Paradies Shops Carolina’s NewsBeat Concourse E

I actually went to the one in Concourse C. I am stranded here in NC due to ridiculous flight delays. The shop in concourse C normally closes at 10 but is staying open late for stranded customers like me. It’s 11:30 by the way. I truly appreciate their kind gesture because I was freezing in this airport. I was able to get a warm blanket and pillow doe $ 20. Not bad. Beyond GREAT customer service. They truly care about their customers.

Good selection of snacks and magazines. Friendly staff.

FYI — this is a review for the «Carolina’s NewsBeat» store specifically located in the Charlotte Douglas International Airport next to the Fox Sports Bar & Grill and Speedway Grill in Concourse E.
I won’t bother going into the prices ($ 2.78 for one 20oz bottle of soda) or even factor it into the review since it’s not their fault and the markups are expected — — I can certainly accept that. What I cannot accept is employees who are not customer service oriented, unprofessional, unfriendly, and not willing to do what it takes to ensure an efficient and quality experience.
If you’re looking to buy something quickly on the run before you make your connecting flight, don’t bother to stop here because the employees work at their own leisure and pace — even with the manager present.
I walk in and see 6 – 7 people in line waiting to make a purchase. There are 3 Registers and minimum of 5 – 6 total employees (wow, seems overstaffed). At first glance 2 of the Registers were processing customers while the 3^rd was occupied by an employee processing paperwork. I pick up my soda (Coke Cherry Zero — — the highlight of the experience) and stand patiently in line, now Customer # 6 in queue. Okay, I’ll be patient.
One of the employees ringing up customers then stops her work and turns around to help another employee who is asking questions and looking for something (a «book»). The 2^nd register employee slows down her work to engage into the discussion for assistance. The other 2 employees then walk away to go retrieve the book leaving 1 register open with a (now) queue of 10 people waiting in line. Meanwhile the manager (I believe — male authority figure) is standing next to the register and is watching her process orders, plus the other register is still processing paperwork. There is also another employee standing nearby and starts talking with the other two who are looking for «the book».
The Math: Out of 6 total employees 3 of them are standing around chit-​chatting while 1 authority figure is observing and the other 2 are doing work where only one of those two is actually ringing up customers. The queue is now @ 10 and I’m # 5. Yay! There is no sense of priority or urgency in processing customers in a timely and efficient manner. A few minutes later I move up to #2, and even though I’m next in line the manager proceeds to point to the girl behind me (#3) saying they will be able to ring her up on the other side (register now open — she finished her work). The girl behind me then looks at me and says «you’re next in line so I’ll wait after you…». Cool beans — — thank you. She (customer) was more cognisant than all of the 6 employees combined.
I nearly put my drink down and walked off — — why should I even give this establishment my $$ and support when they don’t seem to give a rats behind about quality customer service. If it wasn’t for that damn hot sauce I just had w/​my meal I would have done it — — I swear! But a nice cold Coke Cherry Zero sounded so damn good at the time — — it was a thirst quencher, still not worth $ 2.78 but that’s a whole other story.
Like I said — — if you’re in a hurry or really dislike waiting too long in lines, or don’t care for low morale or poor customer service and execution then don’t bother to stop in here. Lesson’s Learned = don’t do anything that would provoke you to having the need to buy something here (i.e. the need to quench your burning throat w/​a cold beverage due to excess consumption of hot sauce).
Toodles!