I visited the Petco in East Virginia Beach, VA, hoping to buy outfits for my 3 dogs. A clearance rack there carried a 75% off sign. The sign leaned against the center of the four-way rack, and anything printed under the 75% was hidden from view. Few outfits remained, yet I found 3, and picked out some other things around the store too. A dog trainer who was new to the register was ringing me up. One outfit scanned at the right price, but the remaining 2 came up wrong. She told me those were also 75% off, but she was unsure how to correct the price and would find help. A second employee arrived and said only a manager could change it. I had been waiting 10 minutes by then.
When the manager came, the cashier described the problem. Without once looking at me, the manager said those items were not named on the sign, and headed toward the rack. The cashier explained that the manager was checking on it. The manager went right by the rack and kept walking to the rear of the store. The cashier and I stood waiting for 5 minutes. She said she could not tell what was happening and called the manager back.
Approaching, the manager demanded to know what the problem was, in a snippy tone and with a jerk of her head. The cashier asked what she had found. The store manager snapped back, "About WHAT?" The cashier answered, "The outfits?" The manager shouted that she had SAID the sign did not list them. The cashier began to gesture at the rack and said they were all on it. The manager again shouted that they were not LISTED! Then she faced me and yelled, "Do you want these or not? What is the problem?" I was so startled that I rocked back on my heels. With wide eyes, I said I did want them, but at the 75% discount, since the sign could not be read because it was covered. Again with a jerk of her head and a flip of her voice, she declared, "I am NOT doing it."
By then, I had had enough. I asked to speak with her manager, and she replied that she held that position herself. I asked for her district manager's details. She said that the district manager's name and number, and corporate headquarters' number, are not given out. After I asked 5 times, she finally mentioned a customer care line for complaints. I requested the number. She disappeared into the back room and came out with a business card, which she threw. To be clear, she THREW it onto the corner in front of me, saying "GOOD LUCK."
Still standing in the store, I dialed that number. It was obviously a call center in India, and no one there spoke good English. The man made an effort to be polite, but he said he had only the store's number. My options were to phone the same store manager and complain to her, or he could leave word for the direct manager, who would reply within 48 hours. He would not provide the corporate headquarters number or the name of the person who would call. I even requested his supervisor. She was nice, but told me the same thing. I asked whether she could simply ring him and ask him to call me. They have no phone numbers, only email.
I have never had worse customer service. I regularly shop at Petsmart because of how they treat customers. When I have raised small issues there, they have always been fixed or answered with an apology. I spend about 500 a month on feeding and supplying my 6 animals, and I figured I would try Petco. Never again. I am sticking with Petsmart.
Shoppers BEWARE!!!
0 comments