This is the first time I have ever felt so disappointed with this store, especially after being a…read moreloyal customer since 2018.
Even though there are other botanicas much closer to my home, I always chose to come to this particular store for my spiritual purchases. From the very first time I walked through its doors, I loved the energy and atmosphere of the place. It was more than just a store to me. It was somewhere I genuinely enjoyed visiting and felt comfortable shopping.
There was also a very kind and respectful woman who used to be there most of the time. I do not know her name, but I always appreciated the way she treated people. Unfortunately, I do not see her there as often anymore. Honestly, I believe that if she had been there during this situation, things would have been handled very differently.
A couple of days ago, I went to the store to purchase several items, including a bar of soap. After I paid, the employee informed me that I had sent more money than the total amount due. She even asked whether I wanted to purchase additional items with the extra money I had sent. I simply selected a few more things and completed my purchase.
When I got home, I was getting ready to take a shower and opened the soap for the first time. Something told me to check the information printed on the packaging. To my surprise, I discovered that the soap had expired in June 2026.
The following day, I returned to the store with the soap, expecting nothing more than a simple and respectful conversation. I was fortunate to find the same woman who had helped me during my original visit. She was the one who had personally shown me where to find the product when I asked for it, and she was also the person who had handed it to me after wrapping it up.
When I showed her that the soap was expired, she told me that the store did not offer exchanges. but what happened next hurt me far more.
She took the soap, walked away with it, and then looked me directly in the eyes, telling me that the box was damaged and that I had not purchased the soap from her store.
I stood there in disbelief. This was the very same woman who had helped me find the product, handled it herself, and completed my purchase. Now she was standing in front of me,
What made the situation even more upsetting was that she was holding the very box I had brought back, looking at the same packaging and logo, while insisting that it had not come from her store.
I cannot fully describe how that moment made me feel. It was not about the price of a bar of soap. It was about the feeling of being looked in the eyes and having my honesty questioned by someone who knew exactly what had happened.
I could have argued. I could have insisted on showing my proof of payment and asked for the store's security footage to establish what had happened. But I chose not to turn the situation into a scene. There were other customers shopping, and I had absolutely no intention of creating an uncomfortable atmosphere or making a public spectacle out of a problem that could have been resolved with honesty and basic respect.
Instead, I simply smiled and walked away.
I eventually threw the soap away. Not because I was satisfied with how the situation had been handled, but because I no longer wanted to spend my energy arguing over something that should never have become such an unpleasant experience in the first place.
And I would have completely understood if she had simply told me that the store does not offer exchanges. Even if she had apologized for selling me an expired product and explained that nothing could be done, I would have accepted her response, walked away, and know from that day forward, I would simply have made sure to check expiration dates before purchasing similar products again.
What truly hurt me was watching the very person who had personally helped me select and purchase the soap deny the entire transaction. And what made it even more painful was the way she looked me straight in the eyes while telling me that I was wrong, despite knowing that I had purchased the product from her store
I could have accepted a refusal. What I could not accept was being treated as though my honesty meant nothing. The fact that she was willing to look me directly in the eyes and deny something she had personally been involved in was what left me feeling so deeply hurt and disappointed.
People sometimes forget that loyalty is built over time. When customers repeatedly choose your business, even when they have other options, that loyalty deserves to be treated with appreciation and respect.Unfortunately,this experience has changed my relationship with this store after being a customer for so many years,i never imagined that i would reach a point where i would no longer want to walk through its doors. I am leaving this review not because i want to create problems for anyone, but because i believe that my experience deserves to be heard.
