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

[GoldenGemini]

Several!  I am crotchedy, apparently.

JB Hi-Fi - Went recently to the closest store to get a new phone.  They didn't have it in stock, but it was in their order arriving tomorrow. She'll call me then to arrange a time.  Five weeks later, she still hasn't called me.  After one week, we went to one slightly further away (by about 5mins) and was told that the phone guy wasn't there.  Despite us ringing first to check if he would be. Not only that but the other phone guy (they had two employees that could handle phones) was sick and not expected back in for a while (he quit actually, which the other phone guy had already told us).  Earliest we could get a phone was the weekend, several days away.  Okay, we went on the weekend - no, sorry can't get a phone today. We went to a different store entirely.

Shoe Shed - I bought a beautiful pair of black boots.  I wore them twice for a couple hours each time.  The heel separated from the boot. So I took them in to see if anything could be done.  Seriously three hours wear out of a pair of boots that expensive? Not good.  Not only would the sales assistant not do anything, she refused to even get the manager for something "that stupid".  I have never set foot in another, and I buy a LOT of shoes.  I have 119 pairs.

tiger Air - this is my brother's story actually.  He was trying to get back from Melbourne on his scheduled flight.  A group of about twenty people were hanging around the check-in counter; apparently they were waiting for the CSR to get back to check them in.  When he finally managed to get back from wherever, he decreed that it was past check-in time, despite everyone's watch showing it wasn't, and even the airport clock!  Much protesting led to the CSR disappearing again.  A day later, DB is still trying to get back, after being placed on standby after standby. Finally he gave up and booked a flight with a different airline.  Tiger Air refuse to refund the money for the flight he couldn't get on.  And refuse to answer calls.  And e-mails. Except for a few snotty responses saying we will get to it, maybe.  This was over a YEAR ago.  Somehow, I don't think they are getting to it.

[JonGirl]

Several!  I am crotchedy, apparently.

JB Hi-Fi - Went recently to the closest store to get a new phone.  They didn't have it in stock, but it was in their order arriving tomorrow. She'll call me then to arrange a time.  Five weeks later, she still hasn't called me.  After one week, we went to one slightly further away (by about 5mins) and was told that the phone guy wasn't there.  Despite us ringing first to check if he would be. Not only that but the other phone guy (they had two employees that could handle phones) was sick and not expected back in for a while (he quit actually, which the other phone guy had already told us).  Earliest we could get a phone was the weekend, several days away.  Okay, we went on the weekend - no, sorry can't get a phone today. We went to a different store entirely.

Shoe Shed - I bought a beautiful pair of black boots.  I wore them twice for a couple hours each time.  The heel separated from the boot. So I took them in to see if anything could be done.  Seriously three hours wear out of a pair of boots that expensive? Not good.  Not only would the sales assistant not do anything, she refused to even get the manager for something "that stupid".  I have never set foot in another, and I buy a LOT of shoes.  I have 119 pairs.

tiger Air - this is my brother's story actually.  He was trying to get back from Melbourne on his scheduled flight.  A group of about twenty people were hanging around the check-in counter; apparently they were waiting for the CSR to get back to check them in.  When he finally managed to get back from wherever, he decreed that it was past check-in time, despite everyone's watch showing it wasn't, and even the airport clock!  Much protesting led to the CSR disappearing again.  A day later, DB is still trying to get back, after being placed on standby after standby. Finally he gave up and booked a flight with a different airline.  Tiger Air refuse to refund the money for the flight he couldn't get on.  And refuse to answer calls.  And e-mails. Except for a few snotty responses saying we will get to it, maybe.  This was over a YEAR ago.  Somehow, I don't think they are getting to it.

Oohh we love JBHIFI. The joke in our house is they only stay in business because of all the CD's and DVD's DH buys.

Rivers, the clothing store is a whole other matter. The sales they advertise on TV all the time is a load of rubbish.
Last week I went to get some new runners for A$18 and they were even on the cheap rack, but when I went to pay, they cost me A$40.
And the back of them keep cutting my feet and putting dry blood on the back of them too. Not going there again. 

[Perfect Circle]

I have two.

My old bank. After my first husband died, I spent five days in the bank sorting out things with them.

