Beyond / Hello Sauget (Route 3) Cannabis Dispensary

Ree W.

JUNE 2021 I was tempted back to Beyond Hello Sauget Route 3 by their Pride week discounts. As an LGBTQ+ customer, I was happy to see inclusion and the discounts were very good, making the higher prices that this location has (even compared to other Beyond Hello sister stores) more reasonable. My issues with this store as the same on opening day. Staff was uneducated on policy and did not perform their jobs. I placed an online pickup order and showed my text at the front door, knowing that the door greeter checks the text to ensure you’re at the correct location. I said it was 9:30 and I hadn’t received my ready text for my pickup slot from 9-9:30. I was told to wait in the online pickup area. I waited until about 10am before they realized I was at the wrong store. That’s ok. Things happen. What makes this store’s management unacceptable is that things like that continued to happen the whole way through. I walked into the main area to make a walk-in purchase. The door greeter apologized for not catching it. No problem at this point, I wasn’t upset, just irritated with myself for not doing it properly. I have autism, and diversions from plans make me very anxious and uncomfortable, but I’ve lived with it my whole life and I can usually adjust course pretty well. Inside, a tall blonde woman helped me. She said she was the manager and wasn’t usually on the floor. She could not operate the iPad properly to sort the cartridges by THC level. She had me do it instead. I thought I shouldn’t be allowed to touch the staff iPad, and honestly I don’t like touching it during a pandemic, but you do what you have to do for good weed. I selected my items and waited for checkout. Upon checkout, I presented a coupon I had from when I had my very bad experience. The employee (Zeena) said she wasn’t sure but she didn’t think I could stack coupons and I should stick with the Pride coupon. I said I have been able to stack discounts at the other Beyond Hello - in fact, when my wife presented her coupon at the other Sauget location, the employee happily informed me they stack coupons and took it. Zeena called a manager over, the same tall blonde one who had helped me earlier. The manager explained that although Beyond Hello is a chain, they are individual brick and mortar stores who have different policies. I told her that that makes things really difficult for customers and there should be some consistency, and went on to tell her about my experience so far, and how opening day was a shitshow. She said I seemed very upset and I could have handled myself better, and that she would give me the discount. I said why would you wait for me to get that upset when you can just make an exception? Wouldn't a better way to handle it be to just tell me you’ll make an exception but it’s a one time thing and you don’t usually do it? She responded by threatening not to sell to me. This manager is a problem. She openly admitted to not knowing how to work the floor, admitted she enforces policies that don’t align with other stores, her staff was uneducated on policies (and who wouldn’t be when everything is different!), and she responded to criticism with threats. If you’re in IL, go to Goose Lake. If you’re in MO, go to Nbliss. The end. ———— JANUARY 2021 I placed an online pickup order on opening day at this location. I’m a frequent shopper at their other location, but this one is more conveniently located. Unfortunately, that was about the only convenient thing during this trip, which will be my last. Staff was disorganized and uneducated on products and promotions, items were miscategorized, and the rewards system wasn’t integrated with any other location at this time, meaning if you’ve been going to the other Sauget location, you might as well keep going there if you’ve got points. I walked inside and told the employee who greeted me I had an online pickup order. He opened a door for me and informed me the ATM machine may or not be working currently. Ok, no problem. Things happen opening day. I was not directed to a specific area for online pickup. I decided to test the ATM. People were taken ahead of me. No problem. I ask where online pickup is (“registers 6 and maybe 8?”) and get in line. Register 8 asked a woman behind me if she was ready. She said no, she had online pickup, and that I was ahead of her. He said oh, ok; and left. Ok, register 6 was online pickup, then. While waiting, I scanned a QR code on a display stand to check my Beyond Hello rewards points. Register 6 asked the woman behind me if she had an online pickup. She said yes but I was first. I walked up and presented my ID. “Last name?” They asked. “Willmann.” I spelled it. They couldn’t find my order. They asked for my first name. They couldn’t find it. They asked when my time slot was. “8:00 to 8:30.” It was a few minutes after 8, and I’d received my ready text. The order was found. We proceeded to checkout. Somehow, Register 7 suddenly began serving online orders and said they could help the woman behind me. Register 6 started scanning my items, with a bag checker double-checking my items. From the doorway, a man entered with a whole stack of hats with shiny stickers on them and laid them on the counter for the employees to take. I’m not making this shit up. At this point I started giving my wife “what the *#%^” looks. Everyone helping me stopped to pick out a hat. They resumed counting my items. Register 7 discovered it was the other customer’s birthday and no less than five employees crowded around her to sing happy birthday. Register 6 stopped checking my items to say I was over my limit for edibles. They viewed my order and saw that the following were flagged for exceeding the edibles limit: * 200 mg of chocolates * 100 mg of tincture/concentrate The legal possession limit in IL for non-residents is: * 15g of marijuana flower (smokable forms of marijuana) * 5g of “concentrated” forms of marijuana (vape cartridges, live resin, tinctures, capsules, etc) * Marijuana-infused products that contain a total of 250mg of THC (i.e. edibles, beverages, etc) Over the store-wide chorus of Happy Birthday. I asked why my concentrate was being counted as an edible. They tried several times to catch the attention of the manager, who was oblivious and engaged in the song. Register 6 tapped him on the shoulder, but he remained determined to finish the song and applaud the other customer. Finally, he came over to help and they began puzzling why it was tallying incorrectly. Meanwhile, I was waiting. And waiting. And waiting. I’m a Missouri medical patient but I travel to Illinois for the superior quality and selection. My legs started to shake and my muscles started to spasm. You don’t get priority for being Missouri medical in Illinois. That’s fine, I understand why. At this point, the manager said they were sorry but they could not sell me the concentrate. It was at that point I told them what I thought of my experience so far, which was pretty terrible. I asked if they could sell it to my wife as recreational and they said yes. Ok, fine. Remember earlier when I said I checked my points using a sign on display in the store? I asked if they had entered my rewards information, as I was spending $350 and wanted to make sure I got the points. I was informed that I would not get rewards as they had not yet integrated that system. “Are you kidding me.” I told them that this wasn’t an acceptable answer. I fully admitted I was being a horrible raging bitch but that this has been pretty much a shitshow from the moment I walked in and I just wanted to check out and end this for all of us. I was told I could start a new account here at this store and then next time I came in- “I won’t be coming back. I just want to wrap this up and leave.” They apologized for my negative experience and finished checking me out as quickly as possible. Then, I swear to actual Jesus, the printer ran out of receipt paper and I had to be transferred to a new register to have a receipt printed since it’s illegal to not have a cannabis receipt. Someone came up and told me I could take my receipts to the other Beyond Hello location and they could apply my points there. I suggested they work on properly briefing and educating employees, since I was getting three different versions of the rewards program. I was never asked if I was medical or a veteran for the 10% discount. They gave me a $10 off coupon for my trouble, which, by the way, was part of Beyond Hello’s Holidaze promotion for 12/21 anyway. Until they get their shit together, I strongly suggest going to the Gooselake Rd location or going to Ascend in Collinsville (and soon to Fairview Heights).

Rob Cook

Beautiful store and a freindly, knowledgeable staff. Beyond/Hello is a few min. from the Arch just over the river in IL. They carry flower,vapes, edibles, tinctures and concentrates. The full menu is viewable online and you can walk right in, order and go. Love this place!!