Like most others, I come to the Vitamin Shoppe because I need some arbitrary vitamin or supplement that Walgreens doesn't keep in stock just for my needs (for whatever reason). With that being said, I do like to walk out of there with what I came in for but some times that's just not the case. I'll just break this review down into to parts: inventory and customer service.
Inventory: They have a HUGE array of things for the muscle heads out there trying to bulk up - I'd even venture to say a third of the store is dedicated to that. So if that's what you're looking for, you've come to the right place.
For myself, I usually get vitamins and supplements for my mental health as well as dietary help (aging can be so unpleasant, amirite?). I can usually get what I need here but it has happened on multiple occasions now that what I need, they don't have despite it not being an extremely rare item. On the contrary, they have told me that it's a very commonly purchased vitamin so it's a bit frustrating that they don't have it. I only come here once every few months since I prefer to buy larger quantities since it's generally cheaper. So when my supply is low and I come in and they don't have what I need and they have no idea when they will get it in, I get a bit huffy and puffy (internally of course, because good humans treat people in retail with respect).
As far as pricing goes, it seems about on par with what you would expect from a specialty healthy living, vitamin and supplement shop. I usually anticipate spending about $20-$30 on one of my vitamins for about a three month supply.
Customer service: It's incredibly hit-or-miss here. I some times just get lost in here staring at all the random things I didn't know existed and reading about what they claim to do for you and I've had a really nice guy come up to me to see if I needed help and to offer up knowledge he had on just about everything I was looking at. He was the definition of a delight.
But then there have been times that I've come in and the employee has their elbows on the counter, intent on their texts or other social media, and are too occupied with their phone to be bothered to help you or even notice you need help.
Like many people, I have really bad anxiety so some times I have trouble reaching out to ask for help from associates so I do my best to drop cues and hints that I may need help looking that normal, good, attentive associates will pick up on. If no one helps me, I'll usually just leave dejected and slightly frustrated.
Make of my personal experience what you will. The service aspect may not affect you like it does me if you're an unabashedly outspoken character that isn't afraid to ask for help. But if you suffer from social anxiety like so much of us do, just be aware that a trip here can be daunting if you don't know exactly what you need before coming in.
Overall, it's a decent experience. If the service was consistent in the years I've been coming here, I'd bump up to four stars. But for the most part, it's a shop that has vitamins and might very well have the ones you're looking for too. read more
