Teavana -- If you don't want to buy something, too bad.

587 Replies

They are either overly pushy and won’t leave you alone, or you can’t get any attention at all. Highly unbalanced, but then I don’t really like their teas either.

Spot52 select said

It is a great place, if you like to overpay for your tea. (sorry for those who do not have a better tea place in their town)

Tamm said

:( It’s the only place in town for me. It’s almost the only place in the whole damn state! The only other one I tried to visit was very rude (even ruder than Teavana) and I don’t think I’ll attempt a 2nd try there.

SunnyinNY said

Tamm, trying ordering on-line. There are plenty of other better places. Even with shipping, you’d do much better! My personal favorite is Adagio Teas, but read the reviews on here. There are so many great places to try!

True. Go to Places and delete the location. Then type “online” into the name. It will pull up the online places that people are reviewing right now. Of course, there’s a million more than what’s listed there because it’s a work in progress. But you really will save tons of money and try so many better teas.

Tamm said

Oh I do most of my tea shopping online. :p I find that what I crave lately is unflavored loose leaf and it just isn’t available anywhere that I can drive to. No way am I paying Teavana $20+ just so my tea is unflavored!

SunnyinNY said

Tamm, check out the names of places people mention on here. Trust me…you don’t have to pay that much for unflavored good tea!

May I suggest Adagio? I personally love them!

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Meeky said

I actually went to Teavana a couple of years ago and the sales rep talked me into getting a large tin of Earl Grey Creme. I ended up paying $30 dollars and not really drinking it because the aroma was overwhelming. It also kind of turned me off of loose tea until recently. A friend got me a tumbler for Christmas so I was thinking about giving them another chance. Maybe I’ll stick to buying online….

It’s easy to spend 30 at Teavana. They’re tea is good, but there is a lot to check out as well loose leaf wise. I’m a big proponent of Dr. Tea and Teavivre. You just have to know what you are looking for. I always buy a couple of teas at a time and not worry about the tins. Usually for 30 bucks there I’ll get 5 different teas to try in the bags and it lasts me for a few months. If you would like to try some other teas I’d be glad to do some swapping with you. Cheers in your tea journey.

Meeky said

Thank you for your suggestions!

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Wow. I just spotted a non-congratulating review of a Teavana tea on Teavana’s website and thought I would flag it for anyone interested (http://www.teavana.com/the-teas/black-teas/p/copper-knot-hongcha-black-tea then search for Merlin228). This gives me more respect for their willingness to be open to some criticism, at least. Interesting to note though, that there are almost no CONS on any of the reviews for this tea.

That’s like finding a needle in a haystack – someone who goes against the grain, a rebel, a rogue, and any and all cliches to that matter. Good work finding that one, SimpliciTEA!

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Never again. Never again! We were tempted by the 75% off sale. Despite hearing all the horrible things about Teavana, we decided to give it a go. That Aurora tumbler and the matcha set were too tempting. So we caved! First e-mail says everything should ship shortly. Second e-mail says two items are out of stock: one tea and the matcha set that was the entire reason an order was placed. Third e-mail says the order was shipped without the tea or matcha set. Fourth e-mail says tea has been shipped separately, but still no matcha set.

We sent an e-mail asking what the heck was going on and we were promised an answer within 48 hours. It’s been over 48, no response. First package arrived yesterday without the tea or the matcha, and the two little porcelain cups we ordered were on the bottom of the box, absolutely no protective packaging around them, and they were shattered into a million pieces. Send new e-mail…no response as of yet. I might try calling, but when am I supposed to find the time to sit on hold forever and a half?

Never. Again.

aisling of tea: I am so sorry to hear about your experience. I also bought a few accessories from them with my recent tea order because of their 75% off sale: a cup, a plastic pitcher, and a few other items that came in boxes; all the ‘breakable’ items were wrapped in bubble wrap and were intact.

I also have called Teavana a few times, and was put on hold; once the system forced me to leave a message after waiting about 10 minutes or more (and they never got back to me), and another time I waited for about 10-15 minutes, then decided on my own to leave a message, but something went wrong (it may have been that I didn’t key in my phone number properly, I’m not certain, but the system really shouldn’t be that particular). So nothing came from that phone call, either.

I hope you get your Matcha set, and replacements for those cups. But I hear you on not wanting to be on hold for forever (or for wanting to never order from them again). Hopefully they will get back to you via email. If they do, I invite you to tell them how you feel, and ask them for what you want, and tell them you need to get those things to feel like you are willing to even consider doing business with them again. I find, if I talk/communicate to/with someone with authority, tell them how I feel and what I want—in a respectful manner, then most of the time I get what I ask for. But, this all takes time a energy toward something that has an unknown outcome. Good luck!

Sorry to hear about your bad experience, aisling. That must have been a real disappointment, especially with the broken cups.

Tamm said

:O This is awful! :( I’m sorry this hasn’t turned out well. I guess I was lucky in that I got to pick up my matcha set in store then…I hate it when people don’t wrap things well to ship them. >:(

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Starting a Teavana hate thread on steepster is like throwing a lamb in a shark tank

I’d have to say I really don’t agree from this, Teavana is far from an innocent lamb and Steepster is definitely not a shark tank.

humblemumble84: You made me laugh! Calling this thread a ‘Teavana hate thread’ is certainly one way to view this thread (which I can appreciate). And yet, as aisling of tea points out, and as I judge no one is really totally innocent, Teavana—as a large corporate profit seeking entity—certainly can be judged as having many areas that need improvement, so-to-speak (I know I judge that they do).

