When Good Service Turns Bad, You WILL Lose My Buisness

So I know I usually don’t rant or rave about businesses of any type. I do sometimes review apps that I like especially when it has to do with writing, reading and editing. This however is an entirely different industry that I will be talking about.

There is a local grocery mart in our area that hubby and I frequented for all of the years that we have been married. Now this grocery mart is a local mom & pop type and hubby has been going to it sense he was a kid.

Now As you all already know I am Muslim so I mostly heat Halal meats (kosher). Even when hubby and I lived 30 miles away from this grocery mart we still made the drive. Why? I can give you very short and brief reasons.

1. It did not smell
2. Butchers know English and Spanish
3. Butchers know how to cut the meats in ANY style you want
4. Cashier (female) was very respectful, and went beyond to give you excellent customer service
5. If you needed a speciality meat or whole animal (goat, turkey, hen, duck etc) They were really good at getting it the next day.

I can go on and on about the reason’s that I love going to this place. Now though, it SUCKS! I’m sorry but its true. Through out the years owners have changed. The lady that was there before went back to school and got married. Now I don’t know if these are new owners or if it is her husband or sister but this is what is now wrong with this grocery mart.

1. Seasoning packets ( Middle Eastern type) are not stocked, even the common ones
2. The meat section smells and does not look clean
3. Men that work there are either rude or ignore the Women consumers
4. Line for the meat section takes 45 to 1 hour to order ( this does not include wait time for the meat being prepared)
5. Cashier lines are 1 hour if not more
6. The Cashier will slam your receipt and change if you are a woman and they do not even say Salam to you when you say it to them.
7. Meat prices have gone immensely high!

This list could go on…

This does not mean that I am not willingly to support our local businesses here, but I do expect a level of respect and curtesy when I am PAYING for that said business service or products.

I have been hunting for a new Halal grocery store and I have found one. It is called Restaurant Depot, basically this is like Costco but ONLY services BUSINESSES. If you are a regular consumer as hubby and I they do give you a one day pass. I love the fact that this place sells some Halal meat by the bulk especially what hubby and I eat more often.

I also found another local shop that is Hindu so they only sell veggies and Middle Eastern spices. Now I know where I can go and by my spices and buy my meat. We bought over 80 lbs of different meat for WAY cheaper then the local grocery mart we used to go to.

Looking at Amazon I will pay almost the same exact amount on spices then going to the store.. I will probably be saving a couple of bucks since I have amazon prime…

Basically all I am trying to say is if you own a business remember that your customers are the ones that KEEP you in business. You don’t need to “brown nose” (for a lack of a better word) them but you do need to make sure that they feel welcomed and that their shopping experience is at a level they will want to keep going back.

Until Next Time,
LK