Complaint Review: Paula Altare - CEO - Diet Divas - Tampa Florida
- Paula Altare - CEO - Diet Divas www.dietdivas.com Tampa, Florida U.S.A.
- Phone: 877-595-8600
- Web:
- Category: Misc. Health Specialists
Paula Altare CEO Diet Divas False Advertising Hideous Customer Service Censorship Tampa Florida
*Consumer Comment: Diet Divas Has Worked For Me
*Consumer Comment: DietDivas Works for Me
*UPDATE Employee: I AM PROUD TO BE A DIETDIVA!!!
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Well stated report, Jill.
I would just like to warn others out there who may be shopping for a diet program that every single thing written in Jill's report is absolutely true of DietDivas, and potential customers should seriously and carefully consider whether or not they want to give their hard-earned money to this organization. Be warned that, unless you buy dietary supplements from them on a pretty regular basis, you will be deleted from their system and denied access to their popular "forum," a bulletin board feature which is a major selling point of a Diet Diva membership.
The conduct of Paula Altare, the company's CEO, is very unprofessional, and she seems to not care a whole lot about the satisfaction of her customers. She frequently posts "scolding" messages on the site's bulletin boards, and sometimes in private e-mails to people, telling them to keep messages and postings positive and upbeat, and threatens frequently to shut the boards down all together. Members are frequently blocked out of the forum for not buying the company's supplements and for posting topics Altare deems "controversial" (i.e., venting about a not-so-good day on your diet; cheaper places to buy dietary supplements; complaints about DietDivas management or mismanagement; nutritional questions about the program for which Divas management seems to sometimes have no answer, etc.).
Today, she posted a message informing members that they would no longer be allowed to share personal e-mail addresses with other members (there are several lists in existence for people seeking "deeper" discussions and personal connections with other dieters who may be going through similar experiences.)Paula clearly seems to have control issues and isn't willing to realize that she's only sabotaging her business by working so hard to control every single one of her 10,000+ members.
As Jill stated, Altare's "nutritional counselors" are nothing of the sort -- many of them don't even have college degrees or any experience or education in nutrition. They are just women who had success with the diet and were hired by Altare. Misinformation abounds among the handful of "personal counselors." One member may be told, "pasta is fine three times a week," while another member with a different "counselor" may say, "No pasta, EVER!" The Divas explain these indiscrepancies away by saying, "It's a personalized diet program for each member." Trust me, it's not. There are certain levels of food intake, dependent upon a person's weight, and there are alterations for diabetics, etc. But basically, it's the same diet for all who join.
You'd be well advised to stay away from this program, friends. Your money would be better spent by getting yourself a low-carbohydrate cookbook or how-to book and having fun with it! Don't waste your money here like I did.
Josephine
Provo, Utah
U.S.A.
This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 10/05/2003 11:19 PM and is a permanent record located here: https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/paula-altare-ceo-diet-divas/tampa-florida/paula-altare-ceo-diet-divas-false-advertising-hideous-customer-service-censorship-tampa-fl-68304. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year. Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report. READ: Foreign websites steal our content
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#3 Consumer Comment
Diet Divas Has Worked For Me
AUTHOR: Roxie - (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Friday, October 10, 2003
I have been with Diet Divas for a little over 1 1/2 years. I have lost a total of 82 pounds and have been maintaining my weight for one year. My Plan was doctor approved and it was very easy to follow. The weight came off quickly.
I have recommended Diet Divas to my friends who have asked how I lost the weight and how I'm keeping it off. This is the only diet that has truly worked for me.
As far as the supplements/aids that Diet Divas sell, it was never mandatory that I buy any of them. I could follow the diet and not use them. You do not have to buy product from their website or lose access to the site. As long as you log in every 30 days (and that means just posting your journal or logging into the forum) you stay active. If for any reason you would become inactive you only need to fill out a new medical form and be re-instated.
