Golden Gallery Tobermory — Attraction in Tobermory

I visited this gallery with my mother, who does not speak or read English fluently. She saw a print she liked and went to take a photo to show her husband (something many people do when considering a purchase). Before she even managed to take the picture, the man who I assume is the owner came storming out and began yelling and screaming that no pictures were allowed. She immediately tried to apologize and even showed him her camera roll to prove she hadn’t taken a photo, but he continued to berate her in front of everyone.

Myself and other members of our group repeatedly tried to explain that it was an honest mistake, she hadn’t seen or understood the sign, but he had absolutely no interest in listening, only in humiliating her. His behaviour was aggressive and and deeply inappropriate.

Afterward, I looked through other reviews and was not surprised to find that this man has a long history of being rude, combative, and unprofessional. This is clearly not an isolated incident but a pattern of hostility. I can’t imagine why someone who clearly has no interest in treating people with basic human decency would choose to run a public-facing business.

If you value kindness, respect, or basic customer service, steer clear of this place.

Update: Your response is defensive, dismissive, and shows no accountability. Rather than expressing any regret for how aggressively you treated someone who made a mistake, you accused me of embellishing. You made a conscious choice to berate a woman who hardly speaks English, and when several people calmly tried to explain and apologize on her behalf, you were more focused on asserting control and humiliating her. You keep pointing to signs and camera specs as if that justifies yelling at and shaming someone. It does not. A simple, respectful reminder would have been enough. But based on your response and many similar reviews, it is clear civility is not your priority. Running a gallery means dealing with people. You chose to escalate, then doubled down instead of reflecting. This was not an isolated incident. It is just how you treat people,...

My husband had just attended his neice's graduation from high school (Class of '97) in Iowa and decided to extend his mini-vacation to include Wisconsin, the UP of Michigan, Manitoulin Island and across trip across Lake Huron/Georgia Bay to Tobermory. He loved the idealic little town nestled at the tip of Bruce Penisula that he booked a room for the week and 'hung' around. The first night, he ate at a local restaurant and eyed the stunning artwork on the wall and inquired of where he might see some more in town. The hostess steered him to the Kent's Gallery where he after breakfast the next morning, was priviledged to see so many stunning works in all different sizes. Well, he stayed for about 3 hours and ended up purchasing several prints that he brought home to MD and framed once he finished a room in his house he'd just purchased. He also hiked miles of the Bruce Penisula that week and sea kayaked the Marine Park eyeing the seascapes and waters-edge; gaining more of an appreciation of how Kent had captured the melding of the relationships of the sun/skies/water and land, the shapes, very impressionistic -- so he went back and purchased another print that he had stuck with him! Over the years, Dave has purchased more and has loaned some out to friends who too had been captured by their beauty. So, we have not made a purchase for a while, but are looking to make one now, if he find one better than, "Morning Glory," but its all subjective! Thank You...

The person that I’m assuming is the owner is extremely rude. Do yourself a favour and enjoy your trip by avoiding this place.

Edit in response to owner: I have, like most people, been extremely affected by covid. I’ve been kept from my family for two years now because of this. I’ve taken every precaution, isolated myself and gotten vaccinated at the first opportunity. I’m extremely considerate of other peoples concerns and fear and willing to abide by rules. The reason for my post is not the policy. The reason for my post is how you handled the situation. How was I supposed to know you had a small sign next to the candles. That is not something I could have anticipated being present and in a store full of little things for sale it’s like spotting where’s Waldo. When you saw me go to smell a candle you said not to do that and I pulled my mask back up and immediately said sorry. We were the only people in the store, fully vaccinated and you were across the store. I had no real reason to believe you’d be concerned and upon your acknowledgment of concern I was happy to oblige.

My problem with you is what you said next. AFTER the problem was rectified, you chose to jump to conclusions and demean me just like you’re doing now by assuming I don’t take COVID seriously. Your comment after was completely unnecessary and it’s only purpose was to hurt me. So yes, you are rude and you do deserve my one star review and you don’t deserve...