I had been to the Total Wine on Camelback and the staff there was great. Very friendly and knowledgeable. I remember when I was there we told the man helping us that we were looking for a Riesling. He suggested one from Washington that he said was very good and then had us follow him to the imports section so he could show us a German Riesling that he said was even better. I bought both.
And then drank them. Both.
So this past Friday I went into this Total Wine in Glendale, AZ (near my house) looking for anything specifically from Washington State (to send to a friend who just moved to Seattle)
I was with my niece and we walked up to the person at customer service. I told her I was looking for something from Washington. Something white, maybe a pinot. She said "Well, sir we don't just have a Washington section. That could be anything. *Pointing* they could be there, there, there or there. There all over, you'll just have to look."
Excuse me?!?! She couldn't have said oh well the Pinot's are in aisle whatever, or oh I know a great bottle you can try, or even let me call someone else to help you.
She was so rude that my 4yo niece (yes, I brought a 4 yo to a wine store) asked me why she was so mean to us.
Why didn't I just walk out right then and there???
Well, I am glad I didn't actually because luckily, not one but two men came to my rescue within just a few minutes. They each pointed a bottle for me told me about that specific wine, and educated me on wines from Washington. They were both great. Super friendly, outgoing, and seemed to know everything about each bottle of wine in the store. I left with two bottles.
I wish I had said something about the woman in customer service, but I didn't. What I wish for even more is that I got their names because those two men definitely deserve recognition. I was just so flustered and a bit shaken at that that I didn't ask.
Kudos to them, but I hope Total Wine does themselves a favor and gets that monster at customer service out of that store!