The English Shop — Local services in Saint Charles

Yikes, I was so excited to go to this little shop on Main Street! While expensive, it does offer a little piece of English culture here in Saint Charles.

However, the real shame was the service provided here. One of the owners of the shop was just so rude. We had intended to buy an English coffee table book, and were looking to purchase it, but the man got on us for “looking through the book” before purchasing it and told us to put it down, assuming we were not intent on purchasing it. It’s natural to look at a product, especially a book, before committing to buy it, so we were a bit surprised by the rude remark. We ended up decided to not buy anything after all, as my sister no longer wished to purchase the snacks she had in her hand due to the man’s rudeness. He also lurked behind us the whole time, I assume looking for something to harp on us about. It felt like he assumed all customers were up to no good.

I was so disappointed, as all other shops on the street had such kind and lovely owners!

I do sympathize with the struggles of owning a small business, but with such a unique idea, I feel a little more kindness would go a long way...

The English Shop carries a wide variety of English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish items. It also has some modern tv culture items such as Harry Potter and others. For the tea connoisseur you will find a wide array of items that will be extremely hard or possibly impossible to find in the Midwest US. Prices are what seems to be a bit higher than expected however, I'm not one to be an expert on imported item prices so I had no problem paying what was asked. The female clerk is friendly, helpful and warm however the male clerk was bordering on rude as he responded to a question asked in a tone and verbiage that expressed his opinion that I was stupid for asking the question. This would be a perfect score if he had...

I would give all 5 stars and more if I were only reviewing the selection of merchandise. The products are wonderful! So many wonderful teas, treats, and unique items. I wanted to buy almost everything. If I were rating the man running the store though I wouldn't give any. As other people have mentioned, he is incredibly rude every visit I make! He should not be allowed to speak to customers.

Updated: The man behind the counter is STILL more rude than I could have ever imagined. Even worse during Covid. I do not recommend anyone approach this place to be honest. What a horrible...