Hello Patients & Friends!
As some of you may know, many practitioners in our field do not stock such a massive amount of supplements in their office, if they even stock any at all. It’s expensive, takes up a lot of room, and is time consuming to order, unpack, stock, and dispense. Well, believe it or not – we don’t want to be like them and have you order your stuff from some on-line dispensary or just send you to “find it on your own.” We want to make sure you receive the products you test for available to take immediately, and we both know that what you’re taking is going to help the health issues you’re dealing with.
We’re starting to see some significant issues with quality control of these “same exact” supplements that are purchased outside the office, as I’ll explain below. We completely understand that some supplements found elsewhere, as many of those vendors go against suggested retail pricing that we are obligated to uphold, and then many other companies sell certain products illegally. For example, most all Standard Process supplements that you can buy on-line from non-approved stores, like Amazon, are sold against their company’s policies. Others, like Thorne, are coming from another company that win a sales-bid each year to sell on Amazon.
The goals here are simple:
- We want to make sure you’re getting a quality product. In the past there wasn’t as much of a concern about certain vitamins and minerals. Usually we saw issues only with herbs and oils (like fish oil). Now it’s a much greater problem.
- We can’t lower our supplement prices and we’ll never be able to compete with certain on-line vendors. So the best we can do is save you on shipping costs once a month.
- You support our business now and I hope for years to come; we sincerely appreciate you. I work hard to build SHC and we are recognized nationally and internationally. With younger generation doctors in the office, we will offer you a lifetime of excellent health care.
Quality control
Over the past several months, we’re seeing more and more supplements that patients are getting from on-line vendors such as Amazon as well as others, that are not testing well. This may also explain why recently we’ve been noticing patients testing to need more of a supplement that they’re already taking at a high dose. This hasn’t happened in the past. You have no idea where your on-line supplement has been (i.e. – where it’s been stored, who may have bought it or maybe returned it, etc.), or if it’s been altered in any way. Additionally, we get many people ordering something completely different than what we gave them in the office. The days of “50mg of B1 is the same from any company” are gone, as is also the “Thorne magnesium from us is the same as the Thorne magnesium from their Amazon store.”
We’re not big enough to get shipment discounts from UPS, USPS, or any of the others, and I understand that shipping from us costs you money yet it’s free elsewhere. So, though I feel like I give up a significant amount of my time each week answering emails and responding to phone calls at absolutely no charge, and hadn’t planned to give more free, I would like to incentivize those who get their supplements from us with a free shipping program.
Free shipping! For those patients who:
- get ALL of their prescribed supplements, (that’s anything we test you on in the office that is implemented in your treatment program) from our office or from our office-linked SHC Standard Process inSITE store
- have been seen in the SHC office within the past 6 months
- purchase $100 or more of supplements, in one single order
We will:
- ship one package for free each month, per household “family” (Whey protein is not part of this offer, even if it’s with other products.)
- A “month” is just that – it starts on the first day of the month and ends the last day of the month. (No carryover if you don’t use it.) This will start September 1, 2023.
- And the fine print – we reserve the right to stop this free shipping program at any time. If we do, we’ll give you at least a 30-day notice.
We hope that you choose to order all your prescribed supplements from our office not just to support us as a small business, but to make sure you’re taking something that we know to be effective. If you do, please let Chrissy know the next time you’re in the office or you call to place a supplement order, so she can make a note in your file. You will need to let her know when you want to use your monthly free shipping. If you’re taking any other supplements that we don’t carry in the office, please remember to bring them in with you each treatment (as some do with medications), so we may test these when necessary. Of course, this program is based on the honesty system. So if you plan on getting some (that means even one), of your supplements that we prescribe to you elsewhere, then essentially nothing changes from what you’ve done before, as explained next.
