Supplement King Edmonton Windermere — Local services in Edmonton

Disappointmented with my experience

I have been following this store on social media and I really like their approach of providing education on supplements. I purchased a Diesel 5 lb Strawberry protein supplement during their employee pricing event. I ordered it online on Sep 7 and picked it up in this store the following week. I started using it a couple of weeks back and noticed some issues.

There is a lot of foam when I shake for mixing and it almost overflows when I open the container. There is generally some foam but I started noticing it is more than normal. I started looking closely and I saw small black particles in the protein powder.

I got concerned and called the store to share these issues last week on Oct 22 afternoon. I have shared that I bought the product online and picked it up from this store. I have explained that it is more than 30 days since I picked up the product but only opened it a week before. The sales rep on the phone asked if I am looking to return the product or replace the product. I clarified that I am looking for a replacement and not returning it.

She asked me to bring the product so that they can inspect it before she can confirm if I can replace/return the product.

On the same day, I took the product to the store in the evening. I saw a different person and kind of dreaded that I have to explain the entire situation again. As soon as I entered the store, this guy greeted me and was already aware of the issue that I explained over the phone to the other sales rep. I was happy that I did not have to explain all over it again.

He took the product and opened it to inspect it. This is where things started to go downstream.

He looked at it and confirmed that he could see the black particles. He also confirmed that I barely used the product based on the available quantity of the product which is more than 80%. I have explained that I have only opened the product a week back and started noticing these issues.

He started explaining that he has seen this some times with Vanilla and Chocolate flavours but not with strawberry. He also said that it could be a bad batch sometimes.

Then, he started explaining that he cannot return or replace the product as it has been more than 30 days since I picked up the product. He also said that he cannot accept the product due to the safety issues (implied I could have mixed something but confirmed he trusts me that I did not do anything). He also mentioned that the head office would not agree for this return due to the 30 day policy. Unfortunately, I am stuck with this product.

He also told me that a lot of people buy products when on sale but may not open until their existing product is complete including himself. He suggested to me that I should open the product in a week and use it. I have explained that I have been buying this product for than two years and never had any issues. I also did not expect quality issues from a brand like "Diesel" and he confirmed that it generally does not happen with this brand.

At this point, I was very frustrated and started asking/confronting about my safety - "What about my safety". You are telling me that it could be a bad batch and it happens sometimes. You are confirming to me that it could be defective and yet, you want me to take it back as it is little over 30 days and I have used it for a week.

He kept telling me that I am stuck with it and he won't be able to return or replace it. He offered me some samples of other products and I rejected them. I left the store visibly frustrated and helpless.

In all of this process, what I did not understand is -

"Why was I asked to bring the product to the store for inspection (even when they were aware it is more than 30 days)?" "What changed from afternoon to evening on Oct 22 as the facts remained the same?" "Why inspect the product and confirm to me that it could be a bad batch?" "Where is the accountability in all of this process vs blaming the...

I loved this store for many reason. I thought the workers were honest, educated, and it is a very clean store. However, maybe I was wrong. The owners are fun, outgoing, and they know their products. However, the sales rep team would do anything for a sale. For example, the same girl once told me she used a product and another time told me she didn’t use the product—she must of forgotten what she told me in the past. Along with claiming some products are cleaner (more natural) than others was off-putting because they were never certain and the products were definitely not cleaner (after comparing ingredients) Multiple times now I have bought a product that was absolutely disgusting or the product was not right for me. I’ve wasted a lot of money. After I had bought a product (which was newer) they gave me a sample of the same flavour to try. unfortunately you can’t return open products (understandably). I’m stuck with products I won’t use and it’s frustrating. At Popeyes, they will give you samples before recommending you to buy a product. I’ve found the sales reps to be completely honest—never going against what they said in previous encounters. With Popeyes, you earn points and they do whatever they can do to help you if you didn’t buy the right product. I’ll be returning to Popeyes supplements...

I just walked out of the supplement king on Windermere and truth be told leaving this review is the least I can do for spreading the good word. Extremely extremely friendly staff. Great atmosphere. Really there to support you in terms of what your needs are. Often times you feel you may be pressured into purchases/sales but in this case you felt the human connection. I was shopping for a whey protein for my wife and was able to not only secure what I neeeded but in talking about some of my dietary issues they were able to lead me towards supplements that could bell be excellent for me! Couldn’t say a enough great things about them...