Arden's Garden Juice Bar & Smoothies Stone Mountain — Restaurant in Georgia

This experience occurred today around 12'ish pm.

I thought long and hard about whether or not to leave this review as I traveled 20+ miles home.

Had the gentleman who was a manager/lead of the store apologized and taken accountability for his error, I probably wouldn't be commenting. But the fact that he didn't clearly shows that he did not recognize his error. Therefore I am leaving this review in hopes that this is coaching opportunity for him and other customers are spared.

The moral of this story is, "set clear expectations on wait time". Whether a customer likes it or not is irrelevant. Setting the expectation can mitigate the chance of overpromising and underdelivering.

I'm going to shorten the recounting of this experience a bit.

MONEY SPENT: $200+

POSITIVES: I will say, the gentleman that provided the horrible experience was nice, bright, and welcomed customer's as they came in. The store was clean.

NEGATIVES: I ordered 22 Grand Slams. That's a very large order than can take time. So I offered to come back in 30 minutes. The gentleman (Arden's Garden manager or lead) responded that IT WOULD TAKE LESS TIME THAN THAT. So then I said, "10 - 15 mins work for you?". He replied that it would work for him.

Long story short, I waited close to an hour. Because of the time expectations he set, I had already pulled some refrigerated juices.

Once he finished my order, he recommended that I call ahead of time if I ever want to place an order that large in the future. That was a reasonable recommendation.

BUT - REMEMBER - I asked him if I should come back in 30 minutes. I was prepared to wait due to the unpredictability of customers entering the store. However, he informed me that he would be done far sooner.

After he gave me tips on how to handle future large orders, I responded reminding him about the 30 minute timeframe I offered. He then responded that he could not account for customer foot traffic, in which I replied reminding him AGAIN that I offered to come back in 30 minutes.

He then responds, "yeah it did take me a little over 30 minutes". .....sir, it was longer than "a little over 30 minutes".

He didn't apologize, take accountability, or thank me for my patience.

I assure you I was pleasant and remained on my psychological yoga mat full of empathy for a staff member trying to balance upskilling a trainee, a busy store, and my large order.

But it honestly felt like he was annoyed that I placed a large order. I smelled a, "that's what you get" scent oozing from his being.

I WILL NEVER PATRONIZE THIS LOCATION EVER AGAIN!

It's annoying as a customer when a store associate lacks self awareness, the ability to take accountability, and care about the customer's experience.

I've never had a bad experience at Arden's Garden over my 10+ years of patronage. Thank goodness this wasn't my first experience.

I hope the store owner speaks with him about this for coaching and growth purposes. Hopefully, he's honest with himself about what happened vs. skating accountability and truth. What I witnessed and experienced is probably a symptom of his overall mentality.

He was very nice, bright, welcomed customer's in, etc. Let's give him 5 points for that. But, negative 20 points for the experience!

Forgive any grammatical errors. I just needed to get this on the record. I feel like I'm left with a big price tag and all the inconvenience. 🤯🧐😡

P.S. Because I know I have to travel far, I always put the juice on ice, temperature controlled while driving.

However, some of the juices probably lost some of their nutrients just from the amount of time I had to wait...

I received terrible customer service from the Stone Mtn location. Emailed Arden’s Garden twice and no response at all in 5 months!!! The staff member’s name was Marijhama and is the reason, in addition to Arden’s Gardens lack of concern, why I will not be going back to one of their stores ever! Please see email below sent on 09/25 and again on 09/30/2020.

Also note that they never wash their hands. Wearing gloves does not completely stop germ transfer!!

Good morning.

I just walked out of your Stone Mtn Hwy location and feel it fit to write this complaint. I am a loyal customer of Arden’s Gdn; both your Decatur location and this one. I usually get great customer service, but the lady working in there this morning was rude.

I ordered my usual, the Bexorcist, and a 2 oz wheatgrass shot. At the end of the transaction, I went to pick up my drink and shot, but with the Covid protection screen in the way and the fact that the cup is slippery and I’m holding a straw and the wheatgrass bottle, my Bexorcist cup slipped and spilled 1/4 of the contents on the counter. Your staff member saw this and stood at the freezer looking at me while I got napkins and cleaned it all up. She did not say a word, and did not come over to come and help me. There were no other customers in the store. There was a guy who is a staff member at the far end of the counter doing book work.

I was very upset about this lack of customer service, and wish I could stick my hand back in the jar and take out the $2 tip I had put in there before my mishap. However, I did not want them to think I was stealing their tips. I have never seen this staff member before, but she needs training in customer service, or to work the later shift when she might be...

This can be a great store. However, all it takes is one or two bad employees to drag down a good business. I had the misfortune of dealing with the gentleman with the big hair under his ball cap. Just as I always do when I visit, I ordered a large smoothie. After he completed the smoothie I noticed he did not fill the cup. If this was the first time there would not be a negative review. Unfortunately, he has done the same thing in the past. This time I decided to tell him that he failed to give me a full serving. His excuse was its full because it reached the bottom of the line near the top of the cup. I couldn't believe how easily the lie rolled off his lips even as I stood there looking at a picture of my exact order done correctly. Additionally, I have been to numerous Arden's occasions and only he has done this and on at least two visits. I was very disappointed because I make it my business to always tip well. Unfortunately, I paid him and tipped him prior receiving my drink. Never again. My recommendation is, if you decide to visit this location avoid this guy with the big hair or avoid tipping until you have been properly serviced. Don't forget to add a good or bad review just to keep people...