Dean & Deluca, New York

I am a serious local cook and food writer/photographer who enjoys the comprehensive array of products offered here. While some of the staff were very polite (the man in the floral department, for instance), a cashier treated me with hostile contempt b/c I didn't know where the line started (there were no cordons nor signs, nor was the area crowded). I understand that the luxury sector is also suffering our current economic woes. Retailers are free to withhold good customer service as their poor management practices see fit; and I am also free, to empty my deep pockets elsewhere at other comestible purveyors in the city who have lovely offerings and consistently civil demeanor.