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My sympathies here are with the customers

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  • My sympathies here are with the customers

    Not posting this under "Sucky Customers" because, as the title says ....

    Store has a new series of "specials". But here's the catch: the only way a customer can access those specials is by using the app on their cellphone.

    I had two different customers yesterday who wanted to use one of those specials each and were not happy when I explained the situation. Both were older customers.

    In both cases, I gave them the deal, but explained that in future anything on the flyer with "Load the deal" (or whatever the phrase is) above or beside the product cannot be used without putting the app on your cellphone.

    One couple cheered up a bit (because they got the deal, I think ) and walked away saying "Well, I guess we'll have to borrow somebody's grandkid!"

    The other guy ... not so much. I don't remember whether he didn't even HAVE a smartphone or whether he was just angry at what he saw as a major nuisance. (I can't really blame him; I work there and even I don't have the app on my phone, nor do I intend to put it there.) He wanted to know who to call to complain. He actually wanted to know how to get in contact with the CEO of the corporation ... good luck on that, fella.

    At the bottom of each receipt is a 1-800 number where you can "Call to tell us how we did today!" I wrote it down on a piece of paper (because the print on the receipt is probably a size .5) and told him he could try calling them but I couldn't guarantee anything.
    Customer service: More efficient than a Dementor's kiss
    ~ Mr Hero

  • #2
    That's how Kroger does it here in the states -- though they at least explicitly call out such discounts as "digital deals/app-only deals." That still doesn't help the aforementioned non-phone-savvy folks. What would have helped them would be the little handheld devices that let you scan your purchases as you go -- As long as you scan your shopper's card first, it'll look up any digital coupons when you scan something that can take advantage of one of the digital coupons. Sadly, they haven't been functional in many months now, and it seems that they have been removed entirely. That being said, I kinda doubt they were EVER sanitized in the entire time we had them; not even during the worst times of the plague.
    "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
    "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat
    "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung
    "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit
    "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me
    "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005)
    Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
    "Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me

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    • #3
      The grocery store chain I work for as a fuel center employee also has "digital deals/app-only deals.", but according to company policy, employees cannot give the discount to any customer who 1) does not have a smart phone or 2) who does have a smart phone but did not download the app on their phone so they can get the digital deal.

      According to their Corporate Headquarters, any employee who does that is subject to disciplinary action.

      Comment


      • #4
        My company is going with all digital coupons in a few months. They're eliminating the instore coupon books. The actual flyers are gone maybe almost two years now. On one hand it's one less instore thing we have to worry about. We don't have to worry about figuring out if the customer read the sign wrong, it's with a coupon or just a sale or whatever. Don't have to worry about finding the coupon books because "the cashier always has one up front". Or seeing my coworker's signature all over the books we do have. I mean if you can't be on your phone in front of customers you have to do something. I mean why would you ya know, do you freaking job?

        It's just one more thing to get yelled at for that I have no control over. I'm used to that by now.
        I would have a nice day, but I have other things to do.

        Comment


        • #5
          Quoth EricKei View Post
          That's how Kroger does it here in the states -- though they at least explicitly call out such discounts as "digital deals/app-only deals." That still doesn't help the aforementioned non-phone-savvy folks. What would have helped them would be the little handheld devices that let you scan your purchases as you go -- As long as you scan your shopper's card first, it'll look up any digital coupons when you scan something that can take advantage of one of the digital coupons. Sadly, they haven't been functional in many months now, and it seems that they have been removed entirely. That being said, I kinda doubt they were EVER sanitized in the entire time we had them; not even during the worst times of the plague.
          It's amazing how the technology that (at least probably) be most helpful is the stuff that management lets slide.

          Quoth snugglegirl05 View Post
          The grocery store chain I work for as a fuel center employee also has "digital deals/app-only deals.", but according to company policy, employees cannot give the discount to any customer who 1) does not have a smart phone or 2) who does have a smart phone but did not download the app on their phone so they can get the digital deal.

          According to their Corporate Headquarters, any employee who does that is subject to disciplinary action.
          Funny you should say that ... I checked with a more senior employee about these app-only deals to see if indeed the customer MUST have it on their phone. She said yes, technically, but added "As long as they've got the points card, I give them the deal." So going forward, that's gonna be me too.
          Customer service: More efficient than a Dementor's kiss
          ~ Mr Hero

          Comment


          • #6
            One saving grace with K's method is that you don't actually need the app -- Digital deals can be loaded via their website, as well. Still not the biggest fan of K, but their pickup service is still more usable than WM, and nobody else around here offers the service.

