Angry at Sprouts!

[chasfm11]

My wife just confirmed that the Sprouts store in Flower Mound is posted. They will be getting a letter to their local manager and to the corporate office detailing their loss of our business. The timing is curious as a Central Market, just down the street from Sprouts in FM will soon open. The business loss is easy to confirm to them when there is a viable alternative so close.

My letters will remind them that they are making a political decision - and that this is Texas and not NY were it might have been better received.

On a personal note, I have to wonder if the publicity about Starbucks played any role in the Sprouts decision.

[MeMelYup]

When you write, tell them that the sign they have posted does nothing to keep someone with a rifle over there shoulder from entering their facility as the sign only effects Concealed Handgun Licensees. How many concealed handguns belonging to CHL holders have they seen?

[Dragonfighter]

Interestingly, they are headquartered in Phoenix, AZ.

Corporate:
Andrew Jahawar - Chairman of the Board
11811 N Tatum Blvd Phoenix, AZ 85028

My letter is going to be snail mail, I'll post it when I've sent it off.

[nitrogen]

Wow, I had no idea that so many people shopped there. I'm pleasantly surprised. Their hippie-trippie vibe throws me every time I go in, but their really good prices and quality produce (at least at my store in Murphy) won me over.

...until they did this.

I'm pretty good with my words, and being a rather lefty-minded guy, I know and can speak their language. I would be happy to help anyone that wants to draft a personalized letter to Sprouts, or feel free to steal mine and reword it slightly.

Despite their hippie-truppy vibe, they are a good store (at least up here in the Dallas area, it seems less so in Austin) and i'd like to see them set straight.

EDIT: The fact that I contacted them over 24 hours ago and I have yet to receive a response makes me wonder if they are having conversations about this policy. I hope my optimism is justified. When i've complained to Kroger or Walmart about things, they've always gotten back to me pretty quickly the next day.

[snakeyez78]

Not cool at all I'll have to confirm the Forrest lane location as It was not posted last time I was there... or maybe it was and I missed the change... I know in the past they had the TBAC seller signs up but nothing else ...

Thats not good for them in my area, I learned at my last national night out many of my neighbors carry, and sprouts parking lot is where we had our event and we all where saying how we preferred sprouts to tom-thumb that is directly across the street...

[aaangel]

My wife will be checking the Cedar Hill store to see if they are posted. If they are she will be having a conversation with the manager and of course we will be writing a letter.

i will check tomorrow morning if they are. if so, i will hand this card to the manager.

[rbwhatever1]

Canned Response. Will post their "resolution" if it ever comes...


Thanks for contacting us RB,
This is just a quick note to let you know that we have received your email. Every single email we receive gets read, logged and responded to until resolution – so rest assured, your voice will be heard. If you have requested a reply, we will get back to you as soon as we gather all the necessary information. Your feedback is greatly welcomed. If you'd like to speak directly with a Sprouts representative, you can always call us at 480-814-8016 or toll-free at 1-888-577-7688. Our Customer Relations phone team is here from 7:30am to 4pm PST, Monday through Friday. If you leave a message after-hours, we will get back to you on the next business day.

Sincerely,

The Sprouts Team

[Dragonfighter]

This will be going out in the morning's snail mail. Sometimes i think it has a tad more impact than flooding an inbox. I'll advise of any responses.

Final edit after incorporating the counsel against "peeks behind the curtain" and after my wife's review:

Dear Mr. Jhawar,

My family and I are all afflicted by various and severe food allergies. Prior to the opening of your store in Flower Mound, TX we had to travel far and visit several locations to conduct our grocery shopping. The opening of Store #102 was a blessing and a large portion of our grocery budget has been spent at this location since. We are sorely disappointed to find after several years, your company has opted to post signs (compliant with the language of Texas PC 30.06) that forbids the licensed and concealed carry of handguns within your stores.
Both my wife and I as well as our daughter are licensed by the State of Texas to carry a concealed handgun. As CHL holders we meet extremely stringent requirements including:
1. A record completely clear of ANY felony convictions.
2. A record clear of any Class A or B misdemeanors for at least 5 years.
3. Must be mentally competent and NOT chemically dependent (drugs or alcohol).
4. Complete and pass a course in the laws and use of weapons AND demonstrate safe handling and marksmanship.
5. Be fingerprinted, photographed and pass an extensive background check by the FBI and Texas Department of Public Safety including local, county, state and federal records.

For what it is worth, DPS records show that persons holding a CHL conviction rates that are far less than the general population and other studies show the rate is even less than the rate of convictions for law enforcement officers. I would not expect either class of citizen to be discouraged from entering your stores.
Prior to the posting of your stores, the sale of wine and beer already made it a felony for anyone to possess a weapon while inside excepting those that held a concealed handgun license or were law enforcement. While this is still true, the new sign now ensures anyone such as myself will not be there as well, yet this sign does nothing to prevent a criminal from entering your store with a weapon. In addition this new sign advertises to criminals that they most likely will face no resistance should they chose your store as a target.
For these reasons, for my family's safety and regardless of how we have enjoyed the shopping and the convenience of your location, we will no longer spend our money with your company or enter your stores. We are grateful that a Market Street as well as a Whole Foods will soon be open in the immediate area and will provide a convenient alternative for spending our grocery budget. Please know that your company has been posted on a website dedicated to identifying locations similarly posted and I will be sharing this news with friends, family and on as many forums as I visit where concealed handgun issues or food allergies are discussed.
If I can be of any assistance or if you would like to discuss this issue further, please feel free to contact me.

