Shaws Manager you are a tool!

The BBQ Pit
1

I’m so anxious and upset right now from this incident that happened to me at Shaws today.

Money has been pretty tight lately for me, as I have just started a new job and haven’t had a full paycheck in a bit. I finally will get my first paycheck this Friday, so it’s definitely a careful balancing game with my checkbook at this point.

Today I went with my fiancee to the grocery store, and we both knew in advance that I would be able to cover 40 dollars worth and he would cover the rest. We often do this at this exact store, the cashiers are usually very good at letting us do two debit/credit card transactions.

Our grand total was $120 after everything rang up, so I asked the cashier, who looked like she was 14, if we could please do $40 on one card and $80 on another. She nodded, typed a few things, and motioned that I should scan mine. I did so, put in my PIN and went through the okay screens. Just as I was hitting the “okay to charge X amount?” button I realized the total said 120. I panicked, but it was too late. I only have $60 in my checking account right now.

Of course, the transaction was approved and I’m looking at a $150 overdraft fee. (fuck you citizens bank!) I stared at the cashier, who looked lost and a bit scared. I said to her “did you put it in for only 40? This is a big problem for me, and I need this to be refunded.”

She put on her little help light and a senior worker came over. After I explained (in my best non-panic voice possible), he asked the cashier “Do you know how to charge for just a portion of the total?” The little shit looked like she was going to wet her pants, didn’t look at me, and said “no…”

NO? NO?! Are you fucking kidding me? Why did you lead me to believe that you knew how to do this when you didn’t you moron? Sure, you don’t have a spine and you’re a clueless 14 year old but COME the FUCK ON! Just say “I don’t know how to do that.”

The senior worker took me over to the customer service booth and passed my card and the reciept along to a 17 year old chick to fix. That fucktard took one look at it and told me that because it was a debit transaction she couldn’t do anything about it. According to this genius it is impossible to refund a debit transaction. My mind is at this point racing and I’m trying to be as calm as possible while explaining that SOMETHING needs to fucking happen so that I am not royally screwed. She hits a few buttons and finally gives up, basically telling me tough shit.

I called over my fiancee because I knew I was on the verge of a panic attack, and he asked to speak to a manager.

Out walks a 20 year old. Clearly this guy is the top of the line here. I was hoping for some good old fashioned customer service.

But the first thing this sack of shit says to me is “Well, can you tell me who hit the green ‘okay’ button?” Not “sorry” not “what can I do to fix this” or “this is what we can do” NO, NO, I get BLAMED for it!
He actually says “you can’t expect me to accept that my cashier is 100% responsible when you also have some blame.”

I am absolutely astounded. Then he proceeds to tell me that he can’t do anything about the bank charging me overdraft fees and “the damage has been done, I can’t reverse it.”

I don’t want a discourse on your theory of time travel you bloated beast I want you to REFUND MY FUCKING MONEY! Not once did I accuse you or your cashier of anything. I asked for a refund and now I’m getting run ragged with your idiocy.

At this point I am near tears, and I tell him flat out that I think it is pretty poor of him to be attempting to make me feel bad when I really just want this to be fixed in some way.

He gives me more shit about how even if he is able to refund me the money the bank will still take the 120 out to begin with and he can’t fix that problem. I explained to him that I’m not concerned about that, I can temporarily transfer 120 or so in from my linked savings to cover the difference but ultimately I need the 80 to be in my account. So please can he attempt to refund it?!

He FINALLY takes my card and tells me he can refund it as a credit card, but makes sure to tell me again that it will take a few days and the original 120 will show up anyway. I am frustrated so badly that I want to hit him, and I try to explain again that I don’t give two shits what the bank statement says tonight because I can address that, I NEED TO HAVE THIS REFUNDED.

He finally refunds the card and I tell him that that is exactly what I wanted to happen. I thank him for (FINALLY!) helping me resolve this and walk out. I am pissed, I am feeling incredibly stupid and ashamed and I want to cry.

I transferred the money in to cover the over drawn amount and called my bank to ensure that I wouldn’t be charged an overdraft fee and the rep told me I likely wouldn’t. But I am in such a state of anxiety and anger that I can’t calm down.

What a DICK! Thanks for making me feel bad, thanks for taking a completely negative attitude towards addressing a customer complaint, thanks for not ONCE apologizing for my inconvenience and thanks SO FUCKING MUCH for making sure you had the last word by calling out to me as I left that “I’ll still have to deal with the bank!”

