Thrift boutique out of touch

Growing up in the 90s I had one goal. To get as much cool and used old man clothing as possible. Being a grunge kid with an older brother who played bass, made me the perfect candidate to try and follow in Kurt Cobain’s converse shoes.

Unfortunately, I lived in small town Newfoundland and there was only one used clothing store. I managed to plow through many plaid shirts and moth riddle sweaters to assemble a reasonable attire.

My best friend vacationed in Halifax and her summers were filled with trips to Frenchy’s for a plethora of fedoras, overalls and cowboy boots. I was jealous to the max about her destination summers and the loot she returned with every new school year.

So when I was 30 and a stay-at-home mom, my daughter and I trucked down to Frenchy’s Thrift Boutique for a gander. The whole walk down was a wave of nostalgia. I remember my first pair of genuine bell bottoms, Buddy Holly Rims and an oversized beige sweater with leather elbow patches.

To my surprise, this Frenchy’s was just a mass of disappointment. There was barely any product available, the staff made me feel terrible about even entering the premises and no one spoke to my extremely cute daughter.

Maybe I had built it up too much.

Maybe I expect too much because I worked in retail since I was 15 and put a lot of emphasis on customer service.

Maybe my memories were delusions and the hunt for grunge was not what it used to be.

However, recently Frenchy’s Thrift Boutique (and it is important to say the full name because they are not associated with the wonderful Frenchy’s across the ocean), has been hitting up social media and people are wondering how they are even in business. Here are some of the reviews:

If you are feeling somewhat sympathetic for a local business owner who is being shamed on social media, wait until you hear her questionable responses to some of these comments. Though you may have difficulty understanding the grammar, it is still quite a doozy.

Someone commented that the owner refused to pay a worker because they had body odour to which the facebook page responded:

In response to one woman’s post, Frenchy’s said she is lucky her profile pic is unavailable and that she had been reported to the RNC.

Rather than apologize or work with a customer to assure they leave a situation satisfied, the owner airs their dirty laundry all over facebook for all to see:

This is another review left by an unsatisfied customer and received the following (now deleted) response from Frenchy’s:

Throughout the facebook page, the account responds with threats and questionable appreciation. I am not sure what the account manager considers proper public service, but I don’t think threats and mockery is how you should respond on social media. Now I am no expert, oh wait a minute, I kind of am.

For a good read, check out their facebook page and if you want to see what the place is all about, check them out for yourself.