Dammit, I really, really like this kitchen store, but I had a very mediocre experience today that has left me feeling sore.
Ordinarily, I would give this place 4 stars, and place it above places like IQ Living, Cook's Place and their ilk, simply because they are more about quality and less about the gadget of the moment.
Though their stock is generally top quality, I purchased a faulty meat thermometer which I tried to return the next day. Maybe it's the dynamic of a small business that treats their customers with suspicion, but the two clerks would not take me at my word that the item was defective. They tried to tell me that I was misreading the device, and when that proved to be a dead end, they instead told me that their Rep would take a look at it later in the week to determine whether or not the device was working.
The result is that I left without a refund or even an exchange (and even an insinuation that I had returned a similar thermometer the previous week!), and am now waiting for a phone call on the results. The only reason I didn't blow my stack (aside from being kind of mild-mannered) is that like I said at the beginning of this review, I really like Degrees. I don't want to make a scene just to get my way, because I'd like to come back and not be loathed by the staff.
But as I left, the whole experience just became more sour in my mouth. Even if they deem the unit to be defective, they'll likely ask me to come in a third time for my refund or exchange, and if they don't, if they insist it's working, I'll have the happy task of picking up $40 of defective merchandise which I know doesn't work (I guess I'll tell them where to stick it if that happens). Even if they refund my money, it's a bit of a Pyrrhic victory at this point, as I can't say I want to go back anytime soon.
**UPDATE** I got my money refunded over the phone a couple of days later.