India Bazaar — Local services in Bradenton

I have been going to India Bazaar for Indian groceries for a while now. It was located earlier at a different location in Bradenton and moved to the current location about a year ago. The management has changed since the change in location. Although the new store is larger than the previous one, the items are placed in a very haphazard manner. The glaring problems are:

A. only about 20% of the items are priced, if you want to know the cost price of the remaining items, you have to go to the front desk & ask them, or take all items at time of checkout and ask for the prices at that time, leading to a considerable waste of time & effort for the customer.

B. You cannot get help that you seek, because the availability of staff is poor. If someone happens to be present at the front desk, and you ask where an item might be, they just point with their finger, “go down this (or that) aisle and you’ll find it”. In other words “just go and look for it - I’m too busy”.

C. The brands of items available,are increasingly very limited, eg. a brand that I like and tend to buy is only occasionally available or not at all, and the staff has no idea themselves why, or if it will be available in the near future, or not.

D. The worst part during my last visit was that at checkout, the clerk did not know prices of many items, since the prices were not listed on the shelves and he did not appear to have a list of the prices of these items. There was another person at the front desk who he asked and got the answer from, but that staff person left the store, soon after. I noticed that one item I’d picked up was checked in at a price $5.00 MORE than what was listed on the shelf where I had picked it up from. That concerned me a lot, because then the customers were likely paying far more than the actual price, just because the clerk at the counter was punching in an arbitrary price. Which was happening because the prices were NOT listed on the shelves & the clerk at the counter didn’t seem to have a list of the prices.

October 10: What I would like to add that the above pattern of behavior of the staff at this store makes me think that they are deliberately overcharging the customers to boost profits, illegally. The last two times I have shopped there, I have complained about the items on the shelves not being priced, let alone individually, but not even on the shelves above which the items are stocked. Each time I was told, “the items just arrived - we are in the process of putting the price labels”. I told him that I was given the same reason the last time I visited the store, 6 weeks before. As I said above, I am concerned that they are deliberately overcharging the customers.

I know I am not going back to this store, unless the...

I visited this place three days ago to get some supplies for my late father's 1 year wake. Of special interest I purchase a coconut; (Or a Puja coconut to be exact.) When I got home that same day , I broke open the coconut to check and see if it was fresh, and it was pretty maldi and rotten. Because I purchased everything right for closing, it made no sense to rush back with only a couple of minutes to spare.

So the next day I went back to this place and as they have displayed throughout the entire store. There is no refunds on fresh produce Or groceries however you can do an exchange within seven days with a receipt. ( These are all posted on 8.5 × 11 pink sheets with bold black print.) Me thinking it's on day one I should clearly be okay. The clerk at the front told me that they do not do refunds and that they cannot take it back despite the store policy and despite me providing the receipt which clearly showed the time stamp. He then proceeded to call the store owner who said they cannot take it back or offer a refund.

I then asked the clerk point-base, " so essentially any fresh produce you sell here.I run the chance of it being rotten without me.Opening it to check and this can also include any frozen or any prepackage goods, he says yes. " i also asked him, " so really?There's nothing in terms for quality control or anything.That's preventing your store from making a profit by selling spoiled.Orproduce to people and giving a false expectation that it is fresh and safe and false within hygienic standards.?"

I also asked him, " do you really think that is An honest and appropriate response for a store that sells food and produce?" The clerk responded with, " sir, I told you get what you're saying because if I was a customer, I would say the exact same thing.However this is the store policy as well as the owner."

My last question to him, (the clerk,): ( just to make sure I'm reading this right.The pink sheet behind you.That says you can do an exchange within 7 days with the receipt.Both you and your owner will not honor that correct?" He said yes. My final question to him, " since I can't use the coconut; Can I get something else for the price that I paid? The clerk said the boss said no.

I will not recommend anyone to purchase from this establishment until there is a professional review either by the health department or the department of professional regulations. As that is pretty dishones, to sell something that a consumer had no knowledge off being fresh and then when said consumer brought back the item that was clearly rotten and also recognized and accepted by staff to be rotten and spoil that the store would an honor its policy to at least...

Warning, they do not honor their return policy written on the receipt. They have a huge selection of fresh, canned, and frozen Indian food. They do not have prices marked for many items in the freezer cases and on the shelves. I bought a big bag of samosas, 36 medium sized ones, no price marked. Well turns out it cost $15, seemed like a lot but I was at the cash register so bought them, they were very good. I also bought a 10 oz jar of hot mango chutney, Mother's brand, no added sugar so sour but with a little added sugar was very good and hot. However, after two servings I was left with a palm full of hard mango shells! Fortunately I was adding sugar and mixing it in, because that is when I heard and felt the hard shells. I have never found shells in chutney before, so I took it back within the 7-day return period with my receipt and showed the clerk the shells I had put in a plastic bag. All I wanted was a different brand to replace it. The clerk called the manager, and they said "shells are normal" and refused to give a replacement. I left the unused portion of the chutney (8 oz) on the counter and will never go back.

The below reply by the owner is not true, I had my original receipt with me, and I kept it as proof, but I left the large jar of chutney with only 2-3 oz gone because I did not want to have to mash everything to find all the mango shells. Those shells could damage a tooth they...