So I dropped by the Water Tower Place Teavana in Chicago to pick up some teaware. I’ll just be honest – I’ve never tried a Teavana tea that I’ve loved; I find them mostly plain and bland and poorly executed, and it’s vile how much sugar they put in the brewed samples they offer in-store.
Their teaware, though, is a whole other story. I think they carry beautiful tins and nice utensils and I’m all for going to Teavana just for that. I needed some filters, as I wanted to drink loose tea on my flight, and my thermos needed a proper wash before getting used again. Surprisingly, Teavana were about $2 cheaper for the same number of filters than every other store I came across, including grocery stores.
As for the function – they’re filters. Bags that filter tea. In water. They work just fine and predictably manage to do their job. No funny business.
Speaking of funny business, though, corporate culture doesn’t seem to have changed a lot since Teavana were acquired by Starbucks. I was still hounded by one of the salespeople in-shop who insisted that I try the samples.
‘Would you like a sample?’
‘No, but thanks anyway.’
‘Of course you want a sample!’
‘No, not really.’
‘But it’s amazing!’
‘Has sugar been added to the sample?’
‘No, not at all!’
‘Sorry, let me rephrase that – has any kind of sweetener been added to the sample?’
‘Well… yeah, but…’
And so on.
Hilarity ensued, of course, when there were ALL THESE TEAS that I just HAD TO BUY, and I was all, ‘Oh, but I don’t like your teas. I’m here for teaware!’. What do you even say to that? I felt like the most evil customer ever, but I swear I was really very nice and smiley about the whole thing, even as the salesperson got progressively more aggressive and rude.
Then upon checking out, I was told that these filters were ‘Pretty impractical’ (Whoa! Reverse sales technique! Mind blown!), and that the salesperson swore by this new thing.
‘Oh, but I already have your travel thermoses. They’re great.’ (But they could be easier to wash so I didn’t have to buy pretty impractical filters. )
‘This is much better, let me show you!’
And she showed me this: http://www.teavana.com/tea-gift-center/tea-gift-sets/p/tea-voyager-travel-kit which I do like a lot and have considered buying, but after researching it, I knew it wouldn’t meet my standards.
’It’s a full travel kit!’
‘Yeah, I absolutely love that, I looked at it online, and I would have bought it if the holes in the infuser had been smaller.’
‘Oh, but that’s not a problem at all! I have this product myself and that’s not an issue in any way.’
‘Yeah, but if you go read the reviews on the Teavana website, you’ll note that that’s THE MAIN COMPLAINT concerning this product.’
At this point the salesperson just stopped talking directly to me altogether.
I’m all for a hard sale, and with nice execution it can be a fun time for all. But incompetent salespeople who first talk down the product you want to buy (and which is absolutely fine – don’t cry, little filters, you’re quite adequate) all the while trying to push a product that’s obviously flawed without having the first clue about the criticism raised against said flaw..? Meh. Amateur hour.
Lol. Awesome story
Lol. I’m surprised she kept pushing. When I was in retail I would have just done the, Ok, well let me know if you have any questions!" and backed off a lot sooner.
Retail is really hard work, and from what I’ve heard, Teavana policy is very harsh on employees, so no disrespect to those who have to deal with that every day. I just wish management would realize what a worthless approach it it to customer satisfaction. Either you hassle people to death for a few quick sales, or you build a devoted, satisfied customer base that will stay around for years to come.
Of course, in this case, it would help if the teas were better…
I’ve never really got the pushy sales approach either. When I worked at ‘The Body Shop’ ( the cosmetic company, not the other one ( inside joke for those who’ve lived in Guelph)), they showed us the standard pushy sales training video. I found it quite appalling and amusing as this type of behaviour is usually the type of behaviour that would make me leave at once. Apparently this was based on some kind of study they did at some point that showed that customers wanted hyper vigilant and in your face sales people( really????). It was hilarious and not really applicable to the population that shopped at the Guelph store at that time. Many of them chose to shop at the body shop for it’s ethics, came in to discuss politics ( another supposed no-no in sales), and were most likely to purchase something if you simply engaged them in conversation. Ironically our store was regularly among the highest earning in it’s class. I like the approach I experienced in India the best, impractical here but oh well, 30 min of conversation over tea before the product even comes out!
Strange! You would think the Body Shop would be all about taking politics when they’re all eco-friendly this, and stop-poverty-that.
And I still haven’t bought any Teavana teas. I’ve gone in and looked around, but was intimidated by the staff, and didn’t like how far away the teas were from me. It doesn’t sound as though I’m missing much though – not with all those quality tea stores online!
Hahaha, yeah – getting back to Sweden is always a bit of a slap in the face. Like, what, you’re not going to offer me any kind of help or wish me a nice day and there’s only one person to assist 500 customers? Okay. And then getting back to Italy and actually getting thrown out of the store for not picking a pair of shoes to try on quickly enough… or my favourite, being refused to buy something (fairly costly) on display, because it’s too much of a hassle taking it down.
Cavo, the body shop does tend to encourage people to talk about politics. I’m just thinking about the customer service / sales jobs I’ve had. But, I’ve worked at both a corporate store and a franchise store and we were given much more freedom in the franchise store.
Anna, they actually threw you out?? Not that I could ever buy shoes in Italy ( my feet are way too huge, I’d need to get them made. My shopping experiences in Italy have generally not been that bad, either I’ve ben left alone (I generally prefer this), or pleasantly helpful (I’ve spent time in both larger and smaller places). On the other had I’ve spent time in Florence in both high and low season and it’s like a totally different city and many of the people who I met who live and work there cope with it through a wicked sense of humour thick with sarcasm.
Oh, neither of those things happened to me (although I’d love to see someone try to throw me out of anywhere at all). I think they were both small, exclusive clothing boutiques, which isn’t exactly where you’ll be finding me in retail Rome.
:)! Me neither! On the other hand I have to offer kudo’s to my experiences in Italian museums and historic sites, the level of knowledge and enthusiasm I’ve experienced in these case has been amazing. From a volunteer in Urbino, giving me a personalised art history tour of the Palazzo Ducale in a mix of Italian and French, to a guide actually closing ( briefly) the sacred steps in Rome to take us into this exquisite private chapel. I’ve had some amazing experiences.
I’m curious? Shy are you using papers instead of a finum filter or another type of stainless non-disposable filter that allows the tea leaves proper contact with water and isn’t costly/disposable? Filter papers mask the taste of tea. You don’t get the full effect. They are convenient but that’s about all.
Bonnie, this is what I wrote, “I needed some filters, as I wanted to drink loose tea on my flight, and my thermos needed a proper wash before getting used again.”