Q: Re: Political t-shirts. Freedom of speech might be a pillar of democracy, but places of employment are also allowed to regulate that at work! Those shirts go against the values of the Co-op and every member I know. 

A: You are not entirely wrong, but something that has been negotiated in our Collective Bargaining Agreement allows employees freedom of speech, and therefore it’s allowed, even though you may find it offensive. Kevin, Operations Manager 

Q: Wellness section is just fabulous these days! Love the new bulk set-up! Well done! 

A: Thanks so much for the feedback! We’re loving it too. There will be more to come … Really appreciate the comment. Wellness Team 

Q: How come high-efficiency detergents (clothing) are never available in bulk?  

A: Thanks for the comment. We will look into this. Please reach out if you’d like to discuss further. Crystal, Wellness Manager  

Q: Deli: How about just plain chicken on the cold salad bar? No carrageenan, please. No sauteed in seed oil. 

A: We are working on replacing sunflower oil with other alternatives. Thank you. Vince, Food Services Manager 

Q: Deli: Please do some more research on the dangers of PUFA’s and take another look at the decision to use sunflower oil in deli items. Thanks. 

A: Will do. We are replacing sunflower oil in some recipes. 

Q: Please keep vegetarian food on one side of the buffet and chicken and meat on the other. Thank you.  

A: Yes. We will be aware of this. 

Q: White rice is inedible. Please no salt. Thanks. 

A: Thanks for the feedback! 

Q: Deli – chicken drumsticks undercooked. Gave to my dog. Thanks for being more careful with this! 

A: Thanks for the feedback. We will keep an eye on this. 

Q: Thursday, April 24 at 6 pm, beans on the hot bar not thoroughly cooked! Not digestible that way! Dry beans need to be cooked until soft! 

A: Thanks for the feedback! Yes! Beans should not be crunchy. We will keep an eye on this. 

Q: Please consider more salad bar/prepared food items that do not have onion or garlic. Today 8 out of 9 hot bar offerings have these ingredients (only plain rice without) and those items may be a fairly common sensitivity or preference to avoid. 

A: We will keep this in mind. Thank you. Vince, Prepared Foods Manager 

Q: Food is great here! I’d say it’s a 9/10 I love it’s organic food!  

A: Great! Thank you! I shared this with the Kitchen team! 

Q: It would be appreciated if the kitchen made more non-meat breakfast sandwiches. Thanks! 

A: We do have this offering in sandwiches and burritos. Thanks. Vince, Food Services Manager 

Q: Please stop putting chocolate in the banana bread. Chocolate = good, banana = good, chocolate + banana = yuck! 

A: Thanks for the feedback. We will consider this. Vince, Food Services Manager 

Q: The Vermont Banh mi is the best wrap ever! Please make more of them so they will be stocked when I come in to grab one on the go. 

A: Awesome! I agree. Thanks, will do. 

Q: Hi, you should let shoppers know that every bag one brings earns a nickel for the food bank! Maybe a thermometer? 

A: Thanks for the suggestion. It’s on my to-do list! And one clarification – the 5 cents goes to the Montpelier Food Pantry, not the Foodbank. Rowan, Community Relations Manager 

Q: The intercom here is too loud. It nearly gives me a heart attack when people talk so loud over it.  

A: Our IT department just measured all our intercoms and is standardizing them all. I hope that helps and I hope you enjoy Andrea Farmer’s amazing pages! Rhianna, Front End Manager 

Q: The bakers of pastries such as muffins and scones are cutting up the fruit into tiny pieces so there is almost no fruit in these muffins and scones. 

A: Thank you for the feedback. I will review this with the pastry team. Vince, Food Services Manager 

Q: What happened to the cinnamon rolls? They are TINY! Like half the size they were, but still $4.  

A: This was a blip on the radar. We have since corrected the issue. They are back to normal size and delish! Vince, Food Services Manager 

Q: Deli white rice strange taste. Couldn’t eat. Please use old great recipe. Thank you. 

A: Thank you for your feedback. I will look into this. Vince, Food Services Manager 

Q: The savory scones are usually not sold out and the sweet ones are always gone by afternoon. How about always having sweet varieties. They are great. 

A: Thank you. We will look into this. Vince, Food Services Manager 

Q: Your chocolate cake (square) by prepared foods is SO delicious. Simple but rich, not too sweet. Just Perfect! Thank you! 

A: Awesome! Thank you! I will relay your feedback to the pastry team. Vince, Food Services Manager 

Q: If people go to the express lane with too many items, please direct them to another lane. Twice this week I’ve had to wait. 

