1 /5 Millie Hsueh: I recently visited The Pink Market Chapel with my sister. The shop was empty except for a woman and a boy behind the counter. The woman greeted us. So, our first impression was that it was a cute place. The shop carries a variety of knickknacks, jewelry, t-shirts, snacks, and books. The prices appeared reasonable, and they even had a clearance section.
Unfortunately, our checkout experience completely changed our impression.
My sister checked out first, and something seemed off with the total since they don’t provide paper receipts. She entered her phone number on their device to receive an itemized receipt but never received it. We later realized she had been charged more for a book than the sticker price, along with a credit card fee. While some businesses do charge a card fee, there’s typically clear signage, but we didn’t see any posted.
When we asked about the book price, the employee explained that the sticker reflected their wholesale price. That was strange and frustrating. In most retail settings, if there’s a pricing mistake, businesses typically honor the sticker price. It would have been more professional to address the discrepancy clearly during checkout rather than after we questioned it. The explanation about needing to mark up items to make a profit felt unnecessary since customers understand how retail works, but pricing transparency matters.
To make matters worse, as we were walking out of the store, since my sister never received her receipt, the owner/employee loudly called out asking if we wanted to leave our phone number. It felt rude and uncomfortable.
Overall, it was a disappointing first experience. While the shop itself is cute, the checkout process and customer service left a bad impression. We won’t be returning.
