I hit two this weekend, which prompted this. Maybe better in the Pits, but I’m not planning to use obscenities…
Cost Cutters - went in for a haircut. The computer/register froze while ringing up the previous cuttee. I waited nearly five minutes at the register and finally asked, “Is this going to shut you down?” The girl said, “I’m going to try something really wild here.”, and reached over and hit a button. I thought she was talking to me, but no, it was to the receptionist also over the register. Another five minutes go by, and by now there are 3 others waiting in line behind me. I ask again, “Am I going to be able to get a haircut?” Again, not even an acknowledgement of my existence. So I turn to the group behind me and say, “I’ve been waiting 20 minutes (I lied :)), and these people haven’t even once spoken to me.” We ALL left, and I felt much better.
This morning at the bakery in my local Pick n Save, I noticed that the croissants were not fresh. A woman there noticed it too, and asked the clerk about it. “We don’t have a baker here Sundays, so it’s day old. It’s the only day of the week that happens.” The woman points to a stack of cooling trays, loaded with baked goods. “Is that all day old too?” The reply, “Not exactly, we’re runnning a little behind. Those things are for tomorrow.” So I guess the rest of the week they feature two day old stuff.
Budget Rent-A-Car. I just tried to rent a car and carseat from them during our trip home. They gave us a car which didn’t have locking retractable seatbelts in back, so the only safe way to use a carseat is to use a locking clip, a very simple little bit of metal that comes with most carseats and could be bought for a song at any Babies-R-Us. So I patiently explain this: we need a locking clip (the carseat’s clip has been removed), or a different car that has those kind of seatbelts. There is no safe way we could drive that car 50 feet with our kid in it. Not without a locking clip.
They didn’t get it. They kept bringing new people over to hear the problem. And after an HOUR of waiting, after I explained it several times, patiently, to several employees, each time thinking they were going to get a different car or something, or someone would go check other carseats for a locking clip, one of the women offered “You know, we don’t GUARANTEE a carseat.”
That’s when I got really bent. Sure you don’t guarantee it, you stupid wench, but presumably you’d tell me you didn’t have an appropriate one available the moment I went to the rental counter. Not after we have the luggage loaded and have been waiting for an hour in the 90-degree heat with a cranky toddler, dagnabbit.
I then went to Avis, where the rental agent was a mom and knew EXACTLY what I was talking about re: the carseat. But she said it didn’t matter because Avis just switched over to the new safety standard where you don’t use a seatbelt at all. She gave us a car, honoring the Budget rate, and then she personally installed a car seat for us, as all Avis employees have been trained to do. The carseat was also brand new (you should have seen the filthy one Budget offered).
I don’t expect Budget to necessarily live up to Avis standards, but they could have handled our problem a little more proactively. It was such a hassle.
Ames: I’ve only been in one store here in Va. I got their circular in the mail and saw a really nice-looking chest on sale (which surprised me, because most of their stuff is crap), so I went to buy it. I walk in and the store’s a mess. And the chest is nowhere to be found. So I get a raincheck but no one ever calls me about it. I eventually call them a couple weeks later and sure enough, the chests are in. So I go to pick it up, and they need someone from the furniture dept there with me at the register to verify my raincheck is legit. The raincheck itself is not enough. And to top it off, the cashier has to call over a manager to mark the item down to the sale price because the cashiers are not allowed to do it. Totally ridiculous. The store is now closed, thank god.
There was also a bike store I went to here. I went in and no one said a word to me. I was more than willing to buy a bike, but when I walk into a small store like that which is filled with pricey bikes, I expect to be at least greeted at some point. And the salesmen were over by the counter chatting. So I walked out and haven’t been back. And still don’t have a bike.
yojimboguy, I’m wondering how you noticed those croissants weren’t fresh. I’d have either offered him half-price or demanded my money back if I’d already paid for 'em.
