The Universal Connection Store — Local services in San Jose

The shop is very small but has alot in it, mostly the same ol' generic metaphysical items like candles, oils, cards, books, altar items, goddessy bits for home decor. Good selection of jewelry and stones & crystals, poor selection of incense. Good prices on jewelry and most readings/services, very pricey on goddessy home decor and any service offered by the holier-than-thou owner. Ample parking behind the shop. The best thing going for it are some of the store clerks/readers, especially Tami.

The worst thing about it is the owner, Traci; she believes she floats above the rest of us as some sort of awakened being but really she is ice cold rude. I won't go back to UC because her attitude ruins it for me and there are plenty of other metaphysical shops around. Her Mastery classes are an expensive joke; they include speed-chanting and wise bits like 'never assume, makes an ass of u and me' (seriously, on a handout) that she expounds cross-legged from a cushion in front of the circle like a guru while protesting 'I'm no guru' and 'it comes from you, not me' (and every metaphysical book ever read, so just buy a book).

Yes, I signed up for the classes but regretted it once in, hearing the drivel passing as 'mastery' - BOR-ing, been there, read that. Nothing new, nothing original - like the shop itself (reflection of its owner). You agree not to share the info like it's a deep spiritual secret but PUH-leez. Sorry to the folks who take it seriously but it just made me want to laugh and roll my eyes. When I had a family emergency and informed Traci I needed to leave the classes and asked about refund guidelines, she offered no compassion, just a terse 'no refunds'. So buyer beware! But I was glad to be free of the tedium, anyway. And I agree with her on one thing: she's no guru; she is a business, period. Read the Yelp reviews, all negatives mention Traci by name.

I give any stars for the readers/store clerks; they have always been helpful and...

CUTE STORE, HORRID STAFF -- The first time I was here a couple months ago, I found the gentleman who helped me quite welcoming. The SECOND time, though... thirty seconds in, this woman starts peppering me with questions and watching me like a hawk! Even though the store was plenty crowded with lots of other people, she kept circling back to me in a way that just felt like she was waiting to catch me pocketing a stone. This, despite the fact I was even using their baskets to keep track of the puny, chip-sized tumbles I happened to be looking at (because the stones I was interested in only came in that size), and I didn't feel comfortable doing anything else with the way she was watching me! I almost left the store empty-handed because I couldn't figure out what I was doing that could have made her so suspicious! The only thing I could think of was that this time it was cold enough outside that I'd come in wearing my black Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) hoodie... guess they don't like hackers and techies, either?

Going by some of the other reviews, I'm guessing the woman who gave me such a hard time was the manager/owner, so I don't see the point in giving this store another chance. It's a pity, since I did manage to find some tumbles that I was having trouble sourcing elsewhere.

There's entirely too many other shops within an hour's drive of this place that have never treated me like this and deserve your patronage instead. East/West is my personal favorite, Moonstone Metaphysical is close by with a similar variety of crystals for sale, and there's a good smattering of shops further down Highway 17 (Mountain Spirit and Serpent's Kiss both deserve special mention!) -- any of those places would be a far better place to spend your...

I've been here many times. Yesterday around 5pm was different. I likely won't be back again. I purchased 2 crystals a couple weeks ago that are labeled as jade. My own research yielded they are actually serpentine. I mentioned this to a store rep, and received pushback and unnecessary combativeness. I was here today to enjoy myself and grab some new items, not to be spoken to in such manner. The rep was highly offended and suggested it was my word against hers and that jewelers deal with higher end gems and not crystals. She went on to state they don't sell fake stones, and the owner has been using the same vendors for many years. I never said the stones were fake. I mentioned they were very pretty and I'd be keeping them. Serpentine is a great crystal but not at all in the jade family and not for the particular intensions I had in mind. The store rep turned her back to me while I was in mid sentence while trying to explain I had not called the crystal fake, and she grabbed the store manager. The store manager was very polite and informative. She took her time to hear me out and advised she would let the store owner know. That's all I wanted! When I got to the counter to pay for my items, the store rep that was rude to me finished assisting the customer ahead and then asked the store manager to step in to assist me instead of taking the opportunity to smooth the situation over or to thank me for coming back. This rubbed me the wrong way, and I left without making a purchase. There are too many crystal healing and botanica shops around to spend money at a place that doesn't treat you nicely. The energy was off, and I should have left right after the employee spoke to me in...