Firstly, they miscredited the amount I paid off our mortgage once his life insurance money came through. In a nutshell, they left the last zero out when keying it into the account. If I hadn't had the pay receipt, I could have been out of £108 000.00. Not impressed.

Then, about six months after he passed away my account started showing his name again. They even sent him a new debit card. I rang the customer service line to say he'd passed away, I'd spent a lot of time in the bank trying to get this sorted etc etc and they did not believe me. Apparently they'd never received a death certificate, so coudn't remove him from the records. I sent one over, they never returned it and didn't remove his details. They eventually sent him a another debit card addressed to 'the late Mr xxxx'.

It took nearly two years and a complaint to the financial ombudsman plus contact with a well-known consumer rights programme to get his name removed and the matter dealt with. I did receive a half hearted apology. By this time I had already moved my accounts to another bank, but I happy to tell anyone not to bank there.

And I will not fly Ryanair. I've had such horrible experiences, especially when DD was little and I just find their pricing policies and charges ridicilous - I fly to homecountry for two weeks at a time and cannot do with handluggage only, so with suitcases it now costs far more than it does flying with a non-budget airline, plus this way we get service with a smile.

[rhirhi]

I will not deal with BOA. I don't care that at this second, they are the only company that will give us a mortgage. I will wait the extra two months (since the sellers have allowed it) and go with anyone else.

Originally I called them in April, they ran credit and said 'pay this, wait 3 months, call back, you should be perfect.' I called their local office starting in late July, after not hearing from them for 3 weeks (and 9phone calls, 6VM and 3 notes), stating that I was within a 10 min drive of their office and would be there shortly, would someone be there to meet with me? It was 330pm, and I was told that there would be no problem.

I get to BOA office at 345pm and talk to the receptionist. There are ZERO loan officers in the office. at 345pm on a Tuesday. They all left for the day within the past 5 min, allegedly.

I already had the name of a loan officer (Katy), who I had asked for specifically when I called, and was told she was not there, but someone would be when we got there who could help us. Receptionist calls Katy on her personal line. They speak for a short time and I am recommended to make an appointment for the next day. I state that simply is not possible, and I had already called and spoke with someone (did not know who, did not mention a name) and said I was on the way.

'Oh, yes, Katy mentioned that someone was on their way to meet, but she didn't know who they wanted to meet with.'

'Really? Because when I called, I asked to speak with Katy and was told she was not in the office today.'

'She must not have known who you meant.'

'You mean to tell me that Katy does not know her own name?.' and gave *the glare*.

She took my name, number and said that if I did not hear from them by lunch the next day, call her back. Next day, at 3pm I call, ask to speak with Katy. Finally reach her! Am told they already ran the credit (I did NOT give permission yet) and they would not be able to extend credit at this time. Oh, and no, we cannot release your credit report to you...blah blah blah. (Those particular aspects have been turned over to someone who can help already)

I do not like BOA. I've heard horror stories, but cannot verify any of them.

Oh, and Best Buy/HSBC will close your account if there are no purchases after two months. So you have a closed account with a balance on your credit report until it is taken care of. Yes, that was the account we had to close because it was destroying our credit so horrendously. How'd you guess?

[Information_queen]

Oh, and Best Buy/HSBC will close your account if there are no purchases after two months. So you have a closed account with a balance on your credit report until it is taken care of. Yes, that was the account we had to close because it was destroying our credit so horrendously. How'd you guess?
I was asked to leave my contact information

REALLY.

I did not know that. I know our credit is bad because of some issues last fall with the VA and getting our bills paid, but maybe that's not the only problem.

I had a BB credit card that I didn't use for two years after the initial purchase. Now I'm really glad we used our tax return to pay it off this spring.

I bet that partially explains the ridiculous interest rate we got on our car note last year.

[MRSW]

I have two. 

The first one is the dentist I had from my early teens until I was 23.  He wasn't horrible until I was 19, except that he kept pressuring me to get braces every time I went in.  Well, my parents had said I could have braces or a car, I chose the car and braces were off the table.  Whatever. 