If you choose to not get all of your prescribed supplements from us, that’s fine, (well it’s really not but I think it sounds better my saying that it is). Some practitioners won’t treat a patient who doesn’t get all their supplements from their office – we are NEVER going to go that route. Please bring those non-office supplements in with you EVERY TIME you come in to the office so we may test those when necessary. Otherwise, we have no idea if they’re working or not. It’s rather fruitless for us to be testing our product on you that you’re not getting from us as there are just too many unknowns. Therefore, even if you’re taking the exact same bottle that we have in the office, you’ll want to bring it in. But essentially, nothing changes as you can still order what you like from us – just bring those other products in! Some of you already do this, but we now need everyone to.
FAQs, if you got em’!
- I want to order a few supplements from you that will be over $100, but get some others on-line, can I get free shipping?
- Sorry, no you can’t.
- I don’t need enough supplements to equal $100 – can I still get free shipping?
- Sorry, we’re setting it at $100 to hopefully entice people to order more at once and not order smaller packages more often throughout the month. Supplements have a long shelf life so you can always order an extra bottle or two that you might need later.
- Seems like you’re doing this just to make more money?
- If that were the case then I would have done this years ago. Now we’re seeing too many issues with supplement quality and even batch quality. It’s in your best health interest to not order from someone you don’t know.
- Why don’t you just set up an on-line dispensary like other doctors?
- I don’t agree with that setup as then we’re not able to test you on the exact supplement your taking. Ten or so years ago we had a “bad” batch of zinc from a company we use all the time. They didn’t admit to the problem but it was testing poorly to the point where we had to send it all back. We would have never known this if we weren’t testing exactly what we’re giving you from our office.
- What if I’m in a bind and away on a trip and need something ASAP – like some herb to get me through an illness?
- That’s not a problem at all! We’ve always helped people try to find something locally while they’re away by offering suggestions, free of charge via phone or email, of what they may find at a local health food or nutrition store. This is not going to affect the free-ship program. Rare exceptions like this are fine.
- How fast can you ship something or when will I get it?
- We’ll never be as fast as Amazon (will anyone?). As many of you have experienced, if you need a supplement ASAP, often times Chrissy gets it in the mail that day. We always ship USPS Priority mail. After it leaves our office, it’s up to the good ol’ Postal Office. Ideally, as mentioned above, we’re hoping people will order more of what they may need for the month rather than wait until they’re out and need it tomorrow. That being said, please remember that we are a small office. If you know you’ll be back in 6-8 weeks then it’s best to get your supplements that day which will last you until your next appointment. The main concern we have about this program is if too many people who typically get their 2-3 months of supplements during their office visit now want to get only one month and then have more shipped free each month, that may overwhelm us to the point where we can’t manage the shipping load. Please keep that in mind!
- We’ll never be as fast as Amazon (will anyone?). As many of you have experienced, if you need a supplement ASAP, often times Chrissy gets it in the mail that day. We always ship USPS Priority mail. After it leaves our office, it’s up to the good ol’ Postal Office. Ideally, as mentioned above, we’re hoping people will order more of what they may need for the month rather than wait until they’re out and need it tomorrow. That being said, please remember that we are a small office. If you know you’ll be back in 6-8 weeks then it’s best to get your supplements that day which will last you until your next appointment. The main concern we have about this program is if too many people who typically get their 2-3 months of supplements during their office visit now want to get only one month and then have more shipped free each month, that may overwhelm us to the point where we can’t manage the shipping load. Please keep that in mind!
- What is the Standard Process inSITE store and how will you know that I’m getting my supplements from there?
- The SHC inSITE store is our approved office Standard Process store where you can order their products and have them sent directly from Standard Process, and typically receive them within two days. We get a confirmation of everyone who orders through this link. This is a fast and easy way to get SP supplements if that’s all you need. If you need a mix of SP and other products, it’s best (cheaper) to order directly from the office.
- What if I get some of your products from another doctor that I’m seeing?
- You can still do that of course but please bring those in so we may test them. We’re not going to be crazy about nitpicking each and every supplement.
- I order a couple products that you prescribe me directly from an authorized Thorne distributor, but get the rest from you, is that okay?
- As mentioned above, you’ll need to bring these products in every time and no, we will not ship your other products free of charge.