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You'd be doing these businesses a favor if you'd send them a polite letter and tell them of your bad experiences. They can't make any improvements if they don't know there's a problem.
Very good point. I know in the restaurants I've been in provide patrons an opportunity to rate their service. It really is worth your time to let them know how you feel, good or bad.
I try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt but if it's a small establishment and everyone is rude I'll tell them how I felt about the way they treated me first and go back again. If they continue with the poor treatment then I'm done with them. At least this way I've had my say and they know how I feel. If it's a large business I'll either just shrug it off or, if it's a real nasty situation, contact the manager prior to leaving the store. There are some people who shouldn't be allowed to deal with customers.
Very true..I'll always give someone the benefit of the doubt and say maybe they had a bad day and not take it personally. However, the episode in the original post where the cashier rudely told the customer to close the door is inexcusable and could have been handled much more tactfully. If the door is that much os a problem, then Mgmt should have had it fixed.
Additionally, many places are running on skeleton crews and frankly, employees are overwhelmed and asked to do more and more. Is that an excuse? Maybe, maybe not. I also have to tell myself that it could happen to me as well. I've worked retail and it's no picnic, especially dealing with many types of customers.
BUT, in this economic climate, businesses should do everything possible to not only keep regular customers, but attract and encourage new ones to return.
As a customer, I treat all I come into contact with respect and 99% of the time, I get back what I give.
As for boycotting, I would make every attempt to rectify the problem with management first, then return. If the bad treatment from store employees continues, then simply take your business elsewhere. In one instance, I had a bad experience at an establishment. Instead of fuming about it, I wrote the manager a letter and he thanked me profusely.
I have a business I boycott, but only because the regional manager is a (for lack of a better term) major league a-whole. I took a job working part time for the company due to I had an extensive background in the opening. After a few weeks of working hard (as was said by co-workers and asst. managers), the reg. manager accused me of not giving my 100 percent (because I asked to punch out early to pick up my ill spouse). As a 40 something adult who has never had so much as a frown from other bosses, I was greatly insulted to the point that after I left for the day, I never went back except to hand in a resignation letter.
From now on I will never patronize any of the locations that this reg. manager is in charge of. As their salary is based on the profits from each location. It maybe petty and it maybe wrong, but it is my way of telling him to go frack himself!
I've been doing that for a while now. Many times I will ask to speak to a manager and register my complaint and, if he/she, seems genuinely interested, I will give them another chance. I also call the phone number on drive through receipts if I have gotten particularly good or bad service.
With rude cashiers, I will usually say, "You must be having a bad day." Often they will say yes and tell me their story. Sometimes they become nastier and I will tell them that they are very rude. Not in a mean way, just matter of factly. Then I call the manager on my way home.
My kids are used to it. "Oh, no, now there is another place we can't go to again". LOL!
If someone is rude to me it is pretty likely they will never see me again although sometimes I make an exception and give a place another try if I am in a forgiving mood.
Last month my husband and I were driving past a plant business that I had wanted to check out. We stopped, and I fully intended on making a purchase. We entered the building and the cashier was standing there chatting with someone about a soap opera or something. She didn't acknowledge us in any way, it was like we were invisible. We walked through the store and I noticed that the plants were all quite overpriced but they were in excellent condition and were acclimated to indoors which is worth a little more to me. I saw one I liked and tried to get the worker's attention, but she pointedly looked away, rolled her eyes (!!!) and continued her conversation. So we left without buying anything and I will never darken their door again.
I know. Also these are quite petty gripes in the scheme of life! I just get the feeling it's the further moving away from service here in the USA..no one cares to do their job well.
Gypsy, why not write a review of the places on www.yelp.com?
I should have added this before but there was a great restaurant here in MA called Vin and Eddie's (family run)...pricey but we always went for each other's birthday's and it was nothing to rack up a bill of 300.00 or more. Well it was a Tuesday night and it was my birthday when we all went. At the time we were the only customers and it took 30 minutes to get our menus another thirty minutes for drinks and another thirty to order our dinner...we were in there for three hours.
We are not rude people and we are also good tippers...
We ordered our dinner which took forever which was fine because we were having a good time and when the waitress came my husband asked for bread...the waitress went ballistic stating that they ran out of bread as they didn't expect a party of 12 to come to the restaurant as well as us 6 huh????? OK but it is a restaurant.
Then she started ranting again saying SIR bread is a courtesy here and we owe you nothing and don't let it ruin your little happy family reunion. At the same time another couple came in to dine and they asked for bread...we all just looked at each other.
We couldn't eat fast enough to get out of there although when they did ask if we wanted dessert a few of us at the same time asked if they had any bread pudding. The look on her face was priceless.We paid the bill and my family was furious because I still gave a good tip.
The next day I wrote to the owner/chef and told of our experience and they could have cared less. Such a shame because the food there was to die for.
Location: Prescott Valley, Az (unfortunately still here)
2,543 posts, read 4,874,714 times
Reputation: 1521
I have. But it was a couple of restuarants. The servers just seem so snobbish and look at you funny when you order something that taste great and is your favorite, but not very healthy or something. I hate that! I'm like (saying to myself), "Hey! You're not eating it, I am, smuck!!" So, rude of them to look at you funny and not smile or anything.
Also at a couple of bars I've been to here, when you walk in, they pretend they didn't see you and act like they don't want to serve you. It takes almost 10 minutes for them to come to you so you can order a drink or something to eat.
So, I don't go to those specific places anymore now.
Location: The Circle City. Sometimes NE of Bagdad.
24,382 posts, read 25,898,686 times
Reputation: 59661
Not a problem in my neck of the woods. If I had a problem I would talk to the manager or owner. Problem might be the attitude of the people where you live.
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