The short version: Avoid Nature's Goods at all costs. The older female clerk with the dark hair and accent who *claims* she's not the owner (but must be because I can't believe anyone would tolerate such repeated deplorable behavior from an employee [read the reviews here, including the "hidden ones," and you'll see a pattern]) called the police on two of us for questioning why they were willing to accept the coupon of one of us but not of the other (the answer: because we walked into the store together)! The police explained to us that this woman has a bad habit of calling them for ridiculous reasons. We still can't believe she actually tried to have us arrested for having two coupons! Yes, we know each other but we do not live together and we were paying separately for our purchases.
The long version: Back in December, while visiting CT for the holidays, my sister-in-law took me to Nature's Goods in Middlebury and, though small and expensive, the young clerk working that day was friendly and the supply was good enough for a small shopping excursion. A couple of days later, I returned to the store with another out-of-town friend so that we could purchase some food. We could've gone to Trader Joe's but wanted to support local business as opposed to a corporation (even though I do like Trader Joe's). Not only do this friend and I live in separate households but we live in separate states (WI and NY, respectively). We were each visiting family who live in CT and while hanging out decided to go to this store. We each had a coupon but once at the register, the clerk informed us that we could only use one coupon per purchase. We said that was fine because we were each making separate purchases. She said, "No, I won't accept that." We were baffled and asked why not. She said, "Because you walked in together." I said, "People are allowed to shop together and make separate purchases--we don't even live in the same state," and I further explained that accepting one patron's coupon while refusing the other patron's use of an identical coupon is discrimination. She flat-out refused to give us equal treatment based on nothing other than that we are childhood friends who had decided to drive over in the same car and shop at the same time. At this point, I asked if she is the owner to which she replied that she is not. I then asked if I could speak with the owner. She said, "No, you need to leave." We remained stunned. We had done nothing wrong and merely were asking for equal treatment. I calmly explained to this clerk that she clearly misunderstands how coupons work and again asked to speak with the owner. At this point she said that she'd call the owner. We stood there for the next 10 minutes waiting for the owner to arrive. I finally asked how far away the owner was. She snapped, "About 15 minutes away." I said, "Ok, we've been waiting about 10 minutes so we'll expect the owner in the next 5." About 5 minutes later who should walk in but the police! I said aloud, "Wow, she said she was calling the owner but she called the police instead." One of the police officers immediately came over to us and politely asked what was going on. As I told him the story, he rolled his eyes and said, "She shouldn't have called the police over this--it's a civil issue, not a criminal issue." He also said, "Why is she making such an issue out of a coupon?" I told him that she seems extremely angry and that she's discriminating. The officer said that he couldn't force her to serve us and that we should leave all our food there for her to clean up, find an establishment more deserving of our business and enjoy our new year. I told him it's the principal--that she can't arbitrarily refuse service to someone just because she's a miserable person. Once outside, he told us that in the last two years this woman has called the police at least *five times* and that it's always for something ridiculous that shouldn't involve them. He believes she *is* one of the owners as she's the one who makes the repeated calls to police. He told us to let it roll off our backs and not give her any more business, which we fully intend to do. But we are adding this review to hopefully spare others of this woman's vile disposition.
Immediately following this outrageous event, we Googled other health food stores in the area and decided to go to one called New Morning. It was a bit farther away but what a difference! The store is simply way better with a much larger selection and way better prices. They offer things like lattes with a choice of milks, including unsweetened homemade coconut milk (heaven). Not only did they of course accept our two separate coupons since we're two separate beings making separate purchases, but they also gave us two "welcome bags" filled with fantastic coupons since we're new customers. When I asked if we could use only one coupon per visit, they replied, "No, use them all at once! Enjoy them!" Wonderful! read more