My experience at Teavana.

For general/other topics related to tea.


Nov 2nd, '11, 17:23
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Re: My experience at Teavana.

by TeaGuru2737 » Nov 2nd, '11, 17:23

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Nov 2nd, '11, 17:27
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Re: My experience at Teavana.

by Chip » Nov 2nd, '11, 17:27

TeaGuru2737 wrote:Thanks guys! I am here on my own and in my free time. I am not an official messenger of any sort and my words are not statements from the company, I am just someone who loves tea and wants to chat about it in a positive light! Because that's what tea is, a happy drink =)
Please do, we are quite passionate about tea. And although most of our discussions are quite ... civil and positive and happy, there are always some that can get a bit intense.

So it is with any passion though ...

Nov 2nd, '11, 17:36
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Re: My experience at Teavana.

by TeaGuru2737 » Nov 2nd, '11, 17:36

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Nov 3rd, '11, 02:02
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Re: My experience at Teavana.

by needaTEAcher » Nov 3rd, '11, 02:02

Teaguru:

I just want to second Chip, and say that this seems to me to be a great resource for Teavana. I have had my share of Teavana brews, and I love the idea of a larger scale company bridging the gap between those tiny little pockets of tea-shops that we (the ridiculously obsessed) survive off of and the general population ("you paid how much for 2 oz of tea?!?!?!").

Teavana could do so much to share tea with the masses and educate on just how flippin' great tea is, in all its glorious forms, and would still make a pretty penny.

Side note: I once worked at a jewelry store chain (no names, but you all know the one), and the tactics were so heavy-handed that I felt like my job was to drive people into debt for a few bucks in commission. I quit pretty quickly. I mention it, because it seems like the same kind of aggressive sales tactics that posters here have reported. Please do what you can to get the message higher up the chain!

Thanks. :D

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Nov 5th, '11, 22:14
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Re: My experience at Teavana.

by SlientSipper » Nov 5th, '11, 22:14

TeaGuru2737 wrote:I'm glad! It should be fun chatting with everyone. As Bryan_Drinks_Tea noted, not too many opinions will be changing anytime soon but that's ok! Hopefully with some banter you guys will see that we're just as passionate about tea as you! :mrgreen: But I'm happy to answer any questions you guys might have that don't conflict with company policy =)
I'm a former Teavana employee.
I had a wonderful experience working there except for the manager who ruined it for me. I had to get the labor board involved and everything.
I've never felt such travesty in all my professional life.

Nov 7th, '11, 01:08
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Re: My experience at Teavana.

by TeaGuru2737 » Nov 7th, '11, 01:08

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Nov 7th, '11, 23:20
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Re: My experience at Teavana.

by Ostara » Nov 7th, '11, 23:20

While i do not agree with the policy of the company , I do believe that there are good/decent teavana stores/employees that try no to pressure people into buying stuff or come off as such. I do understand that working off mostly commission does that to people and i dont blame the employees at all. There was 1 store near me maybe 15 min from me that i did like. The sales lady was great didnt try to sell me anything else but the tea which i liked. I did get more then the requested 2oz but the price was still the same at a regular 2 oz bag

I do like the concept of what teavana tries to bring to the mass public and for people who are new to tea, but not too fond of the expensive prices. like i said it may be a rare thing or not only time will tell

Nov 8th, '11, 00:29
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Re: My experience at Teavana.

by TeaGuru2737 » Nov 8th, '11, 00:29

[
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Re: My experience at Teavana.

by Chip » Nov 8th, '11, 01:00

... it is odd, don't you think, that the overwhelming majority of posts regarding Teavana on this forum are negative.

Usually when a vendor is doing a great job of sourcing, pricing, CS ... members will jump at the opp to post positively in response to a negative post about said vendor.

This does not occur for Teavana.

The things that upset posting members seem to be universal so to speak. The same incorrect, pushy sales pitches, pushy sales people in general, and seemingly knowledge limited to training text books. Hearing the same incorrect BS over and over is pretty lame.

Is Silver Needle really "the rarest tea in the world?" Is the tetsubin really "the best teapot to brew tea?" Ask the experts ... the answers are a resounding NO. Forced erroneous superlatives are not the way to go.

Considering this topic is currently on page 1 of a Teavana google search (#6 of a search tonight), is Teavana listening?

