Jeanne’s Hallmark

I visited this store for the first time the week before Christmas. It was not busy as most stores are at this time of year. When I walked in, no one greeted me. In fact, the arrangement of the store is not welcoming when you first walk in. There was no direct sight line from the register, where 3 older woman stayed perched they entire time I was there, to the door.
I was looking for a specific birthstone necklace and the month I was looking for was not displayed in the case so I walked over to the counter and even then, I received a very cold reception from two of three old ladies (the other one was checking someone out.) I inquired about the necklace and they said sternly that any stock they have is already out. That was it end of conversation as far as they were concerned. Most store associates at this point would inquire more to see if there was other merchandise that could work or inform me when the next expected shipment would be in or they would offer to call another store to see if it is in stock. Nope, not these ladies. I felt like I was more of a bother to them. Unless, I was walking up with purchase in hand, they couldn’t be bothered.
At that point I walked away, pulled out my cell, googled other stores and began calling until I located the necklace.
By this time, the other old lady was no longer checking someone out so I walked back up to the counter and asked her about the rewards program as I came across an offer on my phone during my search. I had the same interaction with her– not helpful. She said I would need to go home and complete the sign up and print the offer and come back. What???
Frustrated with my poor customer service experience, I left and went to another Hallmark store. My experience there was completely different. I was greeted with a smile even though this store was very, very busy. When then associates were not ringing up customers, they were on they floor assisting. The person helping me was very nice and seemed to have a genuine interest in assisting me. She actually spent so much time with that I felt a little guilty that other customers may need help and I was keeping her from assisting them. But she did not make me feel that way. She asked the right questions and «sold» other merchandise to me. I went in to buy a $ 18 necklace and walked out with over $ 100 in merchandise. And by the way, she asked ME if I had a rewards card and I said no I’ll need to go home and sign up. She said she would be happy to sign me up at the store and proceeded to hand me a form to complete. What??? How could I have gotten two completely different experiences? Hallmark– you should take a closer look at the store in First Colony. They are not providing the experience you expect a customer should receive. Re-​training is needed or perhaps the wrong people are hired for this type of role.

Just my observation as an African-​American woman but, I’ve been in this store twice and on both occasions, I was not greeted when I entered the store nor was I ever asked if I needed help. On my first visit to the store, I gave them a pass because it was a hoilday weekend and very busy but, today, I dropped in after work with my 8 yr old and the store was not at all busy. Once again, no hello when we entered, and I noticed this b/​c after being in the store for about 10 minutes, a non-​black woman came in and was greeted with a hearty «hello and how can I help you .» I felt that this was intentional so I told my son that we were leaving and going to HEB to make our purchase.
I will not visit this store again but please form your own opinion.