Sweets & Eats Deli & Cafe

Don't go here. I was going almost daily, but will never, ever, go here again.

I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt - maybe they were having a bad day, can't judge an entire business by one experience, etc. But today was strike three, and I'm breaking my "don't be vocally critical of a local small business especially in this economy" rule.

1st straw:
A man (one of the owners? Not sure) chewed out a vendor in front of a line of customers, in a condescending, not constructive criticism manner if you know what I mean, publicly humiliating him. Unprofessional, but I looked the other way. I didn't know the situation.

2nd straw:
I work nearby, and I get a half hour lunch break. In order to get food, I have to time it carefully to be able to get it, have time to eat it, and for that to match up with when places are open and when I'm allowed to take a break. S&E closes at 4pm, so I got there at 3:50. One of the owners ignored me and chatted up a vendor, complete ignoring, not even acknowledging me. Okay, whatever, it happens, right? She finally acknowledges me, and I ask for a basic, cold, turkey sandwich. It would have been one thing if she'd said no politely. I would have still been frustrated, since they advertise as closing at 4, and I had carefully organized my day, and I wasn't even asking for a hot sandwich, but what really was outrageous was her attitude. Her response was an angry, "why are you wasting my time, how dare you come in while we're still open and ask for a sandwich even though we're a deli" nasty, condescending, "NO! I'm closing in 4 minutes. I've already cleaned everything, I am not making you a sandwich. We close at 4." Now, it was not 4 minutes until closing - more like 10. Creative clock reading not appreciated. And again, her tone of voice - as if I had done something horribly wrong by walking into an open deli and asking for a sandwich.

I've worked in retail the last few years, so I always go out of my way to be very polite to people, even when I'm dissatisfied with the product or service. I know what it's like to be confronted with a person who takes the old adage "the customer is always right" too far, and I am not that person. I don't ever, ever yell at people, I'm polite with telemarketers, don't yell at tech support, even when I'm upset. I'm generous with patience and the benefit of the doubt.

I politely said, "well, it's not 4pm yet, but thank you, have a nice day." Usually I would go with just a "thank you," but I was frustrated, and hey - I was polite and - free market research, right? You'd think they'd want to know what pisses off a REGULAR. The woman just glared at me as I walked out.

Final Straw (today):
I go in at 3:50 and asked for a turkey sandwich. I got the same reply that I did last time, complete with the creative clock reading of we're closing in 4 minutes. Now, I cannot emphasize enough how polite I was - like I said, I go out of my way to be polite when I'm upset and appreciative and friendly with people - working in retail has taught me the value of such courtesy. I was calm, did not raise my voice, was very reasonable. I said something like, "this is the second time this has happened. I have a limited amount of time on my lunch break, I specifically plan to come get a sandwich from your business. I didn't ask for a hot sandwich. If you are open until 4, you should sell sandwiches until 4, and certainly 10 minutes until 4, or else I'm not sure why you don't close earlier if you're not going to serve your primary product anymore."

What happened next was unlike ANY consumer experience I've ever had. The woman WENT OFF at me, yelling - not just a raised voice - YELLING and then the man (I think the same one who yelled at the vendor) who wasn't behind the counter started YELLING at me... why don't I go somewhere, else - like the pizzeria up the street, to a different deli, how dare I, why was I so nasty, it was not my place to tell them how to run their business, etc. Teamed up YELLING at me!

I calmly said that I was trying hard not be nasty, that I didn't want to make a scene (and I was the only customer in the store by the way), and that while they could run their business however they wanted - I just wanted to politely point out that I was a dissatisfied customer. They continued to yell, and I got scared - 2 people larger than me YELLING at me with me all by myself so I wished them a nice day and left.

If they had been polite, I would put up with the fact that they don't adhere to their posted hours of operation, are overpriced, have a small beverage/chips/"sweets" (what justifies the "sweets" part of the name?) selection, the back sitting area ("cafe?") of the store is always uninviting, cards not accepted, and their meats and breads are average.

But I work hard. I went out of my way to be polite. And I was verbally attacked and intimidated by the OWNERS. I don't need to put up with that - local small business or not.