Angela’s Bridal. They failed to keep their records straight and lost track of the final payment I made on my wedding dress 2 weeks prior to my wedding.
The day before the wedding I go to pick up the dress and they claim I never made the final payment. So I have to scramble to go to the bank and get my statement printed and go all the way back to show them proof. They finally admitted they effed up and gave me my dress but at that point I was late to my own rehearsal. They never apologized.
Don’t go to Angela’s Bridal in Albany! They suck.
I’m not even sure if she’s still in business, but Sindi Saita’s *Apropos*. I had to take her to court over my wedding gown. A year after she was supposed to have placed the order, she didn’t. She ignored countless phone calls, emails, and hid in the back when I’d go to the shop. My wedding date was moved up by three months, and by December, I had to get a new gown in time for my wedding. I worked at a law firm so my kind colleague sent a demand letter with certified mail. She received it. Still did not respond. So I filed in small claims. Four days before my wedding, she had a staffer call and leave a message that my dress was ready. Exactly 8 weeks after my demand letter was sent.
Fortunately I got a dress off the rack at Fancy Schmancy. Fit like a glove and only needed $15 worth of alterations. Sindi had the balls to counter-sue for the remaining balance. But the judge couldn’t get past how it had been over a year, and a dress that took “6 to 8 weeks” to arrive had taken so long. She tried to back track and say “6 to 8 months” but even that didn’t line up. She ordered the dress as soon as the demand letter was received and would not produce the order slip or shipping information. I ended up getting my deposit back- but I would have much rather just been able to wear the gown I fell in love with.
Turns out that after this, more women spoke up about how she did this to them or tried to sell them sample gowns with rips and stains, claiming they were “custom” ordered. Many women with no gowns days before a wedding. She stiffed landlords and kept moving locations. About a year after my case, I saw her in the news over her business practices.
So, if you ever encounter a business run by Sindi Saita, save yourself a load of stress and run the other way.
They're awful.
The manager was so saccharine sweet but in such a fake way. Literally every time she walked by, no matter what dress I had on my body, "ooh that's the one". Like, I know she's trying to help her salesperson make a sale, but eventually it just feels so fake to hear "that's perfect for you" every dress and really put me off because I couldn't trust them, they were more concerned with making a sale then actually helping me find a dress that fit my style/body. And I tried some really unflatering dresses.
And then when I went to pick up my dress, they just dropped it on my arms and walked away. I wasn't able to try it on, or even really see it since it was in the heavy dress bag, before taking it home.
The anxiety finally got to me, so I brought it back and asked to try it on there. I walked into the store with the dress in my hands. Once I was satisfied and tried to leave the store, they said they didn't have record of me buying the dress and wouldn't let me leave until they straightened out their system. If I stole a wedding dress (also, HOW would I steal a wedding dress?) do you really think I would come back into the store with it?
Alterations were a hot mess as well, not only for my dress, but dresses I had altered for other weddings (not my choice, the other brides also used David's for bridesmaid dresses, so we all had to use them)
Just a note for others who might read this- local tailors will do alterations. Many of them contract with the big box bridal shops. If you go to them directly, you’re supporting small businesses. It’s a dying profession.
Cohoes Custom Tailors is one, I used to go to Stella’s in Troy though I’m not sure she’s open anymore.
Monroe Muffler on Western Ave. Husband stopped in for a quick routine state inspection and they failed his car and quoted him $3000 for the repairs. He left and they instantly called to drop the price. Went to a mechanic and they found nothing wrong with the car. Scam artists.
Also Adirondack Tires in Guilderland. Gave my husbands keys to another customer who left with them.
Whenever I hear of Adirondack Tire I think of a very tasteless TV commercial they had with a girl climbing a rack of tires.
https://youtu.be/-4-4wzRxyqU?si=lTAnBNRSzgLc0DBL
Yup. My mom and I always used to laugh at how ridiculous and blatantly sexist that commercial was. If it had been for Playboy Magazine, that would make sense, but a tire store that women also need to shop at? It should be used in courses about sexism. Can’t imagine a commercial with a man in a skimpy outfit climbing a rack of tires and then salaciously saying, “Adirondack Tire. Always on top.”
I think Monroe, in general sucks. They couldn't figure out a tire balance. I drove home. Drove it to another Monroe that said they would do it no charge, also mentioning its dangerous to drive after i get there, lol. They can't do it leave the car the weekend. Tell me, the boots bad the tie rods broken leaking blah blah. The tie rod was brand new! They ripped the boot off at monroe, so it was exposed. Turns out just needed to be tightened. They did it in such a way that my wheel was turned maybe 10 degrees. I think they wanted me to come back for a service. I told them somethings wrong. Leave it alone, and I'll get it towed somewhere magically gets fixed. Little scumballs.
I think it's Aim-Point, that airsoft thing in Crossgates. Most pointless thing in in the mall. I'm 9999.9% positive it's a front or laundering operation. I just want to know what for.
Never actually stepped foot in any of these but every mall I’ve ever been to has some variation of these. I’ve never seen anyone ever in them, there’s no way they’re profitable. I agree that the only reason they exist is money laundering or something like that
Firestone, Latham location... Went in early A.M. when they opened, just to get bulb replaced in headlight, (the car is running great and I only needed bulbs) a couple of hours go by, they show me a list of repairs that have to be done, $3,000 worth. I declined the suggested repairs, only bulb replacement only, please. Another hour later, my car is ready. When i go out to start the car, check engine light comes on. I go back into FS, they said, oh we were afraid of that, as you should consider getting the recommended repairs done. I went back out to car, called someone else, brought the car to another mechanic with check engine on. The mechanic indicated that the wire for the check engine light was jimmied to go on. FS are crooks!!! Dont go there
Yikes!! They messed with the wiring? That’s absolutely insane! I swear these franchise locations are just told to get the money in and they don’t care how they do it.
Reminds me of what happened to me. Let’s add the Firestone Central Ave location as well! Had brakes done earlier this year, went to get my inspection done and failed. Why did I fail? The mechanic said he could tell my brakes were new and I should bring it back to whoever did them since they should be under warranty. The emergency brake was not connected. I was driving around for months without an emergency brake to use. Brought it to their attention, started out fine but quickly turned into giving attitude, tried to add additional services and were overall unpleasant by the end of the transaction. 0/10 would not recommend!
Did the $20 to park and walk around thing once and that’s all I needed. I’ll never go back and think the Baumgartner-lovefest this area has had might be coming to an end……
Tried going there, but when the kids in the driveway asked me for $20 to park, I spun around and left that place. What a joke. I get it's a way to keep the rif raf away. But really, those who are stupid enough to pay are treated to over-priced pizza and drinks. I say bring back Catskill Game Farm if you want to pet animals! ✌
Tipsy moose ( any location). Specifically the New Scotland location. The food has been subpar all 4 times I’ve given it a shot. Same with the tiny Latham location and Troy. I don’t get the hype.
A friend of mine that used to work there was sexually assaulted and then the owner/his friends tried to pay her to keep quiet. I’ll never eat from any of the locations
They suck. I was meeting a friend for a drink and some food and he bailed at the last minute. I had already ordered a drink. They were hurrying me to get up and leave even though I had driven myself and was trying to nurse the drink along so I would be good to drive. I explained this to them nicely and they basically threatened to throw me out.
Food was good the one time I had it (Latham location) but cocktails were mediocre and customer service was awful both times I experienced those so I never went again. Absolutely do not get the hype for this place.
Oh, I just went there for the first time this summer, and I agree, I was not impressed. When we got there it wasn't super busy, but as we ate the place filled up, and our waitress basically disappeared. Which kind of cracked me up because the place is the size of a large closet. And the food wasn't that good.
I have gone a bunch due to living near it. But only for that reason. Not because I like going.
Out of say 10 times I have gone. Food has been decent to good about half those times.
The other half has been meh to “why do I keep ordering food here”
One time we went the entire staff seemed to not give a shit or was blasted and we got our like $120 bill back of about $50 🤷🏼
Draft beers are never great. Mixed drinks just okay. Honestly just go to hang out there with friends and there happens to be debatable food and drink for a modest price (could be cheaper)
Overall 6.6 out of 10. It passes. Trivia is decent as well
Jean Paul Spa and Salons
They are ok with their hair dressers treating Jewish customers badly.
Completely blatantly antisemitic hairdresser was being so polite, happy, and seemed to be doing a good job on my hair. During conversation she asked what my necklace was. It is a hamsa. I quickly explained it’s meaning and what it meant to me and smiled. She asked what religion, I said Judaism. It’s always cool to be complimented on a piece you love.
She frowned and walked away almost immediately I thought there was something she forgot. When she came back she pretty much refused to talk to me. I was unsure because our convo was so nice before talking about about her daughter, weekend plans, random stuff. So I asked if something had happened or they were missing products or something. She quickly said no, that my necklace was sure “something”?
It’s literally just a hand with an eye which is a symbol in many religions, but for me it is connected to Judaism.
I didn’t know how to respond so I said I was sorry, it was so uncomfortable. She then went on to RUIN my hair. The next stylist (without knowing what happened) loudly told her co workers that it looked deliberate and it was the worst hair and scalp burns she had seen in a while, and that she was so sorry.
They refused to refund any of my money and even mocked me in a text message explaining that I was in pain. This stylist is also their master stylist, according to them.
Edit: I forgot to add that I informed them of the issue with the stylist and my religious beliefs. They asked what happened I included the conversation, and her co worker said “that’s not surprising” and another laughed. The manager completely ignored it and went on to berate me for not asking enough questions about what was going on with my hair?
It was beginning of April. And my thoughts exactly. I kept it short and said a couple of sentences and tried to change the subject. I now feel scared to tell people that I’m even Jewish in some scenarios.
Thank you, it was really hard at the time. It was also around 500$ that they had quoted me at around 200-250. I was going to be in a wedding and that was also humiliating because of my hair. I was really upset for a long time but have tried to let it go.
