Harris Farm Markets Broadway — Attraction in Sydney

I use to be a regular customer instore. Prior to the pandemic I couldn't complain about the store, it's prices or quality of produce. I visited the store this week after a two year break. I was pleasantly surprised to see the store renovated & couldn't wait to find some bargains. Sadly the good old days of bargain hunting instore has ended. I was completely floored by the increase in prices. How can this store justify the fruit & veggie prices? I regularly attend Flemington markets & know how much these stores purchase their fruit & veg in bulk...& don't get me started on their prices regarding their fresh fish. Brace yourself folks....The most cheapest fresh fish in Pyrmont fish markets "Basa fillets" was selling at Harris Farm in-store for $79+ a kilo 😱. Woolies/Coles is selling it for $11.00, Sutcliffe Meats is selling 5 kilos for $45.00. How does Harris Farm justify $79+ for one kilo of Basa fish? That's not a typo folks. Grapes out west are selling around $5.99 per kilo but instore at Harris Farm Glebe the exact grapes are over $12 per kilo. Why? I'm pretty sure their bought in bulk like every other green grocer. I asked the fish monger in-store if their Basa was laced in gold & he said he doesn't know why their asking for so much & that this price hike has been in place for the past two weeks. Come on guys...let's stop the greed. Ordinarily this store was buzzing but I'm sure they have lost customers to the markets or Coles upstairs because this once well priced fruit & veg store has turned into a money hungry business. I suggest only the elite or people with very deep pockets shop there. I overheard one customer laughing whilst chatting with her friend over the phone. She couldn't believe the price hikes & then went on to say "all the shoppers instore looked extremely thin & that there weren't any regular sized people shopping instore". I thought that was quite a strange comment at first, but thinking about it today of course it makes sense.... No one can afford a full trolleys worth of groceries in-store, their hungry lol 🤷

I will only visit Harrod's ....I mean Harris Farm Glebe again if I win the lottery. Until then I will go to Flemington markets myself on Friday or Saturday & buy the same produce for half the price...lots of fresh fruit & veg at Flemington/ Paddy's market...

On Thursday November 16, I ordered Home Delivery. This came from Harris Farm Broadway, delivered by an Uber driver. The box was flimsy and the bottom was falling out, as they have overpacked the box to be so heavy, I'm surprised the Uber driver could even lift it. The mangos and avocados were squished and the eggs were broken. The mince had best before date of November 18 (just two days!!!). The tzatziki dip container was cracked (which I didn't notice until a few days later). There were a lot of missing items, but they never emailed me the invoice, so I could check off what was supposed to be supplied (i.e. what I paid for, I had checked NO REPLACEMENTS). So with damaged and unusable goods and missing items which calculated to almost $100, I do not get a reply from HFM until November 23 (ONE WEEK LATER), with a lame cut & paste "We're really sorry..." and a promise to refund.

It is now November 28. I still do not have my refund. Refunds to Paypal are immediate, so the excuse "it will take four business days" is simply not true, AND THE REFUND SHOULD HAVE BEEN PROCESSED THE DAY OF THE ORDER.

I will not be using this service ever again. I have been a customer for a very long time and the changes they have made i.e. local store supply using Uber drivers, instead of supply from Flemington with refrigerated delivery vans, a two hour delivery window and a website that would notify you at placement of order if they were out of stock of a particular item, have not improved the service, it has definitely made it worse.

If I do not have my refund today, I will be seeking advice under the Australian Competition and Consumer Act 2010, because the reply from HFM to date has been...

This had been my favourite place to grocery shop at Broadway, but I’ve been there three times in the last three weeks (since they refurbished it) and it’s now like a hot house. It’s not just that the air conditioner seems to be switched off, it feels several degrees hotter than outside. It was a relief to get out of there. It’s the first month of spring & still cold-cool outside & I was sweating & uncomfortable in the store.

The first time I was there (since the refurb), I just thought their air con had broken, but it’s been the same each week. The third time (a couple of days ago), I noticed that the hot environment seems to be affecting the produce, especially in the open-chilled shelves they have for refrigerated goods, e.g. half the St Agur cheese had changed colour (yellow-brownish) and there was mould on the prosciutto, which was well within its use by date. I’ve never seen ‘off’ produce there before. The cut leeks were also going mushy.

I’m really disappointed because Harris Farm has always had the best veggies/produce, they have great range of brands & a wonderful cheese range. Before the refurbishment, there was a section of the shop that was always oddly & unusually hot, where the bread was sold, & you just avoided buying bread there, but now it’s the whole store.

The store also looks/feels a lot dingier since the refurbishment, which could be partly due to the uncomfortably high temperature. I’ve rated it two stars, as I won’t be shopping here again until they switch the air conditioning back on, as I don’t trust the food to...