I want to be clear that the person I met with was knowledgable and friendly and did her best to be helpful. I think the service delivery model needs tweaking. For me, RD services are covered by insurance so to go $50 out of pocket there needs to be something exceptional. Since there is not a robust intake procedure it felt very surface level and introductory. For "standard" RD visit or feeding therapy you would fill out several pages of paperwork and meet for 30+ minutes. She did have some helpful suggestions and was able to speak to every issue that I brought up. She also promised to email me additional resources but I have not received these.
AP
Allison P.
I discovered Tot Squad through the Stellar Panel
I discovered Tot Squad through the Stellar Product Testing Panel. After learning about this service, I decided to try it out because there was nothing to lose. I paid $50 and received 5 $10 gift cards back. I chose the feeding support service because I wanted to learn how to properly and safely prepare and store baby food. I also wanted to know what foods I should avoid and what foods I should give my baby. I felt satisfied with the information I received from my coach and felt confident about feeding my baby.
I thought booking a call with Tot Squad was ok. I was very confused by the time zones. I am ET and my coach was ET, but Tot Squad showed all the video call times in PT zone. I thought everything went smoothly until I was waiting for my coach. My camera and audio worked and my coach could hear and see me but I could not hear my coach. About 10 minutes after my scheduled appointment, my coach called me and apologized and we started the call. There were definitely technical difficulties through the Tot Squad platform, but I was still able to get the feeding support I needed. My coach was very nice and answered all of my questions. Unfortunately, I probably would not use this service again because I think a 20 minute call is too short and my coach spent 10 minutes trying to get the video call to work.
BC
BCB
A swing and a miss...
I learned about Tot Squad through the Stellar Product testing panel. Originally, this service was offered for $50 with a $50 gift card back, so there was nothing to lose and I was excited to try it out.
I love the idea of this service, but in all honesty, it was a major miss and that’s coming from someone who hates to be critical of new businesses. Purchasing the service was easy. Scheduling the appointment was fairly easy, although the scheduling form was a bit confusing because it referenced different time zones. I was able to give information about what I was hoping to get out of the 20 minute appointment, so I was excited to get my questions addressed.
The appointment was a complete disappointment. First, the appointment is 20 minutes long. You can’t do much in 20 minutes especially if you exchange pleasantries and my coach was a few minutes late. The services totes itself as a video consult, yet, my coach didn’t stream video. Instead, I stared at a photo of her. Our visit was riddled with connection issues and I had to strain to hear and understand what she was saying which resulted in a ton of talking over each other and even more lost time. She was very sweet and seemed to be knowledgeable, but didn’t address any of the things I had inquired about but instead focused on my son’s reluctance to bottle feed (it was a starting solids appointment). I appreciated her suggestions, but it wasn’t what I paid for or was looking for. Quite frankly, I suspect that pretty much any of the information you can get through any of these consults you can get through your pediatrician or a lactation consultant for far less money if you have insurance, or in some cases can find with a simple internet search for free.
My experience was not worth $50, and maybe not even worth $10 to be honest. I just kept thinking how upset I would have been if I would have paid for it. I think the service could be good, but would take some serious overhauling such as lengthening the time but not increasing the cost, figuring out a way to solve connection issues or just do phone based appointments and offer packages with the same provider so a relationship can be established...I think this would work better as an ongoing mentoring type of service as opposed to a one time appointment.
Bottom line: skip it and seek this information through your child’s doctor as a first option!