Ollie's Bargain Outlet — Local services in Saint Petersburg

This location has the absolute worst customer service and management I've ever experienced at any store of any business, not just Ollie's.

Today, I was finally able to convince my mom to get out of the house for the first time in over 3 weeks for some "retail therapy." While she loves a bargain as much as I do, she has been suffering severe side effects from her chemotherapy which has left her unable to leave the house. She was finally well enough to toss on a chemo cap (she is self-conscious from losing all her hair) and join in on our favorite past-time together. Things were great when we were shopping. We found lots of things we "needed" as well as things we didn't but we were having a blast shopping together for the first time in weeks. We spent over $300 combined (pic of receipts attached), which is where our issues began. Johanna was our cashier. We bought 7 or 8 glass jar yankee candles. I asked her 3 times to bag the candles separately so they didn't break in the car on the way home(speaking from experience). She refused as she continued to bag them together with a smirk on her face the entire time like she was deaf and we were blind. The manager, Damian, was standing there the entire transaction, also with a smirk on his face, while he listened to me repeatedly ask Johanna to bag them separately and watched her not do as I requested. While my mother and I rebagged the candles so they didn't break, she tapped her fingernails on the counter the entire time as if we were inconveniencing her. She then rang up my 2 items while she and the manager continued smirking. When Johanna finished my order, my mom asked to speak to a manager, which is when Johanna motioned towards Damian. We had to ask him multiple times to help us out with the heavy area rug, which ultimately he did not because he said it was store policy that they can't go to the parking lot. Not only is this policy not posted on the walls, but it also goes against what I've experienced at other Ollie's. Ironically, the policies they do have posted (very large up on the wall at checkout) are that the customer is always right (policy #1 and #2). After waiting in the parking lot for the carpet, which never came, we decided to return everything. It took 2 trips to bring all of the bagged items back inside so I could be refunded for our orders. Johanna proceeded to watch as one of the glass Yankee candles slowly rolled towards the edge of the counter and then took a step back to let it smash on the floor. They refused to refund my money until I went back out to the car a 3rd time to get receipts despite checking out less than 15 minutes prior. From working in retail and customer service for quite sometime, I am very aware that a transaction that recent can be easily voided. While horrible customer service is bad enough to experience, the worst is that they had my mom in tears on her first good day in weeks as she is days away from her next round of chemo.

On the up side, they did have 1 VERY helpful employee while we were shopping who took a very large, heavy area rug up front for a price check and then took the 2nd one up front that we ended up purchasing (and returning). Unfortunately, we were not able to find him again and his coworkers supposedly did not know his name when inquired as to what it was. He was a light-skinned African American gentleman. In my opinion, this unnamed gentleman who happily helped us multiple times with heavy items is a much better fit for the management title and for Ollie's customer-centric ideals.

I hope their corporate office, who we'll also be contacting, will review their camera footage so they can see the entire purchase and return. They'll clearly see everything I have described above.

Also pictured are the store policies and district manager's info (he did not respond) that was displayed at each register. After this experience, I have to assume they post the district leader's contact info at each register due to the amount of problems coming from this store. Serious change of management...

I loved this place! This Store is the Biggest Ollie's I've ever been to! They are absolutely Stocked up on EVERYTHING!! I've always loved Ollie's for the prices! They Buy Closeouts or Surplus and maybe even Discontinued Products. Constantly Selling out of the Weekly Sales and bringing in more Stock. The parking lot was abundant with Handicap parking up front as well as Handicapped Entrance and Facilities. Very knowledgeable and friendly Staff. I especially love their Book!! They have the largest Collection of High Quality Books for VERY reasonable prices! Books that would sell for $25 selling at $10 & up. Lot's below $10. Fascinating Wide Variety for EVERYONE. The as seen on TV isle's full of those products but Cheaper. Home Finishing, Automotive, Food, Clothes, Sports, Home Appliances, Rug's and Plenty of Children's Podcasts. It's always been a Pleasure shopping at Ollie's no matter where I am at the time. I Would Definitely Recommend Ollie's to Anyone looking for Quality Products at Really Low Prices! Awesome Job Associate's keeping everything running smoothly. The only thing I could say bad is they don't accept EBT for their Large Selection of Low Priced Foods that would be available for some of us that can't Stretch the Budget we're working with. They are Not Selling Expired Food Either. Just Truckloads of new Products coming in Constantly. Download the App to keep up with the current Sale's in your Area and You'll be Glad You Did! Thanks again for the Shopping Experience. 5...

Usually when I get ads in my PO Box, I dump them without looking. For some reason I looked at one - a colored flyer from "Ollie's and it mentioned in its headline it was a bargain outlet. I had spare time and love a bargain and I drove to the store. It was a huge building in a mall, and I enteedr in. My first impression was not favorable - "what a mess" . looked like an indoor flee market - sprawling and in my mind, disorganized. But my eyes focus on a section of the left - books!! I ventured over and rows/shelves filled with books - childrens, teeenage, adult, etc. I am a teacher of young children so I immediately browsed thru their huge selection. Prices were indeed a bargain, ranging from one dollar and up. Needless to say, I browsed and bought. Hmm, I thought, I would explore this store and see what else it had to offer. You have to weave around - nothing really marked by contents of each section but it didn't matter - I was hooked. carpeting to cat food, kitchen appliances to ketchup, all sorts of stuff, toys to televisions. I spent two hours exploring and this sounds strange, I had loss time and every minute was well spent.At check-out the cashier asked if I had a membership, and the incentive to join was a 15% discount on future purchases. If you haven't visited Ollie's, you will be pleasantly surprised and I am sure that will find something to purchase regardless of your intent...