Despite misgivings based on friends past negative experiences, I went to Key West Seafood Connection on Parkins Mill Road in Greenville, SC to purchase oysters for a Jan. 3 neighborhood oyster roast my wife and I were hosting. The owner, (Frances?) was marginally accommodating when I visited the store just after Christmas. She had a ""take it or leave it"" attitude in discussing pricing and availability. She was more adamant about what she would not or could not do than anything else. She was unpleasant to talk to and gave me the feeling I was ""putting her out"". Though it was like pulling teeth, she did find a supplier for the North Carolina oysters we were hoping to find. Instead of making the buying experience somewhat pleasant, she just made it clear that if she ordered these for me I HAD to buy them when they arrived, that they would be dirty, and that she would NOT clean them. Just left me with a yucky feeling about the whole experience.\r
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On December 30 I received a call on my cell phone from the ""Bo"" at Keywest to confirm the oysters had arrived. He could not have been more pleasant, and I confirmed I would pick them up on Friday January 3. I was out of state visiting family at the time. Over the next several days, however, I got sick...then sicker. We arrived back in Greenville on Jan 1. It was Jan 2 before I felt well enough to get to the doctor. He confirmed it was the flu. I was feeling miserable and worried about my ability to pull of the oyster roast we had planned for the next day.\r
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I called Key West on January 2 and explained the situation. The owner was none too pleased with the nature of my call and made it clear- and I quote - ""I expect you to pick these oysters up"". I assured her again that was my intention, but that it would be OK to sell them if she had another customer who wanted them. I simply asked her to let me know if she sold them, (a very important point) and if I didn't hear from her I would be there to pick them up as planned. She made no promises and reminded me I had an obligation to pay her for the oysters.\r
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Not really expecting the owner to make any effort to sell the oysters to another customer, AND having heard nothing from her by mid-day the next day, I proceeded (fever, cough and all) with buying all the additional supplies we needed for the party. I then called Key west to tell the owner I was on the way by to pick up the oysters as planned.\r
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It was then that she told me she SOLD the oysters! I asked why she hadn't called to tell me and told her I had just spent hundreds of dollars on additional supplies for an event that I was having because I had NOT heard from her. She said she didn't call me because she JUST sold them a couple minutes earlier, (I don't believe that's true for one second) and that the other customer was coming to get them. I asked her to just let that customer know I was coming to get them as originally planned...I was literally on the way there! She said she absolutely would NOT do that. She then proceeded to tell me this whole thing was my fault.\r
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She was unpleasant at the outset, adamant about her expectations I would be there to pick up the oysters as planned when we spoke on the 2nd, and utterly beyond the pale rude on Jan 3rd. The circumstances were a bit unique, and I don't begrudge a business owner for being cautious about things, but her utter disregard for any semblance common courtesy or customer service was shocking.\r
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I have never done business with anyone more deserving of a negative review like the one I am writing now.\r
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Go elsewhere - ANYWHERE - else for a better experience.\r
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