Serena & Lily Berkeley Outlet — Local services in Berkeley

BAD COVID-19 SAFETY AND WORSE CUSTOMER SERVICE. I stopped by this location with my mother on 3/20. At the front of the store there was a table with a sign printed saying only three customers were allowed in at a time. We were very confused to see 15-20 customers shopping inside the store, definitely not six feet apart. I attempted to get the attention of one of the salespeople in order to understand the very confusing situation. A woman yelled to us that they were at capacity and to stay outside. Feeling unsafe, we decided to go back to our car. I called the store once we had left in order to understand the situation with the intention of finding a safer time to shop. I asked the woman who answered the phone why there were so many customers, despite the signage saying only three at a time. She was quite curt, snapping that it was up to their discretion how many customers they were allowed, and that they are a privately owned business. I responded that I understood, but that they chose to print and display a sign saying only three customers (The sign was clearly printed by Serena and Lily and was absolutely not a government document), and so I still did not understand why they were so far overcapacity that they could not enforce a 6-ft distance between customers. At this point I was promptly hung up on. After years at shopping with Serena and Lily I am very very disappointed by their lack of care for covid safety and their downright rude customer service....

Based on the hours listed on Google, I drove there yesterday with my mom hoping to find her some new kitchen counter stools. No luck - there was a handwritten note on the door saying they were closed due to the many fires and poor air quality. Sure, I understand - better to keep employees safe. But that only really makes sense if part of their operation was outdoors, right? If I’m wrong about that, please let me know. This morning I called to see if they would be open, and no one answered. Sadly their voicemail takes a while to pick up, and once it does, there’s no indication that you’re actually calling the Serena & Lily Outlet in Berkeley. No, instead you get a random recording saying you have reached mailbox number 9-something-or-other, which is not at all their phone number. And the voicemail box is full. So even though their hours are listed online and on the door, it’s sort of a crapshoot as to whether or not they’re actually open when they...

Definitely luck of the draw type of shopping experience - wasn't a whole lot there (all bedding linens were gone, etc.) and you have to really dig to find stuff. Biggest issue is that they have no type of delivery set-up. You have to hire your own movers to go to the outlet to pick up your furniture and bring it to you. They will only store your pre-purchased furniture for 48 hours so you have to coordinate quickly. The sales people also let me know that there is no way to call the outlet store, so if something goes wrong with pick-up, there is no way to get ahold of the store.

However, if you go with no expectations and get lucky, then this place has some great finds on amazing Serena & Lily items at prices much less than the normal store. I was told they get new shipments in on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I also had a really nice experience with a sales lady named Nancy. Nancy was super helpful and gave some...