"I'm never shopping THERE again!" Share your story!

[Slartibartfast]

So after a very frustrating experience with a local doctor, I've decided I'm never going to that practice again.  (I can't give the full story of my doctor experience here, because it deals with some topics that are frowned on on this board, but basically one of the staff members made some very prejudiced statements about people of a certain group, and the doctor just brushed it off when I told her about it.  I won't patronize a business that openly hires bigots, if I have a choice about it.)

However, the decision made me curious - anyone got an interesting story about having SUCH a bad experience with a store/doctor/business that you will never darken their doors again?

[ShieldMaiden]

Ok, this is a bit funny because of course I am never going to darken the door of *insert famous bridal store* here because I won't be buying another wedding dress (I plan on keeping ShieldMan  ).  But I do tell my story to local brides who ask my opinion about where to shop for a wedding dress.

Me, my mother and my two sisters arrived on time to our appointment.  We were assigned a salesperson to help me with dresses.  I specifically told the salesperson that I did not want a train.  It was one of the first things I said:  white with no train.  The salesperson kept pulling dress after dress with trains.  When she pulled the fifth one with a train (and I'm talking Princess Diana style ten foot beaded train because, according to her, 'every bride should have a train on her dress') and I tried it on I stood in front of the mirror and said "it's not for me, I really don't want a train on my dress.  Can you look for ones without trains?"  Her reply was "stand there for five minutes and look at yourself and I'm sure you'll realize you want the train.  It looks beautiful."  I left the store without trying any more. 

I was angry because despite the fact that I told her what style dress I wanted she completed refused to find one to my specifications.  Instead she was pulling dresses that were more to her taste. It made the whole appointment a waste of time.

Luckily I found the perfect dress (without train) at a locally owned bridal shop. 

[mechtilde]

The owner of our local convenience store is surly to the point of rudeness.

[magiccat26]

There is a department store chain that is well known for it's tools and appliances.  Throughout the entire saga, I never yelled obscenities, I never insulted the CSR, I did occasionally get loud and firm, and occasionally had to talk over the person on the other end of the line.

When DH and I were purchasing our new house, I went shopping on-line for new appliances about a month ahead of our move date.  I purchased a refrigerator, a washer, and dryer.  A total purchase of over $3,500.  It was the beginning of a horrible experience.  First, they changed the shipping address to the billing address...even though I had a receipt that said otherwise, when the email came confirming the pending delivery date, it showed our old address as the delivery address.  

I called customer service and was on hold for 35 minutes before I was able to talk to a human...who proceeded to tell me that I must have made an error when I ordered (even though I had proof otherwise) and that they could not change the order since delivery had already been scheduled.  I could refuse the order when it arrived, but then I would be charged a "restocking" fee.  

I did not want appliances delivered to a home I did not own.  I would not be in the house to "refuse" the delivery.  The delivery date was for the day after I moved into my new house (2 weeks away).  She said it was too late.  I demanded a supervisor.

She refused to transfer me saying that I made an error and she couldn't help me.  I continued to demand a supervisor.  She hung up on me.

I called back...on hold for 23 minutes...got a different rep with a different story.  But this one said she could either cancel the order or I could refuse the shipment at my old address.  I chose to cancel the order.  I was told it would be 10 to 12 weeks before the money would be credited to my account.  The refund policy on the receipt said 10 to 12 business days.  I pointed this out.  She told me that it was a typo and their policy was 10 to 12 weeks for a refund.  I demanded a supervisor.  She hung up on me.  I received an email confirming my cancellation with the "new" policy (different from the one on my ORIGINAL order) listed.

I called back....on hold for 30 minutes.  I asked to speak to a supervisor.  They asked why.  I said, the last two reps I has spoken to had hung up on me and refused to transfer me.  She asked for my order number.  After she pulled it up, she said...Oh that order is cancelled,  I cannot help you.  I said I needed to talk to a supervisor.  She said a supervisor couldn't help me because according to the system I didn't have an order anymore and supervisors could only speak to customers.  I demanded a supervisor and she told me that they would not be able to help me and hung up.  

