Vico dei Bolognesi - Concept Store — Local services in Lecce

One of the rudest shops I have ever been in! I was looking at the conversion of a sale price of a bag / and the brand of the bag as I hadn’t heard it, and the woman there yelled at me in front of other customers. I felt like the guy working there was embarrassed - he had been the one who told us where the WiFi was to check the price (understanding we’d want to look at the conversion). I’m so shocked at how we were treated. I love to shop in independent shops, as they should have been able to tell by what I’m wearing, but I’m not buying something from such a horrible human. I only buy when I enjoy the experience, I can find a different bag from another shop, it doesn’t have to be the same bag, it’s about the experience for me. Shame on you. That’s not how to treat customers.

Edit: in reply - I wasn’t photographing anything in store or any labels, my husband looked at the brand name as we hadn’t heard of it. It’s nice seeing new brands. I actually really loved the bag. Shame. But I appreciate the apology from yourself directly, you could tell you loved the shop, and the product you have. A little focus on customer service in the modern age would go along way, not everyone is trying to work against you.. some people enjoy the store experience more than online....

Such an exciting and inspiring store — like other reviewers I was blown away by the beauty and uniqueness of every object, piece of clothing, jewelry, and furniture in the store. It is a true work of labor and love. It is really rare to find such an exciting store and I want to come back to Lecce JUST for this shop, and their hotel and café. I will be sure to keep an eye on their online store until I can return.

I read some other reviews about the Vico and was delighted that most had the same experience I did, and was upset to see a negative review that seemed like a very unfortunate misunderstanding. The owners of the shop seemed wonderful and considerate. I was accompanied on my visit throughout the store by one of the owners, (I kept telling the man how much I adored everything, to the point where I felt silly, but it was true). Being followed has happened to me in many stores around Italy that do not have security tags on their merchandise — I do not think it has anything to do with skin color (I am a white woman). I have also tried to return something in Italy and the shopkeeper was very flustered and confused — I really don’t think it’s as common as it is in the US to return things...

From racially profiling customers to point-blank lying about Italian trading laws (in response to a customer’s refund dispute staff mockingly proclaimed that there are no refunds in Italy “apart from maybe Zara” and that this has been the law for over 100 years???) - there is nothing good to say about this store.

When questioned about following black customers around the store, we were informed it is Vico dei Bolognesi policy to follow ALL customers as they browse because the store does not have security tags and there have been thefts recently - charming!

Selling Indian dresses with huge mark ups and a basic selection of homeware that can be found in any department store it is laughable that this shop calls itself a concept store. The only visible concept here is RUDENESS.

Pretentious, overpriced and condescending - don’t waste your time, there are much better places to spend your...