Uptown Cheapskate Tampa — Local services in Tampa

Horrible customer service and unresponsive owners.

I called ahead to ask store hours so that I could bring in a few boxes of clothing and was told that I had to be there an hour before closing.

After work, I drove 35 mins in terrible traffic and arrived at 6:45 p.m. (they close at 8 p.m.). I stood at the counter several minutes waiting for someone to acknowledge me. One employee came over and I asked if they could help me? They said "Nope, she will help you" and pointed to another employee.

A few minutes later, that employee (Angelica) came over and said that it was too late to look through my boxes. I told her that I had called ahead and was told to be there by 7 pm. She looked at her watch and said "Well, it's 6:55…so it's too late".

I argued that I had been standing there waiting for 10 mins waiting and that I arrived before 7 pm, as I had been told to do..but she could have cared less!

At this point it was about 6:57 p.m. After confirming that this was the store policy, Angelica said she could give me 3 minutes. She opened one box, tossed a few things around, then said "Time's up!".

What REALLY upset me was the fact that there was no one else in the store.. not a single person other than the employees. I was the ONLY customer and they didn't have time to help me? There were THREE employees and all were standing around doing nothing! Playing on their phones, etc. One of them got a broom and pretended to be sweeping. So sweeping the floor is more important than customer service right now?

I then asked for the manager and Angelica told me that she WAS the manager. I said "REALLY?" because she definitely DID NOT have management skills. She then confessed to being an assistant manager.

I asked for the lead manager. She gave me a fake name and then refused to contact them for me. I asked for the owner. I was told they could not give me that information.

By this point, I was so upset that I took a quick 360° video of the empty store and of the NOT busy employees who were refusing to help me.

In the end, Angelica offered me a few bucks for some clothing (I think just to cover her own a*s). She actually had another employee (pink hair) come to witness the payout...like I might lie and say they didn't pay me? I really didn't understand this BUT at that point Angelica and Pink Hair were whispering, smirking, and rolling their eyes at me.

As I was leaving, I looked back to see all three employees just hanging out, talking and playing on their phones... being "too busy" to help customers.

I don't think I have been this upset in a really long time. Horrible customer service and extremely rude employees!

This experience pretty much ruined my evening and I was still angry and upset when I got home. I thought... I need to let the owners know what's going on. Small businesses struggle all the time and this place could be ruined by rude employees.

I did some research online and I did locate one of the owners (Zach).  I left a message that I needed to speak with him about a problem I had in the store. Zach called me back (once) but did not leave a message. I have tried to call him back three times now and left several messages but he has not returned my calls. Does he not care about the customers either?

One final comment, while I was standing there arguing with Angelica over the fact that I had arrived one hour and 15 minutes PRIOR to closing, another woman walked in who had one small grocery bag of clothing. Angelica told her it was too late (still before 7 p.m). The woman asked if they could just take a quick peek inside the bag to tell her if it was even something they would be interested in (she would come back another day), but again, they refused. That woman left just as upset as I was!

If you look at my other Google reviews, you will see that I am not normally a complainer or an overall negative person but this experience was just so BAD, so ridiculous, that I...

The first time I visited, it was a pleasant experience. We browsed around, and I even purchased a piece of clothing. The staff member who assisted us was very friendly and took the time to tell us more about the store. I also signed up for their text message advertisements.

Later, I received a text saying I could sell items to them for in-store credit or cash, so I decided to give it a try. I brought in a few pairs of shoes, including one expensive pair. However, when I arrived, the two staff members barely acknowledged me, as they seemed more interested in discussing their trips to Italy and Portugal. One of them asked if I had signed in, and when I mentioned it was my first time, she offered no assistance, leaving me to figure it out myself.

After checking in, they asked for my ID. When they were finished, instead of handing it back to me, they placed it behind the check-in screen without saying anything. They informed me it would take about 25 minutes to review my items, so I left and returned later.

I then received a text saying they couldn’t offer me anything for my shoes. When I picked them up, I asked why, and the staff member told me, “We don’t take Walmart-brand shoes, and the condition of these shoes is a bit too worn.”

What frustrated me most is that they never explain these rules upfront. I wasted my time trying to support their business, but from now on, I’ll be taking my business elsewhere. I’ll also be letting others know about this poor experience.

0/10...

UPDATE: To clarify, I am not offended by the word "mature". I actually think that is a nice way to put it. However, I stand by the rest of my review.

All of the employees were very pleasant and the store is organized, but other than that, this store is a waste of time for most people. It's a great concept, but it is for a very small portion of the population--mostly 16-25 years old in the women's section. They need to be clearer about that on their website. The selling process is organized, but it took an hour and a half on a Tuesday afternoon, so you need to have time if you are going to sell your items to the store. My items were new or in excellent condition and they turned down all of my items except one because they were too "mature". After seeing their inventory, I have to agree that mine were high end name brands, but they are for late 20's - 40's. Most of the inventory in the store is cheaply made, teeny bopper clothing and the condition was way more worn than I expected. The prices seemed reasonable compared to new cost, but you can find better clothing at a non-profit thrift store for less than half the price. I was surprised that they didn't know what Havaianas flip flops were and turned down a new pair of those also. If you have a luxury handbag, it appears they take those even if they are "mature" looking. I definitely will not ever visit one of these...