[I Was Naked]
When I Wrote ThisStaples- That Wasn't Easy
2007-09-28
One of the things as consumers we can all agree on regardless of political or religious affiliations, is the lack of customer service in the retail world. This struck me more so today than any other as I found myself walking into Staples.
I was somewhat in a hurry, as I was troubleshooting a tech problem for work, and determined quickly, that the cat5 cable had gone bad. Knowing I now had to take another half hour out of my day to leave the jobsite and buy a cable, I had come up with a plan B as well, to fix the problem.
Once I arrived in the store, I quickly scanned the aisles, as every Staples I've ever been in is not consistent with the layout. I always take note of who is in the store, and today I only saw one other customer, a large tall gentleman, talking to a store clerk in the phone aisle. I bipped back and forth between the network cables, and the USB cable aisles, because god forbid you keep all your cables and accessories in one spot.
I finished my shopping and I was behind the other gentleman as he was checking out. It was taking a little longer than usual for the clerk to complete the transaction, and I was a little surprised at her snide comment to the man, asking him if he "remembered to hit the enter button" with a sneer on her face. Non plussed, the consumer waited and as she bagged his purchase, he took her to task for her rudeness.
Not to play the race card, but this was a large black man, not the kind you call Tiny to his face but he had a quiet demeanor about him. Kristy our snot ass twenty something clerk, got very defensive and retaliated vocalizing that she wasn't rude. How was she rude? She made the mistake of turning her question to me.
The gentleman was still standing there when I explained to Kristy, that she was exceedingly rude to him, and that the customer is always right. She started to get in a huff once again asking how was she rude. I told her everything about her was rude, from her tone of voice, what she said and her facial expression. I suggested she go get her manager. She stormed off stating for "7.85 an hour the customer isn't right", so I suggested she find a job elsewhere.
Now the gentleman is still standing there, watching me address her very calmly and a smile crossed his face. He explained he had been in line earlier, and realized he had forgotten something. Kristy snidely said to him, "What, your wallet?" Now it made sense her comment about him "remembering to hit enter". He thanked me for standing up for him and it made his day.
I smiled and said, no problem and wished him well, all the while watching Kristy complaining to her superior across the store.
Heather, the other clerk, jumped in to complete my transaction and stated that she only heard Kristy ask him about his wallet. I explained to Heather, that regardless what had transpired, Kristy was rude and she needs to be in another line of work. My thought with her customer service skills is maybe she should direct her talents in a morgue, yet I bit my tongue.
I waited for Kristy's manager to arrive, however that was never forthcoming. My guess is it wasn't the first time little Miss 7.85 an hour got into an altercation. They'll be addressing it soon as I went to Staples web site and contacted the corporate headquarters with the store number, and the time and date of visit. I've come to learn, when you put a complaint in writing someone takes notice. I just have to think as well that since I'm a black card carrying Staples reward member..whoohoo! I must have some clout. :-)
I didn't go into as much detail with them as I did here, but gave them the Readers Digest version, and if someone contacts me fine, if not, at least the manager of the store will be made aware that you can't ignore the customers. Heather apologized for Kristy, which was fine, but I explained it wasn't an apology thing, it just never should have happened, and I wasn't the one who deserved the apology.
I may never know what happens to Kristy, but I do hope she learns a lesson. You never know who you are dealing with, and how your actions can come back and bite you in the ass. She was lucky, she gets the opportunity to learn this lesson when she's young, if she can get past her own attitude.
That is never easy.
Michael Taylor (2007-10-08)
Bravo for you, babe! Too many people are willing these days to accept bad service, attitudes, etc., from retail "associates." Personally, I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore. I pity the next McEmployee who gives me a hard time! They'll be holdin' the pickle with broken fingers! (Lordy, I'm one bad mamma jamma when I'm a million miles from any possible, actual physical altercation,ain't I?)
Bishop\'s Fantasy? (2007-09-30)
I was a total bitch to someone working the take-out window at Chili's one night. We were both having a bad night and it escalated. I did manage to choke out a sincere apology before I left the situation - almost cried when I told her. It made a difference because the next time I was in there, she was working and we had a good laugh over it. Definitely worth swallowing my pride and accepting my share of the blame!
Gone4Ever (2007-09-28)
I have had great experiences at Staples here in Denver better then those at any other office store. I even got this laptop at a great price for just being loyal to them. But there are those we have to deal with that are total assholes in life and those are about 95% of the fuckers we deal with; I just take it in stride and move on, but I think it's great that you stood-up for that guy I most likely would have but I never would have been nice about it but I am an asshole.
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