What the heck is wrong with TSC????

[JacinLarkwell]

Now for sure they should not have had a rancid bag of feed on the shelf to begin with. That was their problem for not investigating the smell, storing correctly, or checking LOT numbers. However, if they said that they would refund without you bringing the bag back, that is technically good customer service at that point.
Speaking as someone who works in a feed store, if a customer complains of mold in a product we usually need the bag or the product back if it was taken out of the bag and the bag tossed. Our suppliers need the LOT number to track if there is a widespread problem with that batch, and our store policy is that the product must be returned for a refund so we can ensure it's properly disposed of. Otherwise a customer can complain of mold and then keep feeding the bad product, or just outright lie in order to get a refund. It has happened before. At no point would we ever drive out to a customer's property and retrieve a bag from them. That opens us up to liability if something happened to the employee on the drive, or if something happened on the customer's property, etc. Most stores do not have a company vehicle either, so it would be an employee's private vehicle that is not insured for business purposes going to retrieve the bag, which is another huge can of worms in terms of what does the employee get compensated for driving, etc.
That being said.
Before you dump any bag of feed into any container, you need to check it to make sure it is what you were supposed to have been feeding and that it is fresh, good food. I have had so many customers grab a bag because it looks like the one they usually buy and ignore what the bag actually says only to figure it out weeks later. And I have also had many, many customers buy a bunch of bags and just randomly dump into a bin without rotating, cleaning, or making sure that the feed did not get spoiled while sitting on their barn floor and then try to say it was the store's problem they had mold. Mistakes happen.
I have also had bags that have excellent dating, smell fresh, look great, and have had random chunks of concrete, mold, or other bits in the bag that was only discovered after scooping out a little bit of feed. Every bag that you buy should be checked before you put it into your storage containers/facilities regardless of who you buy it from. Mistakes happen.
For the rest of your experience I can make no comment. All of that said, I'm sorry, it sounds like you had a very rough and frustrating week.

TLDR: not needing the bag back to refund money was nice, them not coming to get rid of your moldy feed is smart for legal reasons, and please, please always check your feed before you store/feed it; sorry it sounds like a bad week hope it gets much better.

That's half the reason I just put the bag itself into a bin when it's time for a new one. That way if somethings wrong, it's mostly contained and I only need to take out a small amount to get the bag back out by myself.

 

[Sally PB]

This store has a bad reputation.

they've been remiss on a lot of things besides moldy feed, and I'm not the only one complaining locally

This needs to go higher up the corporate chain. Start with talking to the store manager. Do you have friends/neighbors who have had bad experiences? See if they'll do the same. Write a letter (gasp!) or an email, or call someone.

If enough people complain, something will change. Or, if enough people stop going to the store, it will go out of business. Get the word out that this store is a problem.

A couple years ago, TSC got new chick brooders. They were at the very least, mismanaged, and MANY chicks died. I saw some in my local TSC with huge clods of pasty butt feces.

Enough people complained and they went back to the old tank style of brooder.

 

[Dough Hill]

wet, moldy food

This is why I buy my feed and supplements at our local feed store where I work and mix it myself. I know what I’m getting and it’s always fresh

 

[Dough Hill]

This store has a bad reputation.

If you know this why do you shop there.

 

[chicknmania]

Because sometimes I have to. We are still a small town.

 

[chicknmania]

This needs to go higher up the corporate chain. Start with talking to the store manager. Do you have friends/neighbors who have had bad experiences? See if they'll do the same. Write a letter (gasp!) or an email, or call someone.

If enough people complain, something will change. Or, if enough people stop going to the store, it will go out of business. Get the word out that this store is a problem.

A couple years ago, TSC got new chick brooders. They were at the very least, mismanaged, and MANY chicks died. I saw some in my local TSC with huge clods of pasty butt feces.

Enough people complained and they went back to the old tank style of brooder.

I remember that about the brooders.

 

[RebelFord81]

Yea I don't buy from them unless I absolutely have to anymore. I was blessed with a small local mom and pop feed store that just opened up near me they get weekly trucks and and are very competitive in pricing so I just go there. I'd rather give them my money anyway.

 

[chicknmania]

Now for sure they should not have had a rancid bag of feed on the shelf to begin with. That was their problem for not investigating the smell, storing correctly, or checking LOT numbers. However, if they said that they would refund without you bringing the bag back, that is technically good customer service at that point.
Speaking as someone who works in a feed store, if a customer complains of mold in a product we usually need the bag or the product back if it was taken out of the bag and the bag tossed. Our suppliers need the LOT number to track if there is a widespread problem with that batch, and our store policy is that the product must be returned for a refund so we can ensure it's properly disposed of. Otherwise a customer can complain of mold and then keep feeding the bad product, or just outright lie in order to get a refund. It has happened before. At no point would we ever drive out to a customer's property and retrieve a bag from them. That opens us up to liability if something happened to the employee on the drive, or if something happened on the customer's property, etc. Most stores do not have a company vehicle either, so it would be an employee's private vehicle that is not insured for business purposes going to retrieve the bag, which is another huge can of worms in terms of what does the employee get compensated for driving, etc.
That being said.
Before you dump any bag of feed into any container, you need to check it to make sure it is what you were supposed to have been feeding and that it is fresh, good food. I have had so many customers grab a bag because it looks like the one they usually buy and ignore what the bag actually says only to figure it out weeks later. And I have also had many, many customers buy a bunch of bags and just randomly dump into a bin without rotating, cleaning, or making sure that the feed did not get spoiled while sitting on their barn floor and then try to say it was the store's problem they had mold. Mistakes happen.
I have also had bags that have excellent dating, smell fresh, look great, and have had random chunks of concrete, mold, or other bits in the bag that was only discovered after scooping out a little bit of feed. Every bag that you buy should be checked before you put it into your storage containers/facilities regardless of who you buy it from. Mistakes happen.
For the rest of your experience I can make no comment. All of that said, I'm sorry, it sounds like you had a very rough and frustrating week.

TLDR: not needing the bag back to refund money was nice, them not coming to get rid of your moldy feed is smart for legal reasons, and please, please always check your feed before you store/feed it; sorry it sounds like a bad week hope it gets much better.

I certainly will do that! And yes, it's probably more the store than anything, We used to buy our feed from an old drive through feed store that looked like it hadn't had any maintenance for years... and you would think the feed would be old or moldy....but amazingly they had the best feed. It was always super fresh, not dusty, reasonably priced, and smelled wonderful when the bag was opened. The owner had several mice controlling cats, and he used to let the cats open a bag or two of catfood...saying this was how he knew which catfood would be the best seller, lol. His wild bird food was also very fresh and always popular with the wild birds. Sadly, he retired and the feed store closed after many years in business. It's too bad that those types of stores are disappearing. And yes, I have to do everything by myself for the most part anymore, so I am always swamped and any disruption tends to create problems. Thus, the bad week.

 

[chicknmania]

Yea I don't buy from them unless I absolutely have to anymore. I was blessed with a small local mom and pop feed store that just opened up near me they get weekly trucks and and are very competitive in pricing so I just go there. I'd rather give them my money anyway.

Exactly. Small stores are the best. That's what I was just talking about, in my last post.