Chucks Natural Food Market Plc

I've been here now 3 times, REALLY wanted to like and find a great ""natural/health foods"" store that was worthy of my continued patronage. Chuck's is NOT it. The place is in need of a bit of TLC, updating and cleaning first off... but I can look past that ""IF"" everything else is great... I've found prices to be OUTRAGEOUSLY HIGH... Organic apple juice, 9.99 a jug, same size, and type (different brand) that Costco had for 4.99... Back to Basics dog food, WAS 36.00 a few months ago, and NOW, 47.00... WHAT?!? Yes, I had a $5 coupon, but I left, and went to Harold's Feed (in Brandon/Dover) and found it for $37.00 with a DOUBLE coupon event, for $27.00... I almost spent $15 MORE... Sadly, the proverbial ""nail in their coffin"" is the staff/employees... they could HONESTLY care less what the hell you are doing there, never acknowledge your presence, never say... can I help you find something, or are you finding everything OK... and the last 2 times, I've left empty handed... never even a ""thanks, come again"" or a blink of the eye... they are ALWAYS, sorting merchandise, pricing, repricing, everything but HELPING the customer. In this climate of uncertain economic standings, we CHOOSE where we want to spend our hard earned, ""disposable"" income... and Chuck's has made it very clear to me that I will NOT be spending a single dime of it with them! I'm truly upset that I have in the past! Thanks for letting me vent, I encourage people to make up their own minds, but going in with necessary information... beware, see if the people that have given 1, 2, 3 stars reasons are valid... if you have a great experience, good for you, continue to waste your money here. more

I've been going to Chuck's for quite awhile now, I don’t consider myself a regular but I do spend quite a bit there each month, on products and in the cafe. As my new year’s resolution to myself, I resolved to become a better consumer by pointing out the good & bad when I hand a business my money on a regular basis. I figure it's my way of telling them Thanks! when they do a good job, and also maybe giving them a chance to do a better job in areas I think they should excel and really earn my business - I do still have options and can easily cut my spending there, but we'll see if the good gets better and how seriously they take the not so good. I’m a business owner as well, and hope this helps.\r \r I enjoy visiting Chuck's, it is convenient for me and they have a great deal going on the 2nd Tuesday of every month called ""Super Tuesday"" with 20% off. I try to wait and pick-up everything I need then, but somehow I always seem to miss something. The location is-what-it-is, wish it was bigger so they could carry a larger selection, and wish the parking lot was way bigger – especially on super Tuesday. By the way – when are you going to fix the pot hole in your parking entrance? ;-) \r \r I feel that I research quite a bit and am fairly educated in what I’m looking for in healthy options. I guess if I were to offer “anyone” advice on visiting Chuck’s or any other health/organic store is to educate yourself, understand what you’re looking for, and know what’s right for you. I do expect Chuck to be well versed in all their products, as well as most of his employees, but I do know that I take responsibility and control of what’s good for me. So just a note – always know what’s good for you. (sorry – couldn’t help myself!)\r \r Pro’s:\r - Super Tuesday – love 20% off\r - Easy to navigate after a quick walk thru.\r - Good selection of supplements to do comparison shopping\r - Christina & Todd – brief interactions with them, but always very professional, courteous and knowledgeable. Congrat’s Chuck – you’ve really got two good workers there. Obviously your go-to-pro’s \r \r Con’s:\r - Café in a nose dive for the past year – poorly stocked, dirty work area & display case, and rude/unprofessional workers. One customer pointed out a guy eating while he was preparing their food. I’m honestly not comfortable with how my food is prepared, everything is a real turnoff – have watched many customers walk out over the past few months, guess I need to take their hint. Put some quality food in the display case, make it look appetizing, stick to a menu & add new items from time-to-time, and how about a register back there. Guess Wi-Fi is pushing it – huh? :-)\r - Store manager seems more interested in being chatty & catty than making sure the store is clean, well stocked, no “out-of-date” products (I hate getting to the register & realizing it’s already bad), stock the bulk bins & make sure they’re clean, and really try to make our shopping experience a lot easier. I’m glad you made that one customer smile, but the rest of us are getting frustrated. And train your employees – I really do hate seeing someone put away stuff in a location that’s obvious to me is wrong. And control the moaning & complaining in the store and at the register – there’s nothing more unprofessional than for customers to hear it. Lack of experience, training or supervision – not sure what, that’s for you to figure out. And if you are responsible for the cafe too? OY VEY!!!\r - Workers – be professional, know your store & your products, try to impress all of us and take pride in your work. I used to leave a tip in the café – but I believe it’s earned with exceptional service and a great product. \r - Produce is “questionable” – hard to find prices & limited selection\r \r Good luck Chuck!!! You have an excellent opportunity in Brandon – I sincerely hope you can make the most of it. I’m sure that all of us that spend our money with you would appreciate it. more