And on the ‘shark tank’ call, though, I totally agree. Sharks have their own, oh, shall we say, qualities, that help to keep the bigger ‘fish’ honest. ; )

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I’m not a big fan of Teavana’s teas, but my husband and I stop in every now and then to look at their tea accessories. The large tea tins they sell are too big for the loose leaf teas I buy, but I have found they are great for holding (maybe 50 or so) pyramid sachets (say, the large volume bags from Harney & Sons).

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I actually just experienced this for the first time. At my normal Teavana, they just say hello and leave you alone to shop. Never try to upsell or anything. Then, I went to a new mall and WOW they were IN MY FACE! Standing at the door, POURING my drink samples, taking me from sample to sample, showing me all the sale items, pushing me through everything, “accidentally” put 2.8 instead of 2 ounces. Honestly, I would have spent a lot MORE money had she just left me to browse. Having to say, “no I’m just looking, thanks” at everything I looked at, or “thanks for the information” got old FAST and I just bolted. Way to go Teavana at the Galleria (Roseville, CA!)

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The prices are understandably expensive as the store itself is usually located in high rent malls and their products are sold above prices to keep up with payments.( Los Angeles is an example). Another side affect is the lack of customers which only adds more strain on their pricing since they are the only shops( save but a few private shops) who sell in the mainstream market. I always noticed this when I give a visit to a local Teavana which I find it consistently empty apart from the" usually" customer. The other reason for the expenses is the fact that Teavana is a type of monopoly in the mainstream market! I have not seen any large scale competitor (besides online) who solely focuses on tea and tea lifestyle. Starbucks and Coffee Bean may sell tea but it does not focus on tea purely, so naturally the tea will be more expensive since there are no competitors to their challenge their prices. I would also point out that certain teas like Darjeeling that is produced by one country and one area is also monopoly as their are no other foreign competitors growing it and challenging their product. I have no problem from buying from them, they do have good products and the customer service I had at two locations are not as pushy but catering. Its the price that hurts the most and what keeps people not buying.

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Tenighir said

Ordered my teas in late December, then received an order confirmation. So far, so good, right? By January 19th, when I had not received a notice of shipment, I sent an email to customer service. Three days later, a response email stated that while my order was very important, there was a high volume of backorders and that it would be several days to research the problem. Okay. However, my email inbox continued to receive ads from marketing ending with the slogan, “Life is short. Drink some tea.” THAT lit my fuse, as I am quite aware that time is passing and I have no tea to drink. Repeated emails did yield any response, so I tried calling, several times with no luck. Finally, this morning, I sat on hold for more than 30 minutes, waiting to speak to a living being. Once I did speak to the voice, all she had to offer was an apology and reassurance that the order was pending. Asking to speak to a higher power, I sat on hold again. After a fair amount of time (8 minutes), I was informed that the supervisor was in a meeting. I asked that the supervisor call me. The customer service rep upgraded my shipping. I asked for a tracking number for the order. None was available yet. The order will ship from Connecticut via UPS, “soon.” I am skeptical and, after this experience, will never use Teavana’s online ordering service again. Have yet to receive the requested phone call from the supervisor. Checking my account, I see that my order from last month STILL isn’t reflected on my account. As I ordered more than $100 worth of teas and merchandise, I am angry. The $$ was in the form of a gift, and it’s tough making excuses to the giver why I haven’t used the card yet. It’s not the giver’s fault that Teavana doesn’t care about their customers. Adagio’s got to be better.

You should consider yourself lucky! I was on hold for four and a half hours before finally just hanging up. I’m also having some order issues (even though UPS is at fault, they delivered my package to the wrong city :/). I’ve sent multiple e-mails as well and I haven’t heard anything back. Teavana’s customer service is definitely lacking. I completely understand your frustration and anger.

Lolakraw said

I’m actually shocked that someone picked up in what they call “Customer Service”. I’ve tried a few times, but don’t want to continue feeling aggravated. I know my damaged tins will not be replaced, and I wonder if my “back-ordered” items will ever appear at my door. Shame on you, Teavana!

KittyKat88 said

Wow I never knew teavana was so bad with online orders; my order online before this was great. HOWEVER, it seems teavana has double charged me for the order I just made, as well as not put everything in the order mailed to me that I paid for (paid for TWICE, actually, since I was double charged.) I hope someone gets back to me soon, otherwise I may never order online from teavana again.

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Lolakraw said

That is unbelievable! I wanted to hold, just to see how long I would actually be put on hold. I’m convined there really is no “customer service”. Someone fills orders placed on line, and after that…too bad if you have a problem! How does a company, with a high profile of being in multiple shopping malls, get away with this? It’s almost criminal! I will be purchasing my tea in the future on-line, but NOT from Teavana. I’ve been given what sounds like some good referrals for other tea companies. If anyone would like to add or comment about other companies…PLEASE share! Meanwhile, I look at my damaged item and wonder if I’ll ever receive the back-ordered items. Damn you Teavana!

DavidsTea. I cannot recommend them enough. As well as Verdant Teas and Red Leaf Teas and Tealish. Those are the four I’ve ordered from the most, and after this debacle with Teavana, I will never even look at them again.

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