I'm sure if you haven't mosaicked before and/or take one of their more expensive offerings, of which there are many, you'll get A-1 service. But the people who run this place:
(a) have dollar signs in their eyes, and are partially-blinded by them,
(b) don't run the place very efficiently i.e., don't stock supplies very well, make mistakes when they run credit cards, have "volunteers" who they won't allow to check voicemail,
(c) don't seem to be able to give attention to more than one customer at a time (or in maybe a 10-15 minute time frame), especially if one is their friend and/or paying more than you are if you're just doing their studio time, and
(d) also don't seem to understand that they're providing a service, and if you ask them a question or if they could grab you a tool or something - even if you say "when you get a chance" at the end - they'll be offended and think you're an obnoxious customer if they're chatting with their friends and/or someone who's spending a fair amount of money.
I went there for studio time ("Beginners and Beyond") 3 times. the first time was fine, but I was in a rush. Tellingly, one of the owners, Betsy, told a story about a customer who wanted to keep her piece the way she wanted it even though Betsy thought it was ugly, and how eventually she just figured she'd let the woman do what she wanted, because "[she]'d rather be rich than right." Not something I'd say in front of a customer, especially a first-time one, but whatever.
Then when I came in the second time, last Sunday, after Betsy said they'd be open then, I wasn't super-happy because I'd looked on their website to look at their Sunday hours, and their website said that they were closed on Sun. So I gave a call and left a vm asking them about this and left my number to call me back. Some hours passed by and I didn't get a call back. I did some errands and tried calling again. This time their apparent saint of a volunteer picked up. I asked about the hours and said I'd left a voicemail earlier but hadn't been called back. Evidently this upset her very much because she is a volunteer and doing the owners a blessed service by being in there and answering the phone, and they trust her with the keys to the place, the register, etc., etc., but they won't give her their voicemail password. When I eventually had it out with Betsy the 3rd and final time I went in, she didn't really explain why this was, and also accused me of being rude and interrupting and demanding, etc., saying that I "came in talking." I told her I'd just said hi and started setting up. SHE was rude and what she was saying didn't make a whole lot of sense to me from the perspective of running a business. If it was just them and their friends letting the public use their services as some kind of heroic charitable work, which they seem to think it is, well, then, I guess that makes it a different ballgame.
So if you choose to spend your time and money at Mosaic Oasis, don't go in thinking that the customer is always correct as the saying goes. Or know that when you ask them if you could use a tool, or 1 Q-tip, this is apparently very taxing on them, even if you go get it yourself. They have higher-paying customers and buddies to chat with.
Anyway, I won't be going back there. It's only another 20 minute drive to a much better studio and teacher in Rockport (Pam Stratton! google her), and I'll just go back there from now on. Cheers! read more