Did I Cause These People to Get Fired? - Poor Customer Service

[gtaus]

Speaking of poor customer service, nothing I have experienced amounts to the experience that a disabled man had at his Target store. It took him too long to get out his cash to pay for a bicycle at a Target self-checkout, so they called the cops on him. Instead of trying to help the disabled man complete his purchase, the employees choose to call the cops. The cops came and instead of helping the man, they arrested him. (The cop in charge was later fired and charged after the YouTube video blew up.) Instead of helping this disabled man, all the customers in the store chose not to help him and stood by as the police removed him from the store and arrested him for taking too long to pay for his bike. There are no good guys in the upcoming video.

Anyways, forewarned, if you want to see how bad we all have become in our society, here is the link to a video that will turn your stomach....

 

[Kay-T-Hammer]

Yeah, I hate to shop for groceries at WalMart. They have a terrible reputation for displaying one price on the shelves but charging you more for the item at the checkout. One thing I do like about the self-checkouts is that I can go as slow as I need to check the prices of the food I scan into my bags.

WalMart used to have a customer display for prices at the checkout with real people, but they took them away. So, you don't know if you have been overcharged until after you get your receipt. I am pretty sure they planned it that way so you would be busy getting out to your car before you ever realized that you overpaid for those items.

Speaking of poor customer support, last year I was in WalMart and purchased some cup of soups. Well, they scanned in at an extra 10 cents per item on a 40 cent purchase. So I called over the "supervisor" about the overcharge and to have it corrected. Well, the young girl was like "What's the big deal about being overcharged 10 cents more per item." I asked her if it was Walmart's policy to add a 25% hidden markup on all their items, or just the ones I purchased. That comment went over her head.

So, I asked her to override the higher price on the machine to the lower display price on the shelf. Well, she stated that the scan price was correct, but I could choose to return the items. I then asked her to check the price on the shelf and honor it for my purchase because I wanted the items. She told me that even if the shelf price was lower, she could not override the scanner. I told her that was not the store policy, and she could override the price on the machine if there was a lower price displayed on the shelf. Then she finally admitted to me that she did not know how to do it. Finally, the real reason.

I told her to call in a more experienced manager to show her how, the manager came over, overrode the higher scanned price for the lower display price, while instructing the young "supervisor" on how to do it for the next customer if it comes up again.

Problem is, nothing changes for the next person buying those items. They will get overcharged and probably not notice it. And many, if not most, people won't bother to complain.

A week later, I was back at WalMart picking up a few items, so I went back to the cup of soup display, and they still had the lower price displayed. There was another young woman there in the aisle putting price tags on items, so I asked her over to me to scan how much the soup was. Again, it scanned in at 10 cents per cup more than the display price. So, I showed her the price on the shelf display and asked her what I would be charged at the checkout. She said it would be the scanned price. I asked her if she thought it was OK that the store is displaying a lower price on the shelf, but it scans at a higher price at the checkout? I swear to God, she was either completely clueless or just did not care - maybe both. I suggested that since she was now aware of the problem, and that she was marking items for sale in that aisle, that maybe she should correct the display price to match her inventory price. But no, she stated that it would be changed by someone else in a week or two!

It wasn't.

I wonder how many pallets of cup of soup they sell daily displaying a lower price on the shelf but scanning at that 25% higher price? I bet a lot.

Our WalMart used to have scanners throughout the store so you could check how much an item was before you brought it to the checkout. Some items don't get marked and/or the display price is missing. Our WalMart removed all those price scanners, so you cannot check for yourself on the price anymore. I think that is all part of their plan.

This is why Dear Wife does almost all the grocery shopping for us.

That just made me so angry to read! The employee should have changed the labels then and there, or, being without a printer (if she was) she should have pulled the tag and went out back to print a new one! Walmart policy is to check prices DAILY, not weekly, and to sell the products for the DISPLAYED PRICE (not free if the label is missing. Sometimes they get pulled by kids/customers, or employees trying to print a correct one).

 

[Kay-T-Hammer]

To answer your original question, @gtaus, I don't believe you got those two employees fired, and here's why. Most employers have a policy of "writing up" employees for various infractions related to their duties. And they don't write up the employee if a little training or a verbal reminder will suffice. It generally has to be a pretty egregious offense to deserve an official written reprimand that goes in the file. Usually, they are not in danger of losing their jobs until at least the third write-up. So chances are, if they lost their employment as a direct result of their interaction with you, they were already two-thirds of the way out the door.

 

[CedarLane]

I read somewhere that legally, if you are in such a position, that you are better off just retuning the items and NOT paying for them. Paying for those items after being accused of shoplifting (even by honest mistake) can be viewed as an admission that you knew you did not pay for them. I'm not a lawyer, but I know sometimes you can be better off doing something that might not necessarily make common sense to you. It would be terrible to be accused of shoplifting, then paying for those items afterwards could be used against you as an admission of your guilt. For some reason, the guy writing that column, stated that if the store takes back the items that were not paid for, then they have nothing to accuse you of for shoplifting because the items were returned to them.

