Robin’s Review for a Local Consignment Shop

I began by calling the number listed on the web to check for today’s hours. The gentleman who answered the phone paused for a moment, and said “I guess we will close around ‘1:30-ish’ “.  Okay, so it sounds like a rather casual atmosphere.

Upon my arrival, I saw that the hours posted in the window said that they closed at 2 PM. Unfortunate for the customer that comes between 1:30 and 2:00 pm.

The store is a small store, with things organized in an intuitive fashion (pun intended). I browse the store for a while. I settle on a pair of pants and a unique jewelry holder. I had grabbed some cash on the way out of my house, sensing that this smaller operation would be cash and carry. Yes, they only take cash; no checks, no charges, no debit cards. I hand the gentleman a $20 bill for an $8.50  purchase. After rifling through the cash register drawer for a moment, he hands me back the $20 bill and instructs me to go down to the pizza shop five doors down to have it broken. I ask for clarification, “Are you going to walk down to the pizza shop to break the 20 or do you want me to walk down to the pizza shop to break the 20?”  He said he wanted me to.

I was confused. But, I am the customer. And, there are two other men here in the store working with him. Out of the three of them, one of them can’t walk down to the pizza shop to break the 20? This is customer service? I took my $20 bill and walked out of the store. I did not walk to the pizza shop.

Later that night, I was talking with my husband and kids about this experience over dinner. My youngest son was focused on the $8.50. My husband pointed out, rather accurately I must admit, that in fact the store had lost much more than that. I’m a frequent shopper at consignment shops, so this store lost ongoing business from me.

The next day I called the store to share my experience, just in case the fellow I dealt with yesterday was in fact not the owner, I was sure the owner would want to know about this “customer service”.  The number rang for a while, and then a machine picked up that says simply “the mailbox for this number is full and cannot accept messages”.  No professional message indicating the business that it is attached to. No hours. Never mind no ability  to leave a simple message. Wow. This one will go on my Never Again List.  Zero Stars out of Five Stars.