Old Hardware

We have visited this shop once before and were not disappointed in their selection on either visit. Beautiful, and carefully selected items in abundance. Be warned their mark up is significant. If you want better prices you should look elsewhere in town or if you are a regular antique shopper, head up to Fredrick, MD or Culpepper, VA-​we always find phenomenal pieces at very agreeable prices there. Found multiple items that were perfect for our 1911 four square in Arlington, VA.
What prompted me to write a review today is how strangely we were treated by a woman working there. We moved into the lower level and a beautiful cash register caught our eye. My fiancé had a dream the night before with something similar, so we were appreciating the uncanny resemblance. The piece was on a counter behind a stool with a card reading Keep Out. I was taking a photo of the item (to hunt for something similar on our adventures), when she appeared and asked if she could help us. Perhaps I misread her tone, or perhaps she was still irritated from the item we heard break in the store earlier in our visit-​but she didn’t appear to be interested in helping at all. I inquired as to the origin of the item, and her response was that she had another upstairs. She then proceeded to hover as we looked at more areas, she’d move about, lurking almost, shifting items an inch here and an inch there. Very passive aggressive.
As a business owner myself, and as someone who worked in retail for a long time, I had always found it beneficial to engage in conversation with my patrons. Either to size them up or to facilitate a sale. She didn’t know us or anything about us, including items that we considered purchasing. I’ll say that this store has the best ambiance in town and the malts in the Dewberry Shoppe downstairs are delish, but I will not be returning to this store because of this experience.
I chatted up some locals about it. Learned that the woman was likely, Jane. She has a reputation for being less than hospitable and quick to jump all over shoppers. It’s too bad really. But if shes expecting people to pay top dollar for her items, Jane should get an attitude adjustment, and a hug to improve her customer relations. In sales, the goal is to not just sell for profit but to establish lasting relationships for returning buyers.
I’m just glad I wasn’t the person that broke something upstairs! I’d hate to see the death glare she dished that poor soul.
Cheer up, Jane. Life is good.