I have been on a quest to find a local source for Crio Bru Cacao.
So far, no luck.
I was delighted to find the brand at New Seasons Market, a wonderful local grocery chain in the Portland Metro area.
Sadly, the only kind they had was a pumpkin flavored roast.
Yuk! I hate pumpkin.
My Email to New Seasons
I sent an email to New Seasons about offering different roasts in Crio Bru Cacao which read
“Crio Bru Cacao. You have it in a pumpkin version but I would prefer just a roast cacao without extra flavoring. Thank you.”
Response from New Seasons
Dear Lori,
Unfortunately, Crio Bru’s Pumpkin Spice (light roast) – “Ecuador” is the only roast from Crio Bru that is currently available through our distributors, but that could change. I will be sending a special request to our buyers to let them know that they should consider carrying a selection of Crio Bru’s bestselling roasts at New Seasons. Thank you so very much for taking the time to let us know what products you would like us to carry at New Seasons and for being a valuable customer. If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Warmly,
Cece
Cece Harris | Community Coordinator
New Seasons Market
503.496.1155 phone
My Response to New Seasons
Hi Cece,
Thank you for your response.
I hope you are able to get other roasts from Crio Bru! I am not a fan of pumpkin.
Thank you and the rest of the team for the great service you provide.
The produce department cuts my butternut, acorn and spaghetti squash in half for me. So much easier than risking impaling myself trying to cut it open.
Also, the meat department makes great suggestions about what to buy and how to cook it.
Finally, the bulk department people are always helpful too.
I love your blog and have tried the recipes.
Happy Thursday,
Lori
The Result
Although I may resort to buying the Crio Bru cacao online, I am pleased with the helpful attitude of New Seasons. The staff make it a joy to shop there. They are a nice change from the big, impersonal chain grocery stores!
In addition to recipes and great product selection, they have classes and tours for specific food and health subjects. I love that they have classes for children in the stores.
There are more good things that I could say about New Seasons Market but I will close with this comment.
New Seasons Market sets the bar very high!
Lori Greer in Portland 
Always great to hear a positive story about customer service.
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Thank you for reading and commenting. It makes my life easier to shop there. Plus, it is a great marketing strategy.
Have a great weekend.
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What a great market in your neighborhood, Lori. I shop at a grocery store almost as good. The gal behind the deli counter often ignores me in order to assist the person who just showed up even though I’ve been waiting for 5 minutes. There are inviting signs around also, like the one that says, “15
items or less,” usually ignored by the 3 doofuses in front of me with their loaded carts. And as for help reaching the products I want on the very top shelves, (I’m barely 5 feet tall) if I wait long enough, a taller customer will usually show up and grab what I need. Most fun is asking the packers not to over stuff the bags because I can’t lift heavy things as my arm is still healing after a bad fall last September. They ignore me also and I often have to repack, getting nasty looks from them and the checker too. But over all great service!
You are very lucky, but I think you know it.
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I am sorry that your market is not service oriented. Really too bad!
Good customer service is a great marketing tool.
Yes, I am lucky. The mindset in Portland seems to be very friendly and helpful at most stores. Or, maybe I just happen to hit the right ones.
Have a great weekend.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day.
Lori
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I wish you well in your journey Ms. Lori, I hope you are able to have a great weekend.
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FYI if you put your squashes in the microwave for a couple of minutes makes cutting so much easier and only softens the outer casing….I see the rain is suppose to be leaving the northwest….fingers crossed for you….kat
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I just put Crio Bru Cacao into my Amazon and found lots of different flavors, French roast, coco river, Ecuadorian flavor….https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Crio+Bru+Cacao have a look around on here….good luck…kat
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It’s wonderful when you find a place to shop that cares about its customers – we have some great places around here, which makes life just a little more pleasant.
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I like to hear stories about good marketing service. I’m happy where I live. Small City (town relatively) yet customer friendly service and good variety. What exactly is Crio Bru Cacao (it sounds like coffee but unknown to me.
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So much nicer than a “take it or leave it” attitude.
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My parents were big believers in writing and taking action, Lori. I dislike hanging with complainers who never try to make a difference. I even want to tell people they have no right to complain more than once on any subject UNLESS they already called, emailed or snail-mailed the company they are ranting about. Smiles, sent your way! 🙂
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