I doubt that anyone can help me with this anymore, it's old. But I just found this site and want to share my experience. I would also like to share just a bit of background information before I delve into my story. I have over 10 years experience in customer service orientated fields. I KNOW what constitutes good service, and it dictates where I spend my money more than prices do.
About two years ago, my boyfriend and I rode our bikes to Walmart. We live in Arizona and it was the middle of August, so we were quite thirsty by the time we got there. We headed straight for the snack bar.
No one was behind the counter. There were two employees in the lobby area talking. We stood there for a few seconds, I looked to the employees in the lobby more than once to give them a chance to acknowledge us. Nothing. Finally, after a couple of minutes, I turn around and ask if anyone is going to help us.
Now, it might be two years later, but I've told this story enough, and I'm still heated enough, to remember exactly what was said to me by the Walmart employee. She said "You'll have to wait. My associate and me are talking, and that's more important than you." The attitude with which she saturated her words cannot be conveyed in this media.
My jaw hit the freakin' floor. Seriously, I had a bruise the next day. So I picked my jaw up and practically RAN to the customer service desk, where I asked for a comment sheet and to speak with a manager.
The slack-jawed manager just stared at me as I related my story to him. And the whole time, this employee is standing 20 feet behind him, yelling, "Tony, I didn't do nothing." "Tony, she's a liar." "Tell her I'll meet her outside if she wants to talk about it."
This last one is the one that really got me. His employee was THREATNING me. Not exactly in FRONT of him, but certainly within his earshot. And rest assured that if I heard her, he did, too. Yet the whole time I talked to him, he NEVER ONCE turned around to shush his employee. NEver once told me that he would speak to her, or do anything about the situation. He simply repeated over and over that he was sorry for our negative experience.
I also put my complaint on paper and sent it in. I also left my contact imformation with the stupid manager I spoke at. I would say 'spoke to', but I don't believe he was bright enough to understand even half of what I said. I feel comfortable saying this as any manager with half a brain would have, at the VERY least, told that employee to be quiet.
To this day, I have heard neither hide nor hair from Walmart. Neither have recieved even ONE MORE PENNY of my money. I walked out that day after writing my frustrations on paper, headed to the mailbox, and never went back. I have also made Walmart a personal target.
There is a study that suggests one unsatisfied customer will tell 11 other people of their experience. In turn, those people will tell one more person each. Obviously, with the internet, that number grows exponetially, but without it, I have personally shared my story with hundreds of people. Perhaps that is a slight exaggeration, but my number is HUGE. I've shared with classes at school, I've shared with customers in the restaurants I've worked at. I see people with a Walmart bag on the bus, I share my story. I found this site, I'm sharing my story. My boyfriend works in a grocery store, and he shares with all of his regular customers, and anyone who has the audacity to ask him where they can find a Walmart.
I hope I'm alive to see the day Walmart goes out of business. I doubt it, because so many people don't care if they're treated like shit to save ten cents, but I do. I have a higher self worth than your average Walmart customer, and that is sad. I'm no better than anyone else, I just believe in being treated like a human. Walmart does not grasp that concept. I hope that my story convinces just ONE MORE person to never shop at Walmart again. If so, then I have accomplished my goal.
Jillian
Tucson, Arizona