Sometimes a letter just has to be sent

Following is a copy of the stern letter I felt I needed to send after a less then successful shopping experience at my local grocery store this evening after work.


First I'd like to say I ALWAYS buy my groceries at Sobeys, usually the Truro store but on occasion also the Elmsdale location. Without a doubt I am a VERY loyal customer. So I suppose that is why when I have a bad experience I truely feel let down and disappointed.
I recieved an email with a couple of coupons for bonus Airmiles. This being Thanksgiving weekend I needed to pick up a few more items to complete my dinner which I have planned for Saturday, be a good time to use these coupons.
A number of things started to go wrong. There was no potatoes(that were advertised in the flyer) on the shelf...and there is no one around to ask either, so I continued on. I picked up a number of other items, making my way to frozen foods for a bag of peas...there is no peas...and no one to ask. So I go all the way back to produce to see about the potatoes...ha there is a young man working in the aisle. But no luck with the potatoes they won't be in until tonight, but I could come back tomorrow is his suggestion or I could have a rain check...no good for me I don't live in Elmsdale and my turkey dinner is planned for early afternoon the next day. Well, I ask him about the frozen peas, he says I need to speak to someone in frozen foods...I'm getting tired now, I just worked eight hours on my feet and it's a long way back to frozen food. So I say I'll go to customer service. I head up the aisle to the front of the store to find there is no customer service...I call back to produce guy, he says it's lane#2...I need to get in the line...I don't think so. So I walk ALL the way back to frozen foods to see if there is anyone there yet...NOPE! The heck with it maybe no one will notice that there is no peas on the table. I get in line to purchase my groceries, mentioned the peas and potatoes to the young lady. She offers a rain check for the potatoes and calls someone about the peas...nope there is no peas in the store...but I could try Superstore??? She gives me the rain check for the potatoes and says good bye? I ask could I have a rain check for the peas, she can't find them in the flyer so she says she'll have to go to frozen food to get the price...rrr...I told her never mind. Now I go to the Deli counter to get the 4 piece chicken strips and taters that are on special. I ask the young man for two of these meals, he says "I only have five pieces right now!" doesn't offer anything else, just I only have five pieces right now!?! I go to speak to a superviser and mention my shopping experience today she empathised but that was it.
I left the store thinking now I have to go home and cook supper...rrr! By the time I get to my car I decided to go back in and get a cold chicken and taters to take home, I really don't want to cook. So that's what I did. I pick up my chicken and go to get the taters. While the young lady is scooping up my taters I ask her what happens when you run out of strips for the special, she gives me an odd look and says "we cook more"(dah) the young man who I spoke to earlier chimes in to say "I have more cooking." So I said you didn't say that when I was here before. I go through the same check out that the superviser was on and she offers me a couple of Jamie Oliver stamps. That's when I realized the other clerk didn't give me any when I went through the first time...so the superviser did.
I did speak to a manager before I left but I really felt poop pooped when I left. On the way home I reailzed I was so worked up about the peas and potatoes that I forgot to use my bomus Airmiles coupon...RRR!
After hubby and put the groceries away I go to put the cold chicken in the microwave to warm it up only to find out IT"S A HAM...RRR!!! After supper I'm looking in my purse for my Irving coupon and I come across the rain check for the potatoes...
The clerk has made it out for the wrong item...rrr...
Now I realize this is an unfortunate chain of events that doesn't happen (thank goodness) very often...but man that was a very frustating shopping tirp. I would like to make a few suggestions if I could.
1)please give your clerks, on the floor and at cash the power to hand out the rainchecks themselves without having to wait at a podium.
2) please try to have sale items in store, peas and potatoes are basic items during holiday weekends.
3)please put your cooked chicken and hams in different colour containers for those of us who are seeing red by the time we pick these items up and can't read the labels.
4)please have a customer service whining place so I don't have to spend a half hour of my evening on line typing this book.
Thankyou for offering bonus Airmiles coupons even when I forget to use them...no worries, I've got until Nov.6 so I'll be back cause I really like my Airmiles and truth be told I also like my Sobeys.
I guess we can be thankful that it's only a half moon and not a full moon tonight. It really was just a bad shopping day today.

 

Thank you young lady for shopping with us. Please come back soon. Hope you've enjoyed your shopping experience.

 

Sad to say but customer service seems to be a thing of the past. Small businesses are the only place it seems to exist anymore since they count on repeat business but big chain stores don't seem to care.

