Avalon Stationery & Gifts — Local services in Houston

This business is literally an example of "I should have read listened to the reviews." I advise you to check the Yelp reviews. The customer service really is as bad as some of the reviews say it is. The individuals singled out in other reviews for poor customer service literally do give as poor customer service as noted. Like another reviewer, I like to shop locally and given that there were a mixture of very positive and very negative reviews, I thought I would evaluate for myself. Shame on me for taking that chance. Here's my story. I ordered two sets of personalized stationery. Manufactured by Cranes with lots of customization - total spend of ~ $700 for 150 cards (all 100% prepaid mind you.) The selection process was great and up to this point I would have given this place 5 stars. Now on to the lousy part. There were a few key things I mentioned to the lady who helped me. One was that one set of stationery was a gift and I needed it by a certain date. That date was a few weeks out and seemed very achievable. Cranes ran into some kinks and ultimately in order to hit the delivery date, they had to split out my urgent order from my other order and ship it. Here is the actual excerpted text from the e-mail Avalon Stationery sent me explaining this:

"Crane has been hit by the snow storm and is running behind on all orders. They simply didn't have people that could come in to work. We have called the company and they are saying if you separate your order into two parts, the [ABC] card can get here by the 24th. We will pick up the 2nd shipping fee of $12 for your personal stationery if that is how you want to go. If you leave them as one order, the quickest we can expect delivery will be the 30th"

On picking up the second order, I was asked to pay $27, the justification being that they had to break my order into 2 and expedite the first. My expectations, of course, were no additional charge based on their e-mail (don't forget - the entire order was prepaid in full including shipping charges) Since we'd organized almost all the details by e-mail, I asked them to show my any correspondence where I had agreed to a $27 additional charge. They could not.

Here are all things that were said to me when I went to pick up the last part of my order:

1. You never told us the date of delivery was important (I had in fact mentioned it numerous times to the lady who helped me select it, but she was nowhere to be found on pickup.)
2. When asked if there was any way they could see how I had the perspective I did, the answer was a flat "No"
3. That the shipping was organized wrong from the beginning anyway (How strange! - the shipping was setup on consultation with their employee.)
4. That I was only raising a fuss about this because I was a man and the store was staffed only by women.

Ultimately, they gave me the following choice - walk away from ~ $400 in stationery and envelopes or pay an additional fee. Wow!

When you're paying that much for custom stationery, the experience is almost as important as the final product. The person receiving the card may have no idea how much effort you put into picking the right expression for your thoughts, but you do and I think that is part of the joy of sending correspondence by mail.

There are many other places to get Crane's stationery locally. Take your business to any...

I love this store. It has so many amazing finds; it reminds me of the paper shops that existed in the 80s, complete with a fine array of Filofax planners for those of us who never got over them. This store has a dreamy selection, but the organization/lack of room is where I took one star. I wish I had hours to spend in the store, just sitting cross-legged on the floor and sorting through each and every pile of items. Some things are in a vertical stack on the floor, and others are hidden behind other merchandise. If I had the time to do that, I still would know it's not practical, and probably not mentally healthy, but neither are my obsessions with paper in general. If you are looking for supplies that you can touch/feel and see, this is the perfect place. The prices are full, there is no "sales rack" or clearance area. If there is a discount, it will be for things that are no longer valid, like calendar inserts from the past. The staff are certainly courteous and helpful, and they also allow you to look quietly for as long as you like. That's a huge plus, in my eyes. Plus, the shop is local, and has so much more selection than ANY office store you'll...

Some of the worst, if not the VERY worst, customer service I have ever expirienced in my 30-years of living in the Houston area. Have you ever been bullied in school or dealt with someone really mean? That is how it feels to be a customer here: like I was being bullied and talked down to by the super intelligent know-it-all older girls at school and I was an idiot. I felt like they were annoyed to even have to breathe same air as me and waiting on me was the bane of their existance... I'm like, this is literally your job?!?!?!? There were two older women who assisted me on the two different times I came here, and both were so rude to me I remember feeling shocked in the moment. Trule shocked. One woman was named Charlene, she was the first woman rude to me. I considered it a fluke, came back, but second time in was just as awful. I cannot remember the other woman's name. Both were dreadful and reeked with condesention. I have a kind and lively disposition. Despite my kind tone and directing the conversations in positive directions, dealing with these two women was so terrible I will never go back again. Awful Awful Awful...