But, when I was 19 my molar started bugging me.  I asked about it, and he said it was nothing.  At my next check up, I tried again explaining that it didn't hurt, exactly, but it sort of felt like it was itching from the inside.  He rolled his eyes and said "Teeth don't itch." and recommended that I have my wisdom teeth out.  I did and nothing changed.  Additionally, every time I went in, he'd tell me I had a couple of small cavities, but nothing to worry about.  I asked if they were a) on the molar causing me problems or b) the same cavities or new ones.  He said none on the molar and that they were the same 2 cavities.

When I got off my parents' insurance, I switched dentists and learned that not only did I have an abundance of cavities, my molar needed a root canal at this point.  I'm STILL working on getting all those teeth fixed because my insurance only pays a percentage of the costs, whereas my dad's would have covered me in full.  I reported him to the ADA, but don't know if anything's come of it.

The other one is Bank of America.  When I was in my teens, my best friend and I did data entry for a local company and the checks were from BOA.  We'd go on Fridays to cash them, and the way they treated non-customers was appalling.

First, they had a separate line for non-customers.  I don't mind segregating by services (i.e. a "returns only" vs a "purchases" line), but I don't like the practice of segregating people for any reason.  Then, they'd take 3-4 people from the "customers" line before taking one from the "non-customers" line.  They'd do this even if the "non-customers" line was considerably longer, so it wasn't a matter of crowd control. 

Then they'd try telling us that we had to pay something like 2% to have our checks cashed there.  Only...that wasn't there policy.  The policy, which was posted on a large sign behind the tellers, said "No fee for checks issued from a BOA account," which our paychecks were.  The tellers would try to bully us every week to sign up for accounts or pay the bogus fee.  We never did.  Thankfully, when Boss found out how we were being treated, he read them the riot act as he cleaned out his account.  The bank he reopened with was wonderful, and I bank with them today.

[beingkj]

Thanks for the heads-up on the Shoe Shed, GoldenGemini. I'll steer clear of them from now on.

I've only had a couple of run ins, and only one that's had me swearing never to go back.

When I was almost 15 I went to a Just Jeans in Adelaide. Tried on a pair of 14s and they were a bit snug (I wasn't big, but I'm rather tall and pretty pear-shaped, and have hips like a brood mare). I asked if they had a 16 in that style and the sales assistant gave me the most disgusted look and said "We don't carry big sizes" in such a snotty tone of voice (not true, too, as I've seen size 16s in those stores before). I left in tears and refused to go into another shop all day. (And Mum and Dad yelled at me for being a drama queen.) I won't say I'll never buy there again, but I'll certainly look everywhere else before I go there.

The local Big W has horrendous customer service. I've been ignored, talked over and brushed off more times than I can count. About a month ago I bought an armload of stuff there (not a huge sale but nothing to sneeze at) and the cashier didn't even stop her conversation with her colleague once while checking out my purchases. She didn't say one word to me, and gave me a dirty look when I asked for cash out. I keep going back there though because everything's so cheap and they sell a lot of stuff that I just can't get anywhere else in town.

The local Radio Rentals is on my grumpy list too, but again I keep going back there. I've had to hunt down sales assistants every time I want to buy anything there, despite having spent over $2000 in one go there previously (washing machine, bed and mattress). I have a friend working there now though, so I'm guaranteed good service when he's on the floor. (He told me the reason I get bad service is because I look like I can afford to buy things outright, and they make a better commission on the rentals - so if you're having trouble with a RR store, dress down when you go shopping.)

[cattlekid]

What is the rule of thumb if the photographer is dead? 

My aunt went into a Target to make a copy of her brother's graduation portrait for a scrapbook for my grandparents' anniversary.  Said brother died before he graduated HS (in 1978) and the photographer died sometime in the thirty years between the photo date and the anniversary.  The Target clerk told her that she couldn't make the copy of the photograph without the release and my aunt read her the riot act.  (*insert cringe here*) I think she ended up going to another store that either didn't check or care that there was a photographer's imprint at the bottom of the pic. 

Just curious if there is a "statute of limitations" as I have several professional photos of family that are probably in the same boat as well...

I worked for a photo lab chain for a dozen years. We had people come in all the time to copy photos for obits/funerals. We would tell them to get a release from the studio. If they didn't have a release, we'd turn them away. We'd feel bad about it, but that's the law. If they were nice to us while we told them this, we'd mention that the chain studio down the hall in the mall would give a release for anything, even if they didn't do the original photos. We needed a release so we wouldn't get sued. We wouldn't check to see if the release was from the actual photographer...

