Hats In the Belfry — Local services in Annapolis

I always go to this store. Hats are beautiful, elegant and sophisticated. Today, 7/12/25, I had one of the worst experiences. I got there and there was this white, tall, redish hair lady. I was in meed to a hat, sun was really powerful today and the heat was unbearable. She said welcome and she looked at us from head to toes. I am Puerto Rican, not white, no tall, no straight, readish hair. She said that in order to try the hats I have to use a hairnet. I understood, took one and start trying the hats. I asked which one was the best to cover face and hed from the sun. I noticed her uncomfortable. She explained briefly. My wife tried to sip a little bit of water that she had in a cup. She abruptly said to her, no drinking or eating is allowed. My wife understood, saw a garbage can and throwed the cup there. She got incredible mad, took the cup, open the door and throwed the water outside; almost over some woman feet. She walked to the back of the store and right behind me, she said “these people”. These people mean us, the people different from others, people that are not white like her. I can understand the stubborn brains, the lack of intelligence and the lack of empathy to other. What I do not understand is the lack of desire to kill the ignorance. I was not there to steal, to offend nobody. I was ready to spend between 100 to 120 in a good hat. She was so ingnorant, so full of her own biases that she could not put aside her prejudices in order to make money for her store or her boss’ store. This is the country that we are living now. Soon enough we will read signs saying “ non white people are not allowed”....

I’ve shopped at Hats on the Belfry in Annapolis since 1982. In the past 10 years, I’ve bought more than 36 hats. Today, Saturday, May 18, 2025, at 12:45, I went to the store on Main Street to have the brims of a couple of straw hats steamed. There were no other patrons in the store. There were two workers, an assistant, who greeted me kindly and a manager on duty, who was facing away from me looking at a computer screen. When the young assistant asked if she could help me, I told her I had brought a couple of hats to be re-shaped. She reached out acting like she wanted to help me. Without turning around, the manager on duty says, “You know. No. We’re not doing that. I’m making a rule right now. We are only making hat adjustments Monday through Friday. I asked her if she would turn around and talk to me. When she turned around, I realized that she sold me a couple of hats within the last month. She recognized me when she saw me. She stated that they are getting so many requests lately to have hats reshaped that they are considering not offering the service anymore. I told the manager that I would be willing to pay for the service. She said, “No.” Again, there were no other customers in the store, and the store was staffed with two people.

Until today, I have always had nice, friendly service. Today, the manager was openly hostile and rude. I’ve always enjoyed taking friends to Hats on the Belfry when they visit Annapolis. I’m sad to say that I will not be doing that...

It’s a nice hat shop and I’ve always enjoyed shopping there, until today. Shop manager Rebecca and the other male employee were not friendly at all. Maybe the rainy weather was getting them down, coupled with the fact that the store was dreadfully quiet today - we were the only customers in the store at the time. But seriously a smile would be nice, or even a greeting of some kind. Only thing we got was a grimace and after a few minutes in the shop from the male: “are you looking for anything specific?”. I’ve purchased 4 hats from this store over the years. Unfortunately the last hat I purchased 5 weeks ago was a bit too tight. I have never worn it, not even once, it’s still brand new. I’ve been traveling out of the country ever since I bought it. I went in the shop for 2 reasons today, to exchange the hat for a larger size and to purchase another hat. Rebecca was quick to point out their 14 day store return policy (30 days return for online shopping though). Even under the circumstances, with my travels, Rebecca oddly would not even answer when I asked for an exception. She just kept repeating their 14 day return policy! I notice their Baltimore location will be closing this summer. Customer service is so important these days. That is definitely not something Rebecca seems to understand. They lost a sale today, and more importantly, they have lost a...