Fair warning to you lingerie shop owners, don't even think about leasing a downtown Augusta Georgia location if the sign on the door says Prime Realty! I know, because I tried twice.
We have owned our little lingerie shop for about a year now. We have been selling our goods at a local flea market. We are having some moderate success doing so. However, we knew if we wanted to grow, we needed a retail location. We figured the downtown Augusta area would be perfect for our next step. We looked around and found a perfect spot on 8th Street. A small area but, it already had a slat wall system and track lighting, plus it was next door to a florist, and across the street from a bank headquarters. The location just screamed lingerie shop.
We were ecstatic! This was close to our home, and looked like a chance to take our company to the next level. Oh, but doom and gloom were lurking. We filled out their application, gave them a $1,000.00 deposit, and waited with great anticipation to move in.
They didn't even have the decency to call us. I finally had to call them. They claimed the owner of the building was looking to put professional offices in that strip. We were heart broken, but we accepted that.
Ahhhh, just down the street, in another building, with a different owner, was another spot. A little larger and more expensive, but we thought it would still be worth it. A friend of ours was also opening a book store in the same building, so at least we would know one of our neighbors, and we knew they were not looking for professional offices.
Prime Realty (Prime Commercial Properties) also managed this place. We called them told them we would take that spot. Again, they did not bother to call us and tell us no. We had to call them to see what was going on. I was actually told “ (not going to mention the name) says she doesn't feel a lingerie shop is good for the downtown area.” What? Wait a minute, we don't sell adult toys or anything, just clothes, and a few accessories like bath salts, and purses, and maybe some massage oils.
For goodness sakes, Walmart sells lingerie. The mall has lingerie shops. Why is lingerie not right for downtown shopping area? I still don't have an answer for you.
I look on the news at the downtown community trying so hard to revitalize shopping in the downtown area, promoting to fill all the empty shops. And yet I can't get one because I sell underwear.
I was so angry I drove down to Prime Realty and asked for my check back. The ummm, oh lets just call her, executive who made this decision happened to be standing there on her cell phone when I walked in. ( I didn't know it at that time) I asked the clerk for my deposit check back, and the “executive” asked me if I went through security. I said no, I'm just here to pick up our check because you apparently do not want our business. While the clerk shuffled paperwork to locate my check, the “executive” made a call on her cell phone. As I collected the check and headed for the elevator I heard her saying “I just returned a deposit check for an applicant at one of your spaces...” The elevator doors closed before I heard the rest of that conversation, but it was apparent to me then that the owner of the building did not make the choice.
That calls into question as to weather or not the first time they turned us down had anything at all to do with the owner of the building. This was over a month ago, and the space is still open. I wonder if the owner is aware he or she lost revenue due to censorship. So, fare warning, if you sell underwear, stay away from Prime Realty, also known as Prime Commercial Properties! The “executive” doesn't feel Augusta Ga. Shoppers need any. http://www.prime-properties.net
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