Harvest Natural Foods — Local services in Atascadero

This is tough. I really wanted to like this little place. It's near my house, the staff are usually friendly, and the selection offers a lot of variety. However, there are some major issues with the way this business is run that deter me from shopping here on a regular basis. Firstly, almost everything was expired or about to be expired. We did not notice this until we arrived home and unpacked our grocery bags. Some of the items were legitimately bad, and we had to throw them out untouched. My husband and I work full time, so it's not like we could have gone back in to get a refund or trade for non-expired items. A tub of hummus we bought had a crack in the bottom, was expired, and leaked all over our reusable bags and fridge. It tasted fermented at the bottom. A pint of ice cream we bought had freezer burn so bad the ice cream had separated into large ice crystals and goo. Completely inedible. Shopping at a natural foods store is supposed to give consumers access to products of higher quality, or so I thought! Secondly, the place is a retail nightmare, dingy dirty and disorganized, with poor product facing. The staff aren't far behind, they seem to know little about the products they sell, or how to use the cash register. Every time I come in, they seem to be in a frazzle, which does not create a pleasant shopping experience. I can only imagine what a mess doing inventory at this place would be! It's not the cute little neighborhood health shop I had imagined...at all. I hope they can clean up their business practices and stay afloat. The wide array of products offered is wonderful, but that's where it ends. Even the hours are a real drag on business, makes it impossible for anyone who works during the day to visit. I don't have a lot of hope...

I'm really sorry to have to write a poor review but my service today was frankly unacceptable. My family and I have been going to this store for several years and while the product, owner, and some employees are great, most of the time customer service has been less than desirable. I went in to make an exchange today and was helped by two women, one was exceptionally nice and one was unbelievably rude. The rude lady interrupted, mocked, talked down, and was short-tempered with both myself and her co-worker, making it clear she thought we were incompetent and that she wanted to get off work ASAP. It was shocking to me that someone with that kind of attitude would be working there and that the manager wouldn't say something about that behavior. I am unfortunately considering taking my business elsewhere just to avoid that kind of humiliation and...

I cannot say enough good things about this store and the people who work there. I’ve called several times in the last few months, hoping against hope they stocked something I desperately need for my cat—and each time they did! No place else did, and those other places were disgruntled about helping on the phone. But not here! The staff answered the phone promptly, were pleasant and knowledgable helping with my problem, and when I came to the store spent a lot of time guiding me to the right place and answering further questions. If all businesses followed their example the world would be a much...