I went to the company's website and looked up the email for corporate.  I emailed my saga with attachments showing the progression of my order and explaining my problem.  They emailed me back saying I would need to speak to a supervisor at the call center and gave me the number I had already called 3 times.

So, I called again.  This time I refused to explain myself.  I just politely asked for a supervisor.  Repeating myself over and over and over again (like a broken record) until they got fed up and transferred me.

I explained my situation to the supervisor who denied that any of their reps would ever hang up on a customer.    They finally agreed to refund my money as shown on my on-line receipt.  I got his name and direct line.

I watched my account daily and after 12 days the money wasn't in the account, so I called him and asked him why my refund had not been issued.  I was given the run around for 3 days until he finally admitted that he hadn't submitted my request because, "It just wasn't done."  I informed him that I would be taking action very soon to ensure that the proper authorities knew that they were not honoring their own refund policy as stated when I made my purchase.  He sputtered and told me it would get done that day.

I continued to watch my account and called every day until FINALLY, they refunded my money.  I did not have a washer, dryer, or refrigerator when I moved into my home.  As soon as I received my refund, I went to the local blue hardware store that sells appliances, and purchased everything I needed.  They delivered the next day and I saved over $500 because I purchased a discontinued floor model of the refrigerator I wanted.

It has been 2 1/2 years, but I refuse to step foot in the store or spend any of my money there.

[Samantha]

Not really shopping, but I won't go back to my old doctor. He was the physician that my parents saw, and that I saw, the whole time I was growing up. Around the time I turned 18, I decided to stop seeing him for a few different reasons.

The first was because my Mom went in complaining about something (turned out that she had carpel tunnel syndrome),
and he told her to get a more ladylike job (my Mom worked in a factory).

The second was because he was the father of one of my close friends in high school, and it was really really awkward the first time I went for a gyno exam... He'd seen me in my pajamas and a face mask at slumber parties! I was going to stick with him as my primary physician and start going to an ob/gyn for my annual exam, as he was a good doctor, until he made the comment to my Mom. That was the last straw.

The third was because I'd struggled (and still do) with my weight. I'd complain to him about it, and he'd tell me to eat more vegetables, less chocolate, and exercise. I was doing that, but nothing worked! After changing doctors, the new one ran full bloodwork... and found out that I had a thyroid condition!

[Delia DeLyons]

      Went to get tires at a local guy's store.  He was so rude and condescending to me and to every question I asked, which were what I would consider to be quite normal, given his services,  Example:  "Can you look at my tire, it has a slow leak and I was wondering if it could be patched?"  

     And he seemed so put out by my having come into his store AT ALL (note, it was not like it was lunch time, or close to closing or anything, it was just after 1 o'clock on a Saturday) that I felt incredibly uncomfortable and almost bullied the entire time I was there.   I left without purchasing his services, because he had actually made me feel bad, like I was bothering him!!    He was complete with snarky comments and exasperated facial expressions.  It was too much!

     I got my tires at a chain tire store and got exceptionally friendly and courteous service.  

     Months passed, and I had to attend a customer service focus training at work.  (No, I wasn't BAD - everyone had to go  )

     The instructor asked us to tell of a time we received poor service.  I started to talk about the rude tire guy and someone in the class immediately says "Oh, the has to be "Man's First Name" Tire's!!!"  

     Yes, it was.  Being famous for being a jerk = good for business?  I don't know... but he's still open... maybe he has good prices or something.  

[ginlyn32]

Hooo-boy...

Best Buy: Went there back in July to buy a portable DVD player car charger. This was after searching online and seeing that BB carries them IN STORE and not only online. So I drive over there and tell the associate standing at the door what I am looking for and he directs me to the GPS/Mobile devices area. I go over there and look through all the shelves and aisles....not there. So I start looking for a Sales Associate. Finally find one, and he tries to talk me into buying something that you'd use for a Garmin. Uh...no....that's not what I asked for.