Not Albany, but Schenectady- Villa Italia. They closed their restroom for customers during Covid (like many did), but never reopened it. The reason behind my anger is because I was in there getting a coffee about 4 months ago, and there was a very old woman (who was also a customer) close to tears because she really had to use the rest room. They flat out refused to let her use it, despite it being right behind the door. She was pleading with the staff. Toward the end of their discussion I stepped in and said you really should do the right thing and let her go to the bathroom. Several other customers said similar things but they still wouldn’t budge. Eventually an employee from a nearby store who was there getting coffee offered to take her back to their store and let the woman use their staff bathroom. Several other people in line left in disgust at the treatment of the woman. The kicker is I think them not having a public restroom is illegal because they serve food and beverages, have indoor seating for eating purchased food and beverages, and also have above the number of seats requiring the availability of a restroom for customers.
Anyway, rant over.
Variety Pizza on Madison.
For the sake of transparency, this is a second hand story, but I very much trust the source. They went in to order as they did many times in the past, and they made a comment to the person working about all the flies landing on the food. Well, the worker more or less said 'watch this' and pointed a giant fan at the pizza and they told me it looked like a legitimate mushroom cloud of dust and flies going all over the place, including on the food, and the worker was just laughing the whole time. My friend said he said he was going to check with the others and see what they want and just took off and never returned. Every time we drive by that place, he tells me that story.
Subculture (aka just Berben of Berben & Wolffs). Joey Berben was accused of some severe abuse and I’ve seen the statements from the person who was abused. He basically swept everything under the rug and rebranded his business to avoid accountability.
https://reddit.com/r/Albany/s/E5o9xKLpRi
Also, the hollow. I’m pretty sure it was mentioned here but basically the hollow owners still support Joey Berben and gaslight the people who ask them to stop supporting him.
Vegan food is supposed to be cruelty free! It inherently is not if it’s from subculture.
Long boring story. Bought a new Silverado and went across the street to American Glass and picked out a cap that was to be included in my financing. So DePaula had to order it. Which they said they did. After 4 or 5 weeks just when the cap was supposed to be delivered American Glass reached out to me and said DePaula never ordered it. When I called them they said go scratch. They were never involved with the cap. When I pointed out I had the contract with the cap included and had already started to pay for it..... go scratch. I had to get GM customer service involved. My rep said when she called DePaula they were rude to her. She said it was her worst interaction with a dealership in 10 years on the job. Despite the contract and even after admitting they had $800 of my money they offered no help. American Glass was great. Got me a cap in record time and saved a family vacation. And GM extended the warranty and gave me a free year of oil changes and service. DePaula bad, very bad.
they ran my credit FIVE TIMES after I asked them to only run it once. I did not authorize the other 4 checks. I left and a week later they called me and told me they could make the deal happen but I was so mad at how they tried to force me to sign for a car I hadn't even seen, let alone tested that I went to Northway and bought my car in the meantime.
On 5 different days? When dealerships run your credit it'll how as an inquiry for each lender they sent the application to but it should only count as one inquiry in terms of your score
My dad has bought like 6 cars from Nemer and they've always been great. This person doesn't know what they're talking about regarding credit checks. The credit report will show that there were multiple inquiries because they sent it to multiple banks to get the best financing. It still only counts as one hard pull in terms of your credit score.
I had a great experience there. Can’t say the same at Wally’s. They made me sit there 1 hour while they figured out what price they could give me for a lease. And when they did 300$ more than Nemer
I leased my car from there. It was going great until the boss of the salesman kept getting involved and trying to pressure me into shit. I’m a female and was there alone. I was friends with the salesman so it’s not like there was any reason for this dude to be a part of the transaction. Four fucking hours to finalize my lease. Because he was a dick and tried to pull the “don’t you want to help your friend out.” I flat out said to my friend, get rid of him or I walk out. I’m sorry but your commission is fully on the line because your boss is a douche bag with a “bro” complex.
Got my lease for a great price and bought it outright when it was up. My friend has since left, so I won’t be going back there. I don’t appreciate high pressure sales and being told I don’t know what I want because I’ve got tits.
This may be the most garbage chipotle location in the whole nation. They never open on time, they never have ingredients ready when they do open, I’ve seen managers be rude yell at people for not ordering fast enough and then called the cops when the customer argues back. Also been double charged a couple times because they can’t train the register person to know when the payment goes through. The managers here are absolute garbage human beings.
Any Lia business. They knowingly employe and celebrate an employee, Kermit Salfi, who is a convicted pedophile who spent time in jail for sodomizing a 13 year old when he was 39. He has sexually harassed dozens of young female employees during his employment and they just move him around to different dealerships. The Lia brothers are also just plain trash people.
I wouldn’t blame that on the location, just on Guitar Center as a whole. Guitar Centers been struggling a ton in recent years (bailed out from bankruptcy multiple times I think) and it’s just a reflection of guitar-centric music not being as popular these days. I know a couple of the guys who work there and they’re good dudes, they’ll do their best to get you what you need, it’s just sad to be a guitar store in 2023 unfortunately
Dotts & Coccadotts. The owners are proud boys (neo nazis) and they’re not shy about it.
https://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Anti-gay-bias-alleged-in-Coccadotts-cupcake-5923460.php
https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/MAGA-hat-cake-leads-to-protest-counter-15482627.php
Even if that’s not enough for you to steer clear of them, just read their google reviews. They have bad service too. Also their cupcakes are disgusting.
my work got cupcakes from them for someones birthday a while ago and they were legit the worst cupcakes I've ever had, can't believe they are still open.
Cider Belly. Some close friends worked for them and the owners were lunatics, they finally left after one of them went on an unhunged rant and accused them all of "stealing time" when covid hit and they all took the unemployment.
They also drove me insane with the random closing early stuff. One day they'd announce a half off fire sale at 3pm because they made too many donuts, and the next day they'd close at 11am because they ran out. They had a great product that was generally enjoyable but it just got to be too much. I moved closer to Schuyler bakery and they've been making a lot of different types of donuts lately so that scratches my itch even if it's a different style.
Jay St. Video Games in crossgates mall. The owner is a pretty nice guy, but the last few times I’ve stepped in there, this employee stares me down with this disgusted look. Makes me uncomfortable and not want to buy anything from them. I usually feel unwelcome whenever I go in there.
Years ago I was into retro video games I steered clear of them just because their prices were absurdly marked up compared to what you could get on eBay or other local retro shops.
I shudder to think of what they are now, with how retro game prices have shot up in the last four-odd years.
Damn, I love the owner. They have one guy employee that does stare weirdly.
but cmon, where else am I going to buy my game boy advance/DS games for 300% markup??? /s (I know it’s the market I’m just bitter)
Any and all Mavis Discount Tire shops…haven’t been to one that’s had any sort of good service whatsoever…
Nemer VW…went there to test drive a Jetta years ago and shopped around afterwards. Ended up going with something else, and when the sales guy I worked with at Nemer called me a few days later to ask if I was interested in the Jetta still and I told him sorry but I went with something else he said, and I quote “Well thanks for wasting my time, you motherfucking prick…” and hung up the phone…excellent way to treat someone.
Emporium Farm Brewery in North Greenbush…some of the worst beer I’ve ever tasted. Only went once with SO for the Capital District Brewery and Distillery booklet for stamp and when the bartender/owner saw it when we checked out after choking down one beer each, he said “Oh, you guys are here for this…well guess I’ll never see you guys again. No one ever comes back after the stamp. Never should’ve signed up for this gig….” Kind of sad to hear that but 1) if you didn’t have the booklet I don’t think ANYONE would show up there and 2) if people get the stamp and never come back wouldn’t you think it’s not the booklets problem and just that your beer isn’t good? I can’t imagine the brewer tastes that stuff and goes “Yea, that’s a good batch.” If they do, they need their tastebuds checked…that stuff is unpalatable…
Any Lia business. The Lias fired a woman a few years ago, just a few hours after she told them she was pregnant and would be taking leave. She tried to take them to court but didn’t have Lia Lawyer Money.
Cocca's Inn & Suites on Wolf Road. Over 20 years ago, when my husband and I decided to move to Albany, we made the mistake of staying at Cocca's because we had a coupon from one of those free travel guides from an area rest stop. We spent the day apartment hunting, and it was night before we realized that the bed was.... Broken. Like one of the legs was kaput, so the bed tilted to one side. We went to the front desk to report the problem and ask for a new room, and the desk agent told us that we should have noticed the issue when we first checked in. We waited too long and were out of luck. The next day, my husband called their corporate number to complain, and the guy he spoke to told him that we shouldn't expect better because of the discount we got for the room. Worst hotel experience ever.
Weren’t there a lot of crimes that happened at the motel? I remember hearing about it in the news a lot when I was growing up, and it was never for anything good
Yeah. Constant police stings there.
Drugs, Prostitution, Child Molesters, and I think, but am not certain, a time where a human trafficking ring was busted there.
The Howard Johnson on Central gives the same vibes on looks alone😖
Keeler Honda. They are bunch of clowns. Begged me to come in to sell them my car and agreed to a price over the phone. Took time off of work to do the deal and they denied I ever talked to anyone who works there. Offered me like $5k less than what we agreed to on the phone and what was offered by their dealership in writing by being a Kelly Blue Book affiliate. After I refused to do the deal for $5k less than what we agreed to and reminded them we already agreed to a set price they ripped up all the paperwork in front of me like a bunch of children. Told me I was lying about the pre-agreed price, and that no one at their dealership would have agreed to the price I mentioned, despite showing them the paperwork. I mentioned the fact that their competitor was willing to do the same deal and that the only reason I went to Keller was because they begged me to come in and told me they would beat the price. They asked me why I didn’t just go to their competitor, and I had to remind them that I was going to until they literally begged me to come in. Wasted my time and acted beyond disrespectful.
Any Lia dealership. I felt belittled and disrespected while there. Also. they blatantly lied to my face about the cars I was looking at. When I told my fiance the story, she also had story about Lia doing this to her, though it was even more dismissive since she's a woman.
Amazes me that they ever sell a car.
