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I also have found the store to be unwilling to even consider a customer suggestion concerning products to carry.
YES
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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.
