Staff here is mostly friendly and helpful. Store is a decent size, clean, organized, and easier to navigate than others in the area. They have a small candy counter, mostly chocolate covered nuts and such.
I have to take off a star because of the rude clientele who I am forced to deal with every time I visit. The store can't help who they attract, but in a helpful review for others, I am giving fair warning that the other customers are the WORST, and it is tolerated here!
For example, there was a Housewife-wannabe mom and daughter pair at the register. Mom was arguing with the cashier about how to get multiple discounts off of her Very Bradley items. First, silly me, I thought Vera Bradley went out of style 15 years ago? I guess when you are as deeply committed to the entrenched preppy culture as these women are, certain "staples" never go out of style? And I guess when Vera is your means of identifying yourself in preppy ego glory, you MUST have Vera (whether she's past-prime or not).
So, this mother had of course chosen the highest-priced items (because nothing is too good for her), and was haggling the associate about how she was going to buy this pile, and the daughter would buy the other, and therefore they were two separate customers, and this discount should be combinable with this one, otherwise she wouldn't buy! That was the ultimatum meant to get Hallmark to beg her to showcase their wares as part of her dressy-casual look, like the spectacular celebrity that she is. (Wait...) Anyway, the argument continued... look how much she was getting (here is where we are to be impressed and think she is "rich," not just flashy), so she is entitled to them giving her such a steep discount that it's the equivalent of 70% off, which is not what the deal was, and would be a total loss to the store, but she doesn't care, and will make it as ugly as she can to get her way...
You know, the kind of person who Marketing Execs call "barnacles" because they only buy the lowest, cheapest, loss-leader deals, yet act like they're the Queen of Sheba for gracing you with their penny purchase? The people with the leased designer car, who can barely pay their taxes to live in the school district, who cheap-out on every aspect of life just so they can be showy in the places that others can see? That type.
Just when I thought I was going to have to watch this for and hour, another associate opened a register and helped me immediately, with the attitude of a kind fairy godmother, huddling me under her cape to shield me from the roaring bleached-blonde beast. So Hallmark did what it could to help me get out unscathed. (My associate gave me the I'm-really-sorry-you-had-to-see-this look.)
So I left, with the fake blonde still arguing away... wonder what happened... actually, no, I don't wonder. I try to block the whole thing out of my mind. I too used to act like a selfish princess... when I was a NINETEEN-year-old sorority girl, not 30 years later, like this woman. I am way younger and I already grew up, so it's annoying when other "grown-ups" still act like children. Plus, I found the whole foolish scene extra-odd because I always thought of Hallmark as the place where little grannies shopped, not the watering hole for Connestoga High's cool-girl clique, class of 1991.
I did my best to put the images of TRHoMainLine out of my mind.
Another time, some obnoxious woman had her dog in the store with her. I left my dog in the car because this is Hallmark, not Petsmart. Right?
I don't consider myself exempt from the rules everyone else follows in life. What a narcissist! I realize pushy people like this put the Hallmark staff in an awkward position, but still, she was not asked to leave her dog in the car next time, or given any other polite request to adhere to rules by any Hallmark employee the whole time I was there.
Does this mean we can all bring our dogs in now?
Or just the belligerent narcissists?
Like I said, decent store, but WATCH OUT for fellow customers! read more