My family had become regulars at this business. The staff have always been friendly and knowledgeable. Over the course of this past week I have had three separate disappointing experiences at Willows that left me unsettled enough to write this review.
The first experience involved an employee that I'd never seen or met before. I made it into the store fifteen minutes before closing. When the employee asked if I needed any assistance, I told them what I was looking for. They began suggesting products that listed very few or no ingredients. The employee couldn't say with any certainty whether or not the suggested products had specific allergens that my family has severe reactions to. It became very obvious, very quickly that the employee was shoving things into my hand in the hopes I would leave the store so they could close on time. I would have been much happier if they'd simply said , "I'm sorry but I don't really have the information you're looking for and it's very important that I close on time today."
The second lack luster experience I had was with an employee who recommended a very expensive product without having the education or training that other employees apparently have. After taking the product into my physician to make sure it was safe for me to take, I was informed that it wasn't appropriate for me. That was fairly disappointing but not a massive problem. I had developed a trust about the staff of Willows being well informed, educated, or trained. Understandably, new employees won't have the same level of information, education, or training but with that comes the hope that the new employee would be discouraged from making recommendations without a more senior employee's input. This leads me to my third disappointing experience.
During my trips to the store during the week, I'd witnessed a couple of customers return items. I'd never needed to do so but thought that was pretty cool of the establishment. I also became thankful that they had such a neat policy once it came to light that the overly expensive item I'd purchased on the ill advise of the newer employee, wasn't good for me. However, when I went to return the item, I wasn't allowed to do so because I'd opened it. I remember very clearly, one of the customers who had returned an item earlier in the week, had stated that the item had tasted terrible and they just couldn't tolerate it. How could they taste or tolerate it without having opened it?
I went online hoping to write a review of the product on their site. Their site didn't support that but while perusing their About Us page, I came across this:
RETURN POLICY
100% satisfaction guarantee on every product. If for any reason a product does not meet your expectations you may return it for a refund.
I've emailed them concerning this last experience and their above stated guarantee. If they respond, I'll include it here for other potential consumers. At this time, I don't think I can recommend this establishment.
********************UPDATE 5/23/2010*************************
Today I received a response from Willows and as promised, I'm going to include it. Because of it's timely and considerate nature I'm raising my rating. If I'm successful in returning the product, I'll reevaluate my rating.
Response from Willows:
Dear Dis, I am so sorry that my emplyee refused to take back the OregaBiotic and refund your money. That should never have happened. I will make sure that all of my staff is very clear about our return policy. Please accept my apologies and bring in the OregaBiotic at your earliest convenience for a full refund. Your good feelings and your business are important to me. Thank you for letting me know about this misunderstanding and I am very sorry for any inconvenience to you. Sincerely, Willow Follett
********************Update 5/26/10****************************
I was finally well enough to follow through on returning the item and encountered no issues doing so. They were very friendly and I feel relieved that the situation was resolved so well. I'm adjusting their rating to a 4 in reflection of that.
Before editing this review however, I searched on yelp for Willow's naturally. Only two reviews came back and mine wasn't included. I find that disturbing. Hopefully, Yelp will rectify that. read more