Added in Edit: This really torqued my wife as well. FWIW there is a Market Street going in across from Sprouts - Flower Mound and a Whole Foods going in at Long Prairie and FM 407 (Where every other business in creation is going in). So convenience ceases to even be a passing thought soon enough.

[Vol Texan]

Sorry it took so long to respond, but I have only one challenge with the OP's letter. It was good until it got to this point:

I also want to let you know that I will be telling all my conceal-carry friends to be sure and no longer stop at your stores. I have started this by reporting your location to a website that lets others know of businesses that don't appreciate their business. You can see your current entries here:

http://texas3006.com/view.php?postedsea ... me=sprouts" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Yes, I understand that it's a personal choice how we respond to those who post a sign, but one mantra that is common among us is "don't educate the antis about the law any more than we have to". True, the "don't educate" them idea usually means, "don't tell the person that hung a gunbuster sign that it has no validity to us - just let them think they've done all they need to do and carry on anyway". But I'd like to suggest that it could apply in this situation, as well.

Perhaps the ultimate recipient of the complaint letter (like almost every other non-CHL holder) has never heard of texas3006.com. Perhaps they have never been curious enough to get a username and password, log in, and read everything we have to say about them on there, and on this forum. Perhaps they've never heard us say the words, "ignore the sign, carry on, and let them wallow in their ignorance of the law, feeling safer". But if they are truly an anti (as opposed to some customer service rep who really doesn't care after reading the complaint letter), then we dare not let them in on our way of thinking.

They've already hung the sign so they must be educated on the law...so what's the worst that can happen if they do 'see behind the curtain' to understand our tactics? It's not like they can hang another sign and really, really, really ban us, can they?

Actually, it could get worse than that. It could open up doors that we don't want opened.

If they are truly an anti, and if they do log in to see what's being said in the comments, and if they do learn our tactics to ignore, not inform, and carry on, then they might be tempted to share such knowledge with their other friends in other businesses. This could easily cause many more proper signs to be hung, restricting us even further.

Sure, that's a lot of ifs in that last paragraph, but the probability of connecting all three of those dots and becoming a "30.06 proper signage evangelist" decreases significantly if we don't openly invite them to find out about it in the first place. Let them stay fully in the dark. Don't welcome them into our dugout! Don't invite them to our huddles as we call our plays! Don't hand them our playbook! Don't (insert another sports metaphor here)!

Like I said, it's a personal choice how we interact when we see a sign, whether it's valid or non-valid. I commend the OP for taking a stance and communicating to the store. I think it's great to try to explain why CHL holders in Texas are among the most trustworthy demographic they could ever have in their store. I just would like to suggest that we not educate the antis any more than we really need to.

(Edited for grammar.)

[Dragonfighter]

Like I said, it's a personal choice how we interact when we see a sign, whether it's valid or non-valid. I commend the OP for taking a stance and communicating to the store. I think it's great to try to explain why CHL holders in Texas are among the most trustworthy demographic they could ever have in their store. I just would like to suggest that we not educate the antis any more than we really need to.

Hmmm, something to ruminate on, I believe i'll redact the reference from my letter before I send it out.

[TexasGal]

Does anyone know if the Fort Worth location is posted as well? A check of the company website shows a huge number of stores in California so I wonder if this is a corporate decision or local to each store.

[Dragonfighter]

I'm betting with the number of reported sightings and comments on the Texas3006 site, it's corporate.

[TexasGal]

I wrote a polite letter. I pointed out women young and old are frequent customers and lots of us are licensed to carry. More and more every day. Women are the preferred targets of violent criminals. The sign essentially requires all of us to decide between being defenseless coming and going from the parking lot or not coming to the store at all. I choose not to be defenseless so I just do not go to stores and places that post signs that mean nothing to the criminal except that, if I am there, I am indeed defenseless.

[Bolton Strid]

Most stores can't afford a 2% drop in business, the percentage of chl holders in Texas.

You are definitely on to something there - the fact of the matter is that the actual profit margin of grocery stores is very low - 1% to 2%, MAYBE 3% if they run a real tight operation. Yes, a drop in business will get their attention.

[chasfm11]

Most stores can't afford a 2% drop in business, the percentage of chl holders in Texas.

You are definitely on to something there - the fact of the matter is that the actual profit margin of grocery stores is very low - 1% to 2%, MAYBE 3% if they run a real tight operation. Yes, a drop in business will get their attention.

The other point to be made is that the information about Sprouts decision to post their stores is being disseminated via "social media" - the means by which CHL holders communicate with like minded people. Can Sprouts really handle the possibility that the information "goes viral" and impacts all gun owners, not just CHLs?

Sometimes we sell ourselves short. There are a lot of people buying guns who do not yet have their CHL. I personally know of at least 5. We also are a respected part of our individual communities and many people who might never own a gun can be influenced to not do business with a store that is willing to undermine our right to self-defense.