 

Bummer fannie, yet I agree with T-Man. The larger stores weather food or hardware just don't care and many time will have advertised sales etc just to drag in customers and not have the inventory in stock..... but "spuds??" how can you not have spuds??, that's in comparison too 'we have no bananas today, no milk, no butter....no chocolate bars!". Because of timing, work wise, and just the way it's been for me for 25 years plus I do the shopping food wise. I go to a smaller 1 store only food store, prices are comparable yet some times a bit more, less selection but I have found food quality 10x better....and you are in and out a lot faster than humungus food store......shopping at big stores can be like stepping over a dollar to save a dime!

I went into Group Ya (Rona) a few days ago, walked down the isle with all the lite bulbs looking for a flash lite..... asked a worker where to find them..... was told "some where in the electrical department". I left and went to Crappy Tire after I found what I was looking for (not what I wanted), no thanks to the helpful moron. When I went to Crappy and asked, the young kid in Crappy walked me rite to the section..... Rona, I was told...'Some where in..........

 

Excuse my ignorance!! What is Thanksgiving in Canada celebrated for and why in October? (short version)

 

For giving "thanks" , I believe you have this holiday also?........ Not saying your ignorant......

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving


But!

 

George Carlin was right in his definition of "customer service".

I recently had a comparable experience with an airline and a flight cancelled due to a broken airplane. Long story short, they re-booked me onto the same flight that was oversold and had no seats available, TWICE!!! Spent the whole damn day at the airport and didn't get off the ground for hours after I was supposed to have arrived.

 

Very interesting read, Fannie.

I'm currently doing customer service work - on the phone, and I've discovered something interesting about the job. It entails the obvious customer service assistance, as well as some other aspects: 1) Asking the customer their overall opinion of the companies' products and services, and 2) - a sales pitch on another company product/service. I also get surveys done on me, at random. I found out something interesting - my survey scores are much higher when I don't ask the customer's opinion and don't attempt a sale. Gee, i wonder why?

Focus on serving the customer, and only serving the customer, and everything else will work itself out.

Marshall

 

Uh, pass the potatoes please. And where's the peas? How am I supposed to give thanks without peas or potatoes?

So how did the meal turn out?

And please don't take this the wrong way; this is just the project manager in me coming out, but why did you wait until the night before the meal to do your shopping? You know that puts the odds against you, right out of the chute.

My job is to manage risk; identify it early, determine a mitigation strategy. Boxed instant mashed potatoes are not an acceptable mitigation strategy.....

 

Have potato prices gone way up other places? In Florida prices are unreal. I was told it's because the potato chip companies are taking most of the Florida potatos , leaving few for us starving families.
By the way, we buy 20# bags in summer and a 50# bag when the weather gets cooler. We also buy a lot of cans of corn, peas, green beans, and other veggies at one time. We are always thankful. We PLAN AHEAD.

 

Funny thing this morning Morgan and I went out for breakfast and she ordered a egg and cheese biscuit and hash browns. When they bring the order it is scrambled eggs, toast and hash browns. I politely say ,"She ordered a egg and cheese biscuit." The waitress says, " It cost about the same!" in a agitated voice. We ate what we were given but let her know, in a agitated voice, it wasn't about the price but what we ordered!

Another fine example of customer service!

 

Too often in the past when I was on the business end of a customer service faux pau (sp?), I would let it slide - basically because I don't really like confrontation. Sometimes it may have been because of time, other issues, etc. I'm going to have plenty of time, starting in about 2 weeks, so you customer service peeps better watch out for me! Maybe I'll make that my new hobby......

 

That would be a interesting hobby. I am with you KK, I try to avoid confrontation and that is why if I do have a problem I am very polite about trying to correct it but a lot of people take advantage of people being polite, that was my case this morning. We wasn't even offered for them to fix us what we ordered which I would have declined with the mood of waitress we might of ended up with extra seasoning if you know what I mean!

 

That's something I always worried about when upsetting a waitress. I've heard some nasty stories.
I usually just eat what they bring and seldom say anything. Then I hear it from my wife. "At home you complain if I don't bring you what you wanted."
I just can't win for loosing!:confused:

 

I'm not taking this the wrong way at all. It is a reasonable question, usually I have my menu plans worked out. The new flyer starts on Thursday but unfortunately I became ill at work on Thursady and had to leave so there was no shopping on Thursday. I still wasn't feeling that great on Friday but I couldn't pass up that damn bonus coupon...yeah I got it that bad. :banghead3: