Last week, my son's baseball glove broke during a game. Having a tournament in two days, we were frantic to try to get it fixed as quickly as possible. My husband called Smitty's as early as possible and inquired if it was even feasible to get the glove fixed that day. The reply, from who I would assume was the owner, was that everybody had the same “sob story”. He made it very clear that having it done that day was not an option. So, naturally, my husband asked what a realistic timeframe would be as we had never had to deal with this situation before. In no uncertain terms, my husband was told that our business was NOT wanted. Shocked, he hung up. I then made a phone call to Smitty's, certain that there must have been a miscommunication somewhere. Again, it was made VERY clear to me that our business was not needed and that he found it EXTREMELY annoying that we should call and continue to ask him questions, because he had people standing at his counter. Now, being as I was on the phone, clearly I could not see these guests, but they could certainly see our helpful representative. Surely, they understood that he was attending to another potential customer and would understand the interruption on their consultation. But, apparently "Mr. Smitty" (I never did get his name) doesn't hold the same standards of customer service that I do (this is what I do for a living as well). Or, perhaps it is simply that he has enough business that he is no longer taking on new customers. That truly must be a nice life for a small business owner in a small town. Regardless of the reason, I warn those contemplating placing a phone call to this establishment to ask questions. They are not appreciated and your business, too, could be turned away. (I will also add here that this was very disappointing to us as we had heard nothing but great things about this store. Apparently that customer appreciation is reserved for those who had a reason to be a customer prior to now.)
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