Alright, looks like I am the first reviewer.
I live in the region, so I was happy to see a new Natural Grocers opening up in downtown Salida since last winter. It is worth the drive from the mountains to the Salida NG store. The local stores in my small town charge a lot for the basic stuff and they don't often have that much available.
I am a strict vegetarian who almost never eats out, cooks at home, and refuses to eat any cheap, GMO crap foods whatsoever. Slaveway and Wal-Fart are out of the question. I must use Natural Grocers for the bulk of my prep, cooking and eating.
I am generally not a big fan of Natural Grocers however. It is often better to look at their NGVC symbol on the Stock Market to find out how things are going for them. We are all living under the Axis of Late Stage Capitalism.
Some stores are pretty good and well-stocked, yet most of the others have a very high turnover of staff with ghost managers who tend to be 'not available.' I know people who have worked for them, and the wages are quite bad. Workers will need a second job in order to pay for all the bills of Modern Life. Once and a while register people will mistakenly key in the wrong codes and charge more to the customers.
With all the designer natural medicines available; I mean 'vitamins,' that they sell, some of the staff tend to know little about 'such expensive medicines.' Most of us know that seeing an 'official Doctor' for an 'official appointment' - will surely bankrupt-indebted us permanently - or we might literally lose an arm - or two legs in the bad deal. Homeopathic medicine represents our only living option inside the American Empire.
OK, now on to the specific store in Salida. First, I will mention the good things. The store tends to have a good selection, is overall clean, and it is a large space, so one can usually find what they need. Natural Grocers is expensive because they can be - and because the stockholders need greater profits. There is no way to avoid this. If you want to eat well, you have to pay for it. One has to be willing to sacrifice for decent non-GMO foods in the Empire.
Now on to the negative points. First, the register system is weird, and it is the first time I have seen such a register system in a NG store. After one has purchased their things, then he or she has to line up like a child at a gate by the produce, and next, there are three empty registers on each side going towards the the exit door, (making six empty registers in total). You basically wait in line in order to get called on by a register person so you can finally pay. Why did they put this strange setup in the store? I think it was to avoid potential shoplifter issues.
The register people also ask you the typical corporate supermarket question, 'did you find everything you needed?' All corp food stores now use this method due to some executive study some years ago, which found out that super corp markets can make millions of more dollars, if every customer suddenly runs back into the store and grabs that one thing that he or she had forgot to purchase.
Then the register people ask you if you are on 'their customer prepayment plan, or whatever.' Under Savage Capitalism, the customer is now the mark. This is ubiquitous in the Jungle.
Finally, I am seeing a turnover of staff after only less than a year of business. This is a very bad sign: general low wages, with owners vs managers, managers vs. staff issues. Some of the staff seem to look overworked and unhappy. Are the managers in the store doing the office hang out, 'nowhere to be found,' system? Are the managers working with the life schedules of the staff - rather than imposing a nasty work schedule that precludes the natural rights of the workers? I shudder to think.
I will still use Natural Grocers for my general food purchases, because I just have no other options. But this Natural Grocers store is portending some concerns. read more
