Cove Boutique — Local services in Austin

As a small business owner, I rarely write negative reviews. I usually come to google to write because I want to share a great experience. But I want to write this review to hopefully give the staff and owner of this store something to think about. We walked into Cove on a very crowded Saturday at 6:51... they close at 7pm. We didn't realize the time and the store had shoppers in it, lights on, etc. The first thing out of the employees mouth (before we were even totally inside the building" was not "Hello!" or "Welcome!"... it was "WE'RE CLOSING," at which time we all looked shocked I'm sure... and she replied, "at 7!" Okay... so we will just take a quick look for dresses because we were with friends from out of town who were specifically looking for a dress. She found a dress quickly... now 6:53, and asked if she could try it on. The reply..."Yes, but we close in 5 minutes." Not friendly or kind, but very rude, very cold, unwelcoming and honestly, pretty offensive when a customer is holding an expensive item. We were so put off, we left without making purchase. If you want to close at 7pm, that is great, but how about being more welcoming when guests enter and you're still open. I have been to many stores at the end off the day, and they simply lock the front door and let the remaining guests finish up while they begin their end of shift duties. Kindness goes a long way. I run a business based on customer service, so I understand 'hours' and employee retention. The bottom line is, we weren't there to keep them past their shift, but we were made to feel very unwelcome with 2 "warnings" that they'd like us to leave. When we did leave... not a word. Not a "thank you" or any kind gesture to make us want to ever step foot in that store again. It's a shame, because they have great merchandise! I don't feel comfortable going back simply because I felt extremely unwelcome in the first place. Please have a system in place for closing that works for both the guest, and the employees. You have a fabulous store and a...

I went into Cove this week and was amazed at the lack of customer service I received. I purchased a Rails dress for almost $300. I’m a size small and because it had an elastic waist I knew it would fit. I purchased and left with my friends. I went to wear the dress that evening and immediately noticed a 4” opening where it had become separated from the seam towards the bottom. I had not noticed when I purchased because I handed it to the girl at the counter. I immediately called the store when I realized it to see if they had another I could replace it with. They did but said they were closing and wouldn’t be open until 10:30 the following day. I was headed home to Dallas so called and asked if my friend could bring the dress back and if they could ship me the new one. The manager and the sales person said I would have to pay for shipping even though they sold me a damaged dress. I asked to have the owner Rebecca Yanoff, to please give me a call to chat. She didn’t bother. Here’s the deal - I have my own store and have worked in luxury retail for 25+ years and I will do anything to make a customer happy. To drop a $250 dress into an envelope and ship it for $10 is nothing in the scheme of things and would have earned a customer for life. I will now tell anyone who will listen not to shop in this store and make a point of warning my friends not to go there....

At the recommendation of a friend, I stopped at this boutique during a trip. While my friend was right that the boutique carries great brands (especially Spell!), I highly recommend taking your business elsewhere. The staff was rude and unhelpful. I was in the store for over 20 minutes, while many other customers were in the store, and the staff stood around the register, gossiping and talking negatively about other people. They never took a break from their chatter to interact with us or ask me (or anyone else in the store) if we needed assistance. At one point, I asked one woman who had moved over to the mirror and was playing with her hair if they had more sizes of "the green pants over there." Without asking me which pants and barely looking at me, she simply said "no, that's it." Even if her response was accurate, she didn't even bother to look at the pants I was referring to. She immediately went back to checking herself out in the boutique's mirror. If you want me to spend that kind of money on a pair of pants, I expect much better service. Spend your money somewhere else, this place...