Customer Service Tale #1

The tale of three recent customer service experiences .... number one.   We seldom shop at a Walmart.  We've had a few troubling situations in the past.  None are very close to us and while there are some bargains, we can often find bargains just as good, if not even better, at other stores.  However, we do get to the one in Ephrata about once a month and load up on several cases of distilled water.  Unfortunately, on my last trip there they didn't have a single bottle of distilled water - but that is a different story.  That store is clean and most of the clerks that we've met there have been friendly.  But a few weeks ago we were at Pinebrook.  While there we celebrated Dianne's birthday and in honor of that we decided that we should treat all of our friends who met each evening to play games.  Two of these folks had celiac disease and could only eat gluten free products.  So I went online to find what area stores might stock gluten free snacks.  On the Walmart website I found that they said that they have a special area with gluten free products.  So even though I never cared for the East Stroudsburg Walmart, we headed there.  After some difficulty parking we grabbed a cart and went looking for the gluten free area.  Twice we went through every aisle in the food area and couldn't find these products.  Twice we stopped and asked clerks only to find out that they were not employees but were just there to stock their products from their trucks.  We found no directory and no employees available to help us.  Finally we finally found somebody working in the bakery and she told us that they didn't stock gluten free products.  But, thankfully, she knew of a competitor which did.  We had picked up eight items - including six gallons of distilled water - so we headed for the check-out line to at least purchase these.  They had two regular lines open but they were backed up with customers with full carts.  They also had five or six lines open for those with "20 or less" items.  Those "quick" check-out lines were also backed up.  And when we finally got in a line we realized that none of the carts we could see really had 20 or fewer items and yet the clerks accepted them. I guess being able to count is not a prerequisite for running a check-out line there.  Then it turned out that the cart in front of us actually had over 60 items.  So after about 10 minutes waiting in line, the clerk found some items that wouldn't scan and she had to call somebody for a price check.  By now I was getting very frustrated and ready to just leave my cart and walk away.  But I noticed that one of the lines was moving very quickly and only had one person to go.  We quickly left our line and headed there before somebody could beat us.  But just as we got there the clerk turned off her sign that indicating that she was now closed.  I think I was rather calm as I told her that I was just  leaving my cart and not purchasing the items because I was not going back into those long lines where the clerks weren't following the rules. I had endured this inconvenience long enough. She apologized and kindly said that I should just stay and she would take care of me. I thanked her for being understanding.  However, the lady who was being checked out turned and gave me grief. I think she might have been a fellow employee.  She loudly told me that I was being rude and inconsiderate.  She chastised me for picking on this clerk.  When I kindly told her that I wasn't picking on the clerk, she told me that I was picking on her because I was making her stay a few extra minutes to take care of me after her long day of work.  Not wanting to make a bigger scene I decided just to leave - I didn't need my order that badly and I was embarrassed about being publicly attacked.  However, the clerk told me to stay and in less than a minute my order was processed and we left.  That was not a good experience.  The lady in the bakery and the clerk, Eddy, were kind and considerate but nothing else about the store would encourage me to ever return to the East Stroudsburg Walmart. And we do get to the Stroudsburg area about once a month. Not only weren't there any employees available to help us when we needed help, but the clerks at the check-out did not enforce the rules at all.  I guess many of their shoppers are tourists and that gives the store a different atmosphere.  And maybe the lady who verbally attacked me was a tired tourist or probably another Walmart clerk who was off duty and giving me her version of customer service.  Fortunately, when we return to Pinebrook, there are many other cleaner, friendlier places to shop.  And they will get my business in the future.  And maybe the manager of East Stroud Walmart needs to hire some folks who can help customers and some clerks who can count beyond 20.  Customer service story #2 coming in a few days.