Each week I walk down to Hoboken to shop in some of the stores there. Currently, Jersey City Heights doesn’t have any gourmet or health food stores (that I know of). In Hoboken there are a few, including Basic Foods and until recently, Garden of Eden. (I know, you’re saying… hey, Garden of Eden is still there on Washington Street, ahh, nope…)
So, last week I’m on my usual trek to pick up some stuff and I walked all around the store, every last thing in it’s place. Picking up the usual items from their shelves and bins. The same people, same displays and even the same uniforms on the staff, almost! It’s not until I’ve paid and look at my receipt that I notice it says, Aspen Marketplace. Huh? I look up at the cashier and then notice their apron doesn’t say “Garden of Eden” anymore. I ask, “Who is Aspen Marketplace and what happened to Garden of Eden?” Answer: “Well, we’re under new management now.”
I want to assure you, the food was just the same, healthy, fresh and delicious, but how does a store rebrand itself so deceptively that I didn’t notice until paying? I felt like someone had taken advantage of me. I’m certainly happy that there’s a healthy food store for me to shop in, but they should have done something to let me (and others) know. What happened to the signs and banners a store used to fly, “Under New Management?” I’ve done a search on Google and cannot even come up with a logo for the brand, “Aspen Marketplace.”
Is it better to make sure the consumer is having the same wonderful experience in your store or should stores respect us and let us know they’ve changed owners?
Used to be Garden of Eden, now Aspen Marketplace, walk by and go in, see if you can tell it's changed?
