We came in to this store to find a gift for a good friend. This is your average stationary and…read moregifts store. They have lots of beautiful journals, notepads, calendars, gift wrapping, pens, and all of the things that you would expect from such a store. They also have some hand made soaps and lotions, and some very beautiful tea sets.
The way that we were greeted was very odd, it actually felt like we were imposing, because of the urgency in the woman's voice. She had her purse on her shoulder, so I thought that maybe she was on her way out and we were infringing upon her scheduled break, but her purse remained on her shoulder the entire time we were there, so I guess it's just how she liked it, and so I dismissed her initial tone as something that had nothing to do with us...even though it felt oddly deliberate.
My daughter and I began browsing and talking back and forth as we saw items that grabbed our interest. While we were doing this, the woman with her purse on her shoulder kept coming right up to us and loudly talking over us to tell us about this item or that item, and I politely thanked her each time, even though I couldn't understand what exactly she was saying about these items because my daughter was also mid sentence with me, each time. I continued to thank her and attempted to get eye contact, but she couldn't or wouldn't look me in the eye. She finally stopped bombarding us and allowed us to browse and we could finally hear each other.
This entire exchange seemed to serve no useful purpose since she kept talking at us, and not to us, and she kept choosing to talk at us while we were talking to each other. Instead of feeling like an attempt to communicate, it felt like she was being disruptive and rude. In fact, I did not get the sense that she wanted to be helpful in any way. It felt like she was judging us as potential shop lifters and she wanted to make sure that we knew she had her eyes on us. Now the odd tone that I heard in her voice when she was 'greeting' us made sense.
While my daughter was trying to decide between getting stationary or body lotions another patron entered the store. The woman with her purse was warm and very welcoming to him. It was a very stark contrast to the tone, words, and facial expressions that we were given. Also, there was a second elderly woman watching us like a hawk the entire time and she asked my daughter where the University that was represented on her T-shirt was located. She then asked her in a very condescending tone if she went to that University (she's a high school student, and looks young for her age) and my daughter, in her soft spoken way, let her know that I was the one who attended. This was a very awkward exchange, and again, it felt like we were being judged and looked down upon.
We made our selection, observed the good prices, and then we left. My daughter looked at me and said that it was a very "weird" shopping experience. While we were able to find a gift and make a purchase, we felt very conflicted as we were shopping because of the contradictory vibes. If someone's facial expression is foul when they see you, then the seemingly welcoming words that come from their mouths fall flat. There was a condescending attitude and I felt as though we were grudgingly tolerated, but not actually welcome.
We'll never step foot in that store again. The good thing is that they have nothing that can't be found elsewhere.
