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

587 Replies
AllanK said

I find I more often go into Teavana for Liquid Rock Sugar which is great in iced tea when I am too lazy to make my own sugar syrup. Their salespeople can be overbearing at times but the ones at my local Teavana don’t seem to be too over enthusiastic with me. Maybe it’s because I usually go in knowing exactly what I want.

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john12 said

Teavanna has been much better since they’ve been bought by Starbucks. The last salesperson I met (this weekend at Montgomery Mall) was new and annoying, but she didn’t try the overpour or to sell me anything. It got annoying watching her try to get 4.1 ounces of tea down to 4.0 ounces.

They are also currently giving away a free ounce of tea that costs less than $15/2 oz. if you spend $50. I don’t know how long it will last.

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Teavana seems to be better now compared to how they were a few years back. My local store has some irritating sales associates, as in they constantly hover over me when I’m just trying to browse but they aren’t pushy when it comes to selling stuff which I like.

I have been to other tea shops and they seem so much more relaxed.

The free ounce of tea if you spend $50 is still going on. I just bought some tea from there a couple of days ago.

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Mookit said

There was one Teavanna location that I used to frequent (which has since then unfortunately closed), and I’ve always had really nice experiences with the sales associated there. They were always friendly and willing to help, but I never found them too pushy or aggressive/rude/irritating. The people there really seemed to enjoy tea in general and were knowledgeable enough to have intelligent conversations about different teas.

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nycoma said

when i said i wasnt buying any and already have too much tea- she said you can never have too much tea. what a bitch! im never going back!

Mookit said

I think that lady was just trying to be nice, dude. It’s something people say when you are talking about something you obviously like (in this case, tea.)

nycoma said

i know… stupid jokes dont translate well on the internet. haha.

Mookit said

Ah yes, well, in that case… :P

nycoma said

im not THAAAT socially retarded, not that much..

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Afior said

I have only bought from them once about 2-3 years ago and they were very bugging. Every other time i went in there they were the same way but, i haven’t been in there for years.

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Ost said

Ahhh people at my local teavana are kinda clueless about tea,espescially the guys…Which makes no sense as to how they work there.Never been to a bad teavana.There’s one near UCLA in a mall I used to go to after dr appointments and they knew stuff about tea-had great talks with them!Even this one woman tried all of the stuff they have in the food mixed with tea cards they have on their shelves for you to take-she was so into it…She was so funny.That was a great Teavana!
Honestly all I see Is Teavana getting better and better,and DavidsTea that everyone seems to be obsessed with is getting worse and worse.I loved their tea infused candy bars and would love to try more but last few times I put in an order I had major issues and CS didn’t even give a crap and were just nasty.And the DavidsTea fans are super duper scary and hard core.Teavana fans aren’t really like that, but Teavana fans which I’d probably be considered one since a few of their teas are essentials to my tea collection. Trying to find a substitute for some davidsteas I like so I won’t ever order from them again.They are just getting worse and worse,while teavana gets better and better.But that’s just my opinion.

Also,I think most of the comments in this thread have been overrated just because people can’t FORCE you to buy tea.Like you can say No.It’s not THEIR fault that you break from peer pressure.Most of this thread blames their wasted money on people trying to do their jobs and earn money.But they didn’t hold a gun to your head and make you buy it.You guys did it.You didn’t have to, but you did.So yeah,don’t blame a company for doing their job.That’s just childish.

Uniquity said

Teavana was also bought by Starbucks in the last 2 or 3 years and is I think universally a better climate than it was before. I can’t speak to their service as there are no Teavana anywhere near me and I’m not interested in their tea but I have seen a lot online to indicate that they have changed a lot for the better post-acquisition.

This! I’ve been a Teavana partner since June and they really have changed a lot. We were specific told not to use the old tactics. The goal is to actually help people discover tea, imagine that? :P

When I was first hired we did an entire week of training on tea and there has been a lot of continuing training after that. A lot of the corporate managers that come through my store know I have a tea blog and they’re super excited to have someone knowledgeable (not that I know everything!) and passionate working for them. The benefits package is pretty awesome too :)

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Linda said

I walked into the Teavana in Reston Town Center on Friday afternoon. I’d never been there before but I had seen this thread and was expecting the worst. I was pleasantly surprised by a friendly and helpful person who didn’t try to push tins or cast iron pots. I walked out with my 2 oz of jasmine green tea and felt reasonably good about the whole thing. I’d certainly go back.

On the other hand, the Capital Teas in Fair Oaks Mall was an experience like I expected at Teavana. Lots of pressure and a fairly pushy sales guy.

AllanK said

Sometimes I have gone into Teavana and they are very pushy, other times they aren’t. I have had both experiences. When I talk to the salespeople at a Teavana they usually realize quickly that I know more about tea than they do. Tends to put a damper on their enthusiasm.

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