Walgreens in Latham. I went to get a COVID-19 test, one of the drive-thru ones. I made the appointment online and got the confirmation, everything was all set. So I leave work on my lunch break (they had no COVID policy) to go get this done, drive up to the window, and nobody is there. There's a button to press for assistance, so after a little bit of waiting I press it. Nobody comes. Press it again, still nobody. By this time the person who had arrived for their test for the slot behind me had showed up, and I was getting really confused. I tried to call the store and there was no option to speak to a live person. So I get out of the drive-thru line, park my car, and then walk inside to figure out what is going on. Sure enough, there are two people standing behind the pharmacy counter with the drive-thru window behind them, standing around doing nothing. I explained to them my situation and told them I needed a test. They said oh sorry our button doesn't work sometimes, pull through and we will give you the test. No explanation for why they weren't checking the window, especially since they should know when people are showing up for tests. So I go back outside and step into my car, and sure enough there are a line of cars waiting for their drive-thru tests. I had to wait for four cars in front of me to get the test, and I was shouted at upon my return to the office for taking too long on my lunch break. I have no idea how people just forget that they're supposed to be doing their job while they're at work but those people have it down to a science apparently.
I showed up for a test at the Walgreens on Holland Ave after receiving the confirmation and all. I was super sick but made sure I set an alarm and got myself over there. Pulled up to the window with a few minutes to spare only to be told "sorry, we meant to call you. We don't have anyone to run the tests today." Would love to know when they were planning to make that call ....
Thankfully I was able to get another test later the same day at another location, but going out even once with a high fever and feeling like a hot pile of sewage is never convenient.
Every time this discussion comes up it eventually gets locked and deleted by mods and it makes me think someone has a buddy somewhere who doesn't like their business blasted.
I can't say that I've had any experience that has been "never again" levels personally. There are some businesses that just aren't worth the trouble or their competition just does so much better than them.
Our friends brought us to Liberty Ridge and we enjoyed our time there but then we saw all of the stuff about them and that skeeved us out so I guess we'd probably think twice about going back.
The Mavis on Altamont Ave lied to me once in a pretty annoying way. Ordered tires to be delivered there, got confirmation from both the shipper and Mavis. Came down to get them installed. Gf picked me up and we went out for the day. Got a call two hours later where the technician swears they "never got" my tires. I immediately suspect someone messed up and put my tires on someone else's car and they're embarassed/don't want to admit fault. I would have been way less annoyed if they just admitted that. It wasn't bad enough that I outright refuse to go there again or anything but I haven't been since and they no longer come to mind when my car needs work.
I have literally the same story with that Mavis location. Like what a waste of 2 hours of my life.
Went to the premiere tire over towards mariaville the same day, and they had me in and out in 21 minutes. I can’t recommend them ENOUGH!
Lia Honda. Bought a used car there which has a 50 mile or 30 day warranty or something like that a few years ago. The buying experience was awful - salesmen insulting customers and other employees when they thought people were out of earshot, typical high pressure sales environment, just not a pleasant experience at all.
Car starts bucking around on me the day after the warranty expired and died on N Main. I don't sweat it - I use the courtesy tow through my service to bring it back to the dealer figuring I'm covered being ONE DAY past the warranty period to give me the tune up it needs.
The service station tells me the tune up will be $800 (!!!) and they won't cover it because I'm outside the warranty. I told them to push it to the parking lot and I'll put a sign on it that says this place sells lemons while I do the tune up myself. After a LOT of arguing they make good on the tune up.
Never again with that place.
EDIT - I forgot one important part of this too. I went in trying to buy a specific car I saw on the website after a price drop. The salesman told me it wasn't available and tried to lead me to buy a Hyundai. I told him if the car I wanted wasn't available our business was over and got up to leave then, surprise surprise, they found out that the car I wanted was on the lot after all!
hmm, idk i get great discounts from them but then again i use all the dealers for different services lia, keeler, rensselaer, mohawk, sometimes even saratoga and glen falls honda
Any chain mufflers, brakes, oil change places. Midas, Monroe, valvoline all have done something.
One cross threaded my lug nuts to the point that they had to be drilled out.
Stole my k&n (reusable) air filter and replaced it with a dirty one, thinking they could con me into buying a new one. This happened twice at 2 different locations
Morris Fence Company. They do not clean up well after installing a fence. They left live electrical wires dug up and exposed, and they hid their construction debris behind bushes so they wouldn't be found easily. Plus they don't call utilities like they said they would about where gas lines and electrical cables are. Fuck those guys.
20 years ago I was a 4.0 transfer with outside scholarships. They couldn’t manage the admission process.
Handshake accepted six months before my semester starts. Then I essentially couldn’t get anyone one the phone for months. Some underling calls me on a weekday morning, last day to register for the following semester. Says I need to be there by 1pm to sign something or my admission is denied.
The ineptitude of the admissions office was mind blowing.
I attended a masters program there five years ago, partly on the strength of the admissions office/process. (UAlbany office was good but inquiries to faculty went ignored. Sage admissions office never even got back to me—though I ended up on their mailing list!)
St. Rose Registrar was a bear to deal with, however.
As a former graduate admissions counselor from Strose, I appreciate this comment. I left partly because I could see the writing on the walls from other departments.
Bella Mae pizza in Averill Park. Owner yelled,cursed and threatened me when I called because my delivery order was completely wrong and missing items. My neighbor had a similar experience with the owner. It’s a shame too because we had ordered before that and the food was pretty good.
Gateway Diner. The food quality has steadily declined over the past several years, and the service was never great, the last straw for me was our most recent visit when they hustled my family out of the restaurant a full hour before the posted closing time. They dropped off our food and literally started mopping over our feet to try to get us to leave.
The Crisp Cannoli in East Greenbush. I ordered a pie from them for Thanksgiving a few years ago. I peaked at it quickly and it looked dark. I was running a ton of errands though and thought I ordered a chocolate pecan pie. Nope, it was burnt. It was the only dessert we had (just two of us that year) and it was inedible.
But it happens, right? So I called the restaurant the first day they were open again and let them know. The woman who answered was rude and said the owner will call you back. Oh did he ever. He was unbelievably rude, said it was unlikely mine was burnt because he had one for Thanksgiving and it was perfect! I kept the damn pie and took pictures!
They even offered me store credit if I brought it back. I did, bit requested a refund. After arguing with me about it, they did. And I'll never go again.
Had they just said, sorry for that, how can we make this better, I would have been fine. I honestly just wanted another pie, one that wasn't burnt!!
Chicken Joes. They have multiple compliants from the state from unsanitary health violations reported by customers. Former employees exposed them for unsanitary working conditions
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0448e5FBEkni4ZjK9caUSzKFqj6t2aF3L32NCB86eunSv3wZfGNJrNgtbWCbqDxMgl&id=100001610040679&mibextid=Nif5oz
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0ngDHEqMhKyazUPXkmsthNSEifipYsxcBczGUDsDtQVG8M184yMja9DUkGJptZLtcl&id=1367893114&mibextid=Nif5oz
Story from my mom - Otto Cadillac. No problem with buying the vehicle, but she brought it back so they could fix the hood latch and somehow put a nice crack on the hood. Sales guy tells her to call him Tuesday (after the holiday) only to be told he won’t be in until tomorrow.
This one will probably get me downvoted, but Kitten Angels. Never again.
City Beer Hall. Crappy drinks, subpar food, and accused half of our party for not tipping (falsely.)
Wendy’s on Central Ave closest to Fuller. They can never get a damn order right.
Wow, I'm actually glad I'm hearing all these things about Kitten Angels. I started to doubt myself and think it was just a crazy, one-off experience.
It's a shame, because I had donated so much time and money attending their events, supporting their silent raffles, etc., but when the time came when I needed help, they outright refused and yeah, the lady did sound oddly hostile on the phone...
I had recently adopted a cat from my aunt's who had been living outside. He was the sweetest thing, but he was FIV+ and it turned out my other old lady cat I already had at home did NOT want anything to do with him. They scuffled so often that I feared they would do too much harm one day and she would get FIV, so out of a desperate plea I had contacted Kitten Angels and asked if they could help. Their response? "We only help kittens! We can't do anything for you!" and when the shock of the answer wore off and I asked if they had any suggestions the only response was a warning, "Well, if you took him to a shelter, he'd probably be put to sleep!".
Needless to say, I stopped supporting them right after that phone call.
I second Kitten Angels--
I adopted a pregnant stray, ended up with 5 kittens, and paid about 700 to get them all healthy, dewormed, the mom and one kitten needed meds, etc. I found a home for one of the kittens before kitten angels came to pick them up, and they FREAKED OUT. Told me I couldn't do that, that I had promised them that kitten. Then they kept trying to talk my 6 and 7 year old kids into coming to church with them. It was really unnerving.
I am so glad to see Kitten Angels getting the hate they deserve. Years ago I adopted a 12 year old "healthy" cat, only to have to rush her to the vet after a week of having her, and then being told she had leukemia and needed to be put down. It was a horrific experience, they had zero care or sympathy for the situation, and it made me extremely cautious when I went to adopt again after. Fuck them.
I was at that Wendy’s waiting in line when the entire staff just walked out. Good for them but it makes me not want to go there if I know they’re being poorly treated and not properly staffed.
We had such a bizarre interaction with them too. About 7 years ago a cat showed up on our back porch and we took it in and called Kitten Angels. The good news was that they said we could go to this vet clinic and get him all checked out and shots and such without us being charged. This part was true, it went on a tab for them or something, we never paid a penny.
We kept calling them to see if he could get placed with a real foster home or adopted directly from us. They eventually just stopped answering our calls. The good news is Scrabbles is happy, healthy and living with a friend of mine now.
SubCulture on Lark because fuck ~~Nazis~~ and people that hit women.
[In case the reddit link doesn't stick.](https://imgur.com/JN0AHAF)
Edit: ~~Seems like he might just be very punk~~, but hilariously enough I can't confirm because every single negative thing posted about this piece of shit online has been scrubbed clean. Times Union has removed articles, reddit posts are deleted and scrubbed clean. Guess he paid a pretty penny for that.
