Teavana

Great customer service and the tea is wonderful!! Just a warning that their system hasn't been updated to accommodate Starbucks Rewards just yet, but it seems like sometime this year they might. So may have to call if you plan on using it there. FYI: With a star reward you can get a free 1oz of tea... which is amazing because you can get several cups depending on how light of a tea you get. Love it :) :) :)

I stopped in at the Columbia Mall location at about 4pm on 12/22/13 to do some last minute Christmas shopping. While browsing, I dropped the lid of a ceramic mug on the floor. When I picked it up and set it back on the display, I noticed that there was a small chip on the edge of the lid. Rather than leave it, I retrieved it and showed a salesperson on the floor, explaining what had happened and apologizing. She smiled at me and said, "Oh, I think that means it's yours now." When I guffawed (I thought she was joking), she pointed at several small signs on the display that say something along the lines of "if you break it, you own it." I said I didn't want the mug, and she excused herself to talk to her manager about the situation. When she came back, she reported that yes, I had to buy the mug (with a 10% discount--presumably because discounted items are not returnable.) I relented and bought it, but in retrospect, I should have just given my information to Teavana and told them to call the cops. Ha, given that I'm a hardened criminal, it probably would have been better to let the police handle the situation. I also thought it was interesting that a manager never spoke with me. And that can really make all the difference. I'm a charge nurse, and client relations is hugely important to me. Whenever a patient is unhappy with their treatment on my floor, I get involved, and I do what I can to make sure people don't leave the hospital angry. Because if I don't, people get on the internet, they write terrible reviews (i.e. a review like this one), they call my boss, etc. What sucks even more is that Teavana is one of my go-to locations for tea and, especially, for gifts. I've spent many hundreds of dollars in their stores. In fact, I was in there today looking for a tea set for my mother for Christmas. Instead, I was bullied (and it did feel like bullying) into buying a $20 mug because I made a mistake. What's even more incredible is that the production cost of simple ceramic mug is probably a couple bucks. Probably pennies for the lid. I know the Teavana mark-up is insanely high--I can't imagine the loss of a tiny ceramic lid on one mug compares to the revenue lost by me never setting foot in the store again. What a crummy business practice. What will Teavana do if someone trips and falls into a shelf? Or if an elderly person with a walker bumps into a $200 carafe? Part of conducting business is accounting for potential loss, especially when you operate a store packed tight with breakable things during peak shopping season. One last thing--I'd like to apologize to the salesperson who dealt with me. Clearly, this wasn't your fault, and I came close to losing my temper. Also, I'm sorry for my friend who stormed out of the store yelling "this place smells bad, anyway." Ha ha, kind of a weak parting shot, huh? tl:dr The Columbia Mall Teavana will bully you into buying anything you accidentally damage. SHOP AT YOUR ON RISK (especially if you have kids or grandparents in tow or have ever temporarily lost motor control during a sneeze.)