World of Gifts — Local services in Seaside

We were looking for a magnet souvenir to take home with us and we ran into this store. It is cramped and stuffy but that was fine. My husband was turning a corner and some older man almost ran over us and didn’t apologize. I thought “man I hope that’s not a worker”. Sure enough, when we went to the till, the same man was at the register.

He didn’t say hi, nothing, just grabbed our magnet and rang it through. While he was doing that I noticed he had signs all over that said “Please use cash if you can”, “we prefer cash” and “Cash is still legal tender” (quite frankly that last one gave me “COVID is fake” vibes but I digress).

Unfortunately I didn’t have any cash, just a credit card. He didn’t say anything, except when he rang it through he said it didn’t go through, so I asked my husband for his. The man sighed as he took it and said “I wish people would just use cash. If you used cash it would be much easier on me”. I apologized and told him I had no cash. He kept grumbling and saying how people who use card are running him out of business.

At this point I’m starting to get irritated, and told him maybe he shouldn’t offer card? He continued by saying “SIGH it’s costing me $25,000 to have Visa”. And then I was done. As he turned the machine to me, I grabbed my card and said “you know what? No thanks. I’m done”.

He raised his voice and said “Well now you’re not being nice, all I said was that I prefer cash, and that it’s better for my business”. I said something along the lines of “well now you’re not getting any of my business at all, not with your attitude” and walked out. He proceeded to yell after me. Wow. Just wow. How is this guy still in business?

Garbage. Stay away...

Owner is extremely rude. Went in with my girlfriend and younger sister to purchase several items and did in fact notice the several “cash preferred” signs all over the store because we aren’t toddlers and CAN in fact read, contrary to what the owner seems to believe. If cash is PREFERRED and not the only accepted method of payment at this store, then paying with card should be no issue. The OWNER of any business should not guilt the customer for their payment method?? Literally makes no sense to me like you’re selling it either way? Why complain, and even then you’re complaining to the wrong person. Don’t be mad at the customer for wanting to buy your merchandise? We quickly changed our minds and left this store because NO WAYYY I give that thief of oxygen a CENT of my money- whether it’s from a card or cash, I will never go back there again. If you don’t like all the fees from visa maybe switch to, I dunno, CASH ONLY? Like various other stores in downtown Seaside have done. The little goblin of this store complained to my partner when she offered her card as a payment method and processed to guilt her for wanting to buy something. He was incredibly rude to her and shamed her for wanting to buy her parents a gift. Maybe your business isn’t struggling due to visa fees, maybe it’s the fact that you’re an a hole to the paying customers who come into your store. Do better. Customer be warned lol. Cray. LOTS of other amazing small shops in seaside with kind owners who won’t make you feel bad for coming in. Recommend checking out literally any of...

This store is full of stuff so if you are looking for a toy, souvenir, or shorts you forgot to pack...you will find it here. There are practically no COVID safety practices enforced. The aisles are small so on a busy August day, maintaining distance was challenging, and at times less than 2 feet. I saw one employee unboxing items without a mask. Masks are not enforced and at least 3 people in the store were not wearing masks. I watched a woman wipe her runny nose with her fingers repeatedly before she pulled out a mask. The cashier wore a mask and is behind a plexiglass barrier, but there is no hand sanitizer available for customers. The checkout line is slow since all purchases were written down by hand in a notebook (maybe they had Point-of-sale issues that day). The line is where there are people standing close together and there is no ventilation. I realize protocols are hard for small businesses but I saw better practices everywhere else. A few changes would go a long way. Bring you mask and own...