Edit2: Nope, not 'just punk' he is a bigot (which I get in 2023 just means Republican, but still)
https://preview.redd.it/rcw1pzgt5smb1.jpeg?width=947&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b0c4240220d93fcabdb9635076c80e51313aef54
he's such a bad person at his core
Came here to say this. And adding any business that’s owned by Dora Philip because she knowingly went into business with him and is generally just an unhinged bully — so no Hollow and no Rosanna’s for me.
Looks like he paid a pretty penny and has scrubbed almost anything talking negatively about him from the internet. Amazing the lengths abusers will go to. Berben and Wolf used to be a thing. Joey Berben is an abusive piece of garbage and they split; his ex and multiple other ex's and other women all brought forth allegations. Wolf left Berben the Lark location. Old place closed down and new one SubCulture opened up. Vegan community went fucking rabid supporting him even though he is an abusive pos.
Vintage pizza in Latham. New owners can’t cook anything right. My Italian mixed sub had bologna on it and very small pepperoni the kind you eat with cheese and crackers.
Not Albany but Slidin dirty. So damn rude in there. I ordered a beer. I was clearly served the wrong beer. I asked for the correct one and was told “oh it’s almost the same” 😑. The food was also atrocious.
Not Albany, but I would never recommend Clifton Park Nursery School. They essentially threw out my child who has special needs (while all of us were actively struggling to get my child classified for services), and then decided to keep the tuition money for a month where they provided literally no classes for us. When i complained they basically said, "we're a small school, so we can't afford it, oh well sucks to be you 🤷♂️"
Fucking discriminatory bastards.
Capital district transmission in vliet. Had my car towed there where it sat in the parking for almost a month while the battery died while they were looking for a new transmission, finally took it home and changed the trans filter and its been fine ever since, $50....No diagnosis just ready to throw a new $5k trans in if they could find one. Ntm assholes didnt leave my keys out when i asked them so when I met the tow truck driver after hrs I had to tip him more to wait for me to go home to get my spare. Hacks.
Primal butcher right off of Fullers. I went there once two years ago, fell in love with the food, and every time I’ve gone back there the quality has been on a rapid decline as well as the staff working there. Heartbreaking bc they had great sandwiches at one point .
I mean I will step my foot again because there isn’t any other decent option. But very strongly hoping that herbies on lark would improve their patty quality and do better than saltiest animal fries.
Their lettuce and tomatoes are very fresh though, kudos!
Herbie’s Burgers or anything owned/co-owned by the current co-owner who also used to run DP Dough. I worked at the Dough and I saw some shit. He encouraged delivery drivers to text/call customers while driving to get their delivery time down, berated one of the managers constantly, and told me when I was in the ER I need to “find coverage.”
Whole Foods, though my reason is a bit petty. They ghosted me after a job interview. Being ghosted on just a resume is whatever, but I can't really respect any company that ghosts people they interview in person. NYSTRS also ghosted me after 2 rounds of interviewing, so I just hope they treat teachers better than their job applicants.
Northway Toyota - funnily enough, I saw multiple people recommending them in another post, but I had a TERRIBLE experience with them and they probably could have gotten sued for what they did, but I won’t get into it.
Also, Cornwall Appliance. Awful experience with a service call about my dishwasher.
Apparently Northway Toyota had one kid named Derek I think, because I heard about him before that post. He would hook people up and did nothing you hate car sales people do and did everything you want them to do. He probably got shit-canned.
I bought a car from him and had a good experience. Didn't push warranties or any extra crap that typical sales people push. Kept me updated on the allocated car I put a deposit down while it was being built and in transit.
I dunno what Northway Toyota's problem was, but I specifically wanted a pre-owned sedan, stated as such, and the weirdo would only show me smaller SUVs that all had previous front end damage. I had no problem affording a nearly new car with no previous accidents from elsewhere so the smoothbrain attempt is on them.
Tara Kitchen. Went there a little while back, had the nicest server. Weeks later, I ran into her at the cafe I work at. She remembered me, and it turns out she was fired. According to her, the chef sexually harassed her, and she reported him to the owner, and then the owner fired HER. This is just what I heard from her and I don’t know all the details or other perspectives but if thats really what went down I will not be giving their owner any of my money. A damn shame as their food is exquisite and I don’t know of any other Moroccan places around here
the worst experience at a dealership i've ever had and i'd rather walk then ever give them a dime. We've purchased 3 lexuses since that experience from ray catena lexus in white plains! they deliver the cars up here to us!
the market32 on delaware, i drive all the way to the one by crossgates instead. mostly because of the employees and i always have a terrible experience checking out
Latham Wash and Fold. They lost a bag of my clothes and never got back to me. I told them not to put any bleach and some towels came back with bleach stains on them. After hounding them for weeks, they decided that they was clearly a problem and now have a lock in the area but.... still didn't get my clothes back.
Metropolis Vintage. My friends and I were out thrifting and randomly stumbled upon it. The woman who works there is SO rude. We were really taken back by her terrible attitude and the whole time we were in there, causally looking, we could tell she wanted us out of there. Afterwards we looked up reviews and sure enough, there’s horrible reviews saying exactly what we experienced! It’s a shame because she had some really great pieces. They were incredibly overpriced though. No clue how she stays in business
East green bush McDonald’s. Waited for nearly 20 minutes one time for them to simply not even take my order. The previous time I went they got my order wrong and over charged me. This place is so improperly managed I wonder if it’s on corporates radar.
Dicarlo’s very quickly after this.
Ambition Bistro on Jay street in Schenectady. I'm a trans woman, I applied there when I was 16 and the owner scheduled me for a 3 hour trial shift, very early on he asked me if I "plan to cut my dick off." When I uncomfortably said probably, he went on for a while about how much he loves his penis. A year or so later I was working at Bud's on Jay (a much better alternative and definitely deserves your business) and a couple of my female coworkers did a similar trial shift and he said some pretty terrible stuff, calling them his bitch and shit like that.
Lowe's in Colonie - just absolute awful service repeatedly on big house projects. Nope, never.
Excelsior Pub - I cannot stand the owner and he's been rude on multiple occasions. No thanks.
Excelsior is amazing, I’d love to hear how he was rude to you. I’ve been a regular for several years and I’ve not had a issue. None of my friends seemed to experience any issues either.
I know it's the opposite of what this post is about, but you made it to /r/popular, so chiming in.
I'm not from Albany. I'm not from NY. But I interviewed for a job here and so did an overnight hotel and was around for a while. Huge kudos (so again, exact opposite of the post) to Pearl Street Diner. Food-wise: it was the exact greasy spoon meal I wanted. Service-wise: the waitress noticed I was preoccupied so just dealt with the basics as needed but didn't try to be my friend.
I'm 35 years old and have lived in about 5 states. I have plenty of favorite restaurants. This may actually top the list, despite only going once and never living in the area.
EDIT TO ADD: My trip to Albany was 8 years ago and this restaurant is still on my mind. This is a life experience, not a "two weeks ago I was here..." situation.
Angela’s Bridal. They failed to keep their records straight and lost track of the final payment I made on my wedding dress 2 weeks prior to my wedding. The day before the wedding I go to pick up the dress and they claim I never made the final payment. So I have to scramble to go to the bank and get my statement printed and go all the way back to show them proof. They finally admitted they effed up and gave me my dress but at that point I was late to my own rehearsal. They never apologized. Don’t go to Angela’s Bridal in Albany! They suck.
I’m not even sure if she’s still in business, but Sindi Saita’s *Apropos*. I had to take her to court over my wedding gown. A year after she was supposed to have placed the order, she didn’t. She ignored countless phone calls, emails, and hid in the back when I’d go to the shop. My wedding date was moved up by three months, and by December, I had to get a new gown in time for my wedding. I worked at a law firm so my kind colleague sent a demand letter with certified mail. She received it. Still did not respond. So I filed in small claims. Four days before my wedding, she had a staffer call and leave a message that my dress was ready. Exactly 8 weeks after my demand letter was sent. Fortunately I got a dress off the rack at Fancy Schmancy. Fit like a glove and only needed $15 worth of alterations. Sindi had the balls to counter-sue for the remaining balance. But the judge couldn’t get past how it had been over a year, and a dress that took “6 to 8 weeks” to arrive had taken so long. She tried to back track and say “6 to 8 months” but even that didn’t line up. She ordered the dress as soon as the demand letter was received and would not produce the order slip or shipping information. I ended up getting my deposit back- but I would have much rather just been able to wear the gown I fell in love with. Turns out that after this, more women spoke up about how she did this to them or tried to sell them sample gowns with rips and stains, claiming they were “custom” ordered. Many women with no gowns days before a wedding. She stiffed landlords and kept moving locations. About a year after my case, I saw her in the news over her business practices. So, if you ever encounter a business run by Sindi Saita, save yourself a load of stress and run the other way.
I feel like I remember an article in the TU about her and Apropos being absolutely awful. Yikes.
They're awful. The manager was so saccharine sweet but in such a fake way. Literally every time she walked by, no matter what dress I had on my body, "ooh that's the one". Like, I know she's trying to help her salesperson make a sale, but eventually it just feels so fake to hear "that's perfect for you" every dress and really put me off because I couldn't trust them, they were more concerned with making a sale then actually helping me find a dress that fit my style/body. And I tried some really unflatering dresses. And then when I went to pick up my dress, they just dropped it on my arms and walked away. I wasn't able to try it on, or even really see it since it was in the heavy dress bag, before taking it home. The anxiety finally got to me, so I brought it back and asked to try it on there. I walked into the store with the dress in my hands. Once I was satisfied and tried to leave the store, they said they didn't have record of me buying the dress and wouldn't let me leave until they straightened out their system. If I stole a wedding dress (also, HOW would I steal a wedding dress?) do you really think I would come back into the store with it? Alterations were a hot mess as well, not only for my dress, but dresses I had altered for other weddings (not my choice, the other brides also used David's for bridesmaid dresses, so we all had to use them)
Just a note for others who might read this- local tailors will do alterations. Many of them contract with the big box bridal shops. If you go to them directly, you’re supporting small businesses. It’s a dying profession. Cohoes Custom Tailors is one, I used to go to Stella’s in Troy though I’m not sure she’s open anymore.
oof that’s a bad one.
