Lichen or Knot Plant Company, LLC — Local services in Floyd

Staunton location

It is with a heavy heart that I leave this review. We asked for the store clerk's name to leave a review about our negative experienced and she called 911 on us for "trespassing" as paying customers.

Over the weekend, my partner and I stopped into this store to browse to kill time before attending a play in the area. We walked in and and the store had a bunch of cute items that are very reasonably priced for a small boutique. We picked out an $10.00 ornament and some match sticks as we continued to look around the store. The items in our hands were clearly visible. The store clerk had been helping other customers when we came in, when she left those customers and walked over to my partner and commented on how cute the ornament was before she snatched it and out of her hands and put it behind the counter. There was no introduction, no offer to help, and she did NOT follow up with "I will put this behind the counter for you." She did not ask to take item and hold it for us. Normally, someone would OFFER to hold an item behind the counter for the customer. They don't just take it out of your hands. When we went to pay for our items, we confronted her about the interaction because she treated us differently from other customers and acted as if we were stealing. She remarked that she does this to all her customers. We did not observe her doing this with any other customer in the store. We paid for items and left.

When we were outside of the store, we decided to go back and ask for her name because we wanted to leave a review which is our right as a consumer. My partner went back in and asked her for her name. She became aggressive and asked why. My partner said "well I would like to leave a review about our interaction." She then began to yell at my partner in the middle of store and told her to get out and that she would call 911. She proceeded to call 911 and stormed out of the store to look at the street signs. It seemed she did not know the address of the store she worked in.

We left the store and waited outside until the police showed up. When the police arrived she came back out to berate us, actively screaming at us, claiming that my partner harassed her and was trespassing (again we were paying customers). As we spoke to the officer about the situation, the police officer explained that we were NOT trespassing, but could not return to the store as "a store can request law enforcement to issue a no trespassing notice to anyone for any reason at any time." As we speak with the officer, the store clerk is still yelling at us and saying "you obviously have never worked in high end retail. You look like you work in low end retail!" We have no interest in returning to the store, but nevertheless, the experience was traumatic. We have never been treated in such a horrific way. Especially because at no point did we yell or become aggressive. We both have training in mental health first aid as we work in social services and nonprofit organizations and actively worked to deescalate the situation. Thankfully the officer was very kind and professional with us.

After the police left we continued to walk around the nearby shops. As we were on the other side of the street waiting to cross. She came out of the store once again to stand on the corner to speak loudly on the phone to someone about how we harassed her and continued to comment on the way we looked.

I am not sure if being an interracial, same sex couple played a role in our treatment, but she did single us out and commented on how we "looked like we worked in low end retail." for the record, we were in business casual attire. Personally, I think it is unethical and irresponsible to weaponize the police force because you didn't like being challenged on your behavior. It takes away from valuable community resources. Her reaction to being confronted was extreme and unprofessional. We were treated like criminals for choosing to advocate...

Absolutely loved serendipitously finding this store when we traveled from NJ to Charlottesville and made a side trip to Staunton. This was the first retail store we visited and I LOVED IT. Bought a fabulous tiger pillow and 4 exquisite candles within 10 minutes. Lisa greeted me so warmly and spent time telling me about the varying candle makers and the scents offered and demonstrated Southern hospitality as well as enthusiastic marketing of the fantastic selection of items. It adds so much to have LIVING plants (that they'll pot for you in the planter you purchase) in a store. It just makes a space so much more interesting. This store is a home run. I hadn't been to Staunton since I left in August 1977 after attending the Governor's School at Mary Baldwin. What a renaissance. Loved the closed street, allowing for outside dining and safe pedestrian traffic. A+++. I preferred the shopping more than anything I saw in Charlottesville, a place I adore. Go to Staunton and hit Lichen or Knot first. I hope to get to their Floyd location at some...

Update: They have opened a second location of just house plants and the original location is housewares. The plant variety is out of this world. The vibes? Unmatchable. Get in your car right now and drive to their store. You won't be disappointed.

Absolutely love this store! Amazing assortment of plants -- both rare and more standard houseplants. They'll order items if you request them, and always have an amazing variety in stock. Plants are well taken care of and you can trust they'll survive (unlike the gamble you take with big box...