HERC'S Nutrition - The Pen Centre

Workers are very kind and every protein shake I’ve had is delicious!!

Sam and Amy are fantastic to walk in and say hi too to start the day with the best tasting protein shakes.. ❤️🙏

I’ve never had issues with hercs in the years I’ve been going but the one time I have an issue the customer service has been pretty bad. Manager promising to call but never doing it as well as the clerks at the store looking like they weren’t interested in my issue and again promising a follow up with absolutely nothing coming of it sucks. I’m only out $50 which isn’t breaking the bank but now I’ll just take my business elsewhere and I’m sure they won’t notice but my money can help someone else out,

Extremely disappointing customer service. What started as a small and easily fixable concern turned into an unnecessary conflict because of how it was handled. I’ve been buying this same brand of protein from this franchise for a few years now either in the small or large bag and generally the same flavour. It’s a high quality Canadian brand and I drink it daily in my coffee. I know the smell and taste very well. I have no issue with the brand itself and I’ll continue using it because their customer service has been excellent and they helped me immediately once informed of the issue. The problem was entirely with this specific location and how they deal with product concerns. location. The latest bag I purchased had a strong chemical/burned plastic smell and taste. I called the store to see what could be done and was immediately met with rudeness from the employee who answered the phone. I decided to try having them smell it because surely it wasn't right. When I went in with the bag, I was polite and explained that I was now out $124 for a product I couldn’t consume and was only asking to exchange it, which they could easily resolve through the manufacturer. Instead, the blonde employee with the tattoos accused me of calling non stop every day, when I had only called once (which she answered and told me nothing could be done), and a second time (with no answer) only to offer to bring it in for the manager to check as I live in Welland so I didn't want to waste any time going back and forth if the manager wasn't going to be in. After some back and forth, she agreed to smell it and replied "not sure what the issue is, this smells like all the other bags". She told me I could come back when the manager was in, but also made it clear she wouldn’t do anything for me because she had already discussed it with the manager from our prior call and they decided it wasn’t their problem to fix. When I mentioned that I’ve been a regular customer since opening, as well as at the Bunting location, and said I wouldn’t return if this was how concerns were handled, she replied, “okay don’t come back, I don’t care, that’s your choice.” I still went in respectfully, fully expecting she’d at least help me resolve the issue. Instead, she completely disregarded my concern and tried to gaslight me into believing it was okay. Every other person who smelled it agreed it was clearly not right and had the same smell I thought it did. Wouldn’t a responsible business want to know if a certain lot number might be compromised? Thankfully, another HERCS franchise owner resolved it within 24 hours despite it not being their original issue. They confirmed my suspicion about the bag being off, and contacted the owner of the company and even offered to have the owner reach out to me directly to discuss what happened. That is how it should have been handled from the beginning. I support local businesses and understand mistakes happen even during the manufacturing process and they are the secondary retailer-fine. But the principle is simple: customer service matters. I expected professionalism, not disrespect and dismissal. The owner should seriously reconsider who is representing his brand.

This is where I purchase all of my protein powder! They have a great selection of brands, flavours and sizes! The staff are knowledgeable and make great suggestions based on what you’re looking to achieve out of your fitness goals. Shout out to Ryann for the great recommendations.