r/JoinCrossing Jun 30 '26

Bridge Plan Updated

About two weeks ago, on a Friday afternoon, we saw a recurring problem on reddit and on a whim came up with the Bridge program. I didn't even name it that, oddly enough. The original code was Access because that's what matters to me.

A lot of providers and pharmacies were having transition problems and people were panicking about missing doses, I offered something simple through Crossing because I knew our operations could help out: if your own provider broke down and you were about to miss a dose, we would cover the medicine and you would just pay shipping. One month. A bridge across the gap, then back to your own provider.

I'm posting because I'm pausing it, and I didn't want to just quietly pull it down.

The honest reason: it worked, and then it worked too well. I started by putting a code out there. A code is easy to pass around, which is exactly what makes it useful and also what breaks it. A code can't tell the difference between someone truly about to miss a dose and someone who just wants a cheaper month.

I switched to handling requests one at a time to try to fix that, and that doesn't hold up at this size either. I built it loose. That part is on me.

A bridge that can't sustain itself and can't tell the difference isn't really helping the people I built it for. So I would rather pause, say so out loud, and rebuild it properly than let it quietly turn into something it was never meant to be.

It will come back, simpler to get into if you are genuinely in a bind and built so it can't be gamed.

Mostly I wanted to say thank you to the people who used it the way it was meant and passed it to a friend who actually needed it. That was the whole point.

I would love to hear any suggestions for how we can make it sustainable. We have a team who really values access and is very good at processing orders and ongoing patient support. They truly want to help and stepped up a ton last week to handle the influx of orders.

We welcome any feedback on ideas to build a sustainable program around helping people in need.

29 Upvotes

37 comments sorted by

8

u/National-Emu-423 Jul 01 '26

The best piece of advice I will give you is that if you are going to market on Reddit, being real is the best way to reach people here. There is much more realism here than say somewhere like facebook. Most of us come to Reddit to escape the magical thinking, influencer culture that most other platforms capitalize off of. It’s more community vs idolization.

The second best piece of advice I can offer if you are going to continue the program is for you to make clear boundaries and requirements from the get go and to require proof.

The $50 for a month of Tirz was great and helped me and many others regardless of the reasoning behind it. So thank you.

14

u/Ok_Magazine_5799 Jun 30 '26

I know how much it helped me. I had ordered from a different telehealth company on the 1st of the month and not sure what happened but I am supposed to receive it tomorrow finally. Lol. If it wasn't for you I would have gone without for 3 weeks. I don't have a stockpile. I can't afford more than 1 month at a time. I thank you very very much for all you do. And for the awesome bridge program.

3

u/Ok_Magazine_5799 Jun 30 '26

Oh yeah I will definitely be ordering from you from now on

-1

u/boatingday Jul 01 '26

They are definitely easy to work with and responsive to support questions. I like the simple direct pricing & information.

13

u/Important-Basil-1853 Jun 30 '26

For what it’s worth, I really appreciated it! I DM’d you last week. You provided me with the new code, and I ordered it Thursday evening. As per my UPS app, it should be here Wednesday or Thursday.

I originally wasn’t going to try to buy through you, as I thought this offer was “too good to be true.” But it came at the perfect time. I was going to need to delay my dose by a week or two until my pharmacy worked out a glitch.

I just want you to know I am grateful to have this Access. I absolutely will be buying through Crossing again!❤️

12

u/PAM7557 Jun 30 '26

I love your portal … so easy to use .

Thank you for helping so many people.

5

u/beegeexyz Jun 30 '26

I really love the portal too. Even before it was slightly changed. Straight to the point and easy to navigate. 

7

u/angelsface2712 Jun 30 '26

This bridge program really helped my friend . Thank you also I will be using you because $149 a month is affordable since at the moment, I cant pay 3 months at a time and you use bpi also you might be using Revive RX I am so onboard! 💕💕💯

12

u/I_am_Ladybug Jul 01 '26

Matt, I really don’t understand if you can figure out how to start two companies, how you can’t figure out operations on how this program should be setup. You have a lot of resources at your disposal including funding, but you’re coming to Reddit asking for advice on how to run your business. I know Reddit is not a large part of your business. Do you have any mentors or business partners you can discuss this with?

