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Why some people don't buy in Pahoa
#21
Alex,
I have had similar experiences. I also have found the store to be unwilling to even consider a customer suggestion concerning products to carry.

Unfortunately, some of the employees (and customers) at Island Naturals have real superior "more laid back and organic than thou" attitudes. I have had to try to shop while staff are blocking the aisles talking story with friends, and once one even gave me a flippant response about "slow down, this ain't the mainland" when I politely asked if they could move so I could reach my item. Some of us spend our days working at jobs, not hanging out all day, and just want to pick up a few things so we can make dinner. I don't need someone telling me I have a problem when I politely ask for a little space to get the food I came in for. It is a grocery store, not a singles bar!

Carol

ed. for typo
Carol

Every time you feel yourself getting pulled into other people's nonsense, repeat these words: Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Polish Proverb
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#22
I hear ya Carol and feel the same vibe in all the "healthy food" stores in the hilo / puna area. Lots of noses pointed skywards .. And not just searching for the ( often hard to come by here : ) fresh air.

aloha,
pog
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#23
Carol - I feel your pain!

Dear Russell - Please work with your staff to improve their customer service skills. There are some products you carry that we cant find other places but I dread having to go in there. Thank you!

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#24
I feel the same way at Island Naturals if I ask for my purchase (when and if I find what I am looking for) to be put into a bag. I really do not like the attitude, the rolling of the eyes and the shoulder shrugs when I sheepishly ask for a bag. There are times when I just do not have my "shopping bag" with me, especially since I only stop in there when I have exhausted all the other possibilities.

P.S.....I religiously recycle any plastic bags that may come my way.
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#25
I've never had a bad experience at the "Natch", and have always found their employees to be courteous and helpful(all the way back to the ol days with Bud and Colleen)

I did walk out of the Health food store at Bayfront once; because I felt two gossiping employees were ignoring me. I've since given them another chance and things are better.

I suggest; try again.
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#26
we shop at all the mentioned stores. just last week, we had excellent customer service at down-to-earth. we like shopping there on, "meatless mondays" where a lot of products are discounted well below their competitors.



"a great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices."

w. james

"a great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices."

w. james

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#27
I think there is a tendency for some people who work in the "natural foods" industry to become a little self important and judgmental about other people's food choices and lifestyles (especially youngsters who just discovered the vegetarian/organic lifestyle). One time we were in a vegetarian/organic restaurant and a waiter in his late teens or very early 20s lectured my husband on the correct pronunciation of the word "vegan". My husband was a vegan when this kid was still in diapers, but the waiter was convinced he was right and had to make sure everyone in earshot knew it.

I'm not about to quit shopping at Island Naturals, because there are certain items I can only get there, but it is certainly not always a pleasant shopping experience. The checkers are usually pleasant and competent, but the stockers and the natural beauty/vitamin pushers can be really rude at times. I really try to get in and out of there as fast as possible, and have just left on occasion when it was just too much hassle to be worth it.

I will say that Abundant Life has been GREAT about special ordering items for me, and I get a hefty discount since I order cases. The price becomes comparable to what I paid on the mainland. Island Naturals rebuffed me when I inquired about ordering through them, so they lose the additional sales from the other items I buy when I pick up my special order.

Carol
Carol

Every time you feel yourself getting pulled into other people's nonsense, repeat these words: Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Polish Proverb
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#28
I can't say I've ever encountered a rude customer at any of the mentioned stores. What gets me is the awful prices at the Natch that seem to be going up at rates of 20-30% a year on some items. I'm kind of shocked every time I go in there and find myself doing so less and less. Since I'm in Hilo most days, I go to Down to Earth and much prefer it. Being a vegan, the Natch Pahoa, and really Abundant Life too have to be the most vegan unfriendly health food stores I've been to. They all are guilty of selling tons of snake oil supplements that have no proof of efficacy, but I guess that's where the profit lies.
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#29
Prices are outrageous at health food stores. Most people would like to have healthier, organic choices, but most people can't afford it. Growing our own seem to be the answer nowadays.
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#30
quote:
I also have found the store to be unwilling to even consider a customer suggestion concerning products to carry.
YES
quote:
Unfortunately, some of the employees (and customers) at Island Naturals have real superior "more laid back and organic than thou" attitudes.
This too.

Since Russell is reading this ... I spend a lot of money at IN, almost never get out of there for under $200. I'm a good customer. Still get attitude. Get it about returns (rare and inconsequential compared to what I spend). The employees don't know how to work the supplement discount on days it's not the 1st and 3rd. Some do not even know about it, even though it's printed up on signs.

They forget to ask to scan the IN frequent shopper card, I think they forgot last time when I made a big purchase. They have this terrible attitude as mentioned if I forget a bag and need one. They put so many bottles in one of those flimsy fabric bags that it's going to rip at the seams, and then act like it's odd when I tell them to repack.

They load up a box so it weighs more than what a customer can carry (me), and although they will carry it out, that leaves me with a problem when I get home. Look, I know they are trying to be environmental, but sometimes a customer does want purchases to be properly bagged, and using funky boxes that are the wrong sizes does not cut it. The stuff is expensive there. I should be able to get it bagged if I want, without stink-eye.

I asked about a product that they formerly carried, what happened to it, and the response is don't know, don't care. I tell them I would buy it regularly, no help. I ask somebody about a product (won't name names), and I get the superior look and an "I don't know, I don't eat/drink that."

Hello, it's not about what THEY choose to put in their body. It's about what I as a regular customer want to buy -- in this case it was organic coffee.

The lady who is in charge is great. At the supplements, Ernie is phenomenal. He is an herbalist with encyclopedic knowledge. It runs in his family. Ernie is a treasure.

The young women who ran the supplements in the old location in Hilo were very good, but they all seemed to disappear when the store moved. Luckily Ernie stayed.

The other Hilo store had a much friendlier vibe. Something changed. The new variety and physical space is great, but it no longer feels homey to me, and part of it is coldness from some though not more than half of the employees. I would have to rate Safeway's employees as ten times more friendly and helpful than at IN, and the checkers too. This area really needs work. The sandwich maker though, she is great. Sorry don't remember her name.

The hot bar is outrageous for what it costs. The closing discount is miniscule considering the food has been sitting there a long time and is worse for the wear. I picked up some half-burnt lasagna after the discount went on, and it was still six dollars. That was no value. I was shocked. Plus the checker forgets to apply the discount and has to re-ring the order.

The checkers really need some more training on the following: make sure they proactively ask for that IN card and the hot bar card that gets stamped. Both forgotten last time, and I was too distracted by wondering if she got the vitamin discount right. Make sure they apply all discounts without the customer having to tell them. Make sure they apply the tiny bag credit.

Oh, and they argue that if the bag (I had two, and the second wasn't full, but it was needed unless I was supposed to carry items loose) isn't entirely full it doesn't earn the NICKEL discount. Even a half full bag there may contain a high purchase value. Do not lose customers over silly things like denying a nickel to people who remember their bags.

Lastly, supplements can only be returned within 30 days, but all too often the supplements go bad, get weird, long before the expiration date, even kept dry and cool as directed. So if I spend $40 on a bottle of something, which according to the date should stay viable for a year, and it self-destructs in under 60 days, which is not even enough time to take 120 capsules, for example, I have no recourse because I bought it more than 30 days ago. Those bottles should be refunded and go back to the manufacturer.

OK, that is my vent on some things about the store. Down to Earth is too Vegan for me. I am semi-vegetarian but not vegan. Plus I have Island Naturals loyalty ... but sometimes I wonder why.

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