A Little Bit Goes A Long Way How King Sooper's Got My Business Back

I think if you're going to blog about a bad experience you have to blog about the good ones as well. About a month ago I wrote about a bad experience with King Soopers, more commonly known as Kroger in other parts of the country.

To sum it up I went in to the store the next day after being short-changed. I asked for the manager and got the Head Cashier and she didn't care. She made no effort to make this experience better, in a nutshell she just shrugged and told me she didn't care.

I had one fellow blogger, Jordan, comment

"So wait, you're complaining about a business that's following standard procedures over money? It's your own fault for not having checked over your receipt and the cash given back to you.

Any business is going to tell you this and to play the victim here is absolutely ridiculous. I'd shrug over you too if I were "C."

Next time you should learn to check your items/receipt before you leave the store."

The reality is yes, I should have checked my money at the time but it really wasn't about the $10, it was about the way it was handled. Having been in retail management I have never read a policy and procedure manual that says "Tell the customer they're flat out wrong, shrug and walk away". I sent my information to King Soopers and got a call back from the store manager. She assured me that contrary to what Jordan indicated in her comment, this was not their policy or standard procedure and the Head Cashier was completely out of line in her actions.

I talked with the store manager for awhile and she let me know that particular employee was no longer at this location and then she did the simplest thing. She asked

Tali, What can I do to get your business back?

It was seriously that simple. I let her know taking the time to let me know the employee was in the wrong and not representing the organization appropriately meant a lot to me. That asking for me to give them another try felt personal and good.

So I will try again, and now I feel like I have someone I can go to directly with my questions or concerns. It feels like a community grocery store again, not just some big box where I deposit my money, take my goods, and go.

How King Soopers/Kroger lost my business over $10 and a shrug

I normally don't write posts venting about my daily issues. Unfortunately, at this point I am fed up with King Soopers/Kroger and this weekend they forced me to ask the question "Where has customer appreciation and service gone?"

I live in Southeast Denver and happen to be right across the street from King Soopers. While I generally do most of my shopping at Sunflower Market I do go to King Soopers on a regular basis. I have noticed in the last year that the staff there has gone increasingly down hill.

There used to be a great guy who stocked the dairy area, he always said hello and asked if he could help me find anything but when he left the staff's deficiencies became glaringly obvious.  The staff is more concerned with chatting with each other about their weekend plans or what they did last night than helping customers. When you ask for help you generally get an eye roll. I accepted their shortcomings based on the convenience for shopping (which is embarrassing to admit), however I am through with them thanks to their Head Cashier who was on duty this weekend. I will omit her full name, only to call her C.

I had shopped in King Soopers around 9:30 Friday night. The self-checkout cashier wasn't at his station and after waiting for him to get back and give me change I didn't think there would be a problem. He said the amount accurately and handed me cash and a receipt. It wasn't until the following morning I noticed he shorted me $10. Not a huge amount but I figured it was worth checking in to see if they could help me. I thought at the very least they would take my name and number and if the drawer had been short they would give me my money or at least a store credit.

So I went to the Customer Service counter and the clerk called for "C" the Head Cashier on duty. I explained the situation and she told me I should have come back the night before because she couldn't help me now. I said "I shop here a few times a week and that's all you can say" and she advised yes, I should have come back the night before. I wouldn't care if she lied to me and said she would check the drawer or forward it on to a real manager. Just something to feel like I was valued as a customer.

At that point I asked her "You don't care if you lose all my business over ten dollars?" and she SHRUGGED. She shrugged, said no and walked off.

While I don't feel as heated as I did about the situation yesterday, I am going to stick to my guns and boycott my local King Soopers, and perhaps all the locations, that is to be determined. When I was growing up it seemed that people took pride in their work, but I just don't see that these days in a lot of retail locations. It seems more prominent in industries like grocery stores where they know they're the closest and most convenient. I don't expected to be waited on hand and foot. However I do expect to be given the benefit of the doubt as a seven year customer at a location and to be treated kindly, not like I am in "C's" way.

So there is the end of my rant. What have I taken away from this? That respect works both ways, even in retail relationships and sometimes you have to walk away.