FUCK YOU SHAWS MANAGER. You are a HORRIBLE customer service rep and I hope you get kicked in the teeth.

2

Disclosure: I used to work at Shaws headquarters in IT but this doesn’t have much to do with that fact.

I have worked in systems for several (Boston area) retailers and other large corporations.

Shaws cannot reasonably do anything in this case. The transaction has already gone to the bank when you hit ENTER and it is in the bank’s hands. It cannot be recalled in the way that you want. You had the ability to see what was going on and it is out of Shaws hands. You have to take it up with your (crappy) bank to get it fixed.

BTW, who the fuck has a $150 overdraft fee on their personal account? I find that hard to believe. Sid you mean $150 total which is totally different? Why don’t you have automatic overdraft protection like everyone else?

3

Why did the cashier pretend to do something she didn’t know how to do?! Why didn’t she just call someone else over then and ask them how to split the transaction?

4

Write to Shaw’s corporate customer service department (or whatever they call it) and tell them exactly what happened. Write it right now. Tell the whole story.

Then rip up the letter tomorrow morning and write another, calmer letter in which, in as restrained a tone as you can manage, you clearly identify the store and the date and time at which this happened, lay out the sequence, point out that such poor customer service will dissuade you from patronizing Shaw’s in the future, and request that the responsible parties receive training that will save future customers from similar experiences.

5

See, I didn’t want the manager to somehow bend time and space to make the problem not have happened, I wanted him to nicely and politely offer to put the difference back on my card as a credit refund and not give me shit about it.

I have to apply for overdraft protection, this I admit. It doesn’t come automatically with my bank and you have to fill out a credit application to have one attached to a checking account. And the last time I overdrafted (a while ago) they charged me 150 dollars in fees. I contested it, and they removed it, but hell if I want to go through that again.

I’m mostly upset because this guy was just so negative. The first thing I learned when I was in customer service is you don’t say “we can’t do this,” but speak in positives “this is what I can do to help you.” And one expects a manager to be aware of this.

I never got upset with him and blamed Shaws for this, I just wanted him to do what he could do (refund my card 80 bucks) to fix a problem his cashier originally began!

6

Hawksgirl I have no idea why she pretended to know what to do, it was such a bad move on her part. But I never got angry with her or even complained that it was her fault. I did everything I could to move on from what just happened to what can you guys do to help me fix this?

And EddyTeddyFreddy I am considering doing just that. I need some time to cool down and stop feeling crappy.

7

You sound like a reasonable person now. Get some overdraft protection for the future. Screwed up transactions often trigger other undesirable transactions that the originator (Shaws) cannot change on its own. That is up to your bank.

A letter to Shaws wouldn’t hurt if you still feel the manager did you wrong. I know for a fact that they are read and you may get some discounts or even a gift card from it. Detailed letters are often followed up on with the person in question.

8

Thanks Shagnasty. I know what it’s like to be in that kind of sucky job. My fiancee’s father is a General Manager with Shaws up in Maine and my fiancee worked as a stockboy through high school and part of college.

I really think this guy needs some higher-up to give him better customer service training. He finally achieved my desired result but I had to practically beg him to stop talking and just refund it already.

9

The only thing I can think of is that the cashier perhaps misunderstood what you were asking?

10

You’re probably right Guinastasia. I think she had no clue what I was asking her to do, or she misheard me, or something to that effect. But the senior cashier that first came over to help showed her how to do what I had asked. It was after the fact, but at least they were good about correcting their training right there.

11

Well the cashier may have been clueless, and the manager may have been rude, but your over the top panic reaction to this procedural error was wildly disproportionate to the events that were taking place.

Beyond this what’s going on with a 150 overdraft fee? I've never heard of such a thing. Do you possibly mean that you were previously over-drafted and bounced 5 checks incurring 5, 30 overdraft charges?

12

Not to make you feel worse, but there’s no way I would have used my debit card knowing that I only had $40. It’s just way too easy to go on “automatic” like you did. That’s my biggest problem with electronic conveniences today. For the past month, I keep telling myself to purchase a carwash when I swipe my credit card at the gas station thingy. But I can never seem to remember to press the ‘yes’ button until after the transaction has been made and my auto-pilot turns off.