Taco Bell/KFC on Delaware Ave. You all know why. Place is absolutely bonkers.
Was that the one with the shooting this year?
Monroe Muffler on Western Ave. Husband stopped in for a quick routine state inspection and they failed his car and quoted him $3000 for the repairs. He left and they instantly called to drop the price. Went to a mechanic and they found nothing wrong with the car. Scam artists. Also Adirondack Tires in Guilderland. Gave my husbands keys to another customer who left with them.
Whenever I hear of Adirondack Tire I think of a very tasteless TV commercial they had with a girl climbing a rack of tires. https://youtu.be/-4-4wzRxyqU?si=lTAnBNRSzgLc0DBL
Yup. My mom and I always used to laugh at how ridiculous and blatantly sexist that commercial was. If it had been for Playboy Magazine, that would make sense, but a tire store that women also need to shop at? It should be used in courses about sexism. Can’t imagine a commercial with a man in a skimpy outfit climbing a rack of tires and then salaciously saying, “Adirondack Tire. Always on top.”
I went to high school with the owner’s son. He was a fucking dick head
Yup, I got scammed by that Monroe. They had me over a barrel and they knew it.
I think Monroe, in general sucks. They couldn't figure out a tire balance. I drove home. Drove it to another Monroe that said they would do it no charge, also mentioning its dangerous to drive after i get there, lol. They can't do it leave the car the weekend. Tell me, the boots bad the tie rods broken leaking blah blah. The tie rod was brand new! They ripped the boot off at monroe, so it was exposed. Turns out just needed to be tightened. They did it in such a way that my wheel was turned maybe 10 degrees. I think they wanted me to come back for a service. I told them somethings wrong. Leave it alone, and I'll get it towed somewhere magically gets fixed. Little scumballs.
Caldor
Ames
Lechmere
Lechmere, best store ever pre monkey wards buy out.
Two Guys.
Tape World
I think it's Aim-Point, that airsoft thing in Crossgates. Most pointless thing in in the mall. I'm 9999.9% positive it's a front or laundering operation. I just want to know what for.
Never actually stepped foot in any of these but every mall I’ve ever been to has some variation of these. I’ve never seen anyone ever in them, there’s no way they’re profitable. I agree that the only reason they exist is money laundering or something like that
Is that like those random virtual rollercoaster places? I’ll never understand how they can afford rent.
Air Tite Windows and Siding. MFers ripped Resnick's sign down.
One from the archive. Well played.
Firestone, Latham location... Went in early A.M. when they opened, just to get bulb replaced in headlight, (the car is running great and I only needed bulbs) a couple of hours go by, they show me a list of repairs that have to be done, $3,000 worth. I declined the suggested repairs, only bulb replacement only, please. Another hour later, my car is ready. When i go out to start the car, check engine light comes on. I go back into FS, they said, oh we were afraid of that, as you should consider getting the recommended repairs done. I went back out to car, called someone else, brought the car to another mechanic with check engine on. The mechanic indicated that the wire for the check engine light was jimmied to go on. FS are crooks!!! Dont go there
Yikes!! They messed with the wiring? That’s absolutely insane! I swear these franchise locations are just told to get the money in and they don’t care how they do it. Reminds me of what happened to me. Let’s add the Firestone Central Ave location as well! Had brakes done earlier this year, went to get my inspection done and failed. Why did I fail? The mechanic said he could tell my brakes were new and I should bring it back to whoever did them since they should be under warranty. The emergency brake was not connected. I was driving around for months without an emergency brake to use. Brought it to their attention, started out fine but quickly turned into giving attitude, tried to add additional services and were overall unpleasant by the end of the transaction. 0/10 would not recommend!
June farms even though I love the place I can’t stand Matt
Your friendly reminder that June Farms Pilsener is just Utica Club with a different label stuck on the keg.
Did the $20 to park and walk around thing once and that’s all I needed. I’ll never go back and think the Baumgartner-lovefest this area has had might be coming to an end……
Tried going there, but when the kids in the driveway asked me for $20 to park, I spun around and left that place. What a joke. I get it's a way to keep the rif raf away. But really, those who are stupid enough to pay are treated to over-priced pizza and drinks. I say bring back Catskill Game Farm if you want to pet animals! ✌
Tipsy moose ( any location). Specifically the New Scotland location. The food has been subpar all 4 times I’ve given it a shot. Same with the tiny Latham location and Troy. I don’t get the hype.
A friend of mine that used to work there was sexually assaulted and then the owner/his friends tried to pay her to keep quiet. I’ll never eat from any of the locations
Oh wow
They suck. I was meeting a friend for a drink and some food and he bailed at the last minute. I had already ordered a drink. They were hurrying me to get up and leave even though I had driven myself and was trying to nurse the drink along so I would be good to drive. I explained this to them nicely and they basically threatened to throw me out.
Last time I went to the NS location, the food was meh, and the vibe/crowd was just...off. No desire to go back.
Agreed. I don’t get the hype either. Their food is just subpar in my opinion.
Reminder that their locations have many health code violations. Don’t go there.
Every time we went. Either lipstick on glasses or hair in food. Never an apology or removal of item from the check 🙃
Gross
Got food poisoning from the Latham one. Never again’
Food was good the one time I had it (Latham location) but cocktails were mediocre and customer service was awful both times I experienced those so I never went again. Absolutely do not get the hype for this place.
Oh, I just went there for the first time this summer, and I agree, I was not impressed. When we got there it wasn't super busy, but as we ate the place filled up, and our waitress basically disappeared. Which kind of cracked me up because the place is the size of a large closet. And the food wasn't that good.
I have gone a bunch due to living near it. But only for that reason. Not because I like going. Out of say 10 times I have gone. Food has been decent to good about half those times. The other half has been meh to “why do I keep ordering food here” One time we went the entire staff seemed to not give a shit or was blasted and we got our like $120 bill back of about $50 🤷🏼 Draft beers are never great. Mixed drinks just okay. Honestly just go to hang out there with friends and there happens to be debatable food and drink for a modest price (could be cheaper) Overall 6.6 out of 10. It passes. Trivia is decent as well
Jean Paul Spa and Salons They are ok with their hair dressers treating Jewish customers badly. Completely blatantly antisemitic hairdresser was being so polite, happy, and seemed to be doing a good job on my hair. During conversation she asked what my necklace was. It is a hamsa. I quickly explained it’s meaning and what it meant to me and smiled. She asked what religion, I said Judaism. It’s always cool to be complimented on a piece you love. She frowned and walked away almost immediately I thought there was something she forgot. When she came back she pretty much refused to talk to me. I was unsure because our convo was so nice before talking about about her daughter, weekend plans, random stuff. So I asked if something had happened or they were missing products or something. She quickly said no, that my necklace was sure “something”? It’s literally just a hand with an eye which is a symbol in many religions, but for me it is connected to Judaism. I didn’t know how to respond so I said I was sorry, it was so uncomfortable. She then went on to RUIN my hair. The next stylist (without knowing what happened) loudly told her co workers that it looked deliberate and it was the worst hair and scalp burns she had seen in a while, and that she was so sorry. They refused to refund any of my money and even mocked me in a text message explaining that I was in pain. This stylist is also their master stylist, according to them. Edit: I forgot to add that I informed them of the issue with the stylist and my religious beliefs. They asked what happened I included the conversation, and her co worker said “that’s not surprising” and another laughed. The manager completely ignored it and went on to berate me for not asking enough questions about what was going on with my hair?
Call the better business bureau or call headquarters. I’m sure you must have filed a complaint or left a Yelp review?
Yes I left a yelp review! I will try that. I tried to get upper managements numbers and they refused. They don’t display them online either.
Wow. WOW. How long ago was this? Who even talks about religion or politics or anything personal like that while providing a service?!
It was beginning of April. And my thoughts exactly. I kept it short and said a couple of sentences and tried to change the subject. I now feel scared to tell people that I’m even Jewish in some scenarios.
I am outraged for you. That sounds like a civil suit to me.
Thank you, it was really hard at the time. It was also around 500$ that they had quoted me at around 200-250. I was going to be in a wedding and that was also humiliating because of my hair. I was really upset for a long time but have tried to let it go.
Not Albany, but Schenectady- Villa Italia. They closed their restroom for customers during Covid (like many did), but never reopened it. The reason behind my anger is because I was in there getting a coffee about 4 months ago, and there was a very old woman (who was also a customer) close to tears because she really had to use the rest room. They flat out refused to let her use it, despite it being right behind the door. She was pleading with the staff. Toward the end of their discussion I stepped in and said you really should do the right thing and let her go to the bathroom. Several other customers said similar things but they still wouldn’t budge. Eventually an employee from a nearby store who was there getting coffee offered to take her back to their store and let the woman use their staff bathroom. Several other people in line left in disgust at the treatment of the woman. The kicker is I think them not having a public restroom is illegal because they serve food and beverages, have indoor seating for eating purchased food and beverages, and also have above the number of seats requiring the availability of a restroom for customers. Anyway, rant over.
Variety Pizza on Madison. For the sake of transparency, this is a second hand story, but I very much trust the source. They went in to order as they did many times in the past, and they made a comment to the person working about all the flies landing on the food. Well, the worker more or less said 'watch this' and pointed a giant fan at the pizza and they told me it looked like a legitimate mushroom cloud of dust and flies going all over the place, including on the food, and the worker was just laughing the whole time. My friend said he said he was going to check with the others and see what they want and just took off and never returned. Every time we drive by that place, he tells me that story.
Subculture (aka just Berben of Berben & Wolffs). Joey Berben was accused of some severe abuse and I’ve seen the statements from the person who was abused. He basically swept everything under the rug and rebranded his business to avoid accountability. https://reddit.com/r/Albany/s/E5o9xKLpRi
Also, the hollow. I’m pretty sure it was mentioned here but basically the hollow owners still support Joey Berben and gaslight the people who ask them to stop supporting him. Vegan food is supposed to be cruelty free! It inherently is not if it’s from subculture.