            Heads-up, though: A couple of weeks or so ago, WM quietly changed their policy on item substitutions on pickup orders. The industry standard is "If we make a substitution, you will be charged for the cheaper of the two items (no charge if they simply do not provide any item at all)" Not anymore for Voldemart; now you get charged the actual price (I had to look it up; it wasn't called out on their order site nor pickup app). Their official response when I asked about it via email was, in essence, "You approved the sub via the app so that's on you" (They did refund me the difference on the one item I complained about). This feels like something that should have been shown prominently on everyone's first order and app usage after said policy change.
            "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
            "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat
            "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung
            "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit
            "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me
            "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005)
            Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
            "Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me

            Comment


            • #7
              Our pickup policy on substitutions is always the cheaper price...but I have seen feedback from other stores (I'm able to look at the weekly customer feedbacks for the entire company, not just our district) that did mention being charged full price so that might be changing. We don't have the ability for the customer to review/choose subs though...I kinda wish we did, then the whining about "I didn't like the option that was chosen" would go away.

              The digital coupons drive me up a wall. They don't work all the time for pickup orders (I can't count how many times a customer that this happened to will complain to the store--we don't control that at all) and walk-in customers need to load them to their card ahead of time. We have a fair percentage of older customers who don't have a smartphone and/or don't use the website...sorry, we can't give you the digital deal price because you saw it in the flyer.
              "I am quite confident that I do exist."
              "Excuse me, I'm making perfect sense. You're just not keeping up." The Doctor

              Comment


              • #8
                I can only speak for K - If you order online, you can specify "best sub/specific item/no subs" on the final screen before entering your payment info, and hope they have the alternate. Once they begin picking the order, most of the subs will be sent to you via text/app notifications and you can say "was subbed, deal with it" or "is this sub ok? yea/nay", tho I'm not 100% sure what determines which one you get.
                "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
                "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat
                "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung
                "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit
                "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me
                "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005)
                Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
                "Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me

                Comment


                • #9
                  Eric just described how Instacart handles the substitution question. If both the first choice and backup are not available, I typically get messages from the shopper with photos of the relevant shelves and some explanation of what is available so I can either pick an alternate on the fly or skip that item completely.

                  Walmart now purports to have the option of choosing one's substitution. I haven't tried it yet. As bizarre as their notions of substitutes can be (out of a particular flavor of sugar-free pudding mix, sub unflavored gelatin was a memorable WTH? moment from them, as an example), I just disallow subs with them. Doesn't stop them from occasionally handing me the wrong flavor of something, but I can generally deal.
                  "Crazy may always be open for business, but on the full moon, it has buy one get one free specials." - WishfulSpirit

                  "Sometimes customers remind me of zombies, but I'm pretty sure that zombies are smarter." - MelindaJoy77

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                  • #10
                    I agree. A laptop is one thing, a cell phone quite another.
                    Customers should always be served . . . to the nearest great white.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Either way our online ordering apparently sucks. The only sub options we allow are sub/no sub; I can almost guarantee that's why we don't have the volume Corp thinks we should. Why leave everything to chance if other stores can be way more flexible? (especially when it comes to dietary/allergy concerns; we don't even allow the customer to note anything like that) I'm willing to bet that I'm one of the few shoppers who can actually think through substitutions.

                      Every so often I need to go through the store/restaurant apps on my phone and nuke some permissions that it decided to give itself on an update. Why does a coffeeshop app need access to photos if there is no functionality that requires the camera?
                      "I am quite confident that I do exist."
                      "Excuse me, I'm making perfect sense. You're just not keeping up." The Doctor

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        The store that handles my groceries also only has sub/don't sub as their options, which can be amusing or frustrating depending on who's doing the picking. While the store has run an allergen warning system on their web storefront, this information isn't passed down to the pickers so during a post-op period of peanut sensitivity, I had chocolate-coated peanuts subbed in to replace raisins, and also had flimsy paper packets of peanut-based porridge (so much alliteration!) included with my shop as a "free gift"/advertising gimmick - that caused them to receive a very sternly worded email pointing out that if one of those packets split in transit and spilled onto the wrong person's shopping, they could be liable for someone's death!
                        This was one of those times where my mouth says "have a nice day" but my brain says "go step on a Lego". - RegisterAce
                        I can't make something magically appear to fulfill all your hopes and dreams. Believe me, if I could I'd be the first person I'd help. - Trixie

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Yikes. I think our company was going to give out samples, but another facilitator brought up the allergen issue and actually got listened to.

                          I've been yelling at our "customer experience specialist" for months that we need to allow customers to note any allergies/dietary concerns. We're supposed to follow any dietary/allergen labeling but the shopping system isn't set up to reject subs that don't share the same criteria (fat free, gluten free, etc) so a picker actually needs to pay attention. I caught an order today where the picker subbed plain pasta for glutenfree pasta; this was a regular customer who I know is celiac (I have a notebook in my desk with customer restrictions/requests, but only 2 other pickers actually bother to look at it) and the GF pattern must be carefully followed. I was able to find a suitable sub in about 3 seconds and fix it...pay attention people.
                          Last edited by Dreamstalker; 10-09-2022, 10:05 PM.
                          "I am quite confident that I do exist."
                          "Excuse me, I'm making perfect sense. You're just not keeping up." The Doctor

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