As part of our staycation, Derrick and I wanted to go in all of the downtown shops we’ve ignored during our two years in Milledgeville. We explored Red Door Antiques, Auntie Bellum’s Antiques, The 42nd Floor, and Villane’s. I’ve decided to review Villane’s, since it is the only store I purchased items from, and because the shopping experience has bothered me more the more I thought about it.

Outside, there was a sign that said purses were 40% off. When we entered the store, one of the employees was having a conversation with another customer about how they were considering getting rid of their purse section and expanding their jewelry section. Derrick and I started in the front and worked our way to the back, but I was very excited by some of the first earrings I saw at the front of the store. They were small flower studs, and I’d been eyeing a similar pair on Etsy, though these were metal and the ones I’d been looking at were plastic. The flowers were in all colors of the rainbow, so I chose an aqua blue pair and then decided that I should also grab a purple pair. The earrings were $3 each, so I was getting two different pairs of earrings that I could wear with different colored outfits for only $6—a steal.

The store’s jewelry selection is really nice for Milledgeville. There were lots of owl necklaces, elephant pieces, and trendy scarves. There was a cool snake bangle that I tried on. There were some nice sea horse earrings that I considered buying. Everything was reasonably priced.

But my check-out and after-store experience keeps me from thinking that I’ll ever return to Villane’s. I tried to make small talk with the check-out woman, explaining that I’d wanted earrings like this for a long time. She was only concerned with how much the similar earrings on Etsy cost (no biggie; at least from a business standpoint, her interest made sense). When I handed her the earrings that I’d picked out, she reached over to the side of the counter and grabbed a “master earring sheet”, and she pulled off an aqua pair and a purple pair from this sheet, wrapped them in tissue, and put them in a little bag. I thought it was strange because I’ve never bought earrings and seen this happen, but Mom told me this does happen occasionally.

I paid for the earrings in cash. She handed me change but no receipt. I thanked her and said that I’d probably be back to buy more earrings in all of the colors of the rainbow. She did not respond, but I know I’m a loud-talker and that she heard me. Derrick heard me and was farther away from me than she was. In retrospect, I felt like through her silence she was really downplaying my role as a customer, and she made me feel like my purchases didn’t matter. If I had returned and bought an earring pair in every color, they would’ve received an additional $30 from me, plus the money from any other purchases, plus my advertisement of the shop by wearing their earrings in multiple colors with multiple outfits.

Walking out of the shop, I was in a pretty good mood, so at this point I ignored the rudeness of the check-out woman, and I even texted a friend to recommend that he visit the shop for his wife. When we got to the car, I decided that I was going to put on one of my new pairs of earrings, and we unwrapped the tissue paper to disappointment. The earrings that the woman had given me, chosen for me off of her “master sheet”, were not the same quality as the earrings that I had originally picked out. The metal was bent in ways that was un-petally for flower studs. The metal was discolored. There was some obvious glue on the end of the purple flower’s tip. If you click on the above image, you’ll really see all of these earring flaws. Even when Derrick was able to bend back some of the metal, I felt like I’d been swindled. I would’ve never bought these earrings for any amount of money at this poor quality. And because the check-out woman neglected to give me a receipt, I felt like the scam was purposeful and that if I tried to return the earrings it wouldn’t be acknowledged as a legitimate return.

I will not be returning to Villane’s for any future jewelry or accessory purchases. I would much rather spend the money at a craft fair, antique shop, or at Etsy. The combined poor customer service, item switching, and item quality is not worth my time or money.