Surprise Party

Super Rude and Nasty owner !!! And a complete rip off!!! The lady who owns this store gave me the single worst customer service experience I’ve had in seven years in San Francisco. I’m a gardener and came in after work one day. I create hand made drift wood art. I thought perhaps it would be a good fit for the store. I don’t know if the lady had been drinking or what, but I told her I was an artist and I thought my art fit the vibe of her store. She asked me if I had brought a piece in (which is comical if you read some of the store reviews after mine). Clearly I had nothing in my hands but whatever. I told her no, but I have a business card because I found that most stores and galleries prefer a card or email address. Before I can tell her that I would be more than willing to bring a piece in she says «I doesn’t do things that way and that you should either leave, or bring a piece in so I can consult with you at $ 50.00 dollars an hour 100 reason why I wouldn’t want your art.» This is verbatim. First off she actually was insulted and got angry enough to ask me to leave because I mentioned most people want a card or email address. Which is 100% true. Also, she mentioned she would consult with me why she wouldn’t my art when she hadn’t even seen it. It was an insulting statement that made no sense. As I was leaving I told her «I hope that you enjoy bad Unilocal reviews.» And she «screamed oh fuck you.» And then she came out and shut the door behind her. So part of the reason she was in a bad mood is because she wanted to close the store. I didn’t see what time her store closed but it wasn’t even 4 in the afternoon yet. Either way totally unprofessional. Also, most of the shells in her store are very common certain times of the year on on near by shores such as Mexico. You can buy a whole box of conical shells and stars and many other items for $ 20 dollars a box at the Alameada flea market, or you can pay the same price for 1 or 2 at her store. I mean were talking well more than a 600% bar mark up. Her store is a complete rip off, and unless you enjoy being at best treated rudely and more likely insulted (read the reviews after mine) than I wouldn’t shop here!

Rudest shop owner!!! Worst experience ever!
I had been eyeing the store for some time to find some matching earrings for a necklase I had bought in the carribean.
Walked by and the sign on the door says come in with a purpose to buy!– okay?!
I walk in and the lady says what do you need. I said I’m looking for white stones with veins in them to match a necklase.
She says, do you have the necklase? I said no, I was just passing by. I will bring it. She said yeah, you should think before you come in.
She said I should add that to the sign on the door, don’t just come to buy, think and come in!— wow! Ok, rude but whatever…
She said but in the meantime look for something else. So I browse. Saw some albolene pieces. So I asked if she had anything made already. She said no but it takes her 5 minutes.
Then i said ok… what do you suggest pairing it with?
She said are you going to buy or what? I said well I’m looking for now.
She said well come back when you want to buy. Ok? I don’t design for free. Bye bye!
I said I’m sure you don’t. She said yeah leave!
I said wow you are tough! Not sure I would be back! A little customer service would be nice.
She said leave I don’t want you back.
What the heck?
I understand she doesn’t want her time wasted but I really was looking to buy and her rude comments are not going to make a sale no matter what she has for sale!

The best part of my visit to SF was walking into this lovely store and meeting the most cool store owner ever. I was greeted kindly, shown amazing necklaces, offered caring service and walked away feeling like my money went to a good american business. She answered all my questions on the stones and even broke out books she had to give the full descriptions of the qualities of the precious items. She helped me pick out and design a special necklace that I now treasure and even let me pet her kind and welcoming guard dog. I really recommend this store for any last minute gifts, personal feel good shopping or getting creative and wanting to learn about beads and stonework. I will make this my favorite bead store and kindest store owner in the world!

You know, I’ve been in here a couple of times, and I really do like this tiny little place. Maybe it’s because I have a dream of one day owning a little shop like this one. I actually love how everything is a bit old fashioned and displayed in bottles. I’m a treasure hunter, so it thrills me to come into this cramped little space to dig for unique pieces. It’s true, the owner of the tiny shop is very unusual. During my first visit a year or so ago, I was pretty turned off by her gruff demeanor and didn’t come back until recently.
A couple of days ago, I found that my curiosity outweighed my worries of a random shop owner’s rudeness. I was determined to go have a look around and to have a positive encounter with the lady in the shop. This time, I was pleased to find her helpful and pleasant. I found a beautiful lapis lazuli pendant. The price she named was within my budget, so I committed to getting it.
Before checking out, I noticed a jar that read «45 cents each» with some very unique looking middle eastern coins in it. She invited me to pour them out on her counter so that I could get a better look at them. She even pulled out a tray of, what she called, «dowry coins.» I selected about 7 or 8 coins and asked how much the total would be. I was shocked when she counted and said $ 165. I pointed out the 45 cent label on the jar and she just said that «somebody had made a mistake.» Then she marked it out and changed it to «$ 24 each.» When I told her that I couldn’t afford to pay that much she chopped the price down to $ 110, which was still way more than I was willing to pay. I stuck with just buying the lapis charm. I could tell she was disappointed, but she was still pleasant while she rang me up.
So, I would just say that if you go into this shop, be aware that the owner’s pricing on some of her items might be skewed. I’ve looked up similar coins online and found that the 45 cent price would have been accurate. I also looked up a similar lapis lazuli pendant, and the price was about the same that I paid for mine. Lesson learned: Always good to do your research.
Overall, pretty pleased with my transaction here. Maybe I will return when I become a better haggler.