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Nov 8th, '11, 01:25
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Re: My experience at Teavana.

by needaTEAcher » Nov 8th, '11, 01:25

Here here Chip. Time HAS told. The exception makes the rule.
TeaGuru2737 wrote:So many people are satisfied though, with prices and the product. I was a customer before I was hired as a team lead and never had an issue with sales. I'd love coming in and filling my tins and every time I did they'd always show me new teas, sometimes I'd get new ones to take home and other times I'd speak up and tell them no.
As per prices, it seems to me that most of us agree that the prices do not reflect the quality of the products, thus it comes across that the company is taking advantage of people's lack of knowledge of the tea world and maybe even intentionally misleading the employees and thus the customers to make extra money. Seems decidedly not OK to me. :cry:

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Nov 8th, '11, 01:51
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Re: My experience at Teavana.

by iannon » Nov 8th, '11, 01:51

needaTEAcher wrote:Here here Chip. Time HAS told. The exception makes the rule.
TeaGuru2737 wrote:So many people are satisfied though, with prices and the product. I was a customer before I was hired as a team lead and never had an issue with sales. I'd love coming in and filling my tins and every time I did they'd always show me new teas, sometimes I'd get new ones to take home and other times I'd speak up and tell them no.
As per prices, it seems to me that most of us agree that the prices do not reflect the quality of the products, thus it comes across that the company is taking advantage of people's lack of knowledge of the tea world and maybe even intentionally misleading the employees and thus the customers to make extra money. Seems decidedly not OK to me. :cry:
in General people usually complain louder than they praise. I get that. I work in a service industry. But when this string shows up on the first page of google results you may want to take a harder look. its not the type of exposure you need or want for your business..but it COULD be if the company can turn it positive of course.
I also get that the teadrinkers here, are for the Most part, not the intended Teavana buyers any longer. But they may have been..at first. before gaining more knowledge. Could still be if Teavanas practices were different.
I also do get the pricing somewhat. Teavana does have some rental overhead being in the alls that they normally find themselves in. Doesnt mean I have to pay it though ;)

Nov 20th, '11, 20:56
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Re: My experience at Teavana.

by Jenn » Nov 20th, '11, 20:56

Hi, I am new to this site so nice to meet everyone.

Anyway, I actually found this site because of my love of tea and my dislike of my recent experiences at Teavana. I have been in two Teavanas in NJ and both have been an equally negative experience. The sales associates are completely overbearing, pushy and act like they are knowledgable but really are not because when asked questions that are apparently not in their "script", they cannot answer it and I feel will make up things. If it were not for my interest in starting to experiment with loose leaf teas with such ease, I would have even gone in there. It's interesting when I ask to see the selection of black teas, only the most expensive one ($18.50) gets pulled out. I ask to see the others and the sales guy is basically like, oh this is the best and the other is cheap. I actually did wind up buying the cheap one ($3.80 for the 2 oz) which was about $4 because they can't do it exactly (now I know what that's all about) and it tasted terrible. When I went back to ask why it tasted so terrible (I am used to drinking all brands of black tea in tea bags), he said again, "it's cheap." So now I am on to him and I ask, "well if that's the case, why is it that my Lipton tea bags are much cheaper and taste good?" He couldn't answer. Of course not! Another guy tried to sell me their $20 thermometer so again I am on to him with the sales stuff and I ask "how is this thermometer different than the $5 one in the kitchen store?" He seems stuck but then comes back with "This one is guaranteed to be accurate with the temperatures of the teas." So I say "And so is the $5 one, it's the same thing, what is the actual difference in how they are made?" He could not answer so I say "I will stick to the one I have." I also say "And, if it's one degree off, no one will notice!" I loved when I just asked a question about the tea, there is a quick response followed by "and how much will you be taking with you today?" And the tins, oh come on! The teas will only stay good in THEIR tins? Like the tea leaves are alive and can read the outside of the tin that says "Teavana"!! I have such a distrust for them that I am actually questioning two things:

1. The cheap black tea, did they put something non-toxic in there to make it taste bad so I would come back and say "you are right, give me the expensive one!" (Which I admit I did and am happy with the expensive one unfortunately)

2. The samples of the youthberry/orange blossom by the door, is there something addictive added in there to make customers want to buy it? (I actually tried the samples a few times and kept feeling drawn to come back)

I say these examples half kidding but there is a small part of me that is not. When a number of sales people are like this, it really makes you distrust. Years ago, I remember Home Depot used to say their whole company was based on selling the person only what they need, the smallest amount possible. Why? Because he/she would keep coming back. If you go for the big sale, you will lose them. I see truth to this.

