Why Do You Hate Teavana?

Tea Sucks
10
12%
Too Pricey
30
36%
I don't hate it...
38
46%
Christine threatened to break my legs if I ever bought tea from there
5
6%
 
Total votes: 83

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Jun 13th, '07, 08:31
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by teaspoon » Jun 13th, '07, 08:31

He was going to move the shop to a more expensive area, but his sponsor backed out at the last minute, so now he's only doing online sales :(

So you're close, Thomasini. It wasn't the Starbucks assassin team, though, it was the Main Street rent assassin team... :evil:

~tsp
"My sister and I have this wish before we die...
Tea in the Sahara with you."
~The Police, "Tea in the Sahara"

I am the size of 1 tsp.

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Jun 13th, '07, 11:33
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by jogrebe » Jun 13th, '07, 11:33

While shopping online gives you more options and often cheaper prices I think its still nice to be able to be able to have a storefront experience from time to time. One advantage is that the spur of the moment aspect makes you more likely to get an ounce of a few new teas to try. Although for teas that I drink very frequently I like to buy in bulk online to save money.
John Grebe

"You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me."
~C. S. Lewis

Jan 22nd, '09, 12:44
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by roxypaul » Jan 22nd, '09, 12:44

I would just like to say, I worked for Teavana for some time, and my boyfriend has worked for them our local one since it opened about a year ago. We had moved to CT from NJ, and had very much enjoyed the one in Bridgewater, but now that I have worked there, I can confirm that they are one of the worst companies I've ever worked for. They say it's not commission based, but you have to make at least $60 an hour for the store in sales. over Christmas, they raised it to $120 an hour. any less for more than 2 weeks straight, you get fired. Also, the management is pushy and mean. I had a friend who had been doing all the manager's duties, and when he complained to HR about it, the manager found out and he was fired. The reason for firing on his slip said N/A. I do like a lot of the Teas and I used to like the cute stuff, the mood and atmosphere of the place, but the experience has been ruined for me knowing that they don't care about the people that walk in, they only care about the contents of their wallet. They've become just another ignorant corporation who overprices their product, and I can tell you, the store at our mall has lost numerous customers because of it. And that's why I extremely dislike Teavana. ... ... ... I don't like to say hate against anyone.

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Jan 22nd, '09, 23:13
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by Ryoruki » Jan 22nd, '09, 23:13

I'm also in the ATL area (at least when not at college) and have had both negative and positive experiences in the Perimeter mall location.

the first time i went in i was helped out by a younger lady in her 20's who was more than happy to get me just my 2oz of Moroccan mint, she was helpful, didn't make me feel rushed, and despite the store being busy she was very attentive.

However when i returned to make a larger purchase i dealt with an older woman,in her 30's, who made it seem like she was doing me the biggest favor by even talking with me let alone filling my order. The store was not busy, there was only one other customer that was already checking out. Despite the fact that i bought almost $80 worth of tea i walked away from the purchase feeling like i had not received the proper attention that a customer deserves. No how are you doing, no have a nice day, not even a smile.

While i can understand that not all jobs are fulfilling and we all have our down days, it's hard to justify a return trip to the store when last time i had such a negative experience. When I add into it the expense of the tea for the quality, it just seems to make more sense to me to buy online. While i may not 'hate' teavana, they are definitely not going to get any sort of glowing recommendations from me.

Jan 23rd, '09, 09:11
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by bsteele » Jan 23rd, '09, 09:11

Ryoruki and Tomasini:
Which Teavana's have you been to around ATL? I've only bought tea from the one at Lenox-- my first experience made me feel dirty.


(sort of a rant warning)
Right before Christmas, I wanted to get stuff to make tea and my wife said she'd pay for it as a gift-- I was a tea virgin, and walked out with $170 worth of tea paraphernalia. *face palm* tetsubin, some cast iron cups... saucers... I got taken for. I mean, the guy was nice and all but of course the whole time while he was "designing" my set I was too intimidated or maybe just a wimp to ask about price. Left the store and took me about 5 minutes to realize I didn't need all that stuff... kept the tea pot though. I'm such a "thrifty" shopper, I typically price compare and buy on the internet most of the time-- even to save $10-- and of course looked on ebay and found the same pot for $30 less. I almost took the teapot back... oh it hurt so... but I just sucked it up.

Oh well, what's done is done. I'm here now.

I've been back to the one at Lenox to buy some tea when it wasn't packed full of people. Got in, got out-- no I don't want to try the new WHITE TEA earl grey, it's 3x the price of what I want, no I don't want a tin for my tea, the bag is fine.

All that being said... I don't hate teavana so much-- just a smidgen of disdain... that's all.

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Jan 23rd, '09, 10:59
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by chamekke » Jan 23rd, '09, 10:59

wanna-be buddha wrote:It's easy to hate on Iwachu
Haven't heard a single soul "hating on" Iwachu (they are, after all, Japan's premium tetsubin makers), so I'm not sure what you're talking about.
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Jan 23rd, '09, 12:37
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by disillusioned » Jan 23rd, '09, 12:37

chamekke wrote:
wanna-be buddha wrote:It's easy to hate on Iwachu
Haven't heard a single soul "hating on" Iwachu (they are, after all, Japan's premium tetsubin makers), so I'm not sure what you're talking about.
I second that how can you hate on Iwachu?

