I went into a Petco on August 29 to return a Petco-brand guinea pig starter cage set. The assistant manager, Kelley, asked if the item was used, and I told her "yes." Prior to returning the item, I had called and talked to an employee and asked if I could return an item I was not happy with, and he said "yes." Kelley told me that I could not return the item even if it was defective and that next time I should speak with a manager and not an employee who answers the phone. I said that was not good enough and I would like a refund. She then said that since I had opened the food that was inside and used some, she could only refund me $32, which was half of the $64 I paid for the item. I said that did not make sense. I asked her hypothetically: if I purchased a bag of dog food and my dog did not like the product, then I could not return it? She then said she would refund the entire amount but that it was against policy.
As I was walking away, I heard her talking about me to other customers who were in line. I went back to the counter and asked her why she was badmouthing me in front of customers. Her response was, "I am used to people yelling at me all day and I just don't care anymore." I said, "Well, you should care when I contact customer service." She then continued yelling at me as I was leaving the store. I have never been treated like this before in a store. It was very embarrassing, and I had my 6-year-old son with me.
I work in a hospital, The Cleveland Clinic, and we have to periodically attend a class with the patient representative of the hospital. We are taught how to deal with a patient complaint or concern. This would be a great example for the next class. I hate to think that this is how Petco employees are trained to treat customers. For every one unhappy customer, they will end up telling eight other people about their experience.
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