1 /5 Alissa Cook: If you don’t appear to be wealthy and you aren’t dressed to the nines, be prepared to be judged when you enter this store. This has happened to me a few times, so it’s safe to say this cant be explained away as a fluke or out of the ordinary. The third and final time I visited this store was a few months ago, back in the fall of 2021. I was majorly dressed down after a VERY busy day of helping a friend move. Christine followed me around the store, giving a very strong impression that she thought I was going to try to steal something. I mean, she LITERALLY followed me THE WHOLE TIME I was in the store! She didn’t even do a very good job at pretending like she was working, either. She followed me to every single section I was looking at and pretended to straighten things up that didn’t need straightened or fold clothes that were already folded. I’d move to the next section, she’d move right along with me and pretend to work in the same way. This happened during the ENTIRE duration of my visit. Two different times, I caught her just standing there staring at me as I was looking at especially high priced items… LOL! She totally dropped the “pretending to work” act and just stared. Also, after I walked away from a section, she went to those counters/shelves I had just looked at and starting inspecting and counting the items on the shelf. My guess is to make sure everything was still there.
I have no problem with store owners/employees keeping an eye on the customers and wanting to make sure their inventory does not get stolen, and I can empathize with the current struggles of being a small business owner during this pandemic climate. However, during this visit, things were taken to an unfair extreme and I did nothing to warrant being treated this way. If I had done something or was acting suspicious, that’s one thing, but I didn’t. The joke is on her though, because I had three $100 bills in my wallet, and upon arriving to the store, I had every intention of spending ALL OF IT. I was looking for a birthday gift for my mom, one for a friend, and also something for myself. However, due to her behavior, I ended up spending ZERO dollars and I will NEVER return to this store again. It’s a shame, because the things sold in this store truly are lovely, and there’s nowhere else like it in this small town of Meadville. There is nothing that could be said or done to gain me back as a customer, but hopefully my review will be seen and heard, and the next customer who is dressed down might have the chance at a more enjoyable experience. Just because someone isn’t dressed ritzy, that doesn’t mean they don’t have money or that they’re a thief.
