The Gardener — Local services in Berkeley

The only reason this isn’t a one star is because the products are quality & the person that actually executed the transaction was fantastic but the manager Caroline/Carolyn was incredibly rude to the point that I almost walked out without purchasing anything. I’m not uppity or snooty. I treat everyone with respect. So when someone acts that way toward me, it’s incredibly off-putting. I walked around generally enjoying the curation of products. They were running a sale on pots & plants. There was a potted plant for over $400. I asked if it was a part of the sale. Caroline scoffed & said no, it was for plants. I said “but the sign out front said for pots & plants” & she said “ugh, it’s specifically for the pots & plants up front”. I had already set aside over $100 worth of product for purchase so I said “Ah. Got it. I’ll just stick with what I have then. Then I had an item during checkout that didn’t have a price tag on it. The person checking me out asked the manager to price check it. The manager came back saying she wasn’t sure how it was out but that it would need to be swapped with a similar but different product because it was mean to part of a bundled set (it had been sitting out on display on its own). When I asked if there was a difference she again scoffed & said, “well yeah, these are just pins, these are pins with glass heads.” (I only wanted the flat pins sans glass). I asked if they sold the pins as stand alone. She scoffed again, did a bit of an eye roll & said, “ugh, no.” I was getting frustrated by the treatment at this point so I told the person doing the transaction that it was fine & I’d proceed without either of them. Lastly a drink. I went in with a smoothie from Earthbar. I’m conscious of the fact that there’s food substance in the store. (There are no signs saying food & drink aren’t allowed) I’m also careful not to set it down while looking at items. The person that did the transaction offered to take the drink & set it behind the counter while I looked at things, which I thought was odd but I respected the request as they did have some higher priced antiques in the store. By the time I was checking out the smoothie contents had settled & it didn’t look appetizing anymore. I asked the manager (Caroline), as she was passing by, if I could throw it in the large trash receptacle (literally a construction barrel) behind the counter. She made a grossed out face & said “I mean, is it a liquid?!?!” To which I said, “yes” she made a very loud “ughff” sound accompanied by an extremely annoyed face & then said “I mean, just give it to me. I’ll throw it away out back.” I was so pissed off by the way I was treated by this woman that I almost walked out right there. Every mannerism she had toward me was extremely belittling & rude & completely lacked any semblance of customer service. As the checkout was wrapping up I asked for her name specifically so I could leave the review. Then she forced the person checking me out to walk back by me outside in order to throw out the item in the public trash almost as if to make a spectacle of the whole thing. It was ridiculous & I sincerely hope her leadership sees this & either gives her an incredibly strong reprimand or fires this manager altogether. Experiences & reviews like these sully brand image & you can bet that for every review like this, 50 more people have experienced it & just don’t say anything. That’s an incredible amount of lost revenue simply because of one bad apple. She had no idea who I am but that shouldn’t matter. She represented the store especially as a manager & she should know better. Beyond all of that she should treat any person with kindness and dignity because that’s what we...

I have shopped at this store since I was in college. Last week I went into the store and purchased a side table indicating to the clerk that I needed to see if it would work. It was too small for the room so I returned it two days later. Michelle was on duty and advised that I could only return it if I took store credit. I advised that I was 75 years old and on a fixed income and only occasionally found items that I could afford in the store. She advised that this was their store policy and it was on my receipt. I looked at the receipt and in very tiny letters it stated only store credit for any returned items. The only problem is that you only get the receipt handed to you AFTER you have purchased the item. She advised that I could not leave the table.

I indeed left the table and contacted my bank. The bank gave me a conditional credit. If I am not successful with this, I am going to come to 4th Street every weekend and stand outside the store and advise all customers of this policy and I will tell my story. You may see me there if you come to 4th...

This is quite a unique store, it is an experience. That's for sure. The way I feel when I enter the store is almost difficult to describe. I just feel at peace. The items are carefully selected, each piece thoughtfully designed by the artists. Though a bit on the pricier side, I find that I have not regretted a single item I've purchased from here. Every year, I save up to get a nice (fancy) one of a kind item from the gardener, other times throughout the year, I come in to get soaps and lotions or stay for the good vibes. Its peaceful. I just love love love that this place exists and...