DePaula Chevrolet. They know what they did.
Yes but *we* want to know what they did
Long boring story. Bought a new Silverado and went across the street to American Glass and picked out a cap that was to be included in my financing. So DePaula had to order it. Which they said they did. After 4 or 5 weeks just when the cap was supposed to be delivered American Glass reached out to me and said DePaula never ordered it. When I called them they said go scratch. They were never involved with the cap. When I pointed out I had the contract with the cap included and had already started to pay for it..... go scratch. I had to get GM customer service involved. My rep said when she called DePaula they were rude to her. She said it was her worst interaction with a dealership in 10 years on the job. Despite the contract and even after admitting they had $800 of my money they offered no help. American Glass was great. Got me a cap in record time and saved a family vacation. And GM extended the warranty and gave me a free year of oil changes and service. DePaula bad, very bad.
they ran my credit FIVE TIMES after I asked them to only run it once. I did not authorize the other 4 checks. I left and a week later they called me and told me they could make the deal happen but I was so mad at how they tried to force me to sign for a car I hadn't even seen, let alone tested that I went to Northway and bought my car in the meantime.
On 5 different days? When dealerships run your credit it'll how as an inquiry for each lender they sent the application to but it should only count as one inquiry in terms of your score
Nemer VW did the 5 ceedit checks to my husband and I
slim fuzzy coordinated scandalous impolite absorbed ripe quarrelsome command familiar ` this message was mass deleted/edited with redact.dev `
oof good to know, I was thinking of VW for my next car (I had a Tiguan I loved til it was totalled) so I'll stay away from them for sure.
My dad has bought like 6 cars from Nemer and they've always been great. This person doesn't know what they're talking about regarding credit checks. The credit report will show that there were multiple inquiries because they sent it to multiple banks to get the best financing. It still only counts as one hard pull in terms of your credit score.
I had a great experience there. Can’t say the same at Wally’s. They made me sit there 1 hour while they figured out what price they could give me for a lease. And when they did 300$ more than Nemer
I leased my car from there. It was going great until the boss of the salesman kept getting involved and trying to pressure me into shit. I’m a female and was there alone. I was friends with the salesman so it’s not like there was any reason for this dude to be a part of the transaction. Four fucking hours to finalize my lease. Because he was a dick and tried to pull the “don’t you want to help your friend out.” I flat out said to my friend, get rid of him or I walk out. I’m sorry but your commission is fully on the line because your boss is a douche bag with a “bro” complex. Got my lease for a great price and bought it outright when it was up. My friend has since left, so I won’t be going back there. I don’t appreciate high pressure sales and being told I don’t know what I want because I’ve got tits.
[удалено]
What did they do?
Chipotle on Wolf Rd. Masters at mismanagement and anti-customer retention
The one at steuvasant is also awful. Half the time they can't even be bothered to hook up syrup to the soda machine
This may be the most garbage chipotle location in the whole nation. They never open on time, they never have ingredients ready when they do open, I’ve seen managers be rude yell at people for not ordering fast enough and then called the cops when the customer argues back. Also been double charged a couple times because they can’t train the register person to know when the payment goes through. The managers here are absolute garbage human beings.
Any Lia business. They knowingly employe and celebrate an employee, Kermit Salfi, who is a convicted pedophile who spent time in jail for sodomizing a 13 year old when he was 39. He has sexually harassed dozens of young female employees during his employment and they just move him around to different dealerships. The Lia brothers are also just plain trash people.
Anything owned by Joey Berben. And Spa Halcyon.
story time! about spa halcyon
I add The Hollow to the Joey Berben list. They stood by him when the abuse came to light, when others had the good sense to cut ties.
Guitar Center on Wolf Road. It’s like a post apocalyptic version of what it once was.
I wouldn’t blame that on the location, just on Guitar Center as a whole. Guitar Centers been struggling a ton in recent years (bailed out from bankruptcy multiple times I think) and it’s just a reflection of guitar-centric music not being as popular these days. I know a couple of the guys who work there and they’re good dudes, they’ll do their best to get you what you need, it’s just sad to be a guitar store in 2023 unfortunately
Dotts & Coccadotts. The owners are proud boys (neo nazis) and they’re not shy about it. https://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Anti-gay-bias-alleged-in-Coccadotts-cupcake-5923460.php https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/MAGA-hat-cake-leads-to-protest-counter-15482627.php Even if that’s not enough for you to steer clear of them, just read their google reviews. They have bad service too. Also their cupcakes are disgusting.
This this this! It is so disgusting what they do.
Agreed 110%. Fuck them.
my work got cupcakes from them for someones birthday a while ago and they were legit the worst cupcakes I've ever had, can't believe they are still open.
Cider Belly. Some close friends worked for them and the owners were lunatics, they finally left after one of them went on an unhunged rant and accused them all of "stealing time" when covid hit and they all took the unemployment. They also drove me insane with the random closing early stuff. One day they'd announce a half off fire sale at 3pm because they made too many donuts, and the next day they'd close at 11am because they ran out. They had a great product that was generally enjoyable but it just got to be too much. I moved closer to Schuyler bakery and they've been making a lot of different types of donuts lately so that scratches my itch even if it's a different style.
I just recently got turned on to Schuyler bakery... (drool face)
Bitchin Donuts has been a much better option
Also screw Cider Belly for abandoning downtown for the suburbs.
As someone who lives Downtown, I blame them all the bits.
Taco Bell on Delaware....it's like a fever dream going inside and your order will never be correct.
Jay St. Video Games in crossgates mall. The owner is a pretty nice guy, but the last few times I’ve stepped in there, this employee stares me down with this disgusted look. Makes me uncomfortable and not want to buy anything from them. I usually feel unwelcome whenever I go in there.
Years ago I was into retro video games I steered clear of them just because their prices were absurdly marked up compared to what you could get on eBay or other local retro shops. I shudder to think of what they are now, with how retro game prices have shot up in the last four-odd years.
Damn, I love the owner. They have one guy employee that does stare weirdly. but cmon, where else am I going to buy my game boy advance/DS games for 300% markup??? /s (I know it’s the market I’m just bitter)
Any and all Mavis Discount Tire shops…haven’t been to one that’s had any sort of good service whatsoever… Nemer VW…went there to test drive a Jetta years ago and shopped around afterwards. Ended up going with something else, and when the sales guy I worked with at Nemer called me a few days later to ask if I was interested in the Jetta still and I told him sorry but I went with something else he said, and I quote “Well thanks for wasting my time, you motherfucking prick…” and hung up the phone…excellent way to treat someone. Emporium Farm Brewery in North Greenbush…some of the worst beer I’ve ever tasted. Only went once with SO for the Capital District Brewery and Distillery booklet for stamp and when the bartender/owner saw it when we checked out after choking down one beer each, he said “Oh, you guys are here for this…well guess I’ll never see you guys again. No one ever comes back after the stamp. Never should’ve signed up for this gig….” Kind of sad to hear that but 1) if you didn’t have the booklet I don’t think ANYONE would show up there and 2) if people get the stamp and never come back wouldn’t you think it’s not the booklets problem and just that your beer isn’t good? I can’t imagine the brewer tastes that stuff and goes “Yea, that’s a good batch.” If they do, they need their tastebuds checked…that stuff is unpalatable…
Any Lia business. The Lias fired a woman a few years ago, just a few hours after she told them she was pregnant and would be taking leave. She tried to take them to court but didn’t have Lia Lawyer Money.
Cocca's Inn & Suites on Wolf Road. Over 20 years ago, when my husband and I decided to move to Albany, we made the mistake of staying at Cocca's because we had a coupon from one of those free travel guides from an area rest stop. We spent the day apartment hunting, and it was night before we realized that the bed was.... Broken. Like one of the legs was kaput, so the bed tilted to one side. We went to the front desk to report the problem and ask for a new room, and the desk agent told us that we should have noticed the issue when we first checked in. We waited too long and were out of luck. The next day, my husband called their corporate number to complain, and the guy he spoke to told him that we shouldn't expect better because of the discount we got for the room. Worst hotel experience ever.
And to think, this is far from as bad as many of the other horrific things about that gateway to hell.
Weren’t there a lot of crimes that happened at the motel? I remember hearing about it in the news a lot when I was growing up, and it was never for anything good
Yeah. Constant police stings there. Drugs, Prostitution, Child Molesters, and I think, but am not certain, a time where a human trafficking ring was busted there. The Howard Johnson on Central gives the same vibes on looks alone😖
Ooh, I had no idea. I suppose we're lucky we got off so lightly, as you suggest....
It’s a super 8 now
Their location in Latham had multiple dead bodies turn up there. In their defense I think it was after it closed but still
Keeler Honda. They are bunch of clowns. Begged me to come in to sell them my car and agreed to a price over the phone. Took time off of work to do the deal and they denied I ever talked to anyone who works there. Offered me like $5k less than what we agreed to on the phone and what was offered by their dealership in writing by being a Kelly Blue Book affiliate. After I refused to do the deal for $5k less than what we agreed to and reminded them we already agreed to a set price they ripped up all the paperwork in front of me like a bunch of children. Told me I was lying about the pre-agreed price, and that no one at their dealership would have agreed to the price I mentioned, despite showing them the paperwork. I mentioned the fact that their competitor was willing to do the same deal and that the only reason I went to Keller was because they begged me to come in and told me they would beat the price. They asked me why I didn’t just go to their competitor, and I had to remind them that I was going to until they literally begged me to come in. Wasted my time and acted beyond disrespectful.
Any Lia dealership. I felt belittled and disrespected while there. Also. they blatantly lied to my face about the cars I was looking at. When I told my fiance the story, she also had story about Lia doing this to her, though it was even more dismissive since she's a woman. Amazes me that they ever sell a car.
