Ranch Foods Direct — Local services in Colorado Springs

Today, I decided to drive a bit further to check out this location since I love the Fillmore store. Unfortunately, my experience was disappointing.

First, the pictures on Yelp made the storefront look larger than it actually is, so I was expecting a bigger selection. I walked in and looked around for a shopping cart, but the store clerk informed me that they only have room for hand baskets. It’s hard to imagine a hand basket being adequate for a gallon of milk, a 7 lb piece of meat, and especially a 20 lb bag of wood pellets, which made shopping awkward.

I arrived 30 minutes before closing, which might explain why there was no fresh meat in the glass case. However, the clerk was inattentive, standing in the way of the items I wanted to see while training another employee on inventory. I politely waited but eventually had to interrupt to ask about a particular cut of meat. Instead of moving or trying to help me browse, she handed me a frozen solid piece and ignored my request for the largest available cut, giving me the most convenient piece instead.

At the Fillmore location, I never have this problem—the meat is often fresh, and even if it’s in the freezer, it hasn’t had time to freeze solid. I explained that the frozen meat wouldn’t work because it would take too long to defrost. She just took the meat back and said nothing, still blocking the case I wanted to look at.

On top of that, when I got home, I noticed the gallon of milk I purchased didn’t have an expiration date. Now I’m worried it might already be spoiled.

Overall, this experience was frustrating and disappointing. I won’t be returning to this location. I’ll stick with the Fillmore store, where the customer service is excellent, the selection is larger and fresher, and the staff is much more helpful...

The brats and bacon have both been pretty good (especially the bacon). I wish they were a little better with their labeling in the store though. I researched the two farms they get their pork from (Gunthorp and Callicrate), and decided I was more interested in getting meat that was sourced from Gunthorp based on the descriptions of the pigs diets (and being pastured). It's really unclear where the meat is sourced from when you're in the store, and it says nowhere on the packaging or the shelf labels...so I'm really not sure what I bought. You definitely pay a premium for this meat, and unfortunately I'm not really interested in paying that only because I'm told the pigs were happy, or because the farm...

I’ve always been able to get good meat at a decent price here but the customer service has definitely gone down hill. I went in to get a specific cut of beef and was told they would have to cut it, which would take about 30 minutes and they would call when done. After two hours I called them and was told likely just a few more minutes. After four more hours I had to go find another shop, who cut me what I needed within 15 minutes. Ranch foods called me 24 hours after I had initially gone in to tell me it was ready. No follow up, no apologies, just a complete...