Cider Availability
I, along with some other regular customers, am a fan of Starcut Cider – specifically their `Pulsar’ variety. I shop at the West Coop regularly and have grown frustrated as you stock 4 varieties of Starcut Cider and based on my observation generally only sell one variety. My frustration comes from the fact that while you may restock on Friday[?], by mid-day Saturday EVERY WEEK I can count on `Pulsar’ to be completely sold out while all other 3 varieties are fully stocked. Yesterday [Tuesday 6PM] I visited and you were still out of stock from Saturday – meanwhile each other variety continued to be still fully stocked and may not have sold a single 6-pack. Can you adjust your West Location stocking so that you’re not continually out of the one variety that sells and fully stocked on the 3 that don’t sell anywhere near as much? It sure seems like there’s empty shelf space nearby that could be used for overstock – or even better get some in the cooler. If I have to keep taking my weekend business to Woodmans or Total Wine I will … but I find it frustrating that you continually understock something that you could sell much more of. At some point, despite the convenience, I am going to stop even trying to buy this at Willy Co-op. Thank you for your attention.
I really appreciate you bringing this to our attention. I am very familiar with the disappointment of having the one thing on your list that you’re actually looking forward to buying, continually being out of stock… That said, I totally understand your frustration. I already spoke to our buyer and informed them that they need to be ordering more. I also found an additional area to help provide more volume on the sales floor. The secondary location will be located across from the cheese department on the bottom of the display that is located there. My apologies for the let down of having to run across town in order to fulfill your shopping list. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you notice this continuing to happen. My hope is that this won’t be a problem for you moving forward. Thanks! -Dave Andrews, Willy West Grocery Manager
Bulk Vanilla
I always enjoyed buying vanilla in your bulk area that I always just filled up a bottle that had been pre-weighted. It was excellent vanilla for my baking. I came in last night to find none, and was told you wouldn’t get any. What happened? Why? Please offer again.
I appreciate you taking the time to reach out to us with your question. Unfortunately, we have decided to discontinue the vanilla in our Bulk Liquid section and will no longer have this available for the foreseeable future. The main reason behind this decision was due to limited space and slow sales. Ever since the pandemic, sales in our Bulk aisle have unfortunately remained lower than they once were. With buying habits being different, we have had to make changes in our product selection in order to adapt. Unfortunately, this has led to us no longer offering certain items. We recently made a series of changes in Bulk to help expand certain sections within the aisle. This expansion was due to very high sales in specific areas and the need for more shelf space to support the demand. We had to make a lot of tough decisions in order to create the space that was needed for this to happen. That being said, a lot of effort went into analyzing sales data to help determine how products were performing. Unfortunately, bulk vanilla was one of the worst sellers at our location, along with the majority of the liquids that we were currently offering in Bulk. This was the reasoning behind why we greatly reduced our selection of Bulk liquids. I apologize that this is no longer available at our location. If you’re looking for another option, the brand that we carried in Bulk is called Singing Dog Vanilla. We still carry their packaged vanilla. Thanks! -Dave Andrews, Willy West Grocery Manager
Busking
I haven’t heard directly, but it’s clear the Co-op isn’t allowing busking anymore in front of the store. That disappoints me because I have heard many wonderful music performances there. I fear not allowing them makes us less community-oriented and takes away joy from my experience.
Thanks for your input for us to consider allowing busking in the way that it was pre-Covid. It will be taken into consideration as we make decisions for the 2025 spring/summer season. We piloted in 2023 our Rain Garden Music Sessions at our East store and continued it again last year with a positive community response. The Co-op pays each artist for their talents each session, which was not able to be done with our previous busking program. If you, or someone you know, would like to be considered for future upcoming 2025 sessions, please send an email to customer.experience@willystreet.coop, and we would be happy to go over more details. Additionally, we will be participating in Make Music Madison again in 2025.Thanks for reaching out! -Kristina Kuhaupt, Customer Experience Manager
Salicylate Allergy
I have recently been identified as having a salicylate allergy. I am curious if you have a list of salicylate free health and beauty care items, like shampoo, hand soap, etc.