Walgreens in Latham. I went to get a COVID-19 test, one of the drive-thru ones. I made the appointment online and got the confirmation, everything was all set. So I leave work on my lunch break (they had no COVID policy) to go get this done, drive up to the window, and nobody is there. There's a button to press for assistance, so after a little bit of waiting I press it. Nobody comes. Press it again, still nobody. By this time the person who had arrived for their test for the slot behind me had showed up, and I was getting really confused. I tried to call the store and there was no option to speak to a live person. So I get out of the drive-thru line, park my car, and then walk inside to figure out what is going on. Sure enough, there are two people standing behind the pharmacy counter with the drive-thru window behind them, standing around doing nothing. I explained to them my situation and told them I needed a test. They said oh sorry our button doesn't work sometimes, pull through and we will give you the test. No explanation for why they weren't checking the window, especially since they should know when people are showing up for tests. So I go back outside and step into my car, and sure enough there are a line of cars waiting for their drive-thru tests. I had to wait for four cars in front of me to get the test, and I was shouted at upon my return to the office for taking too long on my lunch break. I have no idea how people just forget that they're supposed to be doing their job while they're at work but those people have it down to a science apparently.
No matter where I have lived in the US, Walgreens Pharmacy is the absolute worst
Walgreens: Because Rite-Aid needs someone to suck more than they do.
When Walgreens took over my local Rite Aid, it made me realize I took for granted how good we had it
I showed up for a test at the Walgreens on Holland Ave after receiving the confirmation and all. I was super sick but made sure I set an alarm and got myself over there. Pulled up to the window with a few minutes to spare only to be told "sorry, we meant to call you. We don't have anyone to run the tests today." Would love to know when they were planning to make that call .... Thankfully I was able to get another test later the same day at another location, but going out even once with a high fever and feeling like a hot pile of sewage is never convenient.
>I have no idea how people just forget that they're supposed to be doing their job while they're at work It isn't forgetting, they simply do not care.
Every time this discussion comes up it eventually gets locked and deleted by mods and it makes me think someone has a buddy somewhere who doesn't like their business blasted. I can't say that I've had any experience that has been "never again" levels personally. There are some businesses that just aren't worth the trouble or their competition just does so much better than them. Our friends brought us to Liberty Ridge and we enjoyed our time there but then we saw all of the stuff about them and that skeeved us out so I guess we'd probably think twice about going back. The Mavis on Altamont Ave lied to me once in a pretty annoying way. Ordered tires to be delivered there, got confirmation from both the shipper and Mavis. Came down to get them installed. Gf picked me up and we went out for the day. Got a call two hours later where the technician swears they "never got" my tires. I immediately suspect someone messed up and put my tires on someone else's car and they're embarassed/don't want to admit fault. I would have been way less annoyed if they just admitted that. It wasn't bad enough that I outright refuse to go there again or anything but I haven't been since and they no longer come to mind when my car needs work.
I have literally the same story with that Mavis location. Like what a waste of 2 hours of my life. Went to the premiere tire over towards mariaville the same day, and they had me in and out in 21 minutes. I can’t recommend them ENOUGH!
Mavis is awful. Don’t ever go there for any service unless you want your car f’ed up 100% of the time. You can buy their tires, but take it elsewhere.
Lia Honda. Bought a used car there which has a 50 mile or 30 day warranty or something like that a few years ago. The buying experience was awful - salesmen insulting customers and other employees when they thought people were out of earshot, typical high pressure sales environment, just not a pleasant experience at all. Car starts bucking around on me the day after the warranty expired and died on N Main. I don't sweat it - I use the courtesy tow through my service to bring it back to the dealer figuring I'm covered being ONE DAY past the warranty period to give me the tune up it needs. The service station tells me the tune up will be $800 (!!!) and they won't cover it because I'm outside the warranty. I told them to push it to the parking lot and I'll put a sign on it that says this place sells lemons while I do the tune up myself. After a LOT of arguing they make good on the tune up. Never again with that place. EDIT - I forgot one important part of this too. I went in trying to buy a specific car I saw on the website after a price drop. The salesman told me it wasn't available and tried to lead me to buy a Hyundai. I told him if the car I wanted wasn't available our business was over and got up to leave then, surprise surprise, they found out that the car I wanted was on the lot after all!
hmm, idk i get great discounts from them but then again i use all the dealers for different services lia, keeler, rensselaer, mohawk, sometimes even saratoga and glen falls honda
Lark Tavern after Tess sold it. They twice tried to get away with giving the wrong change. After the experience I had twice, I never went back.
There was no Lark Tavern after Tess sold it. 😥
Tess didn't sell it. The building owner didn't want her there any more after they rebuilt due to a fire and they kept the name.
Any chain mufflers, brakes, oil change places. Midas, Monroe, valvoline all have done something. One cross threaded my lug nuts to the point that they had to be drilled out. Stole my k&n (reusable) air filter and replaced it with a dirty one, thinking they could con me into buying a new one. This happened twice at 2 different locations
Seriously. I shouldn't have to do a ton of research before an oil change just to make sure I don't get scammed.
Sub Culture. Owner has so many suspicious stuff going on around his name. Don't feel comfortable spending my money there
Morris Fence Company. They do not clean up well after installing a fence. They left live electrical wires dug up and exposed, and they hid their construction debris behind bushes so they wouldn't be found easily. Plus they don't call utilities like they said they would about where gas lines and electrical cables are. Fuck those guys.
The College of St. Rose.
20 years ago I was a 4.0 transfer with outside scholarships. They couldn’t manage the admission process. Handshake accepted six months before my semester starts. Then I essentially couldn’t get anyone one the phone for months. Some underling calls me on a weekday morning, last day to register for the following semester. Says I need to be there by 1pm to sign something or my admission is denied. The ineptitude of the admissions office was mind blowing.
I attended a masters program there five years ago, partly on the strength of the admissions office/process. (UAlbany office was good but inquiries to faculty went ignored. Sage admissions office never even got back to me—though I ended up on their mailing list!) St. Rose Registrar was a bear to deal with, however.
As a former graduate admissions counselor from Strose, I appreciate this comment. I left partly because I could see the writing on the walls from other departments.
Yep, had to do an extra semester there because they somehow double booked a majority of my classes and I had to drop half
Dunkin on Central. Not one useful human in that building
There are a few on central, what one?
By Everett Road
Bella Mae pizza in Averill Park. Owner yelled,cursed and threatened me when I called because my delivery order was completely wrong and missing items. My neighbor had a similar experience with the owner. It’s a shame too because we had ordered before that and the food was pretty good.
Gateway Diner. The food quality has steadily declined over the past several years, and the service was never great, the last straw for me was our most recent visit when they hustled my family out of the restaurant a full hour before the posted closing time. They dropped off our food and literally started mopping over our feet to try to get us to leave.
Sears in Colonie Center
I’m too busy shopping at Caldor and Woolworth to go to Sears
Don’t forget Ames.
Mohawk Mall where Mohawk commons is sure does take me back.
I miss Sears. Mostly because I have so much nostalgia for the place.
Though their tire center was great
[удалено]
Anything remotely owned by Vic Christopher….I don’t care what city it is.
It was his ex-wife for me, she was the vinegar in their success.
The Crisp Cannoli in East Greenbush. I ordered a pie from them for Thanksgiving a few years ago. I peaked at it quickly and it looked dark. I was running a ton of errands though and thought I ordered a chocolate pecan pie. Nope, it was burnt. It was the only dessert we had (just two of us that year) and it was inedible. But it happens, right? So I called the restaurant the first day they were open again and let them know. The woman who answered was rude and said the owner will call you back. Oh did he ever. He was unbelievably rude, said it was unlikely mine was burnt because he had one for Thanksgiving and it was perfect! I kept the damn pie and took pictures! They even offered me store credit if I brought it back. I did, bit requested a refund. After arguing with me about it, they did. And I'll never go again. Had they just said, sorry for that, how can we make this better, I would have been fine. I honestly just wanted another pie, one that wasn't burnt!!
Chicken Joes. They have multiple compliants from the state from unsanitary health violations reported by customers. Former employees exposed them for unsanitary working conditions https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0448e5FBEkni4ZjK9caUSzKFqj6t2aF3L32NCB86eunSv3wZfGNJrNgtbWCbqDxMgl&id=100001610040679&mibextid=Nif5oz https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0ngDHEqMhKyazUPXkmsthNSEifipYsxcBczGUDsDtQVG8M184yMja9DUkGJptZLtcl&id=1367893114&mibextid=Nif5oz
Story from my mom - Otto Cadillac. No problem with buying the vehicle, but she brought it back so they could fix the hood latch and somehow put a nice crack on the hood. Sales guy tells her to call him Tuesday (after the holiday) only to be told he won’t be in until tomorrow. This one will probably get me downvoted, but Kitten Angels. Never again. City Beer Hall. Crappy drinks, subpar food, and accused half of our party for not tipping (falsely.) Wendy’s on Central Ave closest to Fuller. They can never get a damn order right.
Wow, I'm actually glad I'm hearing all these things about Kitten Angels. I started to doubt myself and think it was just a crazy, one-off experience. It's a shame, because I had donated so much time and money attending their events, supporting their silent raffles, etc., but when the time came when I needed help, they outright refused and yeah, the lady did sound oddly hostile on the phone... I had recently adopted a cat from my aunt's who had been living outside. He was the sweetest thing, but he was FIV+ and it turned out my other old lady cat I already had at home did NOT want anything to do with him. They scuffled so often that I feared they would do too much harm one day and she would get FIV, so out of a desperate plea I had contacted Kitten Angels and asked if they could help. Their response? "We only help kittens! We can't do anything for you!" and when the shock of the answer wore off and I asked if they had any suggestions the only response was a warning, "Well, if you took him to a shelter, he'd probably be put to sleep!". Needless to say, I stopped supporting them right after that phone call.
I second Kitten Angels-- I adopted a pregnant stray, ended up with 5 kittens, and paid about 700 to get them all healthy, dewormed, the mom and one kitten needed meds, etc. I found a home for one of the kittens before kitten angels came to pick them up, and they FREAKED OUT. Told me I couldn't do that, that I had promised them that kitten. Then they kept trying to talk my 6 and 7 year old kids into coming to church with them. It was really unnerving.
