My experience at Teavana.

[scruffmcgruff]

yes, and your name says a lot about you! Thanks for the insult. I didn't join hoping to get cut down by people like you. Are you sure you are not Nancy?

Given that she has been posting here for quite some time and I know her name isn't Nancy, probably not. She wasn't "insulting" you, she was just telling it like it is. She is certainly one of the more helpful and kind TeaChat members so when "people like her" put you in your place, that says something.

Sure, maybe this Nancy person is an enormous *BOO* (I have no love at all for Teavana and could definitely believe it), but you didn't even give her a chance to redeem herself. If you introduced yourself to them the same way you introduced yourself to us... I can't say I'm too surprised with how you were treated there.

Also, how does her name say a lot about her? If you were trying to make a geek joke, that was pretty poorly played; clearly if she puts "geek" in her screen name, she is not terribly embarrassed about it.

[Chip]

Let's chill with some Teavana iced whatever blend!

A friendly nudge from the moderator.

[Mrs.Rudegirl76]

Hello all Im new here, Mrs.Rudegirl nice to meet you all !

I work at a Teavana in Tx and Im quiting my job soon!
Teavana is all about doing whatever it takes to sale!!!!!!!
And thata fine what business doesnt want to make lots of money?!
But the way Teavana wants there sales people to do it is wrong.
and to make their staff feel such presure to sale big and to do whatever it take to sell.
The big Teavana in Tx has such a bad rep, we get lots of customers say that thet will never go to that Teavana again they are way to pushy, thay dont listen to what the customer wants and they dont sell cups of tea!

Our store is always being compared to that store!
We have a different type of customer then we do.
They are a higher income area, lots of tourist and its a huge high price mall with high end stores.
But their store is shady with there sales.
We think they do alot of tricks with the weight of the tea and not "tare" ing the tins.

Anyway I dont like being judged on how well I work but my sales!
I know that is a big thing, how much we can sale but what about customer service!
Knowing my product!
Being on time!
How well you work with others!
What bout stuff like that!?
If your sales are not $65 or more an hr your worth sh*t!
It is sooooooo hard to maintane a $65 avg in my store!
We can sample till we die we may get a few cups of tea out of it.
Very rarely does samlping get a HUGE sale!

My mgr got fired because of sales and after that 1 other staff got fired and 3 other quit including the asst mgr.
So myself and another keyholder pretty much ran the store for almost 3 months did we get a thanks, NO we got written up for not maintaning a $65 avg!
I was at $59 avg when I got my write up!

So my GM was in and out of my store and she would but in my sales, try and sale MY customer all the others tuff they didnt want.
She said they has to say NO 5 time before we let it go.
5 TIMES!!!!!!
Thats not selling that harrassment!!!!!!

I told her I guess this is not the job foe me, I treat my customers the way I would want to be treated when I go shopping.

Anyway I love the tea at Teavana!
I love my coworkers!
Its so cool that we can drink all the tea we want!
But thats not enough!

I have been there for going on a yr and I plan to quit VERY soon!
I work for fun, I really dont need in extra income yeah it does help sometimes but work for me is mainly to get out of my house a few days a wk.
But when i start "taking my work home with me" is when I have to say bye!

Teavana wants to be such a zen like peaceful relaxing place but that sooooo not what it is.
And its all thanks to corporate they train their staff to be this way.

So when to go to Teavana dot let them talk you in to something you dont want.
Some things are worth it but you dont have to fill your canister if you dont want.

Anyway I just was happy that I could say how I felt in a place that others would understand, Thanks

[tea_pot_105]

I am so sick and tired of people complaining about teavana. I've worked there now for a year and have had the best time ever.

During the interview they ask you if you've worked in a commission based job before. This is a truly SALES job. If you don't know how to engage your customers and be enthusiastic about loose leaf tea then this is not the job for you. Never have I been pushy or made my customers feel like they had to buy more than they wanted. You simply give them all the information on how we sell the tea and let the customer decide on how much they want. Of course I'm going to tell them and show them the best savings in terms of pound discounts and cast iron. If they are not ready to purchase that much now atleast I've informed them and more than not, next time they come in they will purchase it.

You get out of your job what you put in it! So for everyone out there-

TEAVANA is a great place to work!

[xuancheng]

I am so sick and tired of people complaining about teavana. I've worked there now for a year and have had the best time ever.

This is a place for people to share their experiences good or bad with tea in general. All vendors discussed on this site get a fair chance. Teavana gets such bad reviews because, on the whole, it just is that bad. Low quality 'tea' at very high prices. Expensive teaware from 'Japan.' Unfriendly sales people who are very pushy.

Perhaps the store you work in is an exception, or perhaps the exception is you.

