I have had the most… interesting experiences at my local Walmart. I have been refraining to publicly comment because, well, bad experiences DO happen time to time. We’re human after all. I can’t keep my mouth shut any longer. What happened recently was the last straw for me. Before I begin let me tell you a little bit about myself. I am a stickler for customer service. You can blame that for my last job I had before we decided for me to stay at home. I use to work in a call center where 3 out of the 5 of the campaigns I was trained in was for the largest electronic’s retailer in the US. Customer service was huge. I enjoyed my job with helping customers so much it finally paid off. I was promoted to quality specialist. I would monitor & coach agents. When I decided to step down from being a quality specialist I continued providing excellent customer service. I dealt with it all. Were there bad days? Of course. There were days where every customer was upset. I’ve even been yelled and screamed at. There were great days as well. Those were the moments I worked towards for. It made my day to make a customer happy. I took pride in my job.
I understand that not everyone thinks the same as I do. People have bad days. However, and this is big, personal emotions should not interfere with how a customer is treated. Customer service is one of the most important aspects of business. Excellent customer services means happy customers. Happy customers mean repeat customers and the potential of new customers. Poor customer service means unhappy customers. I don’t think I need to tell you what happens after that. When I work with companies to request products I believe will benefit my readers I am blown away at how well I am treated. They know I am a potential customer. Shouldn’t it be that way in every company no matter if you’re a entry level cashier or a public relations representative for a major company? I think so.
I am not a dedicated Walmart shopper anymore. I haven’t been since I realized the town I live in has two supermarkets that run great sales all the time, and have almost the same quality produce as the product I buy at the Farmer’s Market. Walmart is my last stop on grocery shopping days. I still expect great customer service even if I am a casual Walmart shopper. It’s sad because I would probably shop at my local Walmart more if it wasn’t for how many times my experience has been bad. I loved all three Walmart’s I visited when I lived in Joplin. There was never a time where I had a bad experience. If I had an incident where something happened that was less than satisfactory, they would find resolution. I have never had that at my local Walmart. Period.
My complaint isn’t about how poorly I have been treated by multiple cashiers. I use to be a cashier so in a way I can understand why sometimes they might be on the edge. The time where the cashier forgot to take my coupons and then tell me that she is going home now so I need to go to the Customer Service desk to get it “fixed” was frustrating, but I shook it off. Then there was the time when another cashier got upset because I wanted change back when completing a debit card transaction. She mumbled underneath her breath while getting the money out of the til. She then slammed my money in front of me. When I thanked her she stared at me. I immediately went to a Customer Service Manager. Her response? “You poor thing.” This isn’t the first time she has treated me with disrespect. A couple months prior the woman argued with me on a different issue stating because she worked there for 15 years she knows what she’s talking about and that I am wrong. I’m not the type of person to yell at a cashier. I don’t know why she was treating me awfully. When it turned out I was right I didn’t get a single apology. The same Customer Service Manager was standing right beside her. So, I don’t know if my issue with this cashier being rude when I requested change back was resolved. I avoid that particular cashier at all cost. A customer shouldn’t have to avoid a cashier in fear of being treated with disrespect but it’s a temporary fix.
My complaint isn’t about the time where I had to take my SUV to Tire Lube & Express to have a tire changed which resulted in my tire cover disappearing. My father was with me while my husband was getting ready for work when this happened. The tire cover simply wasn’t there anymore. Maybe it could have been avoided if I didn’t have to hurry home to make sure my husband could get to work. The mechanic’s response when we called to ask about the tire cover? He said he checked their security footage and saw that he THREW it in the back of SUV from the driver’s seat of the car. Um. What? We called corporate multiple times. Corporate never gave us a call back when they said they would. About two weeks ago we finally got a resolution. I’m satisfied they decided to replace the tire cover, but I am not happy that it took almost 3 months to get it resolved.
My complaint is with the cashier who handled my Site to Store pickup. I had money in Paypal I used to buy my son a convertible car seat, and a waffle maker (Don’t ask). When the woman finally arrived to the Site to Store location at the back of the store, she kept going on and on about how awful it smelled like cigarettes. The next thing that happened really disturbed me. So.. If you’ve done Site to Store with Walmart before they want you to bring a copy of the order number with ID. The cashier never asked me for my ID and looked up the order by simply asking my first and last name. Anyone could have waltzed in, provided my first & last name, got my products, and left the store without any question. That scares me a lot. I am lucky I don’t live in an area where I identity theft is a common occurrence. While the woman was looking at the order she even questioned why I ordered the convertible car seat online. She didn’t have the tone of “What a neat car seat. Is this for your child? How old are they?”. It was literally “Well why would you order THAT online. Is it cheaper or something?” There are policies in place for a reason.
My complaint is with the department manager who was “too busy” to help me. I’m apart of BzzAgent. If you’ve seen some of my recent Twitter statuses I wrote I was accepted into the Glade Expressions campaign. With this particular campaign we were sent coupons to redeem the products. I was looking for the Oil Diffuser Starter Kit and Fragrance Mist. Well, the Fragrance Mist was available, but I couldn’t locate the Oil Diffuser Starter Kit. It happened to be a busy shopping time. I kept having to move for other people. I was going to look for an employee when I noticed the Department Manager with another employee where checking products. I thought to myself that the Department Manager would know! Boy, was I wrong.
Me: Excuse me, Sir?
Manager: *Looks over to me*
Me: Do you know if the Glade Expressions Oil Diffusion Starter Kit for Pineapple & Mangosteen is available? I see you have the refill kit in two different places.