Thanks for reaching out about this! Unfortunately, the co-op doesn’t have a list of salicylate free health and beauty care items. In fact, I even had trouble finding resources or lists online that offered a list of specific products that are salicylate free. If you find a great resource, feel free to share it with us so our wellness team can reference it in the future! Thanks again for writing in. -Sophie Patterson, Willy West General Merchandise Manager
Rishi Tea
Rishi Tea- purchased a month ago, not pleased with product due to packaging. Tea bag packets are huge, the size of the box! This uses much more plastic than should be necessary. Also, packs are made of polylactic acid, plastic. While made from vegetation, this material is not recyclable unless a special process is used. It will contaminate recycling if put in typical stream. It cannot be composted except in special process or take up to 1,000 years. Thus, cannot be realistically done either way!
I’m sorry you were not satisfied with your purchase; you may return the product for a refund–just bring it to the Customer Service desk next time you stop in! I will get your feedback shared with Rishi for them to take into consideration. Please note we do also sell many Rishi teas in a loose-leaf format, you can then portion the tea to your liking in a tea infuser or a different style tea bag–both of which you can find at all of our stores! Thanks for taking the time to write in! -Liz Muñoz, Director of Purchasing
Lifespan to Healthspan Article
I just want to commend Katy on this article, and say thank you. One of the best articles I’ve ever read on health and quality of life. I typically wouldn’t forward a long article to family, but this one was a must. I appreciate your deep knowledge, and ability to write in a way that is accessible and interesting to a lay person. Thanks, Katy!
Thanks for your message about Katy’s article in the January Reader, and I agree–I thought it was really informative and easy to digest. I will be sure to pass along your kind words to Katy! -Caitlyn Tompkins, Content Specialist
Bulk PLUs
An older version of the website allowed me to reference bulk products by the number I had written on the bag for checkout. This feature is a loss to me.
Thanks for your question and I’m sorry for my delay in responding. We just added it back! You can find it under Our Departments and then Bulk, or at http://willystreet.coop/bulk-PLUs. Have a nice week! -Brendon Smith, Marketing & Communications Director
EBT Card and Double Dollars
Your policy is that you have to use your EBT card in order to get double dollars. Many of us run out of our monthly allotment before the end of the month. I purchased $40.00 worth of groceries and use cash because there was nothing left on my EBT card. I feel as did the person at the register as long as you have an EBT card we should be able to get the double dollars. Please consider changing your policy. Thank you, regarding this.
Thanks for reaching out and letting me know of your experience. I am happy to hear that you have been participating in our Double Dollars program! Although what you described could be a positive potential solution, to be compliant with government funding expectations that we must follow, all Double Dollars have to be paired with FoodShare/QUEST forms of payment (EBT). As future conversations about Double Dollars continue to shape the program, we will take your suggestion into consideration. -Kristina Kuhaupt, Customer Experience Manager
Sourdough Breads
Some of us are averse to sourdough breads. I’d be grateful if we carried more delicious bread options that are not sourdough. Batch is wonderful, but its a rare treat to find it in stock. I see some new brands have popped up, but they are more sourdough. I appreciate your consideration in this matter!
Thank you for reaching out with your comments and request. It has been very difficult for us to find local bread vendors that are able to provide freshly baked artisan bread for all of our three stores. Batch only delivers to Willy East a few days a week and does not have the capacity to produce more bread for Willy North or Willy West. We have added One Love Bread recently, and they make artisan sourdough breads. We also just added Stalzy’s Deli breads at East. I do not believe all of their breads are sourdough though. They may be expanding their offerings in the near future. If you have any companies you think would work well, please let me know. I will continue to search for some other options that might be a good fit. Thank you for letting us know what you are looking for in our stores! -Dean Kallas, Grocery Category Manager
