Gretchen's Hallmark — Local services in Town of Colonie

After my father drove to the New York Gretchen’s Hallmark store, he had ordered an ornament three or so days prior and went to go pick it up on the weekend. To have it in time for a gift on Monday. He ordered this. THREE or so days prior because it was the last two of its kind left in the store and when he arrived, he Purchased other various things, but then was told the ornament he had ordered, which there was only two of them, that somebody who had WALKED in had purchased it and whoever was managing ornament sales had sold it to them. Not only did my father drive A HOUR out of his way to pick up this item, he is also 73 years old and driving in a snowstorm just to pick this item up so a family friend could have it on time for Christmas. Into my absolute disbelief hearing that when he arrived after all of this that the only ornament he had gone out there was sold right underneath him. Not only did they make him cancel his order and then re-order the item and he was waiting for almost 5 hours in that store between arriving looking around and now waiting for an order he had already placed. THREE days prior, they had offered him to purchase the other one in the store for FULL PRICE when the ornament online was a lot less. So to receive that discounted price, he had to re-order it again online and wait. And not only did he have to drive A HOUR back home he didn’t get back home until close to 9 PM.

EDIT: 1/7/25 in response to owners reply.

Yes. He did receive his ornament AFTER your staff made him CANCEL the order he had already placed and was expecting to PICK UP when he arrived after his HOUR drive. IT WAS PAID FOR ONLINE PRIOR. That was a huge inconvenience to make him re order an item he had purchased after you sold it to someone else right under him before he got there, he had paid for it. Please do better so something like this does not happen again. He called me saying he was not happy and that this should not have been done. If a customers pays for an item, it is your reasonability as a small business to provide the item they have paid for, ONLINE or not. Not sell the last one in store to someone else if it was already paid and spoken for. HE DROVE AN HOUR to you, he is 73 years old and did not need to be in you store for 5 hours waiting for the problem to be fixed and then drive home...

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