A: I’m sorry you had to wait! Express registers (#9 & #4) welcome small carts and baskets. No more counting items. (Plus, we are quick cashiers!) Rhianna, Front End Manager 

Q: Cashiers aren’t remembering bag credit for bringing our own bags. I often don’t get it, as in too shy to ask. I love Co-op workers! 

A: We try our best, but/and this is a nice note for others to read and know that the bag/box equals $0.05 donation. Thank you. Rhianna, Front End Manager 

Q: Please consider the first customer all bagged up before starting to check the next one through. It’s just nice. 

A: I agree, it is nice! We do our best to give you excellent customer service. I apologize if you feel like we were not nice, because we are! Rhianna, Front End Manager 

Q: Yum, cooked broccoli perfect today! 

A: Yay, thank you! Vince, Food Services Manager 

Q: Regardless of the reason, we would sell a LOT more hot bar if it was not the same things day after day. 

A: We will do our best to “mix it up more” in the future. Vince, Food Services Manager 

Q: More deli staff please! They seem overworked for the demand. Bring back non-premade sandwiches.  

A: We are currently in the hiring process. Thanks. Vince, Food Services Manager 

Q: I would like a self-checkout.  

A: We polled the membership when we redid our cash registers. Overwhelmingly it was rejected. Thanks for your thoughts on this. Kevin, Operations Manager 

Q: It would be nice to be able to shop without seeing political t-shirts on staff that seem worn just to provoke a reaction. 

A: Yes, you are right! But in a democracy, everyone has the right of freedom of speech, even if we do not agree with it. Kevin, Operations Manager 

Q: Need more than one bike rack, especially with many larger e-bikes now! Please, thank you. 

A: Thanks for your thoughts. We have two, one in front of the store and one on the side of the store. Kevin, Operations Manager 

Comment: Customer was very pleased with the new dish soap. She got some the other day. She said “bravo” to our efforts to replace plastic. 

Q: Thank you for the chocolate-free banana bread!! 

A: Excellent! You are welcome! Vince, Food Services Manager 

Q: Hot bar has been the same thing all week. No one wants turkey pot pie in May, four days in a row. Let’s mix it up.  

A: Thank you for the feedback! We appreciate it! Vince, Food Services Manager 

Q: Thank you for the breakfast burritos! They make my day. 

A: Awesome! You are most welcome! Vince, Food Services Manager 

Q: The pineapple coconut mochi cake is so delicious Thank you! 

A: Great! Thank you! Vince, Food Services Manager 

Q: The sushi I bought was horrible – soft, mushy, obviously old. The cooler was full of sushi when purchased, and as usual not enough wasabi or ginger. It was disgusting. 

A: I will look into this. Thank you. Vince, Food Services Manager 

Q: Extra thank you to Marcus for extra help. That was “above and beyond” and so friendly. Like everyone here, actually. 

A: Excellent, thank you for the feedback! Vince, Food Services Manager 

Q: I haven’t seen grilled sandwiches on the hot bar lately. I asked about it. I would like them to continue; it has helped make up for not having the grill open. Rachels on Mondays. Yeah! Please restart this. 

A: We are working toward hot sandwiches daily. Coming soon! Thanks. Vince, Food Services Manager 

Q: Sunday morning hash out of this world delicious. 

A: Fantastic! I will share with the team. Vince, Food Services Manager 

Q: Awesome curried soups! Thanks. 

A: Great! Thank you! I will share your feedback. Vince, Food Services Manager 

Q: Thank you endlessly for making mortadella a regular thing! 

A: We will try and offer mortadella more consistently. Thanks! Vince, Food Services Manager 

Q: I loved the breakfast hot bar offering (eggs, cheese, sausage, etc.) could you bring that back (or other options?) please. 

A: We will take a look at offering this more consistently. Thanks. Vince, Food Services Manager 

Q: Please have Bonte Bread Harvest loaf in more frequently if possible. Thank you. 

A: I will pass this along, feel free to contact them as well at bontebakery.com. Kevin, Operations Manager 

Q: I suggest having “share table” flags in the cafe area. Today there were eight tables with only one person each, and people leaving not “feeling” they wanted to disturb someone.  

A: This is an interesting idea. I will think about how to do this, as I know cafe seating is a real issue. Thanks! Rowan, Community Relations Manager 

Q: There are now six large posters across from the register in the deli area. Not a good place for these as when people want to read them others are trying to get through with deli meals and carts. Please find another place! 

A: Thanks for the feedback! We have so few places to let folks know what is happening in the store, but we can be mindful of this. Rowan, Community Relations Manager