[kethria]

Apple   Bees.  

I have had many bad experiences in this chain restaurant.  I also know dozens of people who have had their own bad experiences.  And the food is not even that good.  It is mediocre at best.

just two of the problems encountered:

-Never served.  We left after an hour wait.  Our drink orders were taken, there was only a few other tables, at least five different people came over to check on us and ask us what our order was and said it was on our way.  But nothing materialized.  Not even the drinks.  Finally we decided to leave.  

-Someone in our party left something in the bathroom during dinner.  She went to get it and it was gone.  She reported the loss to the hostess and waiter and they said they would not look for it, nor would they take her name in case it was found because "if it isn't there we JUST DON'T have it".  They also forgot parts of our meal.

Ditto. A new one opened in our neighborhood so we went one night, DH, BIL and I, and waited for a while to get served. BIL ordered a drink that no one knew how to make (Old-fashioned) but then never bothered to tell him, they just ignored the fact that he ordered anything and then when we asked we were told that the bartender didn't know how to make it.

The second time we went with my MIL and SFIL and DH and sat at the bar. There were maybe 6 other patrons. No one took our order. For 45 minutes. We gave up and went to Longhorn.

The third and last time, we waited in the foyer for the host to come seat us. There were 12 tables occupied in the restaurant (we counted) the host never showed up. After 45 minutes of idle chatter, we gave up and went to Longhorn. Never again.

[Alex the Seal]

Mine, as of today, is one of the two Major Australian Department Stores. I used to work for them and have retained quite a bit of affection for the brand over the years, but they used up that goodwill today, they're not "My Store" anymore   (Aussies will understand that ). The customer service in my local store has become so abysmal that I have twice (on two different days - I gave them a second chance) picked up the same item to purchase, and twice seen red, put my item away and walked out due to the sheer energy required in getting a staff member to just put the transaction through.

They're not understaffed, either... there are usually at least 6 staff in this particular, small department, but I have never seen anything like the way they ignore customers. Some of you might have noticed that I tend to give the benefit of the doubt to customer service staff on threads here far too much, and I'm like that in person too, I'm pretty hard to annoy. But the atmosphere of sheer apathy in this store (which should be one of their best) is quite astounding, I would have been fired 10 times over if I'd ever behaved the way these staff behave every time I'm in there 

I did think that maybe I was just having a grumpy day. But then I walked down the street to the neighbouring Other Major Australian Department Store, and wow  They had a great sale on and I got the most friendly and courteous service I've had in a long time, from not one but two sales assistants I dealt with. Not sure why I'd want to spend my money anywhere else.

[LadyClaire]

When I was 18, I started having serious joint pain and weakness. I went to one doctor, who said it was a sports related injury, had me do 3 months of physical therapy, declared me cured, and sent me on my way. Fair enough..I was young, and the joint problems could have been taken for a sports injury since I'd been in martial arts for a few years.

Except the pain/weakness came back, even after I quit martial arts. Bad, throbbing pain, and such severe weakness that I had difficulty with a lot of basic tasks, and it had spread from just my knees and shoulders to my jaw and wrists and fingers. So I went to another doctor. This doctor..oh, boy. She told me that I either had lyme disease, or an STD, because there is apparently an STD that can cause joint pain. Except..I had never played scrabble. I hadn't even taken the scrabble tiles out of the box with someone else. There was no way it was an STD, and certainly not the one she was telling me it was.

I told her it was in no way an STD, because I was an..inexperienced scrabble player. She basically said that there was no way that I had not played scrabble yet (I was in my early 20s), and she was going to test me for it anyways.

Surprise, surprise..the tests came back negative for lyme disease and for the STD. She told me that it probably wasn't anything worth worrying about, and that she couldn't do anything for me because I was just too young to really have anything seriously wrong. She said I just needed more exercise. I never went back to her again. It took me nearly 10 years to find a doctor who was willing to look beyond my age and say "hey, yeah, there really isn't something right with your joints" and figure out what the heck was wrong with me. Turns out it was a genetic problem I'd had since birth, that just didn't manifest until I was in my teens. It basically caused my ligaments to lose their elasticity and strength, so they no longer hold my joints in place. I felt like calling up my previous doctor and saying "TOLD you there was something wrong with me..."