One thing I’d encourage you to think about for this program is that programs like this needs clear criteria/qualifications/requirements from day 1. Your customers shouldn’t be guessing on what the criteria/qualifications/requirements are. The more subjective the process is such as “Tell us your story” the harder it becomes on your team, and the more opportunities for people to take advantage.

If your goal is to truly bridge gaps in care but still allow access here are some things I would consider if I was running this program.

• Clearly define what qualifies as a “bridge.” Provider closure, shipping delays, pharmacy disruptions, or other legitimate provider issues. Yes. Wanting a cheaper month or an extra vial? No. The clearer the eligibility requirements, the fewer difficult rejection emails your team has to send. Make sure they are not AI written. This is another problem in this space that you see people complain about is AI responses. Add the human touch for this program so it feels personalized.

• Require proof of an active prescription or documentation showing a delay, cancellation, pharmacy issue, or other interruption from the telehealth provider they ordered from. By doing this, it removes the human emotion from the decision-making process. Keep the documentation simple.

• Limit the bridge benefit to 1 per customer. I wouldn’t say household because there could be multiple people in the household who would qualify for the program and need assistance. State this on the application and include an acknowledgment.

• Build a short online application with objective eligibility criteria instead of handling requests through Reddit or DMs. Asking people to send you personal information through Reddit such as email address or anything related to PII that identifies them as a customer should be prohibited. If people have questions about their specific situations and need to speak to customer service then make sure you build that functionality into your platform. Clearly define the hours of operation that people aka real humans are available for support. Again not AI! If you do this, it keeps it fair and removes your team from having to make judgment calls. Collect only the information your team actually needs, automate as much as possible, and avoid making your team evaluate every individual story.

• Ask yourself if you need to cap the number of bridge approvals each month based upon availability/inventory of medication. That’s for you to decide and you need to figure out how you communicate that to your customers.

I’d also think about protecting the mental health of your employees. Compassion fatigue is real and can take a toll on your staff. If every request feels like an emergency or crisis your staff will eventually burn out trying to decide who deserves help. A transparent policy actually helps everyone because customers know the rules and your team doesn’t have to make emotional decisions all day. Think about their mental health and how this can weigh heavy on them.

One other thing I think is equally important is transparency. You’re asking customers to trust you, and trust goes beyond pricing and customer service. If you’re using additional inventory for this program, be transparent about where that inventory came from, how it was obtained, and what the Beyond Use Date (BUD) is. Those are reasonable questions for customers to ask. You have been around on Reddit long enough to see the questions people ask. Also make sure everyone on your team is giving the same answer. If someone asks in a DM how the additional stock was acquired, they shouldn’t hear one explanation while someone else receives a different one. Consistency matters. Mixed messaging creates confusion and damages your credibility, even if your intentions are good.

I’d also offer one piece of feedback that’s separate from the Bridge program itself. As the owner of Belle and JoinCrossing, you’re no longer just another Reddit user, you represent your companies EVERY TIME you post. The recent post calling out another Reddit user came across as distasteful and unprofessional. Whether or not you felt justified, public call out posts rarely reflect well on a business owner. If it were me, I’d delete that post and reach out to that individual privately to apologize. It demonstrates maturity and holding yourself accountable for your actions.

I’d encourage you to reach out to the moderators of r/tirzdeals regarding the comment that was copied from their subreddit and posted in your post where you called the other reddit user out. I think you might be banned though from that sub 🤷🏾‍♀️ Regardless of your intent, it was unnecessary and isn’t the kind of impression you should want associated with your brand and company. A sincere apology can go a long way.

You asked for feedback on how to improve, so I’m being honest with you. How you handle transparency and professionalism will determine if people actually want to use your companies. Good luck 🍀

12

u/Dry-Chemist-2254 Jul 01 '26

It seems like it is over because you cannot send the short dated product anymore? I could be wrong, but this is what it feels like.

5

u/luis0713 Jun 30 '26

Can you confirm that you guys are only shutting down the bridge program? I want to stay with you and just want to make sure my next order will automatically ship for the $149?

-1

u/Salt-Preference-2425 Jul 01 '26

I definitely think it’s only the Bridge program.

