Customer Service is Back!

I went to the grocery store to pick up just a few small but needed items like milk and bread. My son is home and I know he loves those little tuna and cracker snack packs but I couldn't find them in the new grocery store. I did find the Keebler Elf crackers and they were on sale 2 for $4.00 so I thought why not make Mommy Tuna Salad and buy the good crackers to go with it?

Well they rang up $3.49 then the discount came up $0.99. I bought more than I came in for so I was a bit bored standing in line and it occurred to me the crackers would be 2 for $5.00 instead of 2 for $4.00. It is only one dollar difference but then I start to think of what have I paid for in the past that might not have rung up the correct price? Should I keep paying for items I think are on sale but really ring up a higher price? When you go grocery shopping are you keeping exact tabs on what each item costs? I do keep a rounded off tally so I do not over spend. I remembered the crackers because it was the one item I did by on sale.

I went to the service desk and told the girl there the crackers were 2 for $4.00 but rang up 2 for $5.00. She looked over the boxes of crackers intensely then said she had to look for herself. Snow White and I giggled and horsed around while waiting. A few minutes later the grocery girl came back and said "They are 2 for $5.00", gave me back the boxes of crackers and motioned for the next in line.

I was tired, I wanted to go home, Snow White wants to eat dinner but I just knew the sign said 2 for $4.00 but I have been wrong just a few times in my life (insert a little laughter). I march back to the farthest end of the store where the display stand is and I am angry. Much to the dismay and repeated "you are going to get in trouble" from Snow White, I take down the "2 for $4.00" signs and march all the way back to the service desk.

During our jaunt back to the service desk thoughts of ...I will never come back to this store! They think everyone is a liar! There are 5 grocery stores just as close to my house! This store will not receive my business again and I will tell everyone I know, again. I did shut down a grocery store before (years ago and another story on customer service). Tonight this store was wasting my time and my daughter's time and what was that girl doing when she kept us waiting instead of looking up the price?!

I demand to see the manager and it just so happens she is next to the girl who told me the wrong price for the crackers. I place the signs on the counter and say "That girl told me these crackers were on sale 2 for $5.00 and I had to go all the way back there for me to realize she called me a liar to my face." Ok, that is what I wanted to say. What I actually said was "This girl said the crackers were not on sale for the price I thought and they actually were." The store manager looked over the boxes of cracker, looked at the signs and said "I was here when she told you." She pressed a few buttons on the register and asked me to sign a paper and gave me a five dollar bill. I was a little confused, I still wanted the crackers not a refund. She saw my puzzled look and apologized for their computer and personnel error. "Here is the amount you paid for the crackers and you get the crackers free due to our mistakes." I was almost speechless! All I could get out was a mere "Thank you." WOW Customer service isn't dead after all. I only wanted the dollar back because the crackers were on sale and they gave them to me for free because of the error. Ok, I know about the glitches in the computer programs retail stores use and the companies who supply them with the computer service sometimes offer replacement of fees if there is a problem but still WOW that was passed on to us instead of just refunding the expected sale price.

For a $1.00 difference this store said the Customer is Right and they did all the paper work in 2 minutes flat without saying they needed the history of your forefathers to offer you something comparable and then some. I would have been happy just to have the $1.00 refund due to me. I would have never gone back to that store again if I had not been floored by their end result Customer Service. I have not seen this sort of Customer Service since the early 80s when things went from Customer Service to "If you don't like it go away."

The other 5 grocery stores near my house just lost my business due to this one act over an expected $1.00 refund. The other 5 are friendly and I have had no issues with them at all but I am just overwhelmed to find a store where Customer Service is not just a sign.