I then go to the Customer Service desk, tell them what I am looking for and they do not have any in stock. No offers to look up another store in the area to see if anyone had one or to order if for me. I ended up going to Walmart and not only did they have it, but the Associate knew right where it was!

Old Navy: went looking for shorts and  all they had were short-shorts, nothing in my size. in fact they didn't have anything above a size 10. Very unhelpful Sales Associates, very rude and condescending attitude.

Lane Bryant: Sales Associate seemed more interested in talking with her friend then doing her job (seeing if I needed help).

ginlyn

[Animala]

/BG: I used to live in a very large city, at least that was what my address said, but in reality it was a tiny island in the middle of the country and suberbs.  This store was in walking distance from my home and the closest drug store.

Locally owned pharmacy.  I stopped in to get some sudafed and they required my ID as everywhere has it behind the counter now (oddly enough I don't need my ID when picking up narcotics).  She examined it closely and then questioned me closely about where I lived and finally said that since I didn't live in her town she wasn't going to sell me any.  By the time I was done I felt like a criminal.  That was last summer.  I wasn't surprised when they closed last spring.


Specific WalMart- I'm not a huge Wally fan, but sometimes you just have to go there.  I really didn't like that store because they had a receipt checker and only checked my race while people of other races walked by without a problem.  I really had to stop at that one and I was waiting in line  two guys came running past me and one caught the other and they were on the floor in a rather nasty fight.  Very bad.  On the up side management came from the woodwork.  On the down side they grabbed the guy1 (who was my race) and let the other guy2 (another race) get away.  Turns out other guy2 had stolen the purse of the woman that guy1 was with.  It had been a long time since I had dealt with such obvious racism and will never go back there.

[Sheila Take a Bow]

There is a department store chain that is well known for it's tools and appliances.  Throughout the entire saga, I never yelled obscenities, I never insulted the CSR, I did occasionally get loud and firm, and occasionally had to talk over the person on the other end of the line.

(snip)

It has been 2 1/2 years, but I refuse to step foot in the store or spend any of my money there.

I know that store!  I ordered a split box spring from them and got a call from the delivery people on the day of delivery saying that they had only shipped one of the two parts, and asked if I wanted to refuse delivery.  I said yes.  When I called the CSR, I was basically told that the order no longer existed, that my credit card had already been charged but would be credited at some point after the half of a box spring was back in their warehouse.  Then she offered to transfer me to sales so I could place a new order.  They eventually refunded my money after a couple of weeks.  (And in the time it took for them to credit my card, DH and I had ordered a box spring from a local mattress store and had it delivered.)

I went back to them (foolishly) because I got a deal on a baby swing.  I ordered it online for in-store pickup.  I got an email that it was available, but when DH went to pick it up it wasn't in the store.  Apparently someone had marked the order as complete (even though they had no record that the swing had been picked up), so I was charged but I never got the item.  And it wasn't in the store at all.  DH asked how long it would be before it could be reordered, and I was told that because the order was shown as complete we'd have to buy it again.

When DH asked about a refund, he was told it would have to be done online.  I called the CSRs and was told it couldn't be done online, because the transaction was "completed" at the store, so the store would have to fix it.  Everyone on up to the store manager insisted it had to be done online, and all of the CSRs for the website insisted it had to be done in store.

In the end, I tried to dispute the charge with my credit card, but because it was under $50 the credit card company wouldn't do it.  At the time I'd just had my baby and I decided that my time was worth more than the $50 that Sears had swindled out of me.  So instead I won't shop there or any of their sister stores.

[Lady Snowdon]

I worked at a ShopKo one summer, and the result of my working there was that my entire family boycotted the store until it finally closed years later.  

1) I was written up for failing to respond to my supervisor's call, despite the fact that she was asking me to call the wrong phone number to contact her.

2) Same supervisor decided to quit and become a flight attendant.  At the team meeting where this was announced, supervisor smiled very evilly and said, "Yes, and I intend on making sure as many of you as possible are fired before I leave".  

