My mother and I stopped in this "store" thinking that it was a gallery open to the public. Yes, it looks like a house, all the businesses do in the historic district of Paducah, KY. There was a sign that said OPEN and the door was unlocked. There were several signs on the front of this building. We went inside and looked around. A man came in a few minutes later with a dog, he stood there staring at us for a few seconds, with a very angry expression. My conscious was telling me that we might be in danger. My heart was pounding. And I was quickly thinking of an escape route. I said " hello. we saw you had your open sign up and were looking around." The man said " Didn't you also see the "walking the dog" sign or did you choose to ignore it?" My mother who is very hard of hearing just smiled at him and asked who the creator of the pottery was, the man continued to say " you know, I don't expect people to come in when the sign clearly says out walking the dog. What were you thinking?" I then told the man that I was sorry and that no, I did not see the sign. Then the man opened the front of the door and pointed to the sign and said " You mean, you didn't see this sign that was right in front of your face?" My mother changed the subject back to the art by complementing on how unique and lovely it was. The man said he was the artist and then told us to look around and let him know if we were interested in anything. Well, I had calmed down a little by this point ( the guy had me pretty freaked out by his rudeness) and so I was still trying to make it an enjoyable experience for my mom. Well, the guy sat down in the gallery room and watched the whole time. There was no music playing and the whole thing was quite awkward. My mom is very chatty and saw that he was sitting there and proceeded to include him in a conversation. Of Course when he would answer a question, I would have to repeat it to my mother. It's very obvious she cannot hear well. The guy spoke to my mother like she was a child. Extremely condescending. We did not know who this artist was. I am from another state and my mother just moved here. He acted like a jerk when we asked him questions, he kept repeating " I have my art in galleries across the country" to my mother like she was an uncultured idiot. Yes, the art was very primitive and certainly not our taste, but she was still finding nice things to say. The guy was eyeing our purses like he thought we stole something, so I felt obligated to buy something. I did buy something small thinking maybe he will switch on his customer service mode. But NOPE. When we checked out he continued to be very rude about the "walking the dog" sign and my mother just kept saying she was sorry, and that there were so many other signs up we didn't see it. I am definitely never going back there. How anyone could be so rude to my mother and think it's their right is wrong. And if your not open for business take down your open sign and lock your door!
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
We just recently started to work with Michael and Victoria and sell Terra Cottage Ceramics in our shop - WE LOVE THEM! and have always found them to be quite nice and even entertaining. Michael even took time out while working at an Art Festival to call me to answer a question I had left on his voice message - he was working in a booth selling his artwork and he took the time to quickly call me! I think they're lovely people and we enjoy selling Michael's ceramics.
As a potter myself, I recognize how hard it is to always be what the public wants us to be. This is not an an easy career. It is a lot like being a ditch digger, only without a guaranteed hourly wage! Michael and Victoria are lovely folks, I can't imagine them being that negative, feels impossible to me. I think there was a communication breakdown, these two are good people, I hate that one perception can turn people off! Go to the shop, you will love it!
I am the Artist in question and don't even vaguely recognize this event as characterized by Petite Starlet... I am sorry that she walked away from my studio (not store) with such a negative experience... We live and work in the studio that she visited with her mother and are a fairly casual bunch and so, when we have to run an errand or take the pooch out for a wander, we do leave a sign on the door. You did seem taken aback that you'd not been greeted as you entered but seemed mollified when you noticed the sign on the door... I can honestly say that I've NEVER greeted anyone in anger... When people do come into the gallery side of the studio it is my habit to remain available to them while they look round... in order to give them all of the space they need and still be accessible, I generally do find a place to sit down and stay out of their way while they look around. I am not a pushy or forward salesperson and so I try and let people have their way in the gallery area while remaining easy to find. I do recall that you were unhappy that I wasn't selling the bowls set aside for the Empty Bowls project that I sponsor, (see Facebook/emptybowlspaducah for details), but I explained to you that they were for a charity fundraiser. I certainly have no interest in your having felt pressured into purchasing something from me and encourage you to return the item that you felt compelled to buy for a full refund. I am again sorry that you had this negative experience and hope that we can find a way to balance things out for you. Blessings abound.