Flower Power Herbs & Roots — Local services in New York

I’ve gone to Flower Power a handful of times over the years to purchase herbs. The times I’ve gone were typically good and I received decent service, but this last time was weird and poor in costumer service.

Yesterday on Sunday, April 13th I walked into Flower Power around 3-ish PM to purchase mullein, mugwort, and Devil’s Shoestring.

Upon entering the store (which was empty), I wasn’t greeted by the staff. Now, I’m usually chill about this but there were three employees behind the counter just chatting, and nobody acknowledged me at all. They just continued talking.

After assessing if they had what I needed, I proceeded to head to the cashier to ask if I could I have an oz of mullein and an oz of mugwort.

She (femme presenting) then told me “Sure, do you want help getting it? I mean we can help, but the latter is perfectly stable once you step on it.”

It’s been a minute since I’ve been to Flower Power, so, I didn’t remember the process, but I was fine getting the herb; however, in hindsight… there were THREE employees there just talking to each other. You mean to tell me no one wanted to help me, maybe pick my brain to see if I was interested in anything else?

So I say, “Yeah, I can go get it. It’s no problem.” Then turn to the other cashier before going to get the jars and say “Oh, do you have Devil’s Shoestring?”

I noticed they had Devil’s Club, but not Devil’s Shoestring. I didn’t know if it went by other names, but I was hoping she (femme presenting) might know more or have some insight. Clearly one employee didn’t feel like working so I hoped the next would.

Instead of answering me directly, she looks at the cashier I was just talking with and says “Ohhhh a customer came in the other day asking about Devil’s Shoestring. She asked if Devil’s Club was the same, but I told her to research it first.” Then she turns to me and says, “When you look up Devil’s shoestring on Google it looks the same as Devil’s Club. But maybe search it up some more to be sure.”

So you mean to tell me that another customer came in asking about a product that you don’t know about and since that interaction you didn’t brush up on your herbal knowledge so that the next time this happens you can point the next customer in the right direction? Maybe even notify the boss that customers are coming in requesting this item… you might wanna carry it.

So I hesitantly was like “Sure, I’ll look it up.” Then, went to search it up and get both the mullein and the mugwort. Mind you, I don’t climb latters, let alone climb down latters with a large jar in one hand. I’m from NYC. Call me dramatic, but I should’ve received a HEFTY discount for doing YOUR JOB.

So, as she’s ringing me up she’s talking about herbs that can be used in certain reproductive situations… and hey, I’m pro-choice, but time and place, no?

When she’s done, I say “and no, they’re not the same herbs.” A search that took all of 3 minutes. To which she kinda blew over like “oh, ok.”

To be frank, that was enough of an experience for me to say I’m good off Flower Power. There are so many good intentions behind the mission of the business, but I cannot ignore bad vibes and I did NOT feel a welcoming and inviting vibe during the visit.

Either the space needs cleansing or the staff do. Either way, you won’t be getting my...

I always enjoy taking a trip to Flower Power Herbs and Roots as they always have an herb I’m looking for. My experiences shopping here have always been nice however my last experience was different. It was my first time taking my boyfriend there. When we walked inside we greeted everywhere but was not greeted back. After browsing around we were told if we needed any help to let them know. Once we decided what we wanted we told one of the staff that there were several herbs we would like, and the response was that we could assist ourselves and use the ladder to grab what we needed. I didn’t appreciate this as it made my boyfriend feel unsafe to use a wobbly ladder and respectfully he doesn’t work there so that’s not his job. Again I’ve been to the shop several times and never experienced using the ladder to grab my own herbs, or just grab my own herbs at all. There was a customer in there prior to us coming in that seemed like a regular and was already engaged in conversation, so I feel as if the focus was on the conversation. I will still continue to shop here, however I will let it be very clear that moving forward myself, boyfriend or any customer for that matter should be climbing the ladder to assist themselves. We do not work there and that is...

I never write reviews for places BUT this magical place with even more magical employees deserves a 10 star review! Biggest shoutout to the entire team, especially Noah! I swear these people are witches and wizards! I was sick and my immune system was so down for so long and all my lab work was coming back negative so I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me. Then, while looking for organic oregano to make tea with, I came across this store. They went above and beyond to help me and suggest their favorite items that they use! I walked out with oregano I wanted and elderberry syrup that SAVED MY LIFE! What an amazing group, what an amazing store, what an amazing selection of products! It’s been around two weeks since my first visit and I’m a brand new man who’s walking out of their store with the biggest smile on my face for the second time now with a new bag to make tea with (another brilliant suggestion I received) and another bottle of elderberry syrup and most importantly with a whole lot of positive energy! My Mum is also so thankful to these people because they helped me recover my immune system because as an international student I’m so far away from home!...