My visit to Surprise Party was unplanned, just a random stop I made while en route to Hi Ho Silver, and my experience was okay. The owner is gruff, but knows where everything is located in her store. I asked her if she had some specialty beads and she told me just where to dig. Success. All the beads I needed, neatly folded into a plastic baggie inside a basket full of plastic baggies.
I found that showing her a lot of friendliness and giving her little shop as much loving kindness as possible went a long way toward improving my own experience here.
It took a long time to get through my transaction, perhaps a half hour, because the shopowner stopped to make another customer a custom set of jewelry (earrings and a bracelet) in between ringing me up. On the upside, I am very happy that there’s a place in the neighborhood where you can get custom, on-​the-​spot beadwork and jewelry repairs.
If you’re a specialty beader, happen to be in the neighborhood, and have a thick skin, I think there’s a reason to stop in here, but I wouldn’t recommend that you make a special trip.

I wandered into this store — while my mom perused clothes nearby.
I’m always taken by beads and trinkets — so while I didn’t see anything that grabbed my eye — I always enjoy looking around at stores like this.
My mom joined me in the store.
When I inquired about the price of a turquoise stone — the owner of the store quoted us a high price. I began to notice that most of the items in the store were expensive — especially since none of the beads or stones seemed particularly unique. My mom and I both left the store — shortly thereafter.
It wasn’t the price of things that made us exit the store rather abruptly though. It was moreso — the attitude of the woman behind the counter. She didn’t seem very interested in helping us while we looked around and when we did have questions — she seemed bothered by them. My mom was even scolded for coughing once in the store (she had allergies). I completely understand wanting to avoid getting sick — but the woman’s delivery was sharp and off-​putting.
I don’t think I will be returning to this store anytime soon.
Trust.

While on a visit from WA I dropped my wife off today to do some shopping in the area, while waiting outside this trinket-​hole-​in-​the-​wall-​store to get picked up, the store employee (I guess Susan, based on other reviews her personality fits the description perfectly) made an effort to walk outside and question my wife about why she was standing in front of her store if she was not going to purchase anything.
I will thank google street view for allowing me to find out your business name and look inside your «business» from the comfort of my home and see that that 1) I don’t blame anyone for not buying your silly arts and crafts and 2) your poor attitude just ruined a number of potential customers from San Francisco and Washington.
You are the reason that people shop online and avoid terrible interactions like the one we experienced today.

Oh, my, god! I never write Unilocal reviews but I went out of my way to find what this business was officially called and review it. And now that I am on the page and seeing all these one star reviews I am almost laughing in relief. Because it’s not just me! This woman ruined my ENTIRE DAY. I went in looking around, thinking about buying an amulet or chain, and knowing that with all of the beads and objects in there there was probably something that was just what I was looking for. The owner, Susan, was pleasant at first, but she kept kind of pushing things on me as to what she thought I should get when I hadn’t really had the chance to browse around myself. So when I kept hesitating and continuing to look in the various display cases and areas, she suddenly turned very abrupt and said,
«Look, are you really interested in buying something, or are you just jerking my chain?»
Keep in mind, I had been in there probably under 10 minutes. And there are a LOT of things in that store. I was flabbergasted. When people insult me I pretty much just freeze up and don’t even know how to respond right away, so I just started putting back what I was looking at and said,
«I WAS interested in buying something if I found what I was looking for, and I certainly didn’t come in here intending to ‘jerk your chain,’ but I think it’s best if I just leave.»
Her entire demeanor had gone from pleasing and helpful to curt and bullying.
«I’ve had four people come in here like you, today,» she kept going. «This is not a joke. This is my business.»
Uh, lady, I think those are called potential customers. Those are who you get business from. If you manage to not drive them out of your store within the first ten minutes.
And that’s what it literally felt like she was doing, was driving me out of her store. I had to kind of put my foot down before I was fully out and told her I had never been treated like this, ever, in any of the hundreds, probably thousands of stores I’ve been to in my life. To which she said she was not being rude, just saying what needed to be said.
«Do you really treat your customers like this?» I asked. «How do you get any clients?»
«I do just fine!» She snapped, before telling me, point blank, «Now you’re really wasting my time,» and practically shoving me out the door.
I was actually in shock, and I walked down the street trying not to cry, in disbelief that one simple act of going into a pleasant looking store could lead to such an unpleasant, awful encounter with another human being. I felt like there was something wrong with ME until I came to Unilocal and saw that, no, the problem is most definitely on the part of the shop owner.
My question, though, is… how DOES she do any business?

