It makes me sad to write this, as I've been a huge supporter of this boutique ever since I was recommended to check it out 3 years ago, but I had one of the most disappointing shopping experiences here recently and feel that something should be said.
This boutique has always been a "Girl's Day" stop for my friend and I whenever our schedules allowed us a retail therapy day together. Last Friday was our most anticipated day of the week to come check out all the cute things we'd been obsessing over on the shop's Instagram page, not to mention we hadn't been in what seemed like forever for us.
Upon arrival, we were the only customers entering the quiet shop, and we experienced just that: - - silence - -
That is, apart from the two boutique shop associate's, one who is younger and heavily featured as a new model on the shop's social media (I believe her name is Madison according to tags on the boutique's Insta page) and a more mature blonde woman. They were chattering about what they would like to get for lunch. This continued on until they both decided on a turkey something or/other, and then we were given a very dry and quick, "hello", upon Madison's exit.
Moments later a small group of girls (about 4) entered the boutique to which our ears quickly realized that the shop associate was indeed capable of greeting shoppers when they all exclaimed, "OH MY GOD HOW ARE YOUUUUUUUUU?", chipper as ever. This is when the morale and attitude picked up in the boutique, as if someone flipped a switch. It went from a sad depressing morgue vibe to a brunch popping-the-champs-with-the-girlies vibe.
My friend and I looked around some more, finding it a bit odd how the atmosphere changed dramatically once a new group of girls entered the shop, but 'maybe it was because they all somehow knew each other' is what I kept reminding myself as I'm a local and this is a small town. We then finally saw the cute pink pearl necklaces and other jewelry from the social media stories we were obsessing over ALL week, they were right at the counter where the register is. We walked up to get a better look and as soon as we both got up to the counter, Madison who has now returned with lunch, turns her whole body to face the side and starts talking very low and close to the other shop associate. Yet again we get no form of customer centered communication, let alone any form of eye contact or even a smile, and we are now literally right in front of both store associates. I guess whatever bit of gossip or judgement that needed to be passed in that moment was just THAT more important.
At this point I'm beyond turned off, I turn to my friend who's facial expressions and body language are telling me that its time for us to leave, and that is exactly what we did. Also, no we weren't 'thanked for stopping by' upon our exit, either.
My point in writing this review is not to drag anyone's name through the mud, lets remember that this is coming from a place of sadness. My intentions with this review are to highlight that Sirena's current face/model as well as its floor associate's seem to be more preoccupied with themselves than being centered on the store and what type of role it provides in the Funk Zone. My friend and I left Sirena feeling out of place, un-welcome, and honestly we felt that we didn't fit in. This outcome could have been avoided completely had there been more attention to customer service and kindness. read more