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Jan 23rd, '09, 16:13
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by Ryoruki » Jan 23rd, '09, 16:13

bsteele-- i've been to the ones at northpoint(e?) and at perimeter, when i'm not pointedly ignored by the service staff at NP (College kids obviously aren't the ones holding gobs of money, so why pay attention to them?) they're trying to sell me herbal teas, weight loss teas, new arrivals, teapots, tins etc. at Perimeter.

if i wanted herbal teas i would ask for an herbal tea, I'm not really concerned about how much i weigh (are they calling me fat? that's a bit rude) and if i were i wouldn't drink tea to take care of it. While new arrivals might be of interest to me, maybe they should first think about filling the order i came in for first and then perhaps use what little sense they were born with to suggest a new arrival if it suits my tastes according to what i've already ordered. D:

There's nothing that i dislike more when making a purchase than to feel like i'm being pushed to buy something, especially when i already know what i want. I also don't like having to repeat myself, i speak at a normal tone and very clearly, and i don't really see how they can confuse me asking for Moroccan mint with dragonwell. :< i've openly asked about their prices and when i do the employees always look so affronted, like price shouldn't be openly discussed.

perhaps if there was a major change in the way that they treated their customers i'd feel like returning to try out some of their other teas. However, it seems to me that they simply don't want my business. That's fine, i can find better teas at a more reasonable price at other stores.
You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me. ~C.S. Lewis

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Jan 27th, '09, 22:17
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by JP » Jan 27th, '09, 22:17

A couple of days ago I blundered across a local Teavana store. Surprised, I went in to have a look around. They had a lot of their wares on sale for either 50% or 75% off. None of the tea seemed to be sale, but there wasn't any prices on it and they didn't have price sheets either like other places do. Still, I might go back to check the stuff on sale.

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Jan 27th, '09, 23:43
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by gingkoseto » Jan 27th, '09, 23:43

Have never been to teavana. My town is too small to have even a teavana :P

I heard they are very much overpriced. Overpriced or not, their prices seem very high to me.

But what to hate about them? If their tea is not good or prices are too high, just stay away from them, no passion involved :P
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Feb 5th, '09, 06:23
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I don't hate Teavana at all in fact...

by johnoed » Feb 5th, '09, 06:23

I have to say this was a very interesting poll. Adagio is a competitor of Teavana and Adagio owns and runs TeaChat. Now over the past month I've become an Adagio Evangelist. I come to the TeaChat nearly every single day. I've made my own blend through Adagio, which I love. I've made a video for that blend and spoken about it on the boards. I talk about Adagio to nearly everyone I meet. I've even included Adagio's business model into one of my lectures as an Adjunct Professor at University.

However, I've ramped up my loose tea experience because of Teavana. My brother sent me Teavana tea for the holidays. When I went down to visit him he brought me to one of their stores and I bought a great selection of teas that I truly enjoy. I have to say if you haven't tried the Rose Marzipan Delight Black Tea from Teavana then you simply are missing out. This is one of the most addictive teas I have ever had.

So I voted that I did not hate Teavana and I was so happy to find that overwhelmingly other TeaChat readers agreed. This market is not only big enough for Adagio and Teavana both but also the small local tea shops.

There I've said my piece. Overall a fascinating poll. :idea:

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Feb 5th, '09, 08:03
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by joelbct » Feb 5th, '09, 08:03

I wouldn't shop there for tea, I did buy their silver digital tea timer.

The way I see it, they are a bit of a step up from lipton, so perhaps they do some good, introducing a wider audience to "real" tea. Or at least "real-ish" tea.

But no, of course they are not aiming for the connoisseur... they aren't selling ceremony Matcha, SFTGFOP1 Meleng, or 10-year old Puerh...

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Feb 5th, '09, 10:11
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Re: I don't hate Teavana at all in fact...

by auggy » Feb 5th, '09, 10:11

johnoed wrote:However, I've ramped up my loose tea experience because of Teavana. My brother sent me Teavana tea for the holidays. When I went down to visit him he brought me to one of their stores and I bought a great selection of teas that I truly enjoy. I have to say if you haven't tried the Rose Marzipan Delight Black Tea from Teavana then you simply are missing out. This is one of the most addictive teas I have ever had.
I'm with you about the Rose Marzipan - it is one of my all time fav teas. Just ordered some, in fact. And Teavana got me interested in Darjeelings. That being said, I now get much better ones (at a better price) elsewhere and would probably get the Rose Marzipan elsewhere if I could (since Teavana's prices tend to be higher than the competition for similar teas). While Teavana hasn't ever been or will ever be my "go to" vendor, you gotta give them credit for converting folks to tea.

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Feb 5th, '09, 11:08
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by chamekke » Feb 5th, '09, 11:08

Teavana don't have branches in Canada, so I have no opinion based on personal experience (although it sounds like I haven't missed much!).

But, it would take a lot to make me hate a tea shop. There are one or two I avoid or maybe even slightly disdain (due to, say, offering a product line which is uniformly low-quality yet highly priced). That's about it.
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