One lovely Saturday afternoon, my boyfriend and I decided to go to the Clay Room to paint a set of clay serving trays together. We paid a whopping $113.00 for the pottery and studio fees plus the applicable taxes. We spent a number of beautiful weekend afternoons and several hours meticulously painting our serving platters to match so that we could have a matching set to entertain people with, which would be accompanied by a story to share at dinner parties. Instead of the positive experience for which we paid, this is now the story we have to share. After finally finishing our clay art, my boyfriend and I placed our ceramic pieces on the shelf to be heated in the kiln by the employees of the CLAY ROOM. We were told it would be at least a week before we could pick up the set. When we returned the following week to pick up the platters, we discovered that the one I had painted had been broken into several pieces and the second platter painted by my boyfriend was marked and chipped on the bottom. Nobody from the CLAY ROOM had bothered to contact us to let us know what had happened. Instead, our excitement turned to pure and utter disappointment when we returned on a lovely Saturday afternoon, only to find that the set of serving platters we paid $113.00 dollars to paint TOGETHER yielded only one damaged orphaned platter. Initially, the employee with whom we dealt was willing to refund both platters to allow us to recreate the true experience for which we had paid. However, a second employee stepped in and indicated that the orphaned platter could be repaired and that therefore the CLAY ROOM wouldn't refund the cost for the second platter. I tried numerous times to explain that it was the experience we were paying for and not the piece itself and that it wasn't fair to ask me to return alone to recreate the platter that they had destroyed. It was the equivalent of saying that a Monet reproduction is worth the same as the original. Such a suggestion is absurd. Everyone knows that it is the experience and the history in the piece that is valuable. That is why you pay $113.00 for clay pottery that you paint yourself. The second employee contacted the owner who indicated that she would not refund the cost of the second platter or provide a credit, unless the item was beyond repair. After speaking with her, I explained to the first employee that her approach was in line with the manner in which a customer should be dealt with in a situation like this. However, the revised approach taken by both the second employee and the owner was reprehensible. On Monday morning, I received a phone call from the owner who indicated that I was "pathetic" for sharing my feelings with her employee after she had spoken to me. After reprimanding me for doing so, the owner promptly hung up on me. I called her back, only to be told that I should be ashamed of myself for telling her employee that the approach taken by the owner was unacceptable. I tried to explain that I could purchase similar clay pottery at the Bay for a much cheaper price, at which point the owner explained that "its not the piece that you pay for, its the experience!" With this comment, I wholly agree. However, when I attempted to agree with her and again explain why I would like a credit for the second piece so that my boyfriend and I could recreate the "experience". I couldn't get more than "I agree" out of my mouth as the owner once again hung up the phone. Please forward this caution on to all your friends, if it is the experience you are looking for, don't pay for it at the CLAY ROOM, which is located at 279 Danforth.