Sears, and I hate it. We were in the middle of a severe heat wave about four years ago. My A/C went out. It was still under warranty from Sears. The repair guy came out and did something. The A/C worked for about 45 minutes and went out again. I had to wait until the next day for him to return. This is on a Thursday. He now reports to me that I need a new fan motor. He does not have one. So he comes back Friday around two oclock in the afternoon to put the fan motor on and he has the wrong fan motor. He does not work on Saturday. So, this is now my third day of no A/C in temperatures of 100 +. I was ready to actually commit a homicide right in my back yard. I told the guy that I would find a fan motor if he would put it on, but he would not agree to this. I cursed him out and told him right then and there that I would never buy even a pair of socks from Sears. I called all of the corporate people I could to complain and I have not bought one item from them since that time. BTW - I like Kenmore products and up until this time, I purchased almost all of my appliances from Sears. But no more. I am sure they are all shaken up by this. :rolleyes:
I called another repair company and I bought a whole new unit that was installed before noon on Saturday. The old unit probably had good mileage left on it but when it is 100 degrees outside and you have no A/C you are not always rational.
Adecco, the global temp agency. I worked for them once, and they treated me like scum - misleading job descriptions, threats so I wouldn’t complain, etc. I wasn’t the only one; I saw one girl reduced to tears in front of a bewildered employer who didn’t realise the temp agency had brow-beaten her into staying in a job she hated.
My first real job, which was only about a 4 month assignment–I got into through Adecco. But I knew the employer before he hired me, and it was a nice place, so all was good.
But when I moved, and checked into the Adecco office up here–I was watching these registrars and secretaries making furtive threats over the phone in between helping the new applicants coming through the door. It gave me a creepy feeling. I felt better the moment I got out of there.
I stopped going to BK Subs in southern California after getting sick to my stomach from an avocado and cheese sandwich.
Which I guess is my loss more than anything, since they make pretty good sandwiches, and it only happened that one time…
Nameless pet store in the next town over: Went in there once with a friend–will never be back. The sight and smell of unwashed animals crammed into cages that are -far- too small is a sick thing.
I had a whole pit thread about how I actually bought the ESP on a laptop, and they proceeded to jerk me around several months over something as minor as a power cord. In a nutshell, I sent it in for repairs, it came back a couple weeks later still broken. “Oh well we’ll order you a new one.” “How long will that take?” “around 4-6 weeks.” EXCUSE ME?!?! Like they don’t have a Compaq truck coming in every day or something. “Can’t you just give me one from the store or a loaner?” “No.” 4-6 weeks (It was actually more like 8) later I get a call that my cord is in, and it’s THE WRONG CORD. The manager said “why don’t you take it home and see if it works?” Jesus - I did, it didn’t I called in and they said “ok, bring it back tomorrow.” I did and said “I’m not leaving here without a working power cord.” The guy leaves me standing there for 20 minutes and FINALLY comes back with a cord. I plug it into my laptop to see if it works and when I do the guy says “You know, it looks like you’re about ready to upgrade that computer anyway.” Can you believe the balls on that guy? Yeesh!
Oh, pet stores? You want to get me started on pet stores? I will never, ever, EVER patronize any pet store which sells puppies on the premises. Why? Because these puppies come from puppy mills. Even if they weren’t funneling money to scumbags, I do not believe it is humane to keep little puppies in a cage in a store when they need to be in a home environment, being socialized normally with their littermates and mom. It’s bad for the puppy and it’s bad for the people who eventually buy the thing.
In fact, I have been trying to boycott an entire area mall that leases to a pet shop that does this. I say trying because I did go in there once. Sigh. But there are a bunch of people in animal rescue who won’t shop there, ever.
I went in with my wife (both of us in our early 30’s) and they wouldn’t sell me a bottle of wine because Mrs. Moto didn’t have her ID on her, even though I had mine, and I was paying.
Discussions with the manager wouldn’t get them to budge, so we left all of our groceries on the belt and walked out.
The pet crematory whose owner yelled and cursed at me while slamming the box containing my pet’s ashes onto the desk. (Hint: If you don’t know how to deal with grieving people, get the hell out of the business.)
The office supply company whose salesperson called me four times in three days regarding the computer quote she was preparing for me, when I had given explicit and emphatic instructions that she was not to call me. She had my fax, e-mail, and snail-mail contact info and never used them. When I told her on the fourth call that I would not be buying my computer from her, and why (namely, she clearly wasn’t listening to me and couldn’t follow simple instructions), she yelled, “What kind of salesperson would I be if I didn’t call to follow up?” and HUNG UP ON ME. The kicker? The company’s name is Office TECHNOLOGY. Guess all they have are telephones . . .