The salesperson probably feels real awful about what happened. If she were really a teenager, she’s probably laying in bed bawling in her pillow. I’m happy you didn’t blow up at her (because sadly I could see myself doing the same exact thing).

Congratuations on your new job.

13

Astro you’re right, I did have an over the top panic reaction. I have an anxiety disorder. I often have big giant panic reactions to little things and then I can’t stop having anxiety for hours. I needed to pit this to release it from my brain, where it has been eating a large chunk of my brain functions. I’m not saying it’s rational or right, but I honestly think this guy’s reaction made me feel worse. That’s what made me so angry. I’m mostly angry at myself, and I’m aware that this is a mistake of my own. I just wish it hadn’t been followed up with such a negative customer service reaction.

14

It depends on the business. I have no idea what kind of store Shaw’s is, but if it’s the type of place people go with only $40 to spend on food, I’m assuming it’s not top of the heap. Grocery stores have a VERY thin profit margin, and like all retail businesses they have to constantly deal with people trying to rip them off. In this environment, “customer service” is a much more relative concept. There’s a good reason the first person you talked to couldn’t solve your problem, and the manager was rude: It’s because they want people with issues like yours to go away. They’re not going to miss your $40 much, and if you really are somehow trying to rip them off, then it’s even better if you never darken their door again. The manager has probably heard a million sob stories, to the point where he’s not above throwing customer mistakes back at the customer. That’s not smart business, but again, they’re not that worried about your $40. If good customer service were essential to the success of their enterprise, they would already have it, instead of a 20-year-old managing an entire store. Obviously you, the customer, are not what they’re worried about.

That’s life when you’re poor.

15

According to Citizens Bank’s website (Boston region), their overdraft fees range from $19-$35 dollars per item, based on the number of days the account is overdrawn. In order to rack up $150 in overdraft fees, you’d have to have at least five overdrawn items, for six or more days.

I think the OP is either mistaken about the $150, or exaggerating for effect.

16

Why didn’t you just have your fiance pay his portion directly to you?

17

Although certainly the manager was a dick, why not just withdraw the $40 in cash, and pay it like that? Or you hand you fiance the $40, and he puts it all on his card?

Never mess around with those last few dollars.

Actually, dudes, one bounced item can cause a cascade of other items to bounce, with a fee for each. Thus, one bounced check can result in $150 in total fees. I have seen it happen.

18

I gotta agree. I think the problem began when the girl’s brain translated what you said into, “Heyah! Like I’m like totally diggin’ on Jason over there. Oh, the pretty eyes on that boy! Wha? Debit Card?” And that’s all she heard. Her brain formulated a response for you, “Oh, yeah lady […gum smack…]. I can do like, whatevvvvarrr.”

I think people might have gotten the wrong idea about your anxiety disorder. I have one, too. In fact, I have full blown melancholia. Readers may not realize that the things you wrote here were internalized at the store. You did not call the girl a moron or the manager a dick out loud. You merely thought these things. The voice inside you was screaming, but the world could not hear it.

You didn’t steal anything. You didn’t destroy anything. You did not coerce anyone or abridge anyone’s rights or aggress anyone’s property. The store manager should have viewed you as a valuable part of his store’s success. He should have put your enjoyment of your visit to his store at the very top of his priority list in dealing with you. It would have been easy to do.

Instead, he decided to put his own ego at the top of his priority list. And he met anything you did that might remotely threaten his status with an immediate smackdown. I bet his name was “Jason”.

19

To which I thought, “who the fuck has overdraft protection?” Then I looked it up. Turns out it’s free. Huh. I had thought it was some scheme for the banks to take my money, and since I never bounce checks, I didn’t want to pay for it. Learn something new…

Oh, and yes, write a letter. About the manager. I don’t care too much if a register droid screws something up, but if the manager gives me shit about it, I get irritated.

20

It’s clear from your description that you took out your frustation on all the employees you dealt with. If not with words then certainly with your body language and tone of voice. The quote above certainly shows that this was your behaviour towards the young girl who made a simple mistake.

If you would have been treated as a troublemaker rather than as valuable customer that treatment would have been deserved.

Instead, the manager did nothing worse than not accepting the blame and proceeded to do what he could to resolve the problem. After that, making sure you understood the limitations of what he could do and reminding you that you needed to undertake some action yourself, was simply good service.

And now you have the gal to complain?