A Tail of Two Attitudes

In the world of commerce, there are two conflicting truisms: “Buyer Beware,” and “The Customer is Always Right.” It is rare that either of them is completely accurate in any given situation. On the other hand, it is true that “You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.”

When it comes to customer satisfaction, some stores and many salespeople do not wish to put customers first. Although I try not to mention specific company names in this blog, several must be mentioned today. These stories relate to Sears, ShopRite, The Tractor Supply Company and two clothing chains.

Our local ShopRite (a North-East food supermarket) has many super-sized stores that carry just about everything. The one nearest to us, though, is more than 40-years old and, by today’s standards, antiquated. There is another Shoprite 10 miles away, twice the size, yet I avoid it when possible. The small store may not have everything in the newspaper ad, but it more than makes up for it by having courteous concerned people working there.

On three occasions during the last month the store did not have an advertised product in stock – in fact they probably never had and never would. Each time, as soon as I showed the ad at the “Courtesy Counter” The phone was picked up, the floor person called, the product was found or something was substituted. (With personal thanks to Dennis, and many others, whose efforts make this small store seem like the best place to shop.)

On the other hand…. One of these stores is a clothing shop. Six months ago, a customer on crutches and starting to feel pain asked a clerk for a chair. She was told they do not provide chairs. When told there were four by the front registers the response was, “So, go there and use one.” Eventually the manager was called and she stated, “We have a wheelchair by the front door, you should have taken that if you felt you were not going to be able to walk around.” Not customer satisfaction.

Sears’ Craftsman promises a lifetime guarantee on their non-power tools. I purchased a hoe there more than 20 years ago and, as the blade bent, got another in exchange with no questions asked. Six years ago I bought their most expensive rake and exchanged it four years later when seven tines snapped off. Now I want to exchange it again as this one did not hold up too well, but the company has discontinued the model and the nearest to it is of lesser quality. No one at Sears can tell me what to do. (I can be reached at info@slightlycreaky.com.) Hopefully this will soon be resolved as the leaves are already starting to fall.

One other clothing store…. Towel sets were advertised on a half-price sale. At the store there were only a few left and nothing matching. I asked the salesclerk for assistance and she seemed bewildered. The department manager told me that this was an in-store special only and not available online, yet they had none in stock and the store did not give out rain checks (which violates New York State law). I really wanted those towels so I asked for the store manager.

The woman who approached me seemed friendly, but when I asked for a rain check and was refused, then explained that it was state law, she walked away from me. I asked for her name so I could complain to the company and the Attorney General’s office, and she started screaming, went into the stock room, and got two young men, considerably larger than me, and told them to throw me out. After she walked away, the larger of the storage clerks asked me what the problem was, offered to call me if the towels came in on that afternoon’s truck, and gave me the manager’s name. While the company did respond positively to my e-mail and telephone calls, that lady was never reprimanded.

Now for The Tractor Supply Store. I used to laugh at their commercials, but when one opened near me a few years ago I had to go in to see what it was all about. I am now a confirmed shopper there for four reasons: they always have what they advertise, their prices are reasonable, their quality is high, and everyone in the store puts the customers first. Whether it is a company-wide policy, or just that the manager (Kay Covert – Highland, NY) sets such a wonderful example, I’m not sure, but they have my vote for what a company needs to do to retain customers.