Sweet Southern Charm — Local services in Colonial Heights

As others have mentioned, the ladies who work here DO NOT exhibit even the smallest measure of sweet southern charm. It is truly tragic. We found this store by accident and thought they had so many adorable things. When we came in, there were four people working but not one took the time to greet us or offer any sort of assistance at all. My daughter had her heart set on about $320+ in merchandise, but when two staff members were unconscionably rude to us, I decided that our money would be best spent elsewhere where people are decent and kind. Although they have charming inventory, I can't support a place where the staff is polished on the outside but so crude and dismissive from the inside. It is hard to believe that the positive reviews are legitimate at all. I could definitely venture that they are not. I would definitely urge you to not stop and keep going--there are too many other places that actually deserve your business. Sadly, this is not one of them.

In response to the Owner's Comments: We were the ones who came back. We arrived at 4:51pm (satellite time) and we came in to the front and to the side room to the right and could see no one at all. We started to leave and then saw who I believe is you. I queried, "Aren't you open until 5?" (As it was not yet 5). Your response to me was a very curt, "If you are browsing, we are closed. If you know EXACTLY what you want and can grab it fast, we're open but we REALLY NEED to get to a meeting with the store owner." I never stormed out--that is laughable. I kindly said, "No, that is okay." and tried to directly my daughters and mentee out the door. YOu asked if I was mad, to which I stated I was not. I truly, at that point, wanted to spend my dollars elsewhere. My oldest had wanted to purchase graduation gifts for several friends there as well as about 10 of your Southern shirts. My youngest wanted two Jellycats and my mentee wanted one of your angels. We would have spent close to $350, if not more all in all, but it was crystal clear that we would not have had the time to go around and collect everything without you and the other lady continually telling us you were "closed and you had to go!" You "couldn't be late!" you exclaimed! It would seem if you were indeed meeting with the owner (if he/she had one ounce of southern charm) would want you to put the customer first and kindly and patiently make the sale. I am sorry you had to close early for your meeting, perhaps next time the owner calls a meeting, this might be a good reason to make it a little later. Regardless, you were curt and both of you were rude. When I mentioned four before (and I may have been wrong on the count, I conceded that, it may have been three), but there was a lady in the office, two of you at the counter helping ONE person, not several, and another younger lady straightening stock. To me that is four. There may be just three of you. I went to mention to the lady coming out of the office what lovely items you had and she just saw me begin to speak to her and turned very dismissively and walked away. NO one greeted us when we came in. If you think you did, then you need to be more honest. If the owner believes that the store exudes warmth, hospitality and customer service, I'd strongly recommend the owner enlist some secret shoppers. You will not be able to stand on your...

This establishment is about as far from sweet southern charm as it gets. Stores like this are EXACTLY why I choose to shop on Amazon!!! I am sharing a frustrating experience I had while trying to exchange a pair of brand new earrings that were given to me as a gift, which still had the tags attached in the original packaging and were clearly unworn. I was hopeful that a simple exchange would be possible, especially since I wasn't even asking for a refund—just a different style. However, to my dismay, I was told that exchanges were not permitted.

This has left me quite disappointed, and it serves as a cautionary tale for anyone considering purchasing gifts from this store. It's disheartening to see such inflexible policies, especially when dealing with items that are in brand new condition. To make matters worse, the gift was just given to me, and they were still selling the exact same product for full price, proving that it hadn’t gone out of style at all. I can completely understand refusing my exchange if this was an item no longer sold! I was even willing to pay MORE for something I liked better. I was also planning to make several other purchases while in the store today. Your loss is SheChester’s gain!

I’ve spent HUNDREDS of my hard earned dollars in this store but I can PROMISE you that I will never return to this store again, and I would strongly advise others to think twice before buying gifts from here. You might find yourself in a similar predicament, feeling frustrated and unsupported. Don’t just take my word for it, read the abundance of other 1 star reviews. This place is truly not worth the hassle and disappointment. There are many other boutique stores and online stores that I know will be happy to have my money. Peace Out...

Wow. What a huge disappointment! 1st issue: I thought I was getting 2 Lulu-B items. Well, the solid pink jacket is. But the kaleidoscope ruffle dress is not. Apparently it’s a “sister company” called BEACHTIME. The material is cheap and the workmanship is so shoddy it looks like a 5 year-old made it. Seams poorly sewn, ruffles are uneven and look they went through a paper shredder at the bottom. Ruffle seams wander all over. Pathetic excuse for a dress. I would pay $2 for this dress. 2nd HUGE issue: SWEET SOUTHERN CHARM is bribing for 5-star/positive reviews! How can anyone trust reviews anymore if they aren’t legit? You wouldn’t need to do this if you sold quality items. Here’s your honest review and I’m okay not getting my 20% off bribe because I won’t be doing business with your company again. FOLLOW UP RESPONSE TO OWNER: You mentioned contacting you for returns however, you explicitly state on the order form that “all items eligible for return will be issued a store credit, not original form of payment.” Certainly, I did not want a store credit. I would’ve been happy to return it for refund if I thought I had that option. And you agree the dress was of poor quality and an issue you would take up with your supplier. Perhaps a little quality control would go along way here. You should be very familiar with the items you are selling and, when someone is packing the order to be shipped, it would be wise to inspect the item to see if it meets appropriate high standards. Finally, offering the 20% discount AFTER SEEING THE POSITIVE REVIEW ON GOOGLE is poor business practice, in my opinion. If you had high-quality products and exceptional service, the good reviews would come on their own without having to offer...