Manager: Miss, I’m sorry but I’m busy right now. I have to take care of something first. It’s very important. Wait right here.
Me: Ok…
This came out of a MANAGER. He even had an employee who works in the department with him. He could have easily had the employee help me. That didn’t happen. I probably shouldn’t have waited, but I wanted to know if it wasn’t in when it will be back. I stood in that aisle navigating around impatient people for 10 minutes. When the manager came back I repeated what I said. He didn’t know what I was talking about, and scanned the refill kit. Those were coming back into stock in October. ”I don’t know what to tell you. Sorry.” was how the conversation ended after I showed him a picture of what the product looked like. Want to know the irony? A couple days later they had ONE Oil Diffuser kit in. I could have easily picked it up at that point, but I was and still am upset with what happened. Today I went to pick up donuts for my husband at one of our local grocery stores. I decided to look in their household item’s section to see if they had it. Lo and behold there were Oil Diffuser Kits and Fragrance Mists on their shelves. It is just another reminder why I should shop at local supermarkets first. The irony of it all? The particular supermarket I was at is my local Dillons. That’s right. The same grocery store I almost died in during the tornado but in a different location.
What happened to Customer Service? I am so put off by everything that has happened in my local Walmart I wish we had a Target or a Kmart. If I could afford the gas to go to Joplin to shop at one of their Walmart SuperCenters I would. Will I stop shopping at Walmart all together? I can’t. I still pick up things I need at their store. Until I can figure out how to purchase the miscellaneous things I do at Walmart at an affordable cost I’m stuck shopping there. I keep telling myself, and have been telling myself for the last six months that their customer service might improve. I guess that’s why I’ve put up with so much without a fuss. I’m starting to get my doubts though. At least I know for a fact there are some decent Walmart stores out there. Unfortunately my Walmart isn’t one of them.
About Desiree Morris
I am so upset with Walmart as well. Two different things have ticked me off about them in the past 3 weeks. I just wish I never had to go there, but there are some things that I can really only get there! UGH. They are only out for themselves, do NOT have the lowest prices (in fact there milk is more expensive that any store around. I think they raise it so they can make up for the price matching on milk and hope not everyone knows about lower prices,) They have horrible customer service and like you said, no one ever wants to help you or is even around to help!
The entire staff at the Walmart in the city I lived in previously was horrendous. I knew several people who worked there and the fact that they would even let said people talk to a customer is disturbing enough.
That being said, at the Walmart in Lewis Center, I was looking for a particular desk and the assistant manager was nearby. He stopped what he was doing to help me look without me having to ask and when we found the last one of that model, the box was banged up. Rather than just telling us to take it and return it if it’s broken, he got a box-cutter to open the box, take out the pieces to look them over, then pack it all back up for us. *That* is customer service.
(I was in retail and customer service for nearly all of my life and I too really appreciate when employees *act* like they care about the people who keep their paychecks coming.) <3
Brooke recently posted..Wordless Wednesday – Momma’s Other Baby
bummer. I work at a Costco, and customer service is SUPER important to us there. People will pay more when they receive excellent service. I know I will. Sorry they were so rude to you.
I personally am not a fan of walmart AT ALL, and this is just one of the many reasons. Their employees are underpaid, under-appreciated, and understaffed. There is no way to attract quality people in an environment like that. If they treated their employees more ethically, their employees would treat their customers in a better manner. It’s a shame all around, really.
Copper Siegel recently posted..Boobs, Babies, and Controversy- or Why People are Dumb
my walmart is horrible…they need a starbucks customer service makeover
Jessica Barnett recently posted..SWAGCODE ALERT
I go to WalMart only if absolutely necessary which is close to never, ever in life. I have some of the worst ever shopping experiences there, and one of them was with Site to Store. It is as if by having running most of the competitive market out of some areas, WalMart is assuming poor customer service is permissible. It is not. I would grow my own vegetables before I would go to WalMart to get them. In other news, the meat they sell gives me nightmares about chemical warfare and unlawful meat processing. That meat is just not right. Most of my friends and family already know that if I have to go into WalMart because I am accompanying my Mother or an Aunt on a shopping trip or to pay a bill through MoneyGram, I almost break out in real, true hives. I promise they are an element of the dark side.
Elizabeth Towns recently posted..I’ve missed you too!
I can’t stand poor customer service. I’m sorry you were treated so poorly.
I remember working as a small grocery store and customer service was priority or you didn’t have a job to come back to. I loved the fulfillment of helping someone out. It’s almost like Walmart KNOWS they can hire whoever they want because they’re usually the only choice anyone ever has to shop. I say we need more Targets, more KMarts, more Walmart competition to POP that stupid bubble of an ego Walmart possesses.
There is no customer service anymore. It’s terrible. The customer is no longer right. And I refuse to shop at Walmart. Kmart isn’t much better.
Motherhood on the Rocks recently posted..DREAM LITES GIVEAWAY
Its mostly everywhere you go now. Terrible customer service!! there is no sense in complaining to a ” Manager” anymore either, because they DO NOT care either.. I also used to work in customer service and actually did exactly what you got promoted to do, we called it Decision Quality.. If a representative talked to a customer the way that Manager talked to you or treated them the way the cashier treated you, they would have been fired instantly!. On the other hand, I have experienced some great customer service, although very rare, it’s out there.. Especially when you go to a restaurant, you want excellent service as well as excellent food. I always tell the Manager’s there. I would pay double the amount of the price of the food, as long as the service is good.