I am realizing that I am not the first, surely not the second or third to be commenting on the way…read morethis "small business owner" makes customers feel. I never got to shop at the store before they moved, I don't identify as an "appointment only shopper," I mean, I can't imaging how I would have been treated as appointment only if I didn't find anything I liked. But that's another story. I went downtown Atascadero to our amazing shops down there with amazing owners and did not find exactly what I was looking for. I tried Anna and Co on 7/17. I found a dress and two tops that were perfect. The one top they said it was in a size "OS" meaning One Size and it wouldn't fit me. I am about 140 pounds, and pretty much the size of the sales woman who was wearing same. I tried it on and it fit perfectly. As I am trying on, I am looking around for a sales rep for an opinion. God forbid I made eye contact with Anna at her desk, about 20' from the fitting room. She avoided eye contact. No smile. I asked about a restroom. The sales member after I paid them over $300 "allowed me" to use the probably $25K bathroom and snuck me in so Anna wouldn't know. I am not classy enough to have the privledge of peeing in her store as a shopper. After wearing the items I purchased I returned and bought one more "OS" blouse and another of the dress I had (both in other colours). Once again, crickets when I looked out for help, and a glare and avoided eye when I looked over at Anna, again, at her desk. At this point I am feeling like a third class citizen, and I don't like to support businesses that have bad joojoo, bad customer service, mean owners, but I did so thinking, okay, maybe she is having a bad day. A bad week. The sales team were nice enough! One 7/22 I also on impulse purchased two trinket rings. They were $24. I wore them daily and right away they both started to turn pink. 22 days later, I returned to the store, greeted the gals putting out the carpet politely, "what a beautiful day!" (it was!) and proceeded to show a sales person the rings. She asked if I had the receipt. I had! Oh, she said, this is from JULY TWENTY TWO! As if a year had passed. 22 days had passed. Yes, you have REALLY hard hours to accomodate, as you are rarely open, and as a shop owner myself, I had to skirt around your hours. I was made to feel humiliated that I dared to come back in. I was told "MOST people know that WR means Water Resistant and these AREN'T. Oh, I guess I am not most people. And I saw no sign at the register about WR rings, or Non WR resistant rings, and maybe you could tell people that, or put out a sign, or not carry items that are going to spoil in 3 weeks time? Oh, heaven forbid, these are not returnable. Anna was summoned to tell me the official news. So, for $11 wholesale (likely, or less), Anna and Co - Anna and her team - humiliated me, condescended to me, disrespected me and did not end up refunding or even exchanging for credit the rings. That is what my business was worth to her. I asked her if she was local, and she told me that her kids went through high school here. Not sure what that meant, but I did not get a welcoming local vibe in this store. I will be obtaining any future Karamel (Italy) and Vine & Love from other retailers who honor customer service and who appreciate their customers. I am like MOST people, we work hard and deserve appreciation and common decency or we will take our hard earned dollars elsewhere. I am glad that this shop is no longer part of our amazing downtown energy! And judging from the reviews, I am not alone.