I simply needed to get a bracelet restrung, but my experience with Susan was nothing but pleasant. She was very nice and accommodating.

Under no condition should you be encouraged, persuaded, cajoled, confused into stopping in this store. I stopped in out of curiosity, in the hopes of replacing a much valued necklace I had lost. The store owner Susan, was complimentary, telling me what good taste I had and how interesting I was. I selected a few baubles to create a necklace that I hoped would be somewhat like the one I had lost, but when Susan began adding up the cost of each piece, it turns out, miraculously, each little piece of bead or metal was, surprisingly, one of the most valuable antiques in the store and thus, expensive — $ 75 for a piece of metal, $ 20, $ 20, $ 30, $ 20, for small beads (each).
By that time I had spent nearly an hour selecting these little pieces and didn’t want to start over.
That’s when Susan’s whole demeanor changed. She became irritated and annoyed, telling me if I was going to change my mind she would have to walk away, which she did by moving to the room next door. Then returning with a flustered attitude. I ended up saying I would purchase a few pieces. The total came to $ 169.07. I was stunned. Then she charged me $ 25.00 to string them and another $ 50 for the brass clasp.
What I had hoped would be a creative moment to remember fondly, left me feeling used and taken advantage of. Worst of all, the necklace I now own is poorly constructed. To make it all fit on the string, she bent the small metal (of course valuable) trinket.
My recommendation… do not stop, go in, wander in, or even consider buying anything from Susan.

The goods are okay if a bit overpriced. The owner is absolutely crazily rude. We were in her store at 6.03 & she closes at 6. I mentioned to my daughter that we needed to leave as the the lady was trying to close. But that wasn’t good enough for… the lady. She felt the need to curtly enforce what I had just acknowledged. Before we could even get out the door she started on a tirade that ended at at 6.04 with her screaming an f bomb in my face. Avoid.

The «Surprise» is flat-​out rudeness, expect it. The reviews are correct, all of them. How many ways can you say «eccentric» and not in a fun way, or «moody and unpredictable.» Look at the odds, for every five star guest, there are many more who got abusive treatment just for stopping in. If you venture in, do not overstay your welcome. Ten minutes is too long. Don’t ruin your shopping karma or your daughter’s interest in beading. The owner was not meant to be in retail, even in eccentric SF. This is not a real place to shop — not even the owner takes it seriously. There are no bargains here and almost no selection — don’t risk scarring your kids’ creative interest in beading when you can go to a real bead store where you will be treated courteously and they will help you put together a nice bead party with no rude surprises.

My partner and I stumbled upon this place on afternoon while we were out and about, and stepped in. The place is tiny, more than three would definitely be a crowd. We found an abalone sphere that was really really cool, and Susan gave us some feedback about the stones, beads and coins that we were looking at, and was helpful.
We ended up finding a few things that went together well, and made our purchase. This place is expensive, that’s for sure. But hey, we made a piece and it happened how it happened, so what can you do?
That being said. I did feel a little pressure in the «if you’re not going to buy something why are you here» department. Had I read these other reviews beforehand, I probably wouldn’t have shopped there. Now that I have, I’m really surprised that our visit went as well as it did. Needless to say, I think I’ll explore other bead stores before going back.

I tend to write glowing reviews because I’m positive like that. Sure I get two-​star products or service sometimes, but maybe the server or the cook was having a bad day. But, my generosity with stars probably undermines my credibility. Maybe you think I love everything. Maybe you don’t trust me because I throw around the 5 stars so freely.
Well, thank the Bead Lady for letting me add to the lower end of Unilocal reviews. Where is the zero-​star option?
Take a look at my profile photo. Now visualize a duvet cover with a missing button. Can you imagine anything more benign than that pair?
I was in this store for less than a minute before the proprietor asked me to leave. I insisted on knowing why and she said «because you’re scaring my customers.» She was so agitated that I wondered if she might have a gun behind the counter and use it, leaving only her side of the story told. (Seriously. That’s what was going through my head as an old white woman was throwing me out.) Rather than find out, I got out of there.
Bonus No Stars to the two customers who witnessed this interaction and just looked at me like, «Well, what the hell are you waiting for? Leave.»

* over priced
* yes, the owner is strange and extremely rude
* beautiful stuff but again dirty, mismatched and overpriced
* if i lived in the Fillmore, had lots of money and liked abuse – this would be a great place to go

Worst. Service. Ever. 0 stars if I could.
Got thrown out of the store with a «Bye.» The merchandise is marked at exorbitant prices despite being mostly glass, plastic, or fake wood. Obviously not a real jeweler, as no expert would be offended to have their customers handle the merchandise to test the weight and quality. Can someone please shut this place down?
You can get infinitely better, REAL gemstones on
or even chains, like Michaels or Walmart.

