The Joy of Gluten Free (West End) — Restaurant in Ottawa

Not exactly sure what happened. We walked in, were greeted by a middle aged woman with a bun in her hair (the owner maybe?), and she looked incredibly annoyed. There was no one else in the store! My husband asked a question about the difference between two pies (we had planned to buy a few) and she just rudely tapped the glass on the freezer to indicate that he could read the difference. She then went on to explain that she’s tired of explaining the difference between different pies to customers. I mean, fair enough, but then maybe hire someone to do that kind of work if you’re not a fan of customer engagement? It was literally our first time there and we had even told her as much. I quietly told my husband we wouldn’t be getting the pies from this place, and he agreed. My daughter then asked a question about walnuts, and I misheard her response. The sheer attitude from her was surreal. You’d think I backed a truck though her storefront with the way she was behaving, all because I misheard her response. I thought, okay, maybe she’s having a bad day. Then I went online to read the reviews. Not much to say after that. Seems this isn’t an isolated incident.

I like to support small businesses and especially gluten free bakeries, but for the life of me I can’t understand a business owner who themselves/their staff treats customers so poorly.

I get that not everyone likes to smile, and that’s fine, but the sheer displeasure with us for - I don’t even know what. Walking in to make a purchase? I don’t understand. None of us were wearing perfume or cologne, so the whole scent issue couldn’t have been it, unless some minor deodorant or laundry soap might have been detected? The signs are hard to miss. I mean, there no mention of the scent policy on the website (which she may want to consider for out of town customers- but customer concern doesn’t seem to be high on the list of priorities here), but if it’s an allergy then I understand.

I have to wonder, after reading these reviews, if the scent policy is sort of a free pass to treat people poorly? Not suggesting the allergy is fake, however. If someone is so sensitive to scent that it renders them positively hostile (not sure hostility is a symptom of allergies, mind you, but let’s assume it is) to customers who might be wearing deodorant or didn’t think to buy a scent free laundry soap specific to trips to this bakery, then maybe wear a mask, get a HEPA filter, or hire someone to be customer facing who doesn’t turn hostile in the presence of minor residual scent from things like deodorant and laundry soap? If the allergy is that serious, you may want to rethink the business model. Maybe just have delivery or pickup. I’m certain a large portion of your client base with celiac disease would understand, seeing as we’ve all had someone ignore our health issues at one point or another and try to shove gluten on our plates.

I mean, you can’t keep blaming customers for your poor behaviour. I’d like to say the food is as good as the reviews claim, but there was no way I was giving my business to someone so incredibly hostile from the moment we set foot inside the store.

Edited after owners response:

There were no other customers until we were on our way out, one person walked in. We didn’t buy anything. Wasn’t rude at all to my kid, and if you feel your behaviour was acceptable and mine was somehow rude, this might explain your lack of self awareness. I walked out because I was wondering if my laundry soap might be the cause of your behaviour and felt bad. My husband said we had been on a long drive, because he didn’t feel like saying, “Your customer service skiIls are awful!” It was only then that I looked at the reviews and saw that not only do you do this to a number of your customers, but you respond with these asinine rants that both blame the customer and ramble on about whatever misfortune you and your daughter may have been through just recently to try and elicit sympathy or to justify your behaviour. The response is the same for every bad review....

Firm believer in giving credit where credit is due and vice versa.

To keep it short and to the point, the treats I purchased were amazing. The service I received from the owner was shocking, appalling and condescending.

For someone who has recently come into a new world of gluten free, this was not a great experience.

Based on the service or lack there of, I will not be back. I do hope others will be treated with more kindness.

Update and response (June 27/23):

Thank you for your response, however, my review did not address any of the policies (which I had no problem with at all). When I entered the store and immediately noticed the ‘no scent’ signs, I was very pleased.

In your response, you commented, “I get it, you don’t have allergies” – completely incorrect. I do have a multitude of allergies and some quite major which knock me out for days with migraines and other symptoms. You never asked if I have any allergies, but why would you? Remember, you never know who is on the other side of the counter and what allergies they may or may not have.

In your response, you mentioned healthcare workers were overjoyed with the extra precautions. I was one of those ‘healthcare workers’ during Covid. I was one of the ones going to work while others were home. You never asked what I do for a living or what I did during Covid lockdown, but why would you? Remember, you never know who is on the other side of the counter and don’t know what they do for a living.