I visited this store for the first time last week. I had the exact opposite experience as Deester2004. The man behind the counter was 100% customer service oriented. I told him that I was looking for specific items for my baby that I read about in the book Super Baby Foods. He walked throughout the entire store with me helping me find the exact items I needed. He asked questions about my infants age & catered the products to her age group. I am a Registered Dietitian & have high expectations for quality health food. Chuck's definitely lived up to my expectations 100%. more

I was excited to learn about a natural foods market in Brandon. I stopped in this afternoon and was treated to the worst customer service I have ever gotten from a natural food store. I only shop at local stores or farmers markets. I expect to get at least decent service from a store. This was not the case today. The man at the cash register was unfriendly (a ""hi"" would have been nice). He acted as if he had much better things to do than stand behind the register and help folks. He was just as unpleasant to the the two customers before me. What a shame because the store sells a lot of what I purchase, but I will be doing so at a different store. If I wanted horrible service I'd shop at a big box store. more

I go here quite often, and I've never had problems with obtaining informed help for a variety of issues I have and my son who has attention deficit disorder. I don't think it's a good idea to go on super tuesday, this busiest day of the month, and try to get one-on-one service. The prices are high, like any other organic store, and being a smaller store, there isn't as much there as whole foods, but there is not a whole foods store in brandon, so what are you going to do? more

This store really pales in comparison to it's competitor, Nutrition S'mart on Dale Mabry in Carrolwood. I used to live closer to Nutrition S'mart and really enjoyed going into that store. Once I moved to Brandon I was excited to try Chuck's. Well, it's a frustrating experience shopping at Chuck's. I think they are understaffed because no one is ever around to help. If they are around, they avoid eye contact like the plague because they don't want to take the time to help you. Their prices are super high and the selection is low. I still have to truck it out to N.S'mart to buy items not available at Chuck's. The only thing Chuck's has going for it is Super Tuesday. The one day a month that they mark everything down 20%. If you go early and beat the crowds you can buy some things at a reasonable price. If I really need help with something though, (like picking out supplements), I go to N.S'mart where they are more than willing to help me out and they are not rushed because of some crazy sale they are having. Pros: Super Tuesday Cons: high prices, outdated store, unhelpful staff, small selectio more

I stopped in on a Super Tuesday, and it was a fun time. It was all a good experience except for an odd woman working in the ""Purple Plate Cafe"". She was making snarky comments about her co-worker to customers, rolling her eyes and just being rude as all heck. Another customer told me she is the cafe manager. It just kind of ruined the nice atmosphere. All other workers were pleasant, knowledgeable and helpful, including her co-worker. I recommend the store, but avoid the cafe if the ""manager"" is working! I just don't really care to hear negative comments from staff about other staff when I'm shopping or eating. I want a pleasant cafe without negative drama. We found everything we were looking for, plus some new items. I thought the skincare section was great. They have some Mychelle products, and we're always looking for them. more

Nice selection of gluten free mixes and items. Would like to see more variety of gluten free pizza rather than just cheese. It is nice to have such a place close to Sun City Center. more