Orange Tree Antiques Mall — Attraction in Winter Park

At first this place seemed great but the service left such a sour taste in my mouth. This was my fiancé and I’s first time here. When we first walked in I honestly did not even notice the sign about lockers. It is small, tucked to the side, and very easy to miss. We just started walking around and browsing like you would in any antique store. I have been to so many antique shops and this place initially felt like a gold mine.

Right away I found this interesting clown painting that caught my eye and I knew I needed to have it. We continued walking through the store and at one point we wanted to look at a lighter in a case. A woman came over, politely opened it, and she never said anything about my bag. My bag was a small shoulder bag close to my waist, not some oversized tote.

As we kept going I spotted another painting that was beautiful but very heavy, close to twenty pounds. Since we still had more of the store to see I told my fiancé I would take it up front and ask if they could hold it. I walked all the way back to the front and the older man at the counter said “no problem” and stored it for me. Once again not a word about my bag.

When we were in the back of the store another worker with overwhelming green eyeshadow came up to me. In a condescending tone she told me I needed to put my bag in the lockers at the front and that there was a big sign about it. It was not what she said but how she said it. The look, the tone, and the attitude were so off putting that I was immediately ready to leave.

What really bothered me was that I had already seen women walking around with strollers and others carrying bags that were larger than mine. What is the actual policy here. Are you going to tell bigger bodied customers to squeeze into lockers too so they do not bump into things. It felt less like a real policy and more like targeting. If you want to enforce a large bag policy I can understand that, but a small purse tucked at my side that two other employees had not even noticed is not reasonable.

When we left I looked at the sign out front again. The picture clearly shows a large tote bag with text asking customers to place bags in lockers. So if the rule is meant for big bags why was I singled out for my tiny shoulder bag.

Finally, when we checked out, the man ringing us up looked at my clown painting and said, “Thanks for taking it off my hands.” I gave him a sharp look and told him, “It is an interesting piece to me.” My fiancé asked if they took card and the man said yes. My fiancé handed him a card and the man then said, with a tone that felt risky, “We do not take American Express. Any other card though.” That is fine, but again it was the way he said it that made the whole interaction feel rude.

The entire experience left us feeling unwelcome, almost like we were being treated as children who did not belong there. It honestly felt like we were being profiled because we are a young couple who people sometimes mistake for being teenagers. We are grown adults who know how to act in an antique store.

We will not be...

This review couldn’t wait until I got home. I am writing this review; infuriated from my car parked in front of the Orange Tree Antiques Mall. I visited this shop on September 13th, 2024, mid- afternoon and unfortunately, my experience was far from pleasant due to the condescending conduct of one of the staff members. They have a no-bag-while-shopping policy (meaning: to prevent theft they ask that all patrons lock their purses up in individual secured lockers they provide) which I have zero issue with; It’s a smart policy. However, I was not aware of this policy as this was my first time visiting this store and I clearly missed the [small] sign on the door indicating this policy.

When I entered the store, no one alerted me of this bag policy, it wasn’t until 2 mins of me browsing that a thin framed female associate with red (orangey) hair tracked me down- asked me if I had shopped there before, in which I replied “No”. She welcomed me and alerted me of their bag policy (again, no issue there)…UNTIL she proceeded to remind me that there was a BIG sign stating this policy outside (she motioned with her fingers tracing out a LARGE square mid air in my direction) followed by her looking visibly irritated. It took everything in me to not berate this woman for having the audacity to be condescending to me, let alone any patron who neglected to see their bag policy sign. Which, by the way I saw once I exited the store, I searched for this alleged BIG sign that I overlooked and it was the size of standard legal paper, written on what appeared to be colored construction paper written in crayon/marker tapped to the lower corner of the entry door- real professional.

While I understand that working in customer service can be challenging, I believe it’s important to treat customers with respect and kindness. I’ve always enjoyed shopping at other thrift stores for their unique finds and community support, but this experience left a sour taste. The bulk of the negative reviews evolve around rude employees, clearly management doesn’t take this matter seriously. Management certainly will when they start hurting financially from low patron turn out.

You have only one opportunity to make a good first impression and my first impression of this place was intolerable. I won’t be returning, and I won’t be recommending this place to anyone, in fact ill continue to denounce this place to anyone who...

Required me to leave my tiny little purse in a locker as a standard rule for all patrons! Claiming it’s to prevent purses from nocking into items, my purse is just about the size of my phone and hugs closely to my body so would never nock into anything, though I suspect that’s not the reason for their rule. I told the owner/mgr that since I’m wearing a dress I don’t have pockets so I would have nowhere to put my phone and so need my little purse to hold my phone and thus keep my hands free to shop and he required I stow my purse in the locker, I also need my phone if my kids need to get in touch and this requirement would leave me in a tough spot and so I left. I shop a lot of antique malls around central Fl but I will never be back to this place. Most absurd requirement I’ve ever seen for shopping. Expect to lock up your purse in their lockers or you will be required to leave.. no compromise whatsoever said the owner/mgr! 🤨

In Response to my review:

It’s clear that a tiny purse the size of my phone hugging my person is not a risk for knocking things over… my elbow is a higher risk then my tiny little purse would have been! This policy is misleading and is clearly intended to prevent theft and I’m not the only one in your reviews who sees past the facade of your “reasoning” behind the policy. It leaves women, especially those who don’t have pockets, in a bad spot! Women are accustomed to holding their purses with them whenever they go, it’s like an extension to there person and to take that away and claim it’s for the safety of items in the store is so absurd! I could not leave my phone in the car or your locker in case my kids needed to contact me and since I don’t have pockets now I would have to carry it the whole time! That among other items like chap stick or water that a gal may carry in her purse are a variety of things your preventing her from carrying and all under the guise of safety for the store items… your clearly not thinking about women and our need, your clearly not concerned with the comfort of your customers and that is why I will never return and I imagine other women who have experienced this policy are...