Sarah S.
Yelp
After quite a few decent experiences here, I had such a horrible one that it canceled all previous visits out. This place sells "growlers" for their kombucha and other drinks, and I came in once to fill one. A local and a regular since they opened.
They refused to rinse out the growler for me, telling me I am supposed to clean it at home. It wasn't gross... just the slightly sticky remnants of the last fill maybe a day or so old. They wouldn't even run water into the growler and pour it out, telling me I could either buy a new growler or have my kombucha poured into the old one as is. !?!? The owner comes out and doubles down on this, refusing the simple courtesy of rinsing a pricey growler they had sold me at a clear premium. In shock, I told them there was a 3rd option... that I leave and never give them my money again for their overpriced, mediocre fizzy water.
As for ambiance, the place is alarmingly bad. The blue paint and hipster vibe is fine, but the place had NO air conditioning and an outmatched fan does nothing to alleviate the sweltering atmosphere. All summer long, the poor girls behind the counter are sweaty and I have seen them drip into the drinks. In the winter it is colder than a fridge.
There is a reason the clientele is mostly tourists passing through. Food is decent but portions are small, overpriced, and with the hygiene on display... very suspect.
TO OWNER'S REPLY:
Wow. What is that, FIVE edits of your "reply" in as many days? Sad. Dude, your protest monologue just makes it clear that you are unprofessional. Calling me a liar doesn't make it so. Stating that it was never sweltering in your concrete brick house doesn't erase everyone's memories. This is the only "review" I have ever posted about you, so if you are getting bad reviews "all over the internet" it is probably because you are not a nice person and lack the very aloha spirit you try and ride on?
YOU were rude to me, and to others I know in town. You reply to every review that isn't 5 stars here pushing people to rate higher, which is needy and neurotic. It is a small town and you should be nicer to your local customers. I wasn't told to leave, I walked out and will never come back due to YOU and your gruff ways. Your "rebuttal" alone shows how defensive and unprofessional you are. (Seems you finally wised up and erased 95% of your reply... but that doesn't change the hostile, neurotic vibe you were putting down, so I won't bother to change what I have written.)
You say that the events never happened, and then go on to admit it is "your policy," and then make it as if the customers are at fault for violating your self-made policy that no brewery ever in the history of breweries would impose. Maybe it was your manager who was so rude... but you still hired him. If you "lose money" on your growlers... you are a terrible businessman and don't know how to use the internet. LOL. You can buy them on Amazon for $2.
Acting like YELP isn't here to warn people about businesses that they should perhaps avoid or high-strung individuals like yourself who want to whine about a bad review and call names at someone who had previously given them a good chunk of change, means you don't understand how the service industry works. How about being polite, and trying to make the customer happy? Just a thought. Would it have killed you guys to run some water in the growler and not tried to embarrass me throwing your petty tyrant weight around? Yelp is not your free advertising domain. It is for CUSTOMERS to complain about businesses free from owners spending $ to inflate their ratings. You want undeserved ratings, give your money to Google. Gaming this system by having all your friends post favorable reviews is too pathetic for words. This one review didn't dent your numbers at all and you freak out trying to intimidate a genuine disgruntled customer from doing what YELP was designed to be used for... yelping about bad service!
Everyone in town knows your place has been hotter than a henhouse. 2 of my girlfriends worked for you and quit due to conditions. Maybe this summer you will have better AC... who knows? Last summer you didn't. LOL. That you would even deny it is silly. Maybe you have purchased a better AC unit since last summer, but I wouldn't know because I will never patronize your venue again. I remember when you were just a small stand on the farmer's market and I was a loyal customer despite the fact that many of us make our own Jun and Kombucha here. Your demeanor and attitude about something as simple as giving a growler a quick rinse is on you.
Whining about someone posting a bad review is petty. This is quite literally what Yelp was created for. Suggesting I am a competitor? You have no competitors. You are the only Kombucha Brewery in town... LOL. As if Handsome John gave a crap about your clientele. Thanks for the laughs.