Soul & Sand — Local services in Madeira Beach

If I could give this place no stars, I would. Be that as it may, let me tell you why you should avoid this clap-trap.

I was visiting with my wife and 3 year old daughter, and my wife had already spent maybe 20 minutes picking out keychains and hats for friends at home while my daughter and I were browsing. My little girl was having trouble keeping her hands to herself, in spite of my constant monitoring and warnings, and got her hands on a little wooden box with a fake bug in it. Well, she managed to break the wooden hinge on this $1.50 trinket, and you can be sure that the old lady owner was quick to go right up to my daughter and say "Now you broke it, didn't you?", in a rather nasty tone for addressing a 3-year-old she didn't know. I admonished my daughter, and she promptly hid behind her mother, and didn't touch anything else after that.

When my wife was finally ready to pay for her things, the old lady charged us for the $1.50 trinket. I understand that they post a "You break it, you buy it" sign, but it seems a little ridiculous in this situation. As a result my wife said she wasn't going to purchase the $40 worth of things she had, just the $1.50 for the trinket. The old lady complained that she had already rung up the purchases on the till, but my wife said "I'm only paying for this". The old lady was pretty short with us after, and roughly handed the things my wife had planned to buy back to an employee and ordered him to put them back.

If the item my daughter had broken was worth more than $1.50, or if the old lady had been a little kinder and more understanding, I would have had no issue. But as it was we were treated rudely, and as a result the owner missed out on a $40 sale in favour of a $1.50 sale, plus a bad...

I rated this 3 stars because I’ve had very different experiences in this store with different staff. I go to John’s Pass often when I have family visiting. First, the teenage staff is absolutely amazing! They are playful and they seem to be the backbone of the store. I wish we could tip these teens! It seems like there is a high turnover rate so I constantly see new faces but love seeing the ones! Back in June, I was helped by Anthony, Chase, and Kai on different occasions and every time, it was a great experience.

However, I went to the store about a month ago and it was a very different experience. The employees were older and I think there was a new manager, who was unprofessional and loud. I did not catch her name but I think it started with a “C.”

So, the point is that different staff provide a different experience. I just want to commend the teen staff for their manners and...

This store is adorable and has such a nice collection of clothing, accessories, and more! Linda and her young male coworker provided excellent customer service to my sister, niece, and I this evening which we all appreciated! I don’t regularly ask for names with the specific intend to write a review, but we had such a nice experience in the store that I wanted to make it a point to do so. I specifically wanted to thank you, Linda, for your time and help, and for being so genuinely friendly and fun to chat with! We’ll definitely return to...