My experience at Teavana.

For general/other topics related to tea.


May 23rd, '09, 22:22
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just a fan

by flyoness » May 23rd, '09, 22:22

Folks I'm just a fan...
Sorry if I came across a harsh I just didn't think a lot of the accusations have been fair from my perspective. I didn't mean to cause trouble & I won't post here again as I can see I am very iscolated in my sentiment. & metal2 you must be the peanut child in your scenario?

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May 25th, '09, 12:56
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by tea-guy » May 25th, '09, 12:56

We JUST had a Teavana store open here in Cincinnati this week. I stopped in today and took a short walk around... it's not very sizable but was extremely busy. I was tempted to buy a small pot & two cups but wanted to check pricing and availability through other vendors first.

I was hoping to pick this one up... I like the colors:
http://www.teavana.com/Tea-Products/Tea ... o-cups.axd
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May 25th, '09, 22:29
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by Victoria » May 25th, '09, 22:29

I have been extremely happy with all my Teavana teaware.

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May 26th, '09, 00:52
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by Geekgirl » May 26th, '09, 00:52

True. I swapped for a gaiwan that I use at work everyday. It's pretty nice. I think it was originally from Teavana. And as I mentioned, I have a teapot I really like. :) It's not all bad. Ha!

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May 26th, '09, 23:17
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by DQBunny » May 26th, '09, 23:17

*Disclaimer due to low-post count: I am not a troll or sockpuppet ... unless one of the cats attacks my feet thinking that it IS a sockpuppet*

Reading this thread, I feel really kind of bad for shopping at Teavana. It was recommended to me via Twitter last month and I've already made several trips - with a fondness for the Raspberry Sangria and Cacao Mint. I'd been looking to wean myself off of coffee for months since I work overnights (and the coffee they provide us with is TERRIBLE), and did enjoy what I found even though I thought it was a bit expensive. It was still cheaper than the trips to Starbucks though in the long run.

I was actually recommended Adagio awhile back and again a couple weeks ago, but my biggest concern from ordering with them is if any damage would be suffered from a delivery here to the Arizona desert. It gets HOT during the summer and if something is left at the mail box and waits for me to rush out there, I don't want it to be ruined.

But reading through this thread completely made me realize that I would save a lot of money by ordering tea elsewhere, so I plan to try some sampler tins from Adagio. I do love the fruitier teas, but the cacao mint ... that's my coffee substitute thanks to the chocolate, mint, what have you. Would Adagio be a good step up from someone wanting to move beyond Teavana?

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May 27th, '09, 01:16
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by iannon » May 27th, '09, 01:16

DQBunny wrote:Would Adagio be a good step up from someone wanting to move beyond Teavana?
YES!
and actually after trying some of their standard fare you can always go and blend your own mixes of teas/flavors. I have had fun doing that making teas for my wife and daughter.

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May 27th, '09, 19:45
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by tea-guy » May 27th, '09, 19:45

DQBunny wrote: I was actually recommended Adagio awhile back and again a couple weeks ago, but my biggest concern from ordering with them is if any damage would be suffered from a delivery here to the Arizona desert. It gets HOT during the summer and if something is left at the mail box and waits for me to rush out there, I don't want it to be ruined.
If that's the case, for your personal safety when you DO order sampler sets from Adagio, understand that they come in small metal tins enclosed in a VERY thin cardboard box. Handle with care if they have been sitting in that mailbox for a while... ;-)
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May 29th, '09, 11:48
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by xuancheng » May 29th, '09, 11:48

[quote="DQBunny]
Reading this thread, I feel really kind of bad for shopping at Teavana...[/quote]

Don't feel bad about shopping at Teavana if you like it. Most of us here just take exception when people say that Teavana provides the best tea money can buy at the most reasonable price.

But you should try other stuff as well!

Could you have them send the tea to general delivery at the post office, and then you could pick it up? Maybe you could install a parasol over your mailbox?
茶也醉人何必酒?

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May 29th, '09, 14:51
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by DQBunny » May 29th, '09, 14:51

xuancheng wrote: Could you have them send the tea to general delivery at the post office, and then you could pick it up? Maybe you could install a parasol over your mailbox?
I just did my first order from Adaigo (got the chai sampler, yum!) and and saw that UPS will deliver to my door. Since I work nights and am home during the day, that'll be perfect for me.

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Jun 4th, '09, 01:14
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by sneakers » Jun 4th, '09, 01:14

There's one in an expensive mall nearby, but I've never been there. is it one of those "designer tea" shops that carries cheap teas hidden by flavorings with exotic names? Like a tea version of Starbuck's?

Speaking of teaware, I do like attractive airtight tins for my tea shelf. Is it worth a trip or are they overpriced on those too?

