Business Profilefor3 Rivers Natural Grocery Food Co-op & Deli

This store routinely sells items that are way past the expiration date. One such item I purchased in the refrigerated section was on October 23, 2022, was dated expired on 8-07-2022! They were still trying to sell it two and a half months later! My husband opened up the carton when I brought it home, and as he poured it into a glass, there were ********* chunks floating. I called the store and spoke with a clerk who said that she would leave a note for me to return it for an exchange. When I went to the store, there was no note left for one of the three managers she told me would have knowledge of my return. The young man who was the clerk treated me rudely and with suspicion. I said that they should stand behind their products that they are selling. They regularly leave expired merchandise on their shelves to continue making a profit. This can make people sick! I will no longer take my business there. It is run very unprofessionally and without courtesy for their customers.

Hi ********! The manager you spoke with a month ago did indeed leave a note but that, unfortunately, was missed by the manager on duty at the time or your visit. While the product you got was past its "best by" at purchase, it was just overlooked not kept on the shelf to "keep making a profit." Asking for a receipt is standard practice as we need to confirm the price the product was purchased for. Two 2 sales cycles had passed since your visit and we always want to give the customer the amount they are owed (the price could have gone up or down in that time). Asking for the receipt is as much for the shopper's benefit as for the store's benefit. Sometimes shoppers do try to return products that were purchased elsewhere (perhaps at a lower price) and we do need confirmation of purchase. This is standard practice at most stores.We do sometimes leave products that are past their "best by" date on the shelf sometimes, most often with a "red tag" that alerts the shopper to a lower price for a "quick sale" due to a variety of reasons (including a past date). This was not the case in the product you purchased, but was simply overlooked by our staff. You received a replacement for the product that was past its best buy date.. Getting a replacement product at no cost would seem that we were willing to work with you on an exchange. Was that not the end goal?This was an instance in which the humans who run this store made some errors. We are, after all, human. Our apologies for selling you a past date product and for the lost communication from nearly a month ago.