***Below is an email I sent to the District Manager for a local frame store. I won't mention the name but lets say the owners are brothers. :)
Please let me know your thoughts on this.
I pulled in front of your La Habra store at 8:52 PM last night and saw that the store closed at 9PM. I told my wife that we should just run inside and see if we see anything that grabs us. As soon as I opened the door I was greeted by a lady that I assume was the manager on duty.
“May I help you?” She asked.
I responded with, “No, we are just looking for a couple of frames but we will be quick since I know you are closing soon.”
“Okay because we are closing in 7 minutes.” She said. (I thought this was a little rude since I already made it clear that I was sensitive to the time and would hurry. There was no need to reiterate.)
We walked around one or two aisles and I spotted a frame I really liked. We needed matting for a 5” x 7” picture in an 8” x 10” frame. We walked over to the other side of the store where all of the matting is kept. Before I got there a young man walked by us and said, “We are going to be closing in 5 minutes.”
Keep in mind, I have been in the store for 2 minutes and have been reminded about closing time twice even after I was the first person to bring it up!
I quickly thumbed through the matting to see if I could find one that worked with the frames and the pictures we have. I kept finding 8”x10” matting but for 4” x 6” pictures in the wrong area which was frustrating but understandable since it looked like a popular area of the store.
I decided to head to the counter to pay for the frames and see if they could find 2 plain white mats in the size that I needed. Before I reached the counter the manager who had greeted me at the door said, “Are you almost finished because I have to shut down the system in 2 minutes?”
This is now 3 times in 5 minutes.
“Okay,” I said (now a little snippier) “But I need your help and that is why I came up here. I cannot find the matting I need and…”
While pointed the direction I came from and interrupting me she said, “All of my matting is over there.”
I looked at her for a brief moment in shock and said, “Okay well I cannot find what I need but I guess I will go look on my own again!”
I stormed over to the rack and tried looking through different sections since the rack was in disarray. I was so upset that all the matting looked a shade of red.
“You know white is the first color to go.” I hear over my shoulder from the manager.
I just said, “Forget it.”
“Do you just want to buy what we have and see if we can find matting somewhere else?” my wife asked.
“Absolutely not!” I reply. I put the frames back where I found them and walked out of the door.
I have been trying to figure out how anybody in the year 2006 thinks that the old “we close at 9PM and we have to shut the system down” line is believable. You and I both know that the doors must be locked at closing but if a customer is in the store, you help them. You do not close out your drawers until they are gone and ESPECIALLY if we have a very good potential for a transaction. That really insulted my intelligence. The other thing that upset me was the attitude that we were bothering them or cramping their style. This is a place of business and the last thing these people wanted to do was any business with me or my money.
I loved the frames I found. Why no one was understanding or helpful is beyond me. I could not ask for help when I came in until I found what I wanted or at least had an idea and remember, I was in there for 5 minutes before I finally got beyond upset. I was considerate, cheerful (upon entering), and understanding until I realized that all I would receive from your associates was an attitude that I would not except from anyone.
I am not normally the kind of person to write a letter but I just had to convey my anger to someone who could make a difference. If I owned a business I would want to know if a customer was treated with such disrespect and disregard.
I will wait for your response.
George Simmons
***Working in customer service makes me so sensitive to stuff like this. We shall see what kind of response I get.
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2 comments:
Terrible customer service! I worked in retail for just under a year and it's not fun. However, no matter how late it was, or how rude customers had been, I'd never talk to someone the way that manager spoke to you.
There are many of that particular frame store in my neck of the woods, and come to think of it, I haven't received great customer service on my visits either.
Hopefully this isn't the quality of service they tolerate.
That was a good letter. I hope it gets you a response. I have never understood why people go into retail if they have no interest in dealing with the public. Boggles the mind.
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