P G.
Yelp
I hate to write this review.
I've supported this store from the moment they moved into my neighborhood. Small businesses in neighborhood will get my business (if they are a good business that treats customers fairly & properly).
I've spent thousands of dollars in this grocery over the years. Thousands.
There has been a problem here & there over past few years... Ice cream that had been thawed & refrozen (ick.. repeatedly), expired expiration dates, open packages, occasional overcharge, problematic product. Each time more things get added to the 'that wasn't cool" list, I find myself right walking past the store - and instead going to BF. (BF has improved, & now has better prices on many items that H&H stock. But I wanted give my money to the mom & pop H&H as much as I could).
Tonight... in midst of what is about to be a real tough time ahead for everyone due to covid. I decided I want to give my business to the small business, the one that is going to be hurting first. But I am now so sorry that I didn't walk on by tonight & go to BF. I do not think Health & Harmony will be getting much more of my business.
I just wanted bread, some organic bananas, a lil hunk of cheese, some water, etc.
The selection of bread type products was severely lacking (& most did not have expiration dates which is concerning). I finally settled on a pack of brioche type buns. Pretty pricey at $3.99 for tiny bag, but I figured at this time I'm lucky to have bread so i'll go for it. No expiration date, so I looked for another bag. I found one (still no expiration date), but on this 2nd bag the price was listed at $4.99. I brought both bags to the register upon checkout to find out what was what with the price tags & expiry.
The check out girl quickly started peeling off the $3.99 price & told me the buns were $4.99 & she saw no expiry. Okay, fine. I mean, usually any honest retailer will honor the price an item as has been marked (if their error), but they didn't do that (and this has happened here before). I say fine, I'll pay $4.99, but I want bag that had been marked $3.99 anyway & I'll pay $4.99 (because 2nd package had a bun that looked bruised/damaged/old). They tell me that $3.99 package has a hole in it & I shouldn't get that. I tell them to hold on a sec, and I go back, all the way back to bread isle & search for another package. There is none. Finally I settle on a 4 pack of little buns that also does not have expiration date, & it didn't exactly feel nice or soft either, but it was just best there was left. It is marked $4.99. I bring it to the front, they ring it with the rest of my stuff. I glance at the screen to see that the package of buns rings up as $5.99. I tell her, I point to the $4.99 price... I mean really, again? come on, this isn't right. She tells me it's the price that is in the system, so it is the right price regardless of what is on the package. EXCUSE ME? So all the price labels in store don't matter? & could be wrong? (okay, so isn't that kind of fraud-ish & dishonest?!). I wonder how many people have paid more than they realize. I tell her usually a reputable store honors prices marked. Isn't it unusual/suspect that this is 2nd item in just minutes that rings up higher than marked.
The girl shrugs her shoulders, says "sorry" but that is what the price is. I tell her again that just isn't good business. it's not right. The manager is standing three feet away with his back turned toward us the whole time. He's someone I've always thought of as a really good guy. He's so close that he surely heard our conversation, and yet he did not address what was going on. Color me a bit disappointed & a bit disgusted. I can only hope that for some strangeness of the universe reason he wasn't able to hear what was going on right near him, at least that way he could still be a good guy. I looked the girl in the eyes, and said THIS is one of the reasons that BF gets my business & will get my business. This is so wrong. I nodded toward the manager... & said "you need to tell him". She said that she would. I'm not holding my breath for that conversation. Nor am I even going to bother going back to the store to return the water jug that leaked all over on the way home. And by the way, I opened the buns, they are totally stale/old and crumbled completely in my hands. Yeah, H&H thanks for that too. $8 total of throw away - Frustration, priceless.
I mean - wow. I've been their customer for soooo long. They are part of our neighborhood. That is not the way you treat neighbors (especially in times like this).
Shame on you Health and Harmony.
Own your mistakes, be nice to people who shop in your store. We are a nice neighborhood, don't try to cheat or mislead - that's gross. You can be sure that I'll be sharing this with the hood. Shame on you.
The law. https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/dca/downloads/pdf/about/PricingLaws.pdf
Perhaps it's time for a phone call.