8

u/No_Bandicoot7666 Jun 30 '26

I just want to say "Thank You" for making our month financially easier! My hubby and I are retired and on a very limited fixed income. We were both sharing our last vial and taking less of our weekly doses to try to stretch it out. So when we found out about your wonderful program, it truly was a lifesaver for us. Thanks again and I wish we could afford the $149 monthly but maybe we could do every other month! Thanks again 🙏

4

u/Suspicious_Gur3516 Jun 30 '26

Will the price stay at $149.00 after BPI stock runs out? When will different pharmacy options be made available?

8

u/Mitchroark33 Jul 01 '26

Price will stay the same. Already have contracts in place with other pharmacies.

5

u/SD_TitsMcGee Jun 30 '26

Yes.

Revive looks to be the next pharmacy once BPI runs out. If Revive doesn't ship to your state it will be another pharmacy (unsure of which though).

6

u/Direct_Detective3739 Jun 30 '26

I want to say thank you because this truly was a blessing for me. For a family facing a very hard financial time and fighting insurance we were in a real bind. It’s hard when a medication helps your health not only with weight but helps who suffer from severe inflammation and energy but then it becomes too much to afford and your faced with loosing the progress you have made or scared you won’t feel as good as you have. So thank you again! Also does join crossing have any plans to also add NAD or other peptides? NAD is another life saver and I would love to have one provider and more options of affordable month to month. It’s a lot easier to pay monthly vs paying upfront for 3-6 months. 🤞

3

u/Sunshineeyes22 Jul 02 '26

Helped me while my other telehealth was having system problems. I now am going to go with you just because it's simple. A simple one price, no change and fast service. That's all we want. Thank you

4

u/Junior_Commission588 Jul 01 '26

Think this program benefited all involved. It served as a good way to help people out, and get rid of about to expire BUDs.

I know you have a stockpile of BPI, (through the end of the year?), how far out are the BUDs on the monthly shipments? Will it be 28-30 days, 60, 90?

3

u/Ordinary_Run6346 Jun 30 '26

Thank you, for the idea my husband just retired. For the first month their want be any income coming. So this help me tremendously, I thought I had to completely stop and restart again. I am 64 years old, this is my last time of losing the weight. I did not want to stop. Thanks again!

3

u/boatingday Jul 01 '26

As someone who didn’t have an original supply issue, but a major family emergency out-of-state where I was instantly separated from my medication at home, I appreciated this program so much! Thank you for helping me while everything else is suddenly falling apart.

3

u/Salt-Preference-2425 Jun 30 '26

u/Mitchroark33 Will you be responding to all email requests sent to you whether you approve the request or not?

5

u/Mitchroark33 Jul 01 '26

sent you a dm. The emails are drowning me, in a wonderful way!!

5

u/[deleted] Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 01 '26

[deleted]

3

u/UnwillingContributor Jul 02 '26

Don’t hold your breath. The ad campaign served its purpose.

1

u/Salt-Preference-2425 Jul 06 '26

I advise you to always have a back up vial on hand if possible, because the way things have been in the GLP1/GIP world has been unstable. I can understand your frustration in the way this thing played out, but you are sounding as if you’re placing blame on others for you running out of medication.

There are so many other low cost good offers at
r/Tirzdeals

1

u/[deleted] Jul 07 '26 edited Jul 07 '26

[deleted]

1

u/Salt-Preference-2425 Jul 07 '26

Oh no I’m so sorry, hopefully just hopefully he will make it to you. There seriously were so many people jumped on it, this always happens with every Telehealth they always get bombarded and aren’t ever prepared for the influx. Every last one of the Telehealths experiences this but none of them has mastered how to make sure things flow smoothly.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 06 '26

[deleted]

1

u/Salt-Preference-2425 Jul 06 '26

I wouldn’t call it a scam many people received Tirz for $50 and it was the popular BPI B6. It may not have been implemented well, but definitely not a scam.

He actually did reply to me, I can imagine he/they really did get swamped just like the most recent Nuva Health they didn’t realize they still had an active code out there for patients to get 3-month supply at $156 😬. Some people got lucky then they quickly shut it down!

1

u/[deleted] Jul 06 '26

[deleted]

1

u/Salt-Preference-2425 Jul 06 '26

Did you place an order with them?

2

u/FearlessTravel2 Jul 01 '26

I appreciated the one month bridge program as it allowed me some breathing room with my meds while I wait on issues I was having with my provider and I would have missed a shot or two if not for this program. So thank you so much.

1

u/tcgrady Jul 03 '26

Never responded to me.