On at least two occasions, I have found something in the bottom of my cart when I was unloading groceries into my car. I have always immediately returned to the store taking the item back to the same register that I checked out at, explained the mistake and then payed. I have never been accused of shoplifting. To be honest, I don't think I would be able to sleep at night if I knew I had stolen (even unintentionally) something without returning it or paying for it. The cashiers/employees have always appreciated honesty -- they know that not everyone would do the same in that situation.

 

[gtaus]

That just made me so angry to read! The employee should have changed the labels then and there, or, being without a printer (if she was) she should have pulled the tag and went out back to print a new one! Walmart policy is to check prices DAILY, not weekly, and to sell the products for the DISPLAYED PRICE (not free if the label is missing. Sometimes they get pulled by kids/customers, or employees trying to print a correct one).

Well, I agree with everything you said. But that is not happening, at least where I live.

 

[Kay-T-Hammer]

Well, I agree with everything you said. But that is not happening, at least where I live.

It happens daily in our Walmart. It is one of the first things you learn on the job: If the employees fail to fix it, then the store has to take the hit. That is why the coaches and team leads make damn sure you learn to check all prices, and keep them correct daily, on your first day.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

About a year ago, one weekend, I witnessed a floor manager really going after one of his older employees (about my age) out on the floor who was evidently having some difficulties with their computer system looking up parts. I don't know the specifics, but it was a really bad scene. Calling him names, incompetent, and all manner of other abusive comments. Customers were leaving that area and going elsewhere. It was extremely embarrassing for the employee and reflected poorly on the store to have someone berated so publicly in front of everyone. I had never seen anything like that before. I had to leave, too, as it was so bad.

I hope I never see something like that again.

As you might expect, I made a special trip to town that Monday morning to talk to the store manager about what I had witnessed that weekend. I told him I was really conflicted because I had many interactions with that floor manager before and he was always very friendly and helpful. I did not understand what had caused the public berating, but I told the store manager that his store really looked bad from that public interaction.

I don't think I was the only one to bring it to the attention of the store manager. He did not seem surprised to hear my report. The employee evidently quit his job after that public humiliation and that floor manager took a job in another town. Probably the best thing for both of them.

I saw a similar situation at my local wallyworld over a year ago. It was obvious the employee being berated was developmentally challenged. He was trying his best but was confused, and in his embarrassment and distress he just couldn't get a handle on the situation. Instead of helping or teaching him, the "supervisor" just kept yelling at and insulting him. I'm still ashamed I didn't speak up and come to his defense. I hope I do better if I ever see such a case of abuse again.

 

[gtaus]

It happens daily in our Walmart. It is one of the first things you learn on the job: If the employees fail to fix it, then the store has to take the hit. That is why the coaches and team leads make damn sure you learn to check all prices, and keep them correct daily, on your first day.

I am glad to hear that things are working better where you live.

 

[gtaus]

I saw a similar situation at my local wallyworld over a year ago. It was obvious the employee being berated was developmentally challenged. He was trying his best but was confused, and in his embarrassment and distress he just couldn't get a handle on the situation. Instead of helping or teaching him, the "supervisor" just kept yelling at and insulting him. I'm still ashamed I didn't speak up and come to his defense. I hope I do better if I ever see such a case of abuse again.

Well, the employee I saw berated in public was not developmentally challenged in any way. He was just having a hard time finding something on their computers, or, that is about all I could gather from the part of the conversation I witnessed.

If the employee had been challenged in any way, I think I would have lost it. At least, I hope I would have had the courage to intervene. That crosses a line in both my upbringing and my past work with developmentally challenged people.

But that employee was not new at the store, and I had been helped by him a number of times previously. He was always good to me and helpful. I considered my best option, at that moment, to leave the scene and give them some modicum of privacy as they dealt with the issue between themselves.

Unfortunately, like I said, I had previous dealings with that same manager and he was always very helpful. It was really out of character for him to berate anyone in public.

So, I don't know what happened to cause the scene but both men were done working at the store and I never saw either one them again.

 

[1cock2hens]

To those of you who hate self checkouts, I possibly have good news. Our local Walmart is a test store just 30 minutes from the Walmart headquarters, they replaced all the checkouts except for 3 with self checkouts at the beginning of the year and since then have changed 75% back to regular checkouts because it seems most people dont really like to self checkout lol I imagine they will do the same in other stores around the country. *fingers crossed *



As to why its hard to get good customer service these days it's because of the work environment. I regularly received customer service awards in some of my past positions but was driven out of the workplace because of the abuse verbally and physically, my last day working retail the store owner screamed at me for requesting a schedule change, i was scheduled 6 full days and needed to move some hours to take my fresh out of the hospital preemie daughter to her appointments. One of my bosses cleared it and gave me set days to make appointments, the other disregarded it amd scheduled me anyways. I quit, I had more than enough of the yelling and when I told him I quit and he had no right speaking down to me he physically attack me. There was a fight that he did not win and now I can't get a job in retail.

I did 11 years in retail, it's something I'm good at and enjoyed a great deal.