

There are some quirks to share about shipping to these two states.

Two Days takes Three Days
Shipping by Two Business Day Service to Alaska and Hawaii takes three days. Not all our foods can last three days in transit. If your cart contains a food that won't make it in three days, we'll require One Business Day Overnight Service.

2pm Tuesday Deadline
We don't ship Two Business Day packages over the weekend in order to protect the food. That means the deadline for a same-week delivery to Alaska or Hawaii is Tuesday, 2pm Eastern Time. Orders placed by 2pm ET will ship by Tuesday to arrive by Friday.

Very Rural Exceptions
Shipping by Two Business Day isn't available to all parts of either state. In those cases we must ship by Priority Overnight. That service is not guaranteed to take one business day, however. I know, it confuses us, too. But we're here to help you sort this out at 1.888.636.8162.