International Market Madison, WI — Local services in Madison

My friend has been coming to this place for years due to living on the West side, and she has had an unbelievably disappointing experience today. She has gone to this store with her older daughter and spent over $50 there. After she paid, the owner gave her daughter a lollipop. Her younger son was in the car with her husband, and she thought her son might want a lollipop as well. So she asked if she could have another lollipop for her son in the car. The owner said no. He added that they typically sell these lollipops and they are coming out of their way and being extremely nice by giving these lollipops to the children present there while their parents are shopping... :) My friend said "Ok, thank you". Obviously, this is the last time she or I are shopping there. Cheap, cheap, cheap people with terrible customer service. "Woodman's" international section is a great...

We only had a 2 week time table in Madison and ran out of the only German coffee our household will drink (not coffee snobs, just too old to handle the amount of acid that comes off the 'bucks and stump'). The store did not carry it but the owner went above and beyond. She ordered it for us and gave me a courtesy call when it was in AND thoughtfully ordered the amount to maximize freshness. They charged me a decent price and didn't gouge me on it even though she could have. The store is very clean, organized and smells delightful with lots of treasures everywhere. There's a very large selection of pierogi, teas, candy and coffees just to name a few. We even found a new favorite candy. It's a hidden treasure within a non typical strip mall...

The store overall has literally everything you hear people talk about in regard to it being an international market. Prices are great. However my experience as a shopper in store was not very unwelcoming. Upon arriving and departing no salutation whatsoever. I did at the end get a light thank you as I got my bag handed to me. my interaction was very different from the person in front of me. Could be a language barrier. All in all I would go back due to not having another store close by. But being cordial...