But I have never seen a tea vendor get such bad reviews by such a great majority of people, so you shouldn't be sick of people complaning. If the customer isn't happy with their experience it is right that he or she should tell others about it.

[beachape]

+1

I know this has been beaten to death, but I'll throw in my opinion as well. My mom always seems to make her way into Teavana and come out with some expensive concoction. She explains to me that it is full of "anti-toxins." My mom's great, but I'm not going to try to explain to her about free radicals and ANTIOXIDANTS. Maybe Teavana should team up with GNC and market the ultimate elixir of unfounded claims.

[iannon]

+1 again.. sorry..i usually don't talk bad about anyone but the few times I've been in the Atlanta area and wandered into one of the stores to browse I've gotten the high pressure pushy sales pitches trying to explain to me all the health benefits and why i should buy a pound..err..sorry..no thanks. It would be ok if after the first "can i help you?" and my response with "no thanks im just looking" they left me alone..but its just like any other big name store that uses high pressure sales and commissioned employees. so, for me, I choose not to go back any longer.
but hey..congrats if its a fulfilling and fun job for you! thats all most of us can ask for in our work

[Chip]

I would be more impressed if they encouraged the purchase of 2-4 ounces of a tea, and frequent revisits. Trying to sell a pound of anything to naive consumers who have no idea of what a pound of tea actually means is just wrong.

In 10 years of drinking tea, I have purchased a pound of a tea one time. Unless we are talking bings of pu-erh to age (but not the case here), tea will go bad too quickly.

I guess a pound of straight herbal like peppermint, etc might be ok. But tea, no way. It is irresponsible to even suggest it.

[spot52]

My visits to TeaVana have been similar to those posted. They told me that the cast iron pots are superior to the other pots, and that is clearly a matter of opinion. They always tried to upsell me on the "cheaper mix-ins". I'm sorry but Rooibos is a stand alone product and doesn't require "high" grade expensive tea with it.

Teavana is the used car sales of the tea world.

Of course that is a general sweeping statement, that may not be reflected in all locations. But I have my doubts.

[ABx]

Teavana is the used car sales of the tea world.

Well put

[2n2Metal]

To follow up on my previous post...

Actually working at Teavana is great. I highly enjoy the product, and believe in it. Our customers 9x out of 10 are the best, and I truly enjoy meeting and interacting with them!! I love being able to help and educate them on making tea a part of their lifestyle. It's not the work that I have a problem with.

The company on the other hand...SUCKS! Don't get me wrong, business is business...and I understand that. Their methods, however, are absolutely ridiculous.

On top of that, they treat employees like crap. You are totally replaceable at any given moment. They really don't care about what their customers want either. A lot of Teavanas don't listen to what a customer wants...they TELL them what they want, and even stuff they don't want!!!! I'm sorry that I can't be a robot and rehearse the same tired lines all the time. I'm sorry that I like to treat customers like real people. I'm sorry I am honest with them, listen to their needs/wants, and then sell them what THEY want.

A word to the wise...anyone who actually does enjoy Teavana, and does enjoy their experience in the store, do NOT work there. You will lose all respect for them as a company. As soon as I find an employer that appreciates what I have to offer...Teavana will be a thing of the past for me.

[flyoness]

:shock
Why do you folks insist on telling people they are going to have the same experiences you had or are having working at teavana? Stronger & less whiny people do exist in this world people who have taste buds that can distinguish quality are available in most breathing earth dwellers as well maybe if we are lucky they won't turn out to be like princes: you can read this long run on sentence as pro teavana if you want but its more anti breeding ignorance and not wanting people to come to their own conclusions. People who do that suck

[Odinsfury]

It's getting a little old seeing new posters coming to this thread and making it their first post. I am not sure how many times we can reiterate this point, but if you have read the entire thread (for which i suggest you brew up a nice pot of your favorite overpriced tea from Teavanna) you would see that it contains a culmination of bad experiences from employees and customers alike. Tell me exactly how ignorance is being bred in the first-hand experiences that have been described here.

[Chip]

... but if you have read the entire thread (for which i suggest you brew up a nice pot of your favorite overpriced tea from Teavanna) you would see that it contains a culmination of bad experiences from employees and customers alike. Tell me exactly how ignorance is being bred in the first-hand experiences that have been described here.

Tou cha, er ... touche!

[flyoness]

A. Assumption based logic
-new posting means haven't read entire thread.
B. Using objective language to describe a subjective experience.
C. Arrogance that puts personal lack of problem solving skills aside & makes a mockary of an entire culture they just can't fit into.
D. I guess I just realizied I am bieng ignorant by having to even spell it out for you.
Peace