My counselor always sends out a check-in e-mail, which goes to all of her clients. But, she has e-mailed me individually many times with suggestions, advice and a pat on the back. She has always answered any of my e-mails to her.
I would like to say that without Diet Divas, I would still be fat and unhappy. Thank you Diet Divas for all of your support and making me one healthy, happy person! You have a fantastic program!
#2 Consumer Comment
DietDivas Works for Me
AUTHOR: Jeanie - (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Wednesday, October 08, 2003
I've been a member of DietDivas for a little over a year. I have absolutely no complaints. My counselor has been very helpful. In one of the complaint letters, the complainer stated that the counselors send out canned messages. They do send out the same message to everyone because of the volume of membership. But anytime I e-mail o my counselor she always sends a personal response.
Since I've been on this diet, my health has improved tremendously. I showed the diet to my doctor before I started and she gave me the okay to go on it. I've been on blood pressure medicine for 8 years but after a year on the program, and after losing 76 lbs following the DietDiva program, my doctor took me off the blood pressure medicine and told me to keep doing what I've been doing.
I think what we have here is a case of disgruntled dieters. I used to go on the boards occasionally, mainly just to read what people were saying. I noticed quite a bit of negativity, which is not good for one's morale. Although there were a few good seasoned folks who posted and encouraged one another, I was mostly turned off by the number of people posting onthe boards who were not sticking with their food plan. They were constantly getting off the program and back on again. When you are trying to diet, you don't want to constanting be hearing about someone's inability to follow a sensible eating plan.
Because of my success with the program, I could name six friends and co-workers who joined and all are losing weight, thanks to DietDivas.
I would like to respond about being taken out of the system if you don't log in to order. That's not how I understand it. What I read is that if you don't log in to the website at least once a month, you can still log in but you will have to fill out the medical form again and will be assigned a new counselor. Unless I'm mistaken, you don't have to order each time you log in. You can also log in to send your counselor your food diary. Which, by the way, always gets you personal, extremely personal (not canned) feedback from your counselor, which is very helpful.
One last thing, I was told from the very start, that the protein snacks were not mandatory but that they helped you lose weight at a faster pace and helped to ensure that you would lose fat and not muscle.
I've got 76 down and 37 more to go. Thanks DietDivas for your wonderful program.
#1 UPDATE Employee
I AM PROUD TO BE A DIETDIVA!!!
AUTHOR: Michelle - (U.S.A.)
SUBMITTED: Wednesday, October 08, 2003
I have personally known Paula Altare for over 10 yrs. and give a personal endorsement to her business ethics and ability to manage a staff of 10-100, as well as memberships in the tens of thousands. She speak well publicly and has been on MANY talk shows in the past 15 yrs.. so she is NOT someone that shy's away from the public.
I have my own personal success story losing wieght and maintaining using the DietDivas program, and I was honored to be asked to come and work for her.
I am a collage graduate, have many certifications as a HealthCare practitioner...but the bases of the Dietdivas program is whole foods that you get in the store so it doesn't take any of this knowledge to counsel on the diet. It is the combination of 1) a written meal program 2)a trained DietDivas counselor that does not confuse other diets with this program (which is what most members will do)and 3) the protein products that will ensure the rapid weight loss if you are following the program100% Because it is an internet weight loss service we do have a PRIVATE message board.
It is for positive encouragement, Members who violate the terms of use, are the only members that get suspended form the use of this service...not the membership and counseling. The enrollment starts at $29.95 and up depending on length of time...not only is it a GREAT value, its the only membership available with a live personal counselor for no addition cost.
I am happy to see people are talking about this program, that means we are making a difference! But the few compliants about the revoking of speech on a private board is NOT what is important, and certainly should not reflect ALL the great successes of weigh loss GOAL's thousands of members have reached and maintained!
Its a real food program for life and not for yo-yo dieter's want to bring other people down by displaying thier misery! Thank-you for allowing me to share a little insight from an insiders view! :>)
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