In your response, you said, “If you find this shocking and appalling please don’t come.” I was never shocked or appalled at the policy. I am shocked that you would tell a new customer not to return. Do you realize your customers, new or old, are your ‘bread and butter’ or in this case, your ‘GF bread and coconut oil’. You would not have a store, if it was not for the customers. Remember, you never know who is on the other side of the counter and don’t know how many other customers they could bring with them.

In your response, you said, “These policies are not going to change”. I never addressed the policies or asked for them to change. For the health and well-being of you and your employees, you do what you have to do to keep everyone safe. There is no reason to get defensive about it. You have obviously had a lot of flak about them. If people do not want to go due to your policies, that is their choice.

I did not review your policies. I reviewed the lack of a friendly greeting, assistance, kindness and condescending tone. For such a cute place, it is unfortunate the treats and vibe don’t go hand in hand. If people do not want to go back due to the lack of people skills, that is a choice they made because of your conduct.

The response alone is a prime example of the lack of knowledge of what really happened. An example of someone not wanting to ‘take a look inside’ in case it was something they did wrong and/or could improve on themselves. An example of someone always wanting to blame the customer/other person and providing excuses for their behavior. This is a great example of how not to respond to a review which only makes them look worse.

The only response that should have been given was, “I am sorry you felt this way in my shop. If it is regarding the policies, I have them in place for health reasons. If you did not feel welcome, I am sorry; I hope you will feel more welcome next time.”

I do hope you will be more friendly and kind to your next...

Beware when entering or calling this store. No matter how friendly and kind you are, you will be met/spoken to with attitude, sarcasm, impatience, condescension, disrespect and just downright rude. Not only did I experience it first hand, I saw it with other customers in the store as well as a phone call the worker answered. My husband and I couldn’t believe the abysmal customer service, driving 1.5 hours specifically to buy gf items, and to be treated in such a contemptuous manner. Not a smile or thank you either. I did buy a few items, the desserts ended up in the garbage, inedible in my opinion because all you taste is sugar. Furthermore, I didn’t get a warm and fuzzy for cleanliness either. The store does not look like the photos on their website or Facebook, it’s messy and appears tired. The photos of desserts on these same sites do not look like what you see in the store - I wish I would’ve taken a photo of the desserts I purchased before I threw out the lot. My other wish is that I should’ve checked the reviews before wasting time and money to drive out there, at least I would’ve been prepared for the nasty personality. Oh, one more thing. When I called a couple of days later to ask a couple of questions about ingredients, I was the treated the same by THE OWNER! Told me she didn’t have time to speak with me as she had stuff coming out of the oven - I offered to wait or call back, and she hung up on me. Or perhaps she put me on hold without telling me? (trying to give a bit of grace here). After I realized she wasn’t going to helpful, I did manage to sarcastically remark that she was as nice as the lady who served me a couple of days prior. Attitude, messy store and not great food, I’ve no idea how they stay open but I do know one thing, I won’t be back and neither will I recommend it to my gf friends. This store should be on the worst-rated stores list for Ottawa.

MY COMMENTS POST OWNER’S REPLY:

The phone call. I asked if I could speak with the owner. You, the owner, did not identify yourself immediately. I asked three times. You kept saying “what do you need”? Why couldn’t you nicely answer, “I’m the owner, and how can I help you”? Nope, you didn’t - all I got was “what do you need”, dripping in annoyance and impatience. And as for saying you were putting the phone down for the time you needed to take your goods out of the oven? DOWNRIGHT LIE. You did not say that! I kept saying hello hello and no one was answering so I hung up because I thought you had hung up. When you’re in business and customers are your bread and butter, it doesn’t matter what kind of day you’re having or how busy you are, moodiness is not a standard for good customer relations. That person walking into your shop is expecting professionalism, greeting with a smile and help choosing items, not growl and scowl. While there, I observed your staff’s unpleasant behaviour with three customers and a phone call. While I’m not one to write reviews, the interactions in your store and with you were beyond unacceptable, hence writing my review. Perhaps you can reread the many reviews here: you’ll note that there’s a common theme: rudeness followed with your remarks/comments of excuses for bad behaviour.

Oh and one more lie. She said three minutes of interrogation in her reply? Not so. My phone registers total time of call is one minute, and 15 seconds of that one minute...