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Dear Natural Grocers representative; Please find my communication to Mary’s Turkeys regarding the non-GMO turkey I purchased from your store back in Oct. I have NEVER complained about any of your stores or any employees. I shop in your store regularly and have for years! For the most part, I have a very positive opinion And generally would be giving your stores a 3-4 star rating. But this “turkey experience” was so disappointing I thought you should know about it so I am copying you on the communication I emailed to Mary’s Turkeys. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Dear Mary’s Turkeys,

Our family went vegan for almost 15 years before deciding to slowly integrate some meat back into our diets. We thought a nice non-GMO turkey would be a good option.

I purchased a 17lb turkey from our local Natural Grocers this year. We put a “deposit” on one back in October. I thought your turkeys were pricey but thought this year we would splurge and try one of them. I paid $81.00 for the bird!

When I placed the order & deposit on the turkey, my understanding was that these turkeys were “fresh.” Hearing the word “fresh,” I thought this would be great to pick it up the day before Thanksgiving. My husband and I were shown the pricing options and placed our deposit to hold one. We heard other employees say that these turkeys were “fresh.”

I’m no turkey expert but I am in my late sixties and have cooked MANY turkeys before going vegan years. Most were purchased frozen. But I have also purchased fresh turkeys when available.

When my husband and I unwrapped Mary’s turkey, we were shocked just looking at the visual of this bird. It had a huge piece of skin that was torn halfway off one of its sides, multiple bruises all over, some red, some purple, and some small skin lesions “here and there.” The loose skin that covers both cavities was laced with huge purple bloody veins that turned the water almost red in our sink while rinsing. I have never seen this on ANY turkey I have ever purchased. It was disgusting! It took almost 30 minutes to “clean” and trim all that bloody skin off.

When we opened the main cavity to pull out the “organs” and neck, we noticed some ice had formed inside. We assumed that possibly the storage of this turkey was placed in an environment that was somewhat colder than a standard refrigerator, thus the semi-frozen organs. It did feel somewhat stiff, but we read the directions on the label and both my husband and I followed the directions and stuffed the turkey, calculated the time it would take to bake, and popped it in the oven.

As our meal began to materialize with other dishes being made, we checked on the turkey several times. I had a thermometer that was reading 160-180 so we took it out for its first “check.” As soon as we placed it on the cutting board after 4.5 hours of cooking, we noticed “pink” juices flowing from it. So – back in the oven. This happened 4 DIFFERENT TIMES! We began to think our thermometer was incorrect! By having to continue to cook longer, soon, all other dishes were done EXCEPT the turkey! I decided to serve our family all the “side dishes” and send turkey home with each of them once it was done. This turkey had been cooking total time, approximately 7 hours!

I’m a pretty experienced cook but I felt like an idiot trying to figure out why this turkey was taking SO long! Conclusion – The darn thing was FROZEN! NOT FRESH, as described! Perhaps I missed something when I purchased it, but I only knew what I heard – FRESH. My meal was a total disaster!

Later in the evening, my husband went to your website and found information that classified the bird as “fresh,” but frozen. The term “deep chilled” filled my head with questions, but the bottom line is your turkeys are frozen and need to be thawed over multiple days. This was NOT known at the time of purchase when the deposit was made.

I am copying Natural Grocers because I believe there should have been some responsibility to provide information about these so-called “fresh” turkeys, maybe a small flyer to be handed out before ordering– SOMETHING! The condition of the bird before cooking was very disappointing as described above.

I have most certainly NEVER had to go to a website and read about how a defrost/cook a turkey, regardless of weight, etc. And I have never heard the term “deep chilled” either.

Thought you should know about our experience. I’m not even sure the meat is fit to eat. The dark meat came out with a purplish “tint” in some areas and the white meat is dry.

I am disappointed, at best about my purchase. The condition of the bird, and the ambiguous representation of the product when purchased, all make me feel that I threw away $81.00 and came out with a disastrous Thanksgiving experience!

I rarely send complaint letters such as this, but due to the amount I paid for this turkey & our negative experience, I thought it was appropriate to convey my story to your company.

Natural Grocers, I recently opened a Visa dispute for a very small amount of money as I was not ever made aware of your ridiculous new “return policy.” You chose to fight that & so I am now filing charges with the Attorney General’s Offices in the sates of NV & CO. I am charging you with Deceptive & unfair business practices, misrepresentation, & any other charges the Attorney General’s Offices feel apply. You’ve lost a customer for life & created a mouth that will tell everyone I know about your horrible company! If you’re a customer reading this, they started a “new policy” where if you buy 100 items on a receipt for example, you can only return two! Dispute these things through your credit card companies & file charges with the Attorney General for the State of CO AND the state you live in. They want to STEAL your money? Make it cost them a fortune in time, effort, & their attorneys having to fight the Attorney General’s Offices!

Hello,

After years of shopping at your store, this is why my family will no longer be shopping at your store.

Natural Grocers – Supports the Jack and Jill foundation, which partners with AARP, Dove soap, and Morgan Stanley, all of which we boycott. Shop at Sprouts instead.