Aveda

Let me start with the negatives: They forgot to give me my free samples as an Aveda points member. The bottle of face cleanser I bought was most likely opened but I am not sure if all bottles have the foil cover. I usually thought it would have a foil covering the tip so you know it is Hasn’t been opened (my toner definitely had the foil cover). They told me that the outer piece acne pads had 100 in them but it was really 50. So why I am giving them five stars?
My journey begins when I decided to sign up for the Aveda points program in Chicago. I like Aveda and I buy their products from salons a lot so why not get something in return? The Chicago store said my card would arrive in 4 – 6 weeks. It’s been about four. No worries, she said, they can always look you up (the Chicago store said that)
So I looked up where I could find the closest Aveda store other than the Aveda Institute. Lo and behold I found one at Fashion Centra so I decided to call. They said they give complimentary facials too which is great. I scheduled my facial, then rescheduled twice and finally made it in.
I arrived in the evening. The store is immaculate. Lots of products, free tea samples, and staff is ready to help.
LaRonda did my facial and it included a hand massage with stress reducing lotion. It was great considering the fact that it was in the middle of the store and people were walking by but a free facial is great regardless.
I picked out three products and proceeded to checkout. I told them I was a card member. They looked it up by name and date of birth but couldn’t find me. Ugh, I thought. I wanted my points to rack up and I wanted my free samples. The person helping me at this point is Nneka. She was cool about it and definitely was patient. She called customer service and they had no record of me. I told her that I signed up in Chicago and I swear I am a member. She smiled and said, what store in Chicago? I gave her the number. She called them right then and there! They confirmed they had signed me up but had not yet sent it out! I was so happy and so impressed with Nneka going above and beyond.
I literally hugged her and said goodbye completely forgetting about my free samples. I was ready to skip out of that store from happiness.
It was an overall Five star experience and I am so grateful to both Nneka and Laronda for making it that for me. Totally worth the visit.

Pricey but good selection of products.

I have to start by saying that I’m a huge Aveda fan – the products are all excellent (you definitely get what you pay for), they have an earth-​friendly philosophy, and my experiences at salons and stores have mostly been positive.
I appreciate the fact that the women at this store know their products and are happy to recommend the right thing for your needs. They’re very welcoming, offering a little cup of Aveda tea, handing you things to try out, and pampering you with a quick hand treatment – yum!
So why not 5 stars, you ask? I visited this weekend to take advantage of their double points program, but I only wanted to get one or two things. However, the store associates had clearly been advised by their manager to push as much as possible, to the point where I was uncomfortable. The woman who was helping me tried to show me practically everything in the store, and appeared really upset if I said I wasn’t interested in a particular item. In the end, I walked away with less than I might have gotten had I not been so focused on her deflecting her over-​the-​top sales pitch.
I won’t stay away from this store because it’s close to my apartment and I am a loyal Aveda user, but I would like to warn my fellow shoppers to be aware of the sales push; and for all you store managers out there, encouraging the hard sell was a major turn-​off.