Stoneworks Lapidary — Local services in Rehoboth Beach

I grew up shopping here for almost 10 years & started my own crystal collecting journey after visiting years ago. Because of this, I was about to share the sentimental connection on social media with some videos of the shop for free press and hopefully bring them more business from my friends & followers.

I was not filming any other customers or staff, just simply showing off the beautiful displays & specimens inside. I did not even talk during the videos because I wanted the quality of the pieces to speak for themselves. There were NO signs in the rooms I was in against filming or photos. I even was filming near an employee in the "showroom" with no issues.

Suddenly in the retail section while recording the vast amount of bracelets on their wall, I had a rude interaction with an older woman working the front desk. Based on other reviews, I see this is a common issue with this particular worker... Instead of politely asking me not to film, (despite there being no signs & not filming any customers or staff) the woman rudely questioned in a tone "why would you even do that?" & "most people ask if we have an issue with that" (referring to me recording). After looking through my camera roll, I actually have the audio of the interaction recorded from while I was in the middle of videoing the bracelet wall.

As a fellow business owner, I try my best to respect a shop's wishes, hence why I went searching before I even filmed for any signs against recording in the shop to avoid this interaction. There were none, so I thought I was okay until this elderly woman called me out. Again all it takes is a few signs around the shop saying "please ask to film/no filming" for customers to be adequately informed.

My partner and I had several large pieces picked out for our home, but immediately decided to walk out empty-handed because of the terrible customer service.

Unfortunately I will no longer support if the elderly woman is present. In the past I've had heartwarming experiences with the younger staff/owners who are eager to talk with customers and share the love of these wonders from the earth.

(Edit:) I heavily appreciate the owner reaching out. I have met the owners on separate times and they were the highlight of my trips with their energy. I wish them the best & that is why I changed the review to be higher. I simply wanted them to know that their employees need to be on the same page as them. All of my other interactions at the store throughout the years were wonderful. Although I did not get to purchase one last crystal before they change locations as a sentimental keepsake, I am happy to know they are continuing their journey in a difficult time for small businesses....

While the stones are authentic and beautiful, the women running the store were beyond rude. I spent $253.00 in their store!! I was under the impression I was buying a necklace for 14$. Immediately after I put it on the rope chain comes untied and is no longer wearable. I took it back to the store and politely asked for a refund as I didn’t want a replacement if they were all tied the same way (mind that their is no clasp or anything other than tiny knots). She pointed to a small sticker on the front of the counter saying that theirs no refunds and only store credit. While the sign was posted the script was microscopic and unless pointed out wouldn’t be readable, and was not in a place that would be easy to see/read. I do not live in Rehoboth Delaware so store credit is useless to me. The lady informed me that I would just have to go somewhere else and buy my own chain for it. If I wanted simply a charm I would’ve gone online and bought the same thing for $7. Their are two other crystal places in town, one is called Buddha and Beads and the other is The Crystal Underground. I love both of these stores and would recommend them. I’m beyond disappointed in this store and will not be going back or providing my business again. Please shop somewhere with an inviting energy and kind shop owners. It’s apparent this store doesn’t care about its customers. I will now have to go somewhere else and buy a chain for...

I just wanted to leave a review based on something I witnessed at this store recently.

I was getting a bracelet for my girlfriend and another customer asked to see a stone that she couldn’t reach. One of the employees said she couldn’t reach it, either, and what did the customer want her to do about it? I thought to myself, doesn’t she have a step stool? She asked the man, who I believe was the owner of the store, to help, and he proceeded to loom over this customer while she was looking at other stones, too, looking quite menacing and saying nothing to the customer at all. He was just glaring at her. I don’t know if she bought anything, as I left before her, but I didn’t understand why a customer was being treated so poorly. The owner seemed so angry that she was interested in more than one stone. She didn’t need help reaching anything else, as she was looking at stones on shelves she could reach, but he stayed there looking angry, then, stormed off in a very rude manner. This customer was very sweet and kind. I even saw her later and mentioned what I witnessed to her. She said she had worked at a few crystal/metaphysical shops, herself, and had never experienced anything like it before.

What I witnessed was very bad customer service from the owner and...