This was one of my favorite stores in the River Market until last week…read more
I had some friends visiting from out of town and wanted to show them around a few of my favorite local shops. When we arrived at Dutch Flowers, a man was standing directly in the entrance watering plants. The hose was stretched across the walkway and water was spraying around the entrance.
At first, we waited patiently, assuming he would pause for a moment so we could enter. Instead, he looked at us and continued watering. After waiting a bit longer, I politely asked if we could get by. His response was, "Well, I guess if you want," but he still didn't stop watering, move the hose, or step aside.
One member of our group is pregnant, so navigating around a hose and standing water created an unnecessary tripping hazard. As we walked past, I made a frustrated comment under my breath. In response, the man came through the door yelling profanity, telling us to get out of the store, calling us offensive names, and attempting to escalate the situation in front of customers.
The young woman working at the counter was very apologetic and handled the situation professionally. She mentioned that this was not the first incident of this nature and identified the individualh as Joe, a manager.
I understand that everyone has bad days, but this level of hostility toward customers is unacceptable. I had always enjoyed supporting this business, but after this experience, I can no longer recommend it. I hope ownership takes customer service concerns like this seriously.