[Nora]

When I was 18, I started having serious joint pain and weakness. I went to one doctor, who said it was a sports related injury, had me do 3 months of physical therapy, declared me cured, and sent me on my way. Fair enough..I was young, and the joint problems could have been taken for a sports injury since I'd been in martial arts for a few years.

Except the pain/weakness came back, even after I quit martial arts. Bad, throbbing pain, and such severe weakness that I had difficulty with a lot of basic tasks, and it had spread from just my knees and shoulders to my jaw and wrists and fingers. So I went to another doctor. This doctor..oh, boy. She told me that I either had lyme disease, or an STD, because there is apparently an STD that can cause joint pain. Except..I had never played scrabble. I hadn't even taken the scrabble tiles out of the box with someone else. There was no way it was an STD, and certainly not the one she was telling me it was.

I told her it was in no way an STD, because I was an..inexperienced scrabble player. She basically said that there was no way that I had not played scrabble yet (I was in my early 20s), and she was going to test me for it anyways.

Surprise, surprise..the tests came back negative for lyme disease and for the STD. She told me that it probably wasn't anything worth worrying about, and that she couldn't do anything for me because I was just too young to really have anything seriously wrong. She said I just needed more exercise. I never went back to her again. It took me nearly 10 years to find a doctor who was willing to look beyond my age and say "hey, yeah, there really isn't something right with your joints" and figure out what the heck was wrong with me. Turns out it was a genetic problem I'd had since birth, that just didn't manifest until I was in my teens. It basically caused my ligaments to lose their elasticity and strength, so they no longer hold my joints in place. I felt like calling up my previous doctor and saying "TOLD you there was something wrong with me..."

What's that called?!!! That's what I have!

[Mediancat]

Well, I'm in another city several states away now, but there was the dentist I went to in Boston who simply ignored me when I said that I was still feeling pain as they were drilling into my infected tooth.

And Denny's, and this one extends back into my childhood, after my family went several times and got bad service every single time -- including once when we went in for a late breakfast, got seated at about 10:50, got breakfast menus, and when the waitress showed up at a couple of minutes past 11 to take our orders curtly informed us that "breakfast was over" and so those specials we'd planned on ordering weren't available any more.

We said we'd been waiting since before 11 and she basically brushed us off and acted as though we were asking for free food served by angels from on high. We got up and walked out of the restaurant, and left her muttering behind us, and not a member of my family has been back since.

Rob

[tarheel220]

I quit using the pharmacy at our local Wally World after the runaround I got concerning some of my mother's meds.  She was out of one and needed it refilled.  I called in the refill, went the next day to pick it up and got, "Oh, we were out of stock, it should be here tomorrow".  Next day, same thing.  Third day "Got oh the truck hasn't come in yet, should be here by 3:30".  THat was it.  Went down the parking lot to the new independent pharmacy that had just opened, asked them about it, not only did they have it in stock, it was located at their other store across town, they sent someone to get it and had it filled that day.

After that, moved mine and Mama's prescriptions to that pharmacy and have been happy with them ever since.

[bduckie]

Thanks for the heads-up on the Shoe Shed, GoldenGemini. I'll steer clear of them from now on.

I've only had a couple of run ins, and only one that's had me swearing never to go back.



The local Big W has horrendous customer service. I've been ignored, talked over and brushed off more times than I can count. About a month ago I bought an armload of stuff there (not a huge sale but nothing to sneeze at) and the cashier didn't even stop her conversation with her colleague once while checking out my purchases. She didn't say one word to me, and gave me a dirty look when I asked for cash out. I keep going back there though because everything's so cheap and they sell a lot of stuff that I just can't get anywhere else in town.

The whole conceptof a Big W is to sell cheap stuff. They hire juniors with no experience- do not go there and expect help. They sell their stuff cheaper than other retailers can buy it for, and make  up for it by having really low staff costs and sweatheart deals on the rent for their locations. The number of times i've had peple abuse me because "Big W is cheaper", only to come back to me with said product asking for advice/instructions is ridiculous. When asked what Big W said, its "oh they don't know and said to ask you". Umm no.

You get what you pay for.