The Family Grocer — Local services in Duvall

After TEN years shopping here, we've moved on to SAFEWAY! Here's Why ... A copy of the follow up letter we forwarded to FAMILY GROCER:

To the Owners/Manager of Family Grocer in Duvall, We have done our weekly shopping at your store for ten years. On average we spend $180-$200 per week. Not a huge amount but we often stop by for extras during the week. Over the years we have recommended Family Grocer to friends and neighbors. On August 28th I attempted to pay for my groceries with my debit card. This happened to be on the day your business was experiencing technical issues with its EFT. The cashier attempted the transaction three times before assuring me it “did not go through”. Rather than continuing to try, she accepted a check to cover the amount. I discovered on September 3 that both transactions had been processed and during my weekly shop at your store I stopped by the office and spoke with P. P was very helpful and apologetic and I showed/left proof in the form of a copy of my check and bank statement. Apparently ‘J’ who is the Store Manager and was sitting in the office was too busy to discuss this with me directly but I understood via P we would have to wait 1 to 2 weeks minimum for a refund. P called me after I’d left the store assuring me that J would process the refund and to allow 24-48 hours for the reversal to appear in our account. That didn’t happen. Incidentally on the same day (August 28) I picked up a couple of items from Safeway and my (debit) account was also charged twice. They were experiencing the same tech glitch but I received a refund, without asking, the next day with no inconvenience, no issues. I understand technical issues often happen beyond our control. What I don’t understand is why you don’t put your loyal customers first, address the situation personally and refund them promptly. Our trust in your store is broken and you have lost us...

The meat department is excellent! I'm making my first prime rib this weekend. I've called and spoken to them twice within the last couple weeks prior to reserving my prime rib. They've been extremely helpful on how many ribs to get, how to prepare properly and have recommended quality products to go with it. I asked about a good quality horseradish sauce to buy and the woman that helped me over the phone said she would check with the gorcery area and get back to me later. She called later that afternoon with the preferred product and asked if I would like a picture texted to me for when I go to purchase it. How cool is that! I have also purchased ribeys and t-bones from them. Excellent cuts at a reasonable price! A friend recommended shopping here and I will definitely...

I used to shop at this store for a variety of reasons - ample parking, fresh produce and a very good meat counter. Additionally you can find quality local milk products that you will not find in other stores. The customer service however is very hit and miss and in my experience caters heavily to people they recognize. After several negative experiences involving the cashiers allowing other shoppers to cut ahead (sometimes without even a word of acknowledgement), I’ve decided to take my business elsewhere. I hope the owners will someday address this as the new customer of today will be the returning customer of tomorrow if you treat them with a...