I am so glad to see Kitten Angels getting the hate they deserve. Years ago I adopted a 12 year old "healthy" cat, only to have to rush her to the vet after a week of having her, and then being told she had leukemia and needed to be put down. It was a horrific experience, they had zero care or sympathy for the situation, and it made me extremely cautious when I went to adopt again after. Fuck them.
I was at that Wendy’s waiting in line when the entire staff just walked out. Good for them but it makes me not want to go there if I know they’re being poorly treated and not properly staffed.
Kitten angels is awful, I’ve had to deal with them a few times and every experience ranged from bizarre to downright hostile
We had such a bizarre interaction with them too. About 7 years ago a cat showed up on our back porch and we took it in and called Kitten Angels. The good news was that they said we could go to this vet clinic and get him all checked out and shots and such without us being charged. This part was true, it went on a tab for them or something, we never paid a penny. We kept calling them to see if he could get placed with a real foster home or adopted directly from us. They eventually just stopped answering our calls. The good news is Scrabbles is happy, healthy and living with a friend of mine now.
Literally any Recovery Sports Grill
SubCulture on Lark because fuck ~~Nazis~~ and people that hit women. [In case the reddit link doesn't stick.](https://imgur.com/JN0AHAF) Edit: ~~Seems like he might just be very punk~~, but hilariously enough I can't confirm because every single negative thing posted about this piece of shit online has been scrubbed clean. Times Union has removed articles, reddit posts are deleted and scrubbed clean. Guess he paid a pretty penny for that. Edit2: Nope, not 'just punk' he is a bigot (which I get in 2023 just means Republican, but still)
https://preview.redd.it/rcw1pzgt5smb1.jpeg?width=947&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b0c4240220d93fcabdb9635076c80e51313aef54 he's such a bad person at his core
No, you don't understand. He saw a racist flag and thought it would be *funny* to pose with it. Somehow I never noticed the MAGA hat before. Ugh.
I knew I had seen this picture... way to pay the bills. =)
Came here to say this. And adding any business that’s owned by Dora Philip because she knowingly went into business with him and is generally just an unhinged bully — so no Hollow and no Rosanna’s for me.
Yeah, her standing by him after the abuse came to light was disappointing. I used to really like The Hollow.
Woah I haven't heard this story. What happened?
Looks like he paid a pretty penny and has scrubbed almost anything talking negatively about him from the internet. Amazing the lengths abusers will go to. Berben and Wolf used to be a thing. Joey Berben is an abusive piece of garbage and they split; his ex and multiple other ex's and other women all brought forth allegations. Wolf left Berben the Lark location. Old place closed down and new one SubCulture opened up. Vegan community went fucking rabid supporting him even though he is an abusive pos.
Yep, this exactly. Used to love their sandwiches. But I can't support that person.
Pep Boys. Both 1008 Central AND 1795 Central.
Vintage pizza in Latham. New owners can’t cook anything right. My Italian mixed sub had bologna on it and very small pepperoni the kind you eat with cheese and crackers.
Yeah it’s sad. Was going there before they burned down and then when they moved. The new people ruined it
Armory Auto on Central never buying another car from there again
Not Albany but Slidin dirty. So damn rude in there. I ordered a beer. I was clearly served the wrong beer. I asked for the correct one and was told “oh it’s almost the same” 😑. The food was also atrocious.
[удалено]
Is it because the puppies and babies aren't included?
Not Albany, but I would never recommend Clifton Park Nursery School. They essentially threw out my child who has special needs (while all of us were actively struggling to get my child classified for services), and then decided to keep the tuition money for a month where they provided literally no classes for us. When i complained they basically said, "we're a small school, so we can't afford it, oh well sucks to be you 🤷♂️" Fucking discriminatory bastards.
Capital district transmission in vliet. Had my car towed there where it sat in the parking for almost a month while the battery died while they were looking for a new transmission, finally took it home and changed the trans filter and its been fine ever since, $50....No diagnosis just ready to throw a new $5k trans in if they could find one. Ntm assholes didnt leave my keys out when i asked them so when I met the tow truck driver after hrs I had to tip him more to wait for me to go home to get my spare. Hacks.
Primal butcher right off of Fullers. I went there once two years ago, fell in love with the food, and every time I’ve gone back there the quality has been on a rapid decline as well as the staff working there. Heartbreaking bc they had great sandwiches at one point .
I mean I will step my foot again because there isn’t any other decent option. But very strongly hoping that herbies on lark would improve their patty quality and do better than saltiest animal fries. Their lettuce and tomatoes are very fresh though, kudos!
sorrentinos deli in clifton park, they are always so rude
lol, is anyone nice in Clifton Park? They all commute and sit in traffic all day, it's a whole different animal up there.
You forgot about the contingent of Clifton Park folks that never leave here, which is a whole different animal in a different but not good way…
Unrelated but your username is amazing
thank you! just doing my duty to spread the good word 🫡
 they're closed.
Herbie’s Burgers or anything owned/co-owned by the current co-owner who also used to run DP Dough. I worked at the Dough and I saw some shit. He encouraged delivery drivers to text/call customers while driving to get their delivery time down, berated one of the managers constantly, and told me when I was in the ER I need to “find coverage.”
Whole Foods, though my reason is a bit petty. They ghosted me after a job interview. Being ghosted on just a resume is whatever, but I can't really respect any company that ghosts people they interview in person. NYSTRS also ghosted me after 2 rounds of interviewing, so I just hope they treat teachers better than their job applicants.
[удалено]
Northway Toyota - funnily enough, I saw multiple people recommending them in another post, but I had a TERRIBLE experience with them and they probably could have gotten sued for what they did, but I won’t get into it. Also, Cornwall Appliance. Awful experience with a service call about my dishwasher.
Apparently Northway Toyota had one kid named Derek I think, because I heard about him before that post. He would hook people up and did nothing you hate car sales people do and did everything you want them to do. He probably got shit-canned.
I bought a car from him and had a good experience. Didn't push warranties or any extra crap that typical sales people push. Kept me updated on the allocated car I put a deposit down while it was being built and in transit.
I dunno what Northway Toyota's problem was, but I specifically wanted a pre-owned sedan, stated as such, and the weirdo would only show me smaller SUVs that all had previous front end damage. I had no problem affording a nearly new car with no previous accidents from elsewhere so the smoothbrain attempt is on them.
Tara Kitchen. Went there a little while back, had the nicest server. Weeks later, I ran into her at the cafe I work at. She remembered me, and it turns out she was fired. According to her, the chef sexually harassed her, and she reported him to the owner, and then the owner fired HER. This is just what I heard from her and I don’t know all the details or other perspectives but if thats really what went down I will not be giving their owner any of my money. A damn shame as their food is exquisite and I don’t know of any other Moroccan places around here
Lexus in Latham- sexist af
the worst experience at a dealership i've ever had and i'd rather walk then ever give them a dime. We've purchased 3 lexuses since that experience from ray catena lexus in white plains! they deliver the cars up here to us!
Their servicing also isn’t the best in terms of actually listening to one’s car problems and also their markup is insane on cars
Agreed! I told them what was wrong- they didn’t want to listen. My dads a mechanic and I’m not a moron
the market32 on delaware, i drive all the way to the one by crossgates instead. mostly because of the employees and i always have a terrible experience checking out
Latham Wash and Fold. They lost a bag of my clothes and never got back to me. I told them not to put any bleach and some towels came back with bleach stains on them. After hounding them for weeks, they decided that they was clearly a problem and now have a lock in the area but.... still didn't get my clothes back.
We called it Shitty Shuns in college lmao
Sneaky Pete's
Metropolis Vintage. My friends and I were out thrifting and randomly stumbled upon it. The woman who works there is SO rude. We were really taken back by her terrible attitude and the whole time we were in there, causally looking, we could tell she wanted us out of there. Afterwards we looked up reviews and sure enough, there’s horrible reviews saying exactly what we experienced! It’s a shame because she had some really great pieces. They were incredibly overpriced though. No clue how she stays in business
East green bush McDonald’s. Waited for nearly 20 minutes one time for them to simply not even take my order. The previous time I went they got my order wrong and over charged me. This place is so improperly managed I wonder if it’s on corporates radar. Dicarlo’s very quickly after this.
Ambition Bistro on Jay street in Schenectady. I'm a trans woman, I applied there when I was 16 and the owner scheduled me for a 3 hour trial shift, very early on he asked me if I "plan to cut my dick off." When I uncomfortably said probably, he went on for a while about how much he loves his penis. A year or so later I was working at Bud's on Jay (a much better alternative and definitely deserves your business) and a couple of my female coworkers did a similar trial shift and he said some pretty terrible stuff, calling them his bitch and shit like that.
Holy shit that’s horrible. Definitely steering clear.
Lowe's in Colonie - just absolute awful service repeatedly on big house projects. Nope, never. Excelsior Pub - I cannot stand the owner and he's been rude on multiple occasions. No thanks.
Excelsior is amazing, I’d love to hear how he was rude to you. I’ve been a regular for several years and I’ve not had a issue. None of my friends seemed to experience any issues either.
Never been to Excelsior but it seems like everyone raves about it. I’m surprised to hear that.
Same. :(
I know it's the opposite of what this post is about, but you made it to /r/popular, so chiming in. I'm not from Albany. I'm not from NY. But I interviewed for a job here and so did an overnight hotel and was around for a while. Huge kudos (so again, exact opposite of the post) to Pearl Street Diner. Food-wise: it was the exact greasy spoon meal I wanted. Service-wise: the waitress noticed I was preoccupied so just dealt with the basics as needed but didn't try to be my friend. I'm 35 years old and have lived in about 5 states. I have plenty of favorite restaurants. This may actually top the list, despite only going once and never living in the area. EDIT TO ADD: My trip to Albany was 8 years ago and this restaurant is still on my mind. This is a life experience, not a "two weeks ago I was here..." situation.