Talk about a disappointing experience. I wanted to love this place so badly--it's beautiful both…read moreinside and out, and the owner seemed extremely nice when I met her in person, but their customer service left something to be desired after the fact, which I'll explain in a second.
The concept for this business is awesome--Roost is in what appears to be an old renovated barn, with two floors of many artisanal goods. Each vendor has a little spot throughout the barn, with some of them in walled sections on the second floor, where they display their various items, and there is everything and anything among the selection--art prints, candles, coasters, clothing, games, dog toys, you name it. The place is a mecca for anything you might need gift-wise, and that part is great. The prices seemed to be a little steep, even for the area where Roost is located, but the homemade/small business aspect of them is enough to convince most people to take that leap.
What isn't great about it is the level of service, or lack thereof, that I received. I first found out about this place because I drive past it every day on my way to work. I'd always see the parking lot at least half full, and I finally decided to stop in one day. I was very pleasantly surprised to find the big variety of items inside, and I made a decision to stop by in another few weeks when I had some birthdays coming up that I needed to buy presents for.
Fast forward a few weeks, and I ended up grabbing over $150 worth of items off of the various shelves and racks--candles, bath bombs, small pieces of jewelry, and an art print. As the cashier, who identified herself as the owner to me, rang up my purchases, she asked if I wanted the more breakable items wrapped up in plastic wrap before they were placed in the bag. I thought that was awesome, and I said yes. Many of the pieces were made of either glass or ceramics, so I figured that would be the best course of action to get everything home okay. The piece I was most excited for was a small metallic cat-shaped jewelry dish, as I was going to use it as a birthday present along with earrings, and it was a little pricier than some of the other items.
When I got home, I took everything out of the bags and unwrapped them, making sure I had all of the items, and my heart sank when I realized I was missing the jewelry dish. With my receipt in hand, I called Roost hoping to hear it was still there, waiting for me to pick it up, but got no response. No worry, I figured, I'll call back another time and leave a message. I waited another few hours and, after the phone wasn't answered again (something that I didn't find that unreasonable seeing as the owner looked to be alone that day), I left a message with my name, number, and what was missing.
Fast forward three days, and I never got a phone call back. After calling one more time and still not getting anyone to answer the phone (at which point I started to wonder if the number was even correct despite it being listed on both Google and their Facebook page), I reached out to the owner via their Facebook page, which is very active--the owner posts on it almost every day from what I've seen, so I know it's looked at. In the message, I explained what happened, listing what I didn't have and the cost and said I could provide a receipt for it.
I wait a few hours again and don't hear anything back, which I find strange. I go to see if the message was seen by the owner, and it has a read receipt on it, but she never responded. To this day, which is now 4 months later, she has still not responded, and I doubt I'll ever get that dish back. She charged me for an item I never got, and she chose to not follow back up with me when I reached out asking for the item or a refund. Even with a receipt, I couldn't get a response out of her.
I never bothered going into the store to try to get an answer that way, as I didn't feel it was worth my time. When an owner sees and hears messages like that from a customer and doesn't take the time of day to even respond to them, it says a lot about what they think of the people they're selling items to. I, unfortunately, will never go to Roost again unless it's sold to new management one day, and I'd highly recommend that anyone who does go double checks their bag or bags before they leave the parking lot.
