My experience at Teavana.

[teapotofury]

"10% is a GREAT discount? Surely 10% off of 1lb of tea that is priced 800% over the exact same tea at a competitor doesn't warrant ALL CAPS to describe the deal. Maybe 15% would be worth ALL CAPS, but 10% is really only an italics at best. Give me 20% and I'll throw you a bold. "

ACTUALLY, you do get 15% off when you buy 2 LBS & 20% off when you buy 5 LBS.

So there.

[scruffmcgruff]

I don't know how you would drink 5 lbs of tea before it went stale, but even aside from that I think GeekGirl's point about the retail markup trumps yours, teapotofury.

You know, your posting in this thread just drives more traffic here and probably makes more people dislike Teavana. Maybe you should start another thread in support of Teavana? It might be interesting to see how many other posters agree with you, as they may not want to be the sole opposing voice in this thread.

[Ryoruki]

5 lbs of tea would last one person, even one family, much longer than the shelf life of the tea. even if that person or family shelled out money to put it in the overpriced logoized tins.

even so, i'd rather have quality over quantity any day.

when you stress quantity you seem to be likening yourself to the companies that you previously mentioned so contemptuously. you seem to be saying, "look at how much you save if you super-size your order today."

although when people say no at McDonalds they don't continue to press the subject. maybe teavana can learn something from them then.

[Geekgirl]

ACTUALLY, you do get 15% off when you buy 2 LBS & 20% off when you buy 5 LBS.

So there.

Whoohoo! That's AWESOME! That makes it only a 680% markup!!! omg, my head is spinning now.



what are you? 5 years old?

eh, no matter.

It might be worth noting though, that most people don't like being treated like fools that need to be bossed around. But whatever floats your boat. Judging from the hordes of happy customers, repeat buyers and enthusiastic recommendations being posted here, Teavana is doing GREAT!

[gingkoseto]

Good luck, Earth Prince. As for everyone else, enjoy your Lipton.

Oh my goodness I guess my devil part just got the negative part of this sentence.

I don't know much about either teavana or lipton and shouldn't say much. But some posts here seem to convince me even though teavana's teas are so expensive, *maybe* it doesn't have a better quality/price ratio than lipton.

[auggy]

Now with all the "pro-Teavana" folks showing up, I'm actually starting to feel a little dirty for buying my glass teapot there. It's becoming obvious what a *ahem* classy place it is.

[ABx]

Good luck, Earth Prince. As for everyone else, enjoy your Lipton.

Oh my goodness I guess my devil part just got the negative part of this sentence.

I don't know much about either teavana or lipton and shouldn't say much. But some posts here seem to convince me even though teavana's teas are so expensive, *maybe* it doesn't have a better quality/price ratio than lipton.

That caught me too; the person obviously doesn't understand what this forum is about at all. Teavana tea tends to be something of the bottom of the barrel here, and we're here because we realized that there are much better alternatives to both grocery store and shopping mall teas. I tend to think that zen8tea's (eBay) $10/150g teas blow Teavana's teas out of the water, and of course each serving of leaf can provide fully satisfying cups all day long (making the notion of purchasing a full pound or more all the more ridiculous).

There is a thirst for tea in today's American culture; you can see it with the likes of Adagio, Tao of Tea, Upton, Special Teas, and the like doing as well as they are. These companies, especially Tao of Tea (which I still think of as pretty mediocre outside of their black teas), focus on educating and do pretty well. They might not have the nationwide franchises, but they sell their products through other vendors (online and off) to make up for it. The fact of the matter is that when it comes to tea, you can turn people on to it by simply giving them a cup of something different and telling them a little about it. I haven't met a person yet that wasn't intrigued by a cup of tea that was unlike anything they had before, and they usually ask the questions before you can offer up any of it's history.

teapotofury, if you really did your homework you'd know more about this. You might have some background on the history, but you clearly have no understanding of the quality and prices of tea that are out there today. You might also take a look around the forum before posting such blithe nonsense again; many here buy their teas from specialty shops in the country of their preferred tea's origin for less (some even travel or live there), and know quite a bit about them. Those kinds of statements really kind of destroy any credibility you think you might have, and a shocking lack of skill in dealing with potential customers. Taking into consideration your message, the "research" that went into that message (or rather the lack thereof), and your delivery, I can't help but conclude that you are an absolute moron. Learn more about your business and human interaction - who knows, maybe someday you'll get a job at someplace better than a shopping mall retail store.

[coleyboley]

I hate the whole mushroom industry! (Except the cream of mushroom soup people.) I just think it is gross that mushrooms sometimes squeak when you bite into them. Makes me think I'm eating a very tiny mouse.



(Just trying to lighten the mood of this intense forum topic!)

[Salsero]

mushrooms sometimes squeak when you bite into them. Makes me think I'm eating a very tiny mouse.

[scruffmcgruff]

I just think it is gross that mushrooms sometimes squeak when you bite into them. Makes me think I'm eating a very tiny mouse.

+1

Hahaha!

[geeber1]

Squeak!

[Chip]

Squeaky string beans shiver me timbers ... mushrooms are like tea for me, yummm.

Anyway, as your friendly neighborhood moderator ... at this point in the discussion (and the multitudes of other Teavana mini discussions on this forum), I would encourage members to stick to the reporting of experiences and facts from which we can draw conclusions.

Anyone listening from Teavana should take what is said herein as a valuable lesson on why Teavana cannot retain customers once they decide to educate themselves.

My personal experience with Teavana is that associates are improperly trained and the teas are poorly sourced and overpriced. These are things that can not be blamed on sales associates, but on upper level management.

[auggy]

Anyway, as your friendly neighborhood moderator ...

I picture you wearing a Mr. Rodger's style sweater while saying this. Is that wrong?

[ErikaM]

Good luck, Earth Prince. As for everyone else, enjoy your Lipton.

This is exactly the attitude I heard at my last visit to Teavana. The manager claimed straight out that Teavana was the *highest quality* tea available in the country, and that *no where else* could you buy such fine tea. The top 5% of the world's tea crop, selected and imported straight into Teavana. (I kid you not; I'm quoting that last sentence verbatim.)

Like auggy, I now feel slightly dirty about buying a teapot there.

Another fan of squeaky mushrooms here... although I never thought about the mouse thing...