Chris R.
Yelp
A disclaimer: I'm not reviewing the quality of the chocolate (which I've never tasted), but the quality of customer service at their location next to Whole Foods in Sebastopol.
It's a well-known fact that the most successful businesses may not have the best product, but they almost always have stellar customer service. If I go to a restaurant, and the food is top-notch, but the customer service is poor, will I return? Likely not. If the food is so-so, but the service is amazing? I'll likely come back. And most people would agree with me. Despite how good Sonoma Chocolatiers' chocolate may be, it would be good for them to heed this advice.
My wife and I visited to pick out some chocolates for my father-in-law's birthday, as he loves chocolate. The lady behind the counter was borderline pleasant, and gave us the very minimal in customer service. As we were choosing some chocolates from their case, she frequently ignored us and even went into the back room for some time. When we did decide on the chocolates that we wanted, she put them in a box with no labeling whatsoever. Now, it's difficult to tell what you're getting chocolate-wise at their store--their flavors are unique--so we figured that we could get some sort of labeling for the chocolates that we'd bought, especially as my father-in-law may want to know what he's biting into (and come on, it's fun to know what you're getting after you've tasted something). When we asked about this, the lady behind the counter said, "Well, some people take a photo of the chocolate case to remember." That's it.
I didn't know how to respond to this--this is your version of customer service? After some pressing, she gave us a sheet of paper so that we could write down the chocolates that we'd purchased ourselves. The box that she had given us was very basic--no mention of their company whatsoever on the box, and nothing to tie it together. All the while, she was focused on everything BUT us, and seemed annoyed at any question that we asked. They also didn't have prices on many of their chocolates, and when we asked about the prices, she had to look them up, and seemed annoyed at this, as well.
We left feeling dissatisfied, and a bit annoyed at the complete lack of customer service that really didn't have to be. It would have been easy for the lady behind the counter to give something more than she did. Based on our experience, no matter how much my father in law enjoys his chocolate, we will be taking our business elsewhere from now on.