Thanks for letting me vent. I look forward to being on this board.

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Nov 21st, '11, 22:10
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Re: My experience at Teavana.

by SlientSipper » Nov 21st, '11, 22:10

Jenn wrote:Hi, I am new to this site so nice to meet everyone.

Anyway, I actually found this site because of my love of tea and my dislike of my recent experiences at Teavana. I have been in two Teavanas in NJ and both have been an equally negative experience. The sales associates are completely overbearing, pushy and act like they are knowledgable but really are not because when asked questions that are apparently not in their "script", they cannot answer it and I feel will make up things. If it were not for my interest in starting to experiment with loose leaf teas with such ease, I would have even gone in there. It's interesting when I ask to see the selection of black teas, only the most expensive one ($18.50) gets pulled out. I ask to see the others and the sales guy is basically like, oh this is the best and the other is cheap. I actually did wind up buying the cheap one ($3.80 for the 2 oz) which was about $4 because they can't do it exactly (now I know what that's all about) and it tasted terrible. When I went back to ask why it tasted so terrible (I am used to drinking all brands of black tea in tea bags), he said again, "it's cheap." So now I am on to him and I ask, "well if that's the case, why is it that my Lipton tea bags are much cheaper and taste good?" He couldn't answer. Of course not! Another guy tried to sell me their $20 thermometer so again I am on to him with the sales stuff and I ask "how is this thermometer different than the $5 one in the kitchen store?" He seems stuck but then comes back with "This one is guaranteed to be accurate with the temperatures of the teas." So I say "And so is the $5 one, it's the same thing, what is the actual difference in how they are made?" He could not answer so I say "I will stick to the one I have." I also say "And, if it's one degree off, no one will notice!" I loved when I just asked a question about the tea, there is a quick response followed by "and how much will you be taking with you today?" And the tins, oh come on! The teas will only stay good in THEIR tins? Like the tea leaves are alive and can read the outside of the tin that says "Teavana"!! I have such a distrust for them that I am actually questioning two things:

1. The cheap black tea, did they put something non-toxic in there to make it taste bad so I would come back and say "you are right, give me the expensive one!" (Which I admit I did and am happy with the expensive one unfortunately)

2. The samples of the youthberry/orange blossom by the door, is there something addictive added in there to make customers want to buy it? (I actually tried the samples a few times and kept feeling drawn to come back)

I say these examples half kidding but there is a small part of me that is not. When a number of sales people are like this, it really makes you distrust. Years ago, I remember Home Depot used to say their whole company was based on selling the person only what they need, the smallest amount possible. Why? Because he/she would keep coming back. If you go for the big sale, you will lose them. I see truth to this.

Thanks for letting me vent. I look forward to being on this board.
To respond to your inquiries Jenn.

The cheap black tea is something you have to acquire over time. Or maybe it really is that low grade.

The samples only taste good because of the presentation and the aroma nearby. Its an illusion of sorts. Also, the cleaning process of those fetco's are at least questionable. Ok no one ever got sick but, still. I felt dirty cleaning those.

Nov 23rd, '11, 02:18
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Re: My experience at Teavana.

by greentam » Nov 23rd, '11, 02:18

When you mentioned the youtberry mix I remembered realizing something. When I received a sample from online (the chai/chai blend) they added the rock sugar to the mix. When you order it in the store as a mix it does not come with that addition; you would have to buy it separately. For a lot of people I've talked to it really changed how the tea tasted and they were upset about the addition because the price is so different online as compared to the store and they lacked anything noting the difference.

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Nov 23rd, '11, 19:09
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Re: My experience at Teavana.

by nrstooge » Nov 23rd, '11, 19:09

Let me say this first.. I have purchased things at Teavana, but will never go in one again if I can help it. I really do not like the sales tactics and I have since found everything they offer for less elsewhere and often at better quality. I'm on a very tight budget and really resent being treated like I don't know anything.

Just Sayin'

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