Secondly, I would like to also say that I do love their herbal and flavored rooibos teas. I still buy them online when I need them. However, I refuse to go to their brick and mortar stores ever again. Also, I only buy from them what I can't get anywhere else. Their actual tea (white, black, and green) are overpriced and subpar.
My experience at Teavana, Short Pump Towne Center in Richmond, Virginia has been terrible. I do not like going there, even though I should. The annoying portly Captain Upsell from the Arden Fair Mall in Sacramento posted previously about must have a twin!
I am not a push over either, and even I got taken for a couple bucks on an over-priced white tea that I really didn't want. But here's how my experience has been:conticreative wrote: I have had my own experiences at my local Teavana with the assistant manager (a portly, pushy and highly annoying fellow) trying to sell me always the most expensive item and only reluctantly offering less expensive wares. I may be anything, but I am not a push over.
1st time ever: I go in cause I like tea and I want one of their "Perfect Tea Makers". My sister has one and it's cool. I wait a long time while Captain Pushy tries to sell everything in the store to people that just wanted some tea. I try to get a little tea, they start to put it in the tin, I ask if the tin is included. No? Well put it in a bag then. I also noticed that there was a slight overpour, but I was OK with that. As I said, I like tea. It was really busy, so I really didn't get the full treatment. The tea was a black, and it was only OK. Ironically, I don't really like their tea teas. I think their quality is relatively low, and no white, black, or green that is not an estate tea should be so expensive.
2nd time: I want to get some Flavored Rooibus as Iced Tea, and Teavana is the only one with a really good lime Rooibos. Captain Upsell overpours a 4oz order as a 6oz. I was OK with that, but irritated after I left 'cause I felt that he did it on purpose. He tries to put it in a tin by asking what kind of tin I would like. I said the bag kind. Right after he poured the Rooibos, he asked if I wanted to get some "real" tea, because Rooibos "isn't really tea". He then proceeded to retrieve some super expensive tea pearls. I declined, 'cause I don't think their regular teas are so great. I leave with my lime Rooibos, but kind of miffed by the whole experience.
The next time I order, I ordered a bunch of samples online, because the store sucks. I love their flavored Rooibos and can't resist.
3rd time: The deal breaker! I want to try the MateVana because Teavana flavors teas really well and I also wanted to replace a flavored Rooibos that I was low on. Because the flavored Rooibos are so good, I also thought a flavored tea of some kind would be nice. That was a mistake. I already am aware that they upsell ruthlessly, but I still fell prey, if only for a few bucks. This time Captain Pushy is obviously training someone, and she tried all the same tactics. The MateVana she overpoured and asked if it was OK. This time I said "no, it's not" because I thought she did it on purpose. Then she asked what tin I wanted. I said none. Then she got the flavored Rooibos I wanted and poured it correctly. When it came time to show me a tea, Captain Pushy jumped in. First they wanted to show me the most expensive white, but I said I was only interested in a flavored tea. Then they started going down the price ladder. I stopped at a tea that I really liked the smell of. Turns out, it was a $12 white. They never even showed me any other kind. When she poured it, she poured 2oz on the nose, which made me think they were pretty good at eyeing amounts when they know you won't go for the overpour. When it rang up as expensive, I mentioned it was a little pricey, and Captain Pushy said that the resteeps made it worth it. I thought he was full of it, but since it was only 2oz's, I let it slide. But later, I got really annoyed by the whole experience. Not only was the tea a subpar resteep, but when I looked over all their teas I saw a few that I really would have liked more. Unfortunately, they were priced too low to have ever even been shown to me. I don't even feel I can go in the store to browse!
Teavana makes their stores a place that you want to avoid at all cost. I think their approach is a mistake and it turns me off. Friends I initially recommended Teavana to have had the same bad experiences, right down the line. I would never recommend going to Teavana to anyone who wants to learn about tea, it's like sending a lamb to slaughter.
Too bad, their flavored teas are yummy.
) 
There is a Teavana near me, along with a plethora of other tea places!