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Jun 4th, '09, 09:25
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by auggy » Jun 4th, '09, 09:25

sneakers wrote:Speaking of teaware, I do like attractive airtight tins for my tea shelf. Is it worth a trip or are they overpriced on those too?
I know nothing about the Teavana tins so I can't help there, but I will say I quite enjoy the Rishi tins I have. They are double lidded and I picked them up at the grocery store. The tea is not superb but good enough that I will enjoy emptying the tins sup by cup so I can reuse them. :)

Jun 12th, '09, 14:09
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Re: My experience at Teavana.

by robb1969 » Jun 12th, '09, 14:09

I am opening a chain of tea shops in Asia; would you have any interest in consulting?

Jun 16th, '09, 11:24
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by jennytea » Jun 16th, '09, 11:24

What an awful experience. They owe you an apology. They should have at least found out about the stoppers, before firing you.. (or gotten some a long time ago..) and accusing you of all those things and checking your bags. What a bunch of a-holes.

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Jun 16th, '09, 22:48
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Guess I won't be frequenting Teavana anymore.

by Chester Copperpot » Jun 16th, '09, 22:48

I know how you feel, DQBunny (about feeling bad for frequenting Teavana). I always thought that the sales people were overly pushy, but I just thought it was a problem at the local store (Boston at the Pru). Now that I realize that it's actually encouraged by the Teavana executives, I don't think I'll be back.
And to think I never would have known this if a Teavana wasn't opening near my new home (Portland, ME) and had jobs posted. I thought to myself, "hey, I like tea! And Teavana helped introduce me to loose-leaf teas (although I prefer herbals and rooibos, so I was always encouraged to buy larger quantities by the sales people). Maybe I could work there! That might be fun." Then I saw that the job description said that "Team members must meet or exceed sales goals." "
"Sounds like a lot of pressure," I thought. But maybe they're just rough guidelines, or really easy-to-meet goals? I'll just do an online search to see what reviews there are of the company. Holy cow! The amount of bad reviews of Teavana (specifically about the "sales goals" issue) on the internet (on several sites, not just this thread) blew me away!
I hate pushing things on people that they don't want or need, and I'd hate to be made to feel a failure for not meeting these goals. Maybe working at Teavana is good if you're used to working on commission, but it's definitely not the right job for me, nor do I want to support a company that encourages these selling techniques (as I was reading each account, I kept thinking, "oh yeah! That totally happened to me when I was shopping at Teavana! Being pushed to buy blends. Me finally feeling comfortable when I learned how to effectively answer their questions and avoid having stuff pushed on me: 'No, I already have tins at home. Yes, I just want the two ounces of rooibos. I like to sample many different teas, etc.'" You shouldn't have to figure out how to "correctly" answer questions in order to feel comfortable saying no to pricier things (yes, maybe that's my fault for being timid and a bit of a pushover). You should feel like a valued customer no matter how much money you have to spend.
*Sigh. Sorry if this is a bit long. I'm just trying to give a review of my experiences at Teavana and what has led me to not shop there anymore. Luckily there's a nice tea place near where I am in Portland (Homegrown Herb and Tea, and Soakology), so I have other tea shops to frequent, and I guess I'll explore online tea options (Adagio, obviously, and perhaps others). It's a bit disappointing to realize these unsavory things about a place I thought I knew. :(

Jun 17th, '09, 18:47
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Just got hired by Teavana...

by StaceyCee » Jun 17th, '09, 18:47

There is a new Teavana opening on July 7th at the Cherry Hill Mall. I interviewed last week and received a call today that I got the job. I currently work for a pharmaceutical company full-time (I've been there for 2.5 years). I applied for a lot of part-time jobs being that I have a lot of school loans to pay off. I was really happy to hear that they chose me as one of the new employees. However, I'm feeling less excited as I read through all the bad experiences at Teavana.

During the interview, I was asked if I ever worked at another job based on commission. I used to work at Barnes and Noble throughout college, which was never high pressure. I told him no, that I hadn't. We even discussed what days and hours I could work. I did explain to him that I was available to work evenings Monday through Thursday. I did explain that I'd prefer not to work weekends, but if need be, I would. Being that I already work Monday through Friday, it would be really tough working a straight seven day week. So the manager explained more details to me and we concluded our interview.

When the Vice-President of HR called me to discuss the job details, I became more nervous. He explained to me that if I didn't work weekends, my numbers would be down and if that kept up, I could be fired eventually. He also explained to me that hours were given to employees based on how much they sold. At B&N, hours were reduced at times if business was slow, but everyone was affected. To me, this is nerve wracking that hours are rewarded based on number of sales. I asked him, "What if no one is making their sales goal, what do you do to all those employees? Being that the economy is in bad shape, I would think that sales have suffered." He said that Teavana's sales have not been affected by the economy. Hmmm...not quite sure I believe this.

So I don't know what to do. This is actually a 50 minute ride to and from work/home. I would probably work until 9:30-10 p.m. and get home close to 11 and wake up at 5:30 the next day. Unfortunately, out of all the jobs I've applied for, Teavana is the only one that has responded. I really would prefer to work closer to home, but I'm desperate for extra cash. Though I must admit, I don't feel too comfortable pushing sales on people. If a customer says no, I don't want to keep pushing.

Does anyone have any advice for me about working here? I plan on staying here only until I can find a closer job to home.

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