Ligonier Sweet Shop / Pathfinder Photo — Local services in Ligonier

Everyone has a bad day. So, I’m going to assume the shop owner was having one today when my husband, daughter, and I stepped into the candy store this afternoon.

As we were perusing the vintage candy section of the store, my husband used his cellphone to take a picture of sweets to send to our son—who did not accompany us—but who we were ultimately buying for. My USAF daughter also took a picture of the same candy section with her camera. She’s home on leave and thought the candy display looked neat. Two shots in total, but they were of candy. Not self gratuitous selfies.

Note: There were no other customers in the store. We weren’t disturbing anyone. The worker behind the register was restocking as we looked around. There were absolutely NO signs posted ANYWHERE that photography was forbidden.

IN FACT, we’ve shopped in this very store before for our son, taking pictures of what is currently in stock and purchasing whatever he settles on. And NO ONE has ever chastised us for it. It’s in the middle of downtown Legonier—a TOURIST TRAP. And clearly other patrons of this store have posted pictures on Google Reviews too—just look! SOMEONE in the store allowed pictures to be taken.

But today, the owner blew through her shop (on her broom) in a huff, at the exact moment my husband and daughter took the aforementioned pictures. The owner double backed on us and asked if we were with the Camera Club, and when we said no, she asked if we were with the newspaper. When we answered “no” again, the owner told us “we don’t like people coming in here and taking pictures.” She then spun on her heels and hid out in her office.

And you know, our issue isn’t that she didn’t want us taking pictures. Her store, her rules. Even if she was seemingly making them up on the spot. Our issue was her overall unprofessionalism as a business owner.

Although there are NO signs posted anywhere on the door or inside the shop that photography isn’t allowed (customers are not mind readers) she had an opportunity to use this as a teaching moment instead of toying with us. All she had to say was “I’m sorry, but photography isn’t allowed.” And this would be a non-story. But she instead seized upon an opportunity to unload her emotional baggage onto us. It may be the Laurel Highlands, but there is absolutely NO excuse to ever be cruel and pretentious for an honest faux pas in the middle of a tourist trap. Is it really that far fetched customers might want to take pictures of downtown Legonier? And if it wasn’t posted, you give your customers an opportunity to correct the behavior without berating them as if they knowingly broke the rules.

The onus is on YOU the owner to lay out the ground rules for your shop in a clear, concise, and respectful way posted somewhere on your place of business. It promotes awareness and fairness across the board with your customers. Otherwise, it comes off as you using your subjective judgment to pick and choose who to intimidate and humiliate in a candy store of all places. You failed to do so, and, therefore, set up this inevitable situation.

The people who work the register at your store have consistently been friendly and helpful in the past. How unfortunate it is you lack that in yourself in spades. We went away not buying anything today because somehow we knew the candy would taste extra bitter. And I’m sure you rationalized your behavior was appropriate all along because you didn’t think we’d purchase anything anyway. But you pretty much ensured that...

This was my 3rd visit to the shop and unfortunately probably my last. Previous visits went well as the staff was warm, friendly, and helpful. The shop is beautifully setup and has a wide assortment of candies, specialty foods and merchandise. This is the only reason it gets two stars instead of one. I decided to bring my daughter, who was visiting on leave during September 11th, as we are a military family and we were in the area to pay our respects at the nearby Flight 93 Memorial. We walked in the shop and a familiar face greeted us warmly as before. I started to take a picture (as I had done on past visits) so I could send it to my special needs son who had opted to stay home. Usually, he chooses what he wants from the pictures which had never been an issue. On this occasion an older lady crept up behind us and started cackling at my family with an assault of weird questions about camera clubs, newspapers, and media. At first, I thought maybe a vagrant had wondered into the shop but as I saw the polite clerk look embarrassingly toward the floor I ascertained that this must be a manager or someone with authority. After a few moments of awkwardness we were able to put together that she had a problem with taking pictures in the shop. Now, I have no problems with following house rules as I had often seen these policies overseas while deployed. The difference in this case is the absence of signs anywhere alerting customers to this policy. I can tell you as someone who worked as a freelance restaurant reviewer, keeping your customers informed is a policy this manager or owner may want to explore along with common courtesy. If you have a dress code or don't allow tourists to do touristy things in your store you better have something up to let everyone know. Either way the demeaning tone and unprofessional interaction made it clear we were not welcome so we left without arguing or making a scene as we wanted to be courteous to any other people shopping. You might get lucky and get one of the nice ladies that normally man the counter but if you see the the older grump perched in the shadows of the back room, just turn around and go...

I went in here with my kids just to look. Was impressed with the massive selection of candy that they had. Of course we didn't just look, ha! We ended up with a small treat for the kids and something for my wife. I been going by this store for years and never went in glad...