LaBonne's Market - Prospect

*UPDATE* Shortly after posting this review, a manager at LaBonne's actually took the time to call and apologize for this situation and get more information on it. We greatly appreciate that and as such my original 1 Star review will be changed to the 5 Star review that they otherwise would have deserved. For anyone reading this going forward, know that the issues below have been acknowledged and addressed.

-- This review will be quite long, but out of respect for LaBonne's and any potential readers, a full explanation of a 1 star review from what I would otherwise give a 5 star review is owed. If you read it all, I appreciate you taking the time. --

My family has been going to LaBonne's Market for years, ever since it was under different ownership and called Oliver's. It is and always has been an excellent store for easy, quick grocery shopping in town with more than enough variety and fairly dependable freshness.

That makes posting this review very hard, but unfortunately necessary. For all the good at LaBonne's, there is one downside that now sours the entire experience of shopping there. That downside is the Deli Department. The actual quality of the product is fine but the service is not. To be clear, this is ONLY an issue with the Deli.

The problem is that once you ask for your slice and okay the size, if you do not pay attention, they will change the size and make it thicker to make their job easier, at the expense of giving customers far thicker meat or cheese than requested. This often ruins meals, wastes product, and therefore wastes my time and money.

Today though was the event that prompted my review, as this crossed the line from terrible service to egregious behavior. There is one worker who intentionally went very slow, to the point their co-workers were clearly becoming inconvenienced and annoyed, because we asked for the cheese to be sliced thin and stuck around to watch them cut it. Then they very clearly and intentionally stacked it quite messy as shown in the photo, I presume out of spite because their annoyance was palpable at that point.

I understand people can be tiring and stressful, but at the end of the day it is their job to interact with people and fulfill their orders. It is completely unacceptable for a worker to act so spiteful and vindictive simply because someone asked them to do their job.

I will not be posting names because at the end of the day, I go there every week and don't wish to see anyone fired. Although, people who go frequently and fellow employees can likely infer who I'm talking about. All I wanted to do was share this so people could be aware of the achilles heel of this otherwise great establishment if they are new customers and maybe let returning customers who have had similar experiences know they are not alone.
In a perfect world, perhaps this might spark an internal conversation there that could set things back on the right path without any individuals losing their job or being too strictly reprimanded. Maybe the individual mentioned would be better off and, happier even, in a different role for example, I don't know.

If you took the time to read this far, thank you very much. If you are an employee or owner of Labonne's and read this far, thank you for your time and your excellent store. It really would be a 5 Star review for me if this wasn't an issue, but for my family it has become a very large one. Large enough to convince to post a review (an extreme rarity for me) in hopes of seeing things improve.

Thank you again for your time and attention.

Great family owned grocery store ! Never had a bad experience , everyone is friendly and goes above and beyond. Shout out to Walter in produce, Sue in Deli, Cheryl the cashier and all at customer service. It's a joy to shop there!

I love this store! The produce is always fresh and beautifully presented, stockers and cashiers always friendly and helpful. The variety of goods is plentiful and well stocked. What's not to love?!

Love this store. I will pay extra but I love the service and the timely manner I am in and out. Far outweighs going to the big stores many times

They have great employees there from the worked who worked at olivers at on time Jim and the ones in the kitchen they have wonderful fried chicken as well

A little pricey but a great store..

Always friendly, been going here for years.

When you don't want to deal with crowded big box grocery stores, this is the perfect place to shop. Very clean, great selection of fresh produce and great cuts of meat. Friendly staff. I find the prices a little higher than Stop and Shop, but worth every penny.

The Thanksgiving meal you provided for our family get together was amazingly delicious! The turkey was cooked with a lot of flavor and was not dry at all. The stuffing and potatoes were made with fresh ingredients and tasted like a home cooked meal. Super impressed by the quality, taste, and affordability. Will definitely use you for future events!

Oliver's is such a great shopping experience. Take the reason why you go to the big stores and cross it with a small, family run business and this store has it all. Their deli is tops along with their hot food bar and fresh soups. They are always pretty well stocked and you can shop in peace. All of the employees that I've met have been friendly and helpful. Always a good experience!

I needed corned beef dinners today as I had no time to prepare. I still had a credit in the catering department and Sue not only put my dinners aside but made sure I would receive my credit at the register and I would have what I needed!! Superb customer service!! Thank you!!!

Great store that focuses on sourcing locally and ethically. Fascias chocolate, Big Dipper ice cream, CT breweries, local pasta, and excellent convenience food from the deli. I've been doing my shopping here since the pandemic started to avoid larger crowds, and I'm so glad. This is now the only grocery store I use outside Trader Joe's.

Had a beautiful beef filet for Christmas and it was the best I have ever had. So tender and delicious. Thank you for always serving the best.

This place is greatThey're extremely helpfulThey are extremely kind and nice I would recommend it to anyone they get right back to you they dont make mistakes Samantha & Megan especially nice. Dont go to shop rite they make mistakes always but do go here you will be happy thank you La Bonnes 😃😊

This is the cutest supermarket. It feels like how it used to be back in the day. It is small, but it has everything and a wide variety of goods. They have an amazing deli and a good selection in their meat department. I enjoy their stuffed breads, and bakery items too! They also bring your groceries out to the car! I highly recommend going there, my daughter loves to push the small children's carriages they have.

Love Oliver's! Been going there for over 10 years. Staff always friendly and helpful. Love how they bring your bags out to the car. Place is very clean. Sales are awesome. Highly recommended!!!

Those saying too expensive realize stop and Shop has 88 stores in Connecticut Labonne's doesn't even have 10 you pay more because they pay more for product but they far make up for it in customer service also they are placed in more expensive towns you want to pay less then go they're stop complaining the service is great

This market is slightly upscale their se
lections are much better than any big box supermarket. The deli has a really good selection of prepared foods The best part of this place is the quality of the employees they are friendly courteous helpful and competent.You can't have a bad experience
There.

Very clean and they take your temperature at your wrist before you enter. Great deli, produce, GF options in frozen section and throughout the store. The butter toffee cashews are to die for! Very friendly and helpful cashiers.

I’ve been shopping at Oliver’s since 1978. I love having this independently owned grocery store in town. The staff are extremely friendly, courteous & knowledgeable. I love having my groceries carried to my car.