The Apothecarium Dispensary of Cumberland — Attraction in Cumberland

I am updating this review after excellent in person service from Mary, I believe was her name.

The short version is that my schedule makes it hard to get to Apocatherium. I finally had time to place an order for pickup and, even though initially confirmed, it was canceled the next day without explanation. Emails to multiple business email addresses bounced back as undeliverable. And, the phones were not being answered, nor was there a way to leave a message. Cannabis is expensive, I'm not rich, and they had a sale ending that I did not wish to miss.

After an extensive wait, around 20/30min, I got through the line to the window. I explained the situation, my frustration, and concern over missing the sale to an associate named Mary. She listened well and didn't have an explanation but did say they're operating severely understaffed. As someone with customer service management experience, I certainly understand that. She then had the products I needed in my hand in seconds and I was on my way. She really made my day, after a weekend of hardwork, a lot better!

I'm no expert but am very experienced in customer service roles, have been to many dispenceraries inside and outside of MD, and imho

Pros: widest inventory selection around extremely convenient location. Great sales if you're needing good deals and are patient for them to come around

Cons:

poor staffing, and it can't be a lack of funds at their prices and volume. I've actually been in the local job market for a few weeks (until recently hired), and didn't see any customer service jobs, which I was seeking, posted for them. And, I've been on every job platform from Craigslist to LinkedIn. I certainly would've applied if i knew they were so short. I would be ecstatic to work in the cannabis industry.

interior and experience (this experience is dated by a few months, so you may need a grain of salt)- you first enter a plain colored room with a line of tablets along one wall. The security guard was polite and promptly checked our IDs and then pointed us to the tablets. No other staff were around, and no product or information was displayed outside of the tableta. The tablets take you to Apocatherium's website. The website at the time, it has improved some, lacked descriptions and even images for much of their inventory. With no one to ask questions this lead to a large amount of time spent googling products on my phone to understand them better from other companies so I could male a purchasing choice. Then, once ordered you proceed down a long hallway to the pickup room. Here the staff is very friendly but also very efficient, it's pay, take, get out, next person. Overall this experience left me feeling a bit dissatisfied. With staff at the tablets (common in many similar businesses) to answer questions and guide, I would've likely spent much more money that trip. The overall lack of customer engagement in the space made it feel cold, more like applying for a drivers license than buying one of the best most enjoyable plants on earth.

Overall, I'm happy Apocatherium is there, and I will return, for sure. But, there are areas of improvement that I feel simply should be addressed by a company of this size. I wish them luck in finding staff and loon forward to shopping...

The website wasn’t working for over an hour, and then was told I can come through the drive thru to order since it wasn’t working. After trying to order online and the frustration of still trying to order on the website and it still not working, I decided to make the 30 minute drive and order through the drive thru, and then being told I cannot (which is fine but make sure your employees know the correct protocol.) When I walked into order I was told I might not make it through. The employees proceeded to count down over their radios until the time was up until I couldn’t order. If you can’t take orders after I certain time, don’t allow people inside, and don’t try to make it seem like we’ll make it and allow us to order then kick us out when we’ve struggled to even place an order (on time) when the website isn’t functioning properly. Very frustrating to jump through hoops to try to make it work and then be turned away at the very last second. Especially if you’re in a professional environment and the employees make a game out of customers not being able to make it through. I understand rules and regulations, but also don’t make people deal go through every possible avenue when YOUR technology is not working. The misdirection and unprofessionalism was shocking to say the least. I was a repeat customer, but needless to say, I will be going to the dispensary down the road from now on after the mishandling and blatant disregard for care for customers was...

Outrageously Expensive!! And in a dumpy part of a dumpy town. However, it's sits on the borders of PA and WV, which I suppose is its 'raison de etre' and the only, if not primary, reason it exists. I'm willing to pay for the convenience, but I'm sure that $336/Oz for regular ol' weed is a hardship for those living in this economically depressed area. I have mainly shopped at dispensaries in CO, AZ and CA, where top notch smoke sells for about $100/Oz, and rock 'em sock 'em hyped flower can cost up to a hundred or so more per. I will report again after I sample a few of the different items I purchased. Friendly staff, and I suppose there's the possibility that there exists a customer somewhere in the world that might actually be interested in what flavor gummy the counter clerk prefers - I certainly wasn't.

Update: after I wrote that I tried an edible and I got satisfyingy ripped. So, they have quality product, the main consideration for me. On the other hand, as a new customer I wanted to speak to a budtender/sales rep for recommendations, instead I was shown to a kiosk to browse the inventory. I'm a 78 yr old user, not an expert reeferman, so I just chose items with high THC content, usually the most expensive. The 20% veteran/old guy discount helped. So, I will leave the rating at Four...