I went to the pottery place with my kids and my two good friends and their kids. It was a Sunday, there were 10 of us, and the pottery place was very busy. They don't accept reservations, but their website claims they can seat 70, so we figured they could handle us. We even stated that we would prefer to be broken up into two tables, as this seemed more manageable for everyone. The manager said OK , and that we would be put on the waitlist.
We waited patiently, browsing the selection and chatting amongst ourselves, trying to stay out of the way. When it was our turn to be seated, we were ushered to an eight person table. I addressed my concerns that there wouldn't be enough room for all 10 of us, and reiterated we were told we'd have two tables. They refused to honor that agreement.
The extra seats that were pulled up for us did not fit the height of the table and I wasn't able to fit my legs underneath. I decided since I did not have proper accommodations, I would not purchase a piece to paint. I was really looking forward to painting something to give as a birthday present, and had planned on spending a good amount of money!!
(I paid over $60 for my children to paint a mug and a 3 inch gnome.)
We noticed that two tables remained available on either side of us for a while. We politely asked if we could use one of them and we were told no they were reserved. Nobody ever sat at one of them, and at no point for the remainder of our time there were there any less than two available tables in the room, just sitting there empty.
I was upset by this experience. I was not friendly when settling up and paying at the end because I believed I was being treated poorly. I don't have to make eye contact and smile, and certainly couldn't find it in me to do so.
I wrote a Yelp and a Google review when I got home. The following day I received a phone call from that same manager. She got my phone number off of my pick up information that I provided at the shop and called me at home, unsolicited. She gaslit me, made false accusations, and was defensive and argumentative. I certainly didn't write a review as an invitation for her to call and harass me. I wrote a review to alert other potential customers about a problem that was unresolved by the management of this business.
They had the ability to accommodate us and went out of their way not to. We expressed that we were not satisfied, and they refused to make any effort. When I expressed my experience in my reviews, they contacted me to argue about it. Though I wish I had never been to the pottery place, I know there are plenty of other places I enjoy going, where I am treated well. read more