3) The night supervisor called me into his office one night to ask me why I'd been in the bathroom for "so long" earlier that night.  I stammered out something about "female issues" and he told me he'd been watching me work via the security cameras for quite some time!  He also encouraged me to "come talk to him" any time I had a problem.

4) When I was fired from there, the supervisor who officially fired me told me outright, "You're a really good worker, but *other supervisor* doesn't like you, so you've got to go".  

I've never set foot in a store owned by that company since.

[CG]

Mom used to get bruises that would last YEARS. As in, bruises that were 7 years old.  A (obviously male) doctor told her it was "typical female bruising."  Yeah, he got knocked off the list.

[blueberrypancakes]

Two stories but they aren't mine (although I don't shop these places anymore either)

1) Parents were buying a new couch for the family room. Mom wanted a sectional, and she wanted blue.  So I went with her to JC Penneys Home Store.  Bam, there's a sectional, and bam, here's all your choices of fabrics and colors.  She picked out a pretty blue, we order it and are told it will be 6 -8 weeks as it is a custom job.

8 weeks go by.  Mom calls to find out where her couch is.  Finds out that the blue she picked out had been discontinued, the order had been cancelled, and no one had bothered to tell her about it.  (Her credit card hadn't been charged, but since she had done the no payment for x days, she didn't realize the order hadn't gone through - never got a call or anything.) Apologies all around, please come back and pick out a new color and we'll get a discount.

So Mom picks out a pretty blue-gray.  Not exactly what she wanted, but it was still nice.  Phone rings a week later and she is told whoops, our bad, that one was discontinued too. 

End up going to Lay-Z-Boy which she had been hesitant about because of price, found a BLUE sectional on CLEARANCE with a bonus recliner.  So happy ending there.

2)  My boyfriend's parents are entertainment/electronic junkies.  They could open a store with their dvd/blu ray collection. Few years ago they did a remodel and also bought a new TV, Blu Ray, the whole shebang. They had a Best Buy rewards card, and were told, "oh, we are going to update you to a new card for elite (or something like that) customers."  Long story short, something screwed up somewhere, and none of their points got recorded, so they aren't getting the $$$s in gift certificates they rightfully earned. His mom has all her receipts, gone to customer service at the store, called countless times, emailed corporate, and still has not had this issue resolved.

[Punky B.]

Dh and I went to Chili's for dinner one night.  We chose the one closest to our house.  The waitress was distracted, got our drink order, I got diet instead of regular (and I can't drink diet).  We sat there for about 20 minutes, waiting on her to come back.  We saw her a few minutes later, tried to flag her down, and she looked at us and walked into the back again.  DH left money for one correct drink and we decided to try the Chili's further north.

Walked in, was seated right next to the kitchen, and still no one even talked to us for another 20 minutes, not even to introduce themselves as our server.  We were fed up at that point and walked out.  We have never been back to any Chilis.  Shame, I did like their burgers.

[magiccat26]

There is a department store chain that is well known for it's tools and appliances.  Throughout the entire saga, I never yelled obscenities, I never insulted the CSR, I did occasionally get loud and firm, and occasionally had to talk over the person on the other end of the line.

(snip)

It has been 2 1/2 years, but I refuse to step foot in the store or spend any of my money there.

I know that store! 

(snip)

In the end, I tried to dispute the charge with my credit card, but because it was under $50 the credit card company wouldn't do it.  At the time I'd just had my baby and I decided that my time was worth more than the $50 that Sears had swindled out of me.  So instead I won't shop there or any of their sister stores.

That's the one!     Ever since Kmart purchased them, the Customer Service has just been poor.  I'm sorry you had a similar experience.

[Kimblee]

Mom used to get bruises that would last YEARS. As in, bruises that were 7 years old.  A (obviously male) doctor told her it was "typical female bruising."  Yeah, he got knocked off the list.

Did she ever find out what caused it? just curious, I have a bruise that I've had for eight months now.