Wittendale's Florist & Greenhouses — Local services in Town of East Hampton

The day before thanksgiving. My Asian octogenarian mother in law asked me to take her so she could get a centerpiece for her daughters table, our 4th Thanksgiving in East Hampton. Unfortunately, she has early Alzheimer’s, but we waited patiently for our turn. I was encouraged, the the youngish well groomed sales person looked and sounded sharp, and he was obsequiously tending to the woman before us. But, in an instant, when our turn came, and when he realized that we were not immediately ready, and my mother in law apparently asked one too many questions, or perhaps he found it difficult to understand her accented English, the salesperson turned to someone else- whom he apparently knew, and served them, literally looking between us . We waited for a time longer, standing by the counter as he pointedly ignored us, and then he rang out yet another woman, exchanging familiar banter. I was hesitant to make a scene as that may have only have upset my mother in law, but I was baffled how he could be so peeved at being asked what the options and cost were for a simple centerpiece. Eventually, there being no one else to serve, he came back to us. This occurred in the early afternoon, it was not a few minutes before closing. My mother in law then asked if we could see a picture, or a sample of a centerpiece, she tried to explain what she had in mind. “No,” was his answer, I am not making this up. Keep in mind, I know nothing about centerpieces, but my mother in law was an avid gardener, I was simply hoping that the professional would help guide us. He the suggested a plant in a pot, then, without a word, flounced off, this time in a huff. I thought he was going to get a sample or a catalogue, but that was not the case. Eventually, as we were standing by the register, he came back again, now much more annoyed, we had not left. I asked how much the centerpiece might cost- “ fifty or sixty dollars.” What would it be? No answer. I could go on. It did not get better. My hope of my mother in law having a nice 5 or 10 minutes in the flower store was rudely shattered. I don’t know if it was an Asian thing, or an elderly thing, or because we didn’t emit the $outh of the Highway vibe this young man is most comfortable with, but evidently this is a flower shop that does not need customers other than those with a certain pedigree. I got her back in my car, she kept asking where the centerpiece was. We then drove to the flower shop on North Main Street, where exactly what I had hoped for happened- a wonderful woman showed us several centerpieces, my mother in law carefully asked 3 or 4 questions, then selected one, and 7 or 8 minutes later we drove away with it, Nancy holding it carefully in her lap, beaming. She then snuck it carefully across the yards and around the pool and through the back of the house as I occupied her daughter in the kitchen, and at Thanksgiving dinner 14 people admired it and toasted her and she was happy. No thanks to easily the rudest most self important salesperson I’ve encountered in some time, and no thanks to the establishment that employs him. I suggest you stay away, there are many better options in East Hampton for flowers, and, without a doubt, for simple...

Although I have had some positive experiences in the past, I will definitely avoid Wittendales in the future. I called on Tuesday, to order flowers for a professional colleague and was told they didn't have any and to call back on Wednesday. So, I went to their website, chose an arrangement I liked and called back Wednesday. I was informed the florist didn't work on Wednesday, but I told the employee the name of the pastel arrangement I had chosen, the flowers and colors I wanted which I confirmed they had on hand and paid them extra for a 14" tall vase. They charged me $35 more than the superior version of what I had chosen, largely because of the tall vase and delivery 2 blocks away. When it was delivered, it was in a short 10.5" cheap vase and the color scheme was white, pale lavender and bright orangish roses, despite our lengthy discussion on Wednesday. It looked like a grocery arrangement from King Kullen with clashing colors, but for $125. Clearly, they wanted to get rid of the orange tone roses, didn't care how it looked and had no intention of giving me the vase I paid for. I was embarrassed to have sent it, when I saw it, it was so cheesy. So, Wittendales is long on attitude and arrogance, but short on...

Shopped today for annuals. When were checked out the number of plants and total bill, $506, did not seem right. When I went to the car to load I looked for the itemized bill, only to realize I did not get one. I returned to the register to an itemized bill. The worker had to rewind the tape, brake it off to provide an itemized bill. Red flags went up. Upon returning home I checked the bill against the plants recieved. 36 plants bought, 56 plants charged. I returned to rectify. The worker brought the boss. Between them they could not justify the bill. They decided to re- run everything. This time the bill came to $176 less. A simple mistake. No. Multiple plants were rung up on my bill that were not in my cart. This is the second time they have overcharged me. I believe this is deliberate.They are stealing and should be...