I am EXTREMELY disappointed with my experience at Patio Casual. I specifically chose a LOCAL business over ordering on Amazon as I thought the experience would be more desirable, I was wrong.
With many years in the customer service industry, I have never been treated so poorly or have seen an owner act so immature & unprofessional. After reading other reviews, I realized this is not the first time Anne Othen has blown up on customers and has even been referred to as a "hot head" and got to experience it for myself.
We picked out a patio set & fire table that totalled around $4,000. Once the furniture was delivered and we noticed the table her employee recommended did not match. I returned to the store and spoke with Anne Othen and she said we could bring the table back "As soon as we can", no deadline. A week or so later were finally able to borrow a friends truck to bring the table back to the store. Anne was not present (this was a Sunday), 2 of her employees inspected the table and signed off that there was no damage to the table & issued us a store credit (3 witnesses saw employees inspect & sign off).
We returned to the store on Thursday to pick out a new table. After 30 minutes of waiting, Anne Othen came out of the back with an attitude and accused us of damaging the table and we needed to pay a 50% restocking fee. Confused, we followed her to the back to show us the "damage" that she had a hard time finding herself (small dent on side panel) The table was in HER POSSESSION for 4 days, anything could have happened. When the table was returned on Sunday, no damage was found.
Anne Othen was not going to honor or stand behind her employee. My guess is the business is hurting for money and that is why she tries to squeeze anything she can from customers. Anne Othen was raising her voice and demanding we take responsibility for "beating up the table" She then offered us a "deal" and would only charge us a 15% restocking fee.
After another 30 minutes of arguing & raising her voice at us (2 other customers came and left during her outburst) we agreed to pay her bogu fee so we could leave with our new table. Then, Anne Othen said she was not going to give us our new table AFTER charging our card and proceeded to wag her finger in my face to "teach me a lesson" and raised her voice at me again. I declined her offer for advice and suggested she take a lesson on Customer Service.
I feel so sorry for Anne Othen's employees, I could tell they were embarrassed by her behavior so they stepped in and sent her back to her office to calm down. Her employees were professional, knowledgeable and helpful. It is a shame Anne Othen behaved in the way she did, we are 3 local realtors that could send hundreds of customers her way. Instead, I will go out of my way and scream from the rooftops to NOT RECOMMEND Patio Casual.