The local ISP owner who, in a nutshell, told me to go to hell (although not in so many words, but that was his attitude) when I complained about his company’s lack of response to tech support queries. I later found out that he’s generally an ass. (Hint: Physically assaulting your customers is not a good idea.) Unfortunately, he’s still in business.
The local Hardee’s, which has decorated its seating area with two-inch-deep glassed-in bookcases full of actual beautiful old hardcover books THAT HAVE BEEN SAWED OFF JUST PAST THE SPINE. The sight nearly made me weep, and the thought that kids will see this and think it’s neat makes me ill.
There are lots more. I pay attention to customer service. Piss me off, and I’ll never patronize you again, and tell all my friends. Treat me right, and I’ll be a loyal customer, and tell all my friends.
Crutchfield, a car stereo place (I’m sure some of you people have heard of it). I took my car in at 4:00 on Wednesday for a CD changer installation, which was supposed to take two hours–I had an appointment to have it done then, I wasn’t just dropping it off. I called them at 8:00 and found that they were closed, so I couldn’t get my car back till the next day. At no point had they given me any indication that it could be an overnight thing, and I was without a car Thursday morning. Fortunately, I didn’t need it, but if I had…
Harris Teeter is a supermarket, not a liquor store. And in this part of the country, it’s a store policy–I don’t get carded at other supermarkets when my friends are buying beer. Hell, I’ve even not been carded at a liquor store when my friends were buying.
If that’s really a law, it makes no sense. You can’t buy alcohol if a (potentially) underage person is standing next to you in the checkout line? What if you have your kids with you?
I’m all for checking IDs, but that would be ridiculous.
Genghis Cohen - LA Chinese restaurant (Great name, great tasting food) that caused the most horrific case of food poisoning I have ever endured. I know for certain it was that meal because my 5 poker buddies and I all got ill about 36 hours after sharing it. A year or two later the restaurant received a failing grade in a health report on the local news, so I’m not surprised we all got ill, and I’m sure they’ve cleaned up their act because of it, but I don’t trust them.
I will never patronize a Schucks/Checker/Kragen again. 2 instances come to mind. About 10 years ago I packed up the family and we drove to Southern California to visit the SIL. While in Chino, I visited a Kragen to buy a new set of wiper blades, mine did not work well during an early moring rain. First, they claimed their computer does not list a 1966 Pontiac Tempest. But it does list a GTO and LeMans. I state that those are the same as my Tempest and will work. He claims they won’t work and will not give me the kind I need. I go out to my car and remove a blade and return to the store and the wiper section. I find a set of refills that will work for $2.99. When I went to pay, the cashier charged me twice, She charged me for the new set and my old one. When I explained that the single blade was used, she said lots of folks say that and they find open packages with a blade missing and people then get refunds for the other package. Anyone could tell it was well used but she couldn’t. I walked out, even leaving my old blade, and went to a NAPA up the street. Had no problems there.
Then about 6 years ago a drive axle broke in my wife’s Ford Tempo. She called around and Schucks quoted the cheapest price. I went and picked it up, went home and remove the old axle and discovered it did not match the old one. It was totally different. I took both back to Schucks and showed a clerk the different axles. He tried to tell me I did not know my auto parts and that it would work fine. The new axle was at least 6 inches shorter than the old one and both ends were totally different. I asked the clerk to check the part number, he did, and still claimed it was the right part. I got a refund and went to a local auto parts store. They sold me the right axle and charged me less than Schucks did for the wrong part. I have not been in a Schucks since.
I boycotted McDonalds after getting shitty service and still frozen Filet-O-fish sandwiches once. When complaining to the manager got me no where, I tossed one of the sandwiches (without wrapper) at the menu. The top of the bun stuck to the menu because of the tartar sauce, the fish fell on top of the soda dispencer and the bottom landed on a tray that an employee was carrying. It was at least 10 years before I patronized a McDonalds again.
Arby’s. For the worst case of food poisoning I’ve ever gotten. And for giving me said food poisoning while I was on the road, miles from home…and miles from a toilet.