I wish I had looked at Unilocal before I schlepped over to this cummy shop with the rude owner. I went because I had to get beads for a simple project for four girls in a class at church, and the shop is in walking distance from my apartment. I encountered all the same stuff as everyone else here: she acted like I was bothering her when she let me in, immediately asked what I was looking for and what I wanted to spend, then showed me crazy overpriced mismatched crap that was totally inappropriate for the project, then as someone else came to the door, she said «pull out your money and pick your beads already.» I put down the two tiny bags of junk in my hand and moved inches toward the door when she said «where are you going?» When I told her she was making me uncomfortable she said «oh here we go… GOODBYE!»
I am amazed that this store is even open.
Owner, if you bother to read any of this, take my advice: make yourself and everyone else happy and just close shop. Clearly you hate this and it shows.
Potential customers: go anywhere else.

If I could given ZERO stars, I really would.
This woman is unbelievable. Exact quote to me and my friend (who us taking a jewelry class and was looking for a nice stone for a ring she was making):
«if you’re not here to buy anything you’re just wasting my time. I’m trying to wrap up. «
That’s all.

I’m on a jewelry making kick and thought I’d go back into the archives to pull out a memorable jewelry making experience at Surprise Party Beads, Shells, & Sponges.
I came here, in December 2007, for a team building exercise of making jewelry with 6 colleagues from my company. I was so happy it was an activity I loved and completely paid for by my company, that, unlike the other reviewers, I have zero burn marks as a result of pricing and billing.
Sure, the owner was a little looney and could benefit from a AA degree in customer service or even simple social skills priming to start, but what do you expect from a lady who exclsively sells shells and beads out of micro bottles in a crowded, cluttered closet??? I am sure she hand dropped each beadling into every jar herself. I’m endeared by such personalities, 5 letter words attached and all.
I do remember 1) the store smelling like cat, possibly, and I might be incorrect, but possibly cat urine, to the point where my olfactory mills refused to churn upon walking into the store, 2) no price tags on most of the bottled beads, 3) crowded with more that 2 people in each segragated room, 4) the display shelves not doing their job by not… well… displaying the beads and jars sitting on them (very cluttered and poorly kept) and 5) a majority of the beads I liked were not of the best quality (cracked and chipped).
Let’s just say, going here is like going to a Goodwill or Salvation Army but for beads and shells; plan on hours searching through racks, or in this case shelves, upon shelves of dusty questionable items hoping to find a cheap gem of a find. In the meantime, no one offers you a fitting room and when you ask, they aren’t very pleasant, but you can sort of respect them for that. They work at Goodwill! And when you find the gem, it’s a little more than you want to spend for Salvation Army.
If you really want it, you’ll do what you need to to get it… otherwise, it wasn’t meant to be yours in the first place nor worth the trip.

Basic Description:
A cluttered jub jub store with tribal influenced hand made jewelery. Not my thing, but there is a clientel for this stuff. Fortunately I think such things can be found much cheaper in other places. I’m sure you could pick up about 5 of such trinkets on Telegraph avenue in Berkeley for the price of one of these items.
More importantly though…
BOYCOTT THIS STORE!
Jesus why is this place still open? Everyone has a bad story about it, but I can assure you mine is the worst.
I went here with my friend last night and we were treated quite well by the owner who said it was nice to speak with such ‘nice and intelligent girls’. She talked and talked. We were being friendly. My friend picked up a pretty pair of earrings for $ 20 which the saleslady and I convinced her to buy.
The first thing that struck me as odd, though, was when my friend inquired on the price of other items. She picked up another pare of earrings and found out they were about $ 38. She said, «Oh I shouldn’t spend that much.» «Then why did you bring it up,» said the saleslady. I thought this was strange considering that my friend had already made it clear she was already going to purchase the other earrings.
Things went better and we left with smiles on our faces though she talked our ears off a bit. We went out to dinner, came back to my friend’s place and my friend was started by a lack of funds in her account. She was charged $ 130 for the earrings.
I saw the woman slide the card several times, and told her it was probably a mistake. My friend left a nice message on her machine explaining what happened and she’d be back the next day to fix things.
Later today my friend called me upset after dealing with the woman who now claims that my friend was charged accurately. We were confused. Why would the woman think my friend had an aversion to paying for a $ 38 pair of earrings when she was more than willing to pay for a $ 120 pair?
Not only that, but when my friend told her she would have protested that night had she got a receipt the lady told her she doesn’t give receipts!
WTF?! I was never into this store anyway, but please if you are into this kid of jewelery please do yourself a favor and find it elsewhere.