First day of our end-of-the-line sales ...

[Pixelated]

Teas themselves are not on sale yet, but everything else is ... at 50% off.

Our day-end sales total was $5,000.

Wotta shame management didn't think to have some purchase-inducing sales throughout the year, eh? We might not have been castigated as "underperforming" by some upper management twit in one of the news articles on our closures.

Once the teas themselves go on sale ... we will likely have to operate from behind sandbags.

[Shyla]

Gee. Maybe the stores had trouble because everything was overpriced? That's what most are saying on other sites. I don't have one near me.

[Pixelated]

We do have good quality teas, Shyla, and we did have teas at varying price levels ... but [Competitor] had no minimum purchase quantity ... and we did. And if you are looking at a tea blend that's very heavy and dense ... you hit that minimum amount really quickly. It was certainly not unusual for people to stare at the quantity and go "$X for that?" followed by "Thank you" and a quick departure.

So yeah, there was that. I have no idea what [Competitor's] drinks prices are. Perhaps we should've had more than one size of hot and cold drinks ... priced accordingly? Ya think?

And in my own opinion, the company should've focused more on TEA and less on tea "accessories." Every time we turned around we had new mugs! And new travel mugs! And new cold drink cups to carry your iced tea around in! What was 'new' about them, you ask? The colours and the designs.

But how many freakin' mugs and travel mugs and cold drink cups does anybody need?! And I'm speaking as somebody who has enough mugs to open her own cafe. And yet, even I came soooooo close to buying yet another one ... it was cute ... had varying sizes of polka dots on it ... thankfully it was the last one in the shop and a customer saved me from myself by buying it yesterday.

[mhkohne]

We do have good quality teas, Shyla, and we did have teas at varying price levels ... but [Competitor] had no minimum purchase quantity ... and we did. And if you are looking at a tea blend that's very heavy and dense ... you hit that minimum amount really quickly. It was certainly not unusual for people to stare at the quantity and go "$X for that?" followed by "Thank you" and a quick departure.

Yea, I got accidentally shocked at the price once or twice. But I wanted the tea, so I spent the money.

So yeah, there was that. I have no idea what [Competitor's] drinks prices are. Perhaps we should've had more than one size of hot and cold drinks ... priced accordingly? Ya think?

I actually think more clues that you served tea would have been in order. Also, if you're gonna be in the business of serving tea, then a better store layout would help - whenever my daughter got tea in one of your stores the folks behind the counter had to bob and weave around each other to get the job done. Looked very inefficient, and there was no good place for us to stand and wait.

And in my own opinion, the company should've focused more on TEA and less on tea "accessories." Every time we turned around we had new mugs! And new travel mugs! And new cold drink cups to carry your iced tea around in! What was 'new' about them, you ask? The colours and the designs.

But how many freakin' mugs and travel mugs and cold drink cups does anybody need?! And I'm speaking as somebody who has enough mugs to open her own cafe. And yet, even I came soooooo close to buying yet another one ... it was cute ... had varying sizes of polka dots on it ... thankfully it was the last one in the shop and a customer saved me from myself by buying it yesterday.

Yup. I think you've got the right of it here - you certainly need to be selling accessories, but it seemed to me a little jam-packed with stuff. I sure don't need a second tea maker till my first one breaks!

Good luck to you and all your fellow employees. I'll miss the store.

[Pixelated]

Yea, I got accidentally shocked at the price once or twice. But I wanted the tea, so I spent the money.

I actually think more clues that you served tea would have been in order. Also, if you're gonna be in the business of serving tea, then a better store layout would help - whenever my daughter got tea in one of your stores the folks behind the counter had to bob and weave around each other to get the job done. Looked very inefficient, and there was no good place for us to stand and wait.

I won't say there wen't problems at our store but ... it might also depend on the store layout. We also had managers who tended to say "WHY are there four people behind the bar??" and during especially busy times would schedule one person to be a barista only. That made a huge difference. Personally, I thought we should've had a "barista only" at all times because that would've meant none of the "bobbing and weaving" you mention.

Our drinks bar was right near the entrance to the mall, so standing to wait for drinks wasn't such an issue.

Yup. I think you've got the right of it here - you certainly need to be selling accessories, but it seemed to me a little jam-packed with stuff. I sure don't need a second tea maker till my first one breaks!

Good luck to you and all your fellow employees. I'll miss the store.

Thank you. I am trying to transfer to the coffee side of the business. In the tea side the drinks were more of a sideline; in the coffee side, they ARE the business, although of course if somebody wants to buy a mug or a pound of coffee that's good too.

[Aria]

Ahhhh... I need to go in again urgently then. I really, really want the green S'well water bottle you guys carry but I don't want to pay 45 dollars for it.

[dalesys]

... we will likely have to operate from behind sandbags.

"Rally to the teabags!" could be taken wrongly...

[EricKei]

Well, at least we know what'll happen to any leftover tea when this is all over. Drop shipment to Boston Harbor

[mjr]

Teas themselves are not on sale yet, but everything else is ... at 50% off.

I'm surprised you haven't told us that, even at 50% off, people were still asking for discounts because, "You're going out of business anyway..."

There was a "books and entertainment" store near me that was going out of business. They had everything marked down -- they were even selling shopping carts, display cases, and the bookshelves. Pretty steep discounts. It wouldn't surprise me if people tried to get discounts on top of that, too...

[Slave to the Phone]

50% off never seems to be enough for some people. I was once at the closing of a small, independent coffee shop because I wanted to stock up on his amazing coffee. I thought that 50% off everything in the shop was a great deal, and while I did argue with him over the price of the amazing hand-carved dragon chair that he had saved for me*, I couldn't believe the people dickering with him over prices of used stuff because it was scuffed or something.

*Totally justified, IMO. He was asking 20 for it because he had found it at a yard sale for 5. I thought the chair was worth at least 100 and had come fully prepared to pay 120 for it. We settled at 80. I still have the chair and still think that I didn't pay enough.