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

[Kimblee]

I took the photo to a drug store & made my copies there.  The lady there saw what I was doing & asked what they were for & I told her.  She told me it WAS a copyright violation, but under the cirumstances (obituary photos) no one with any common sense or compassion would refuse to sell them to me.

Wait..what? It's bad customer service to choose not to break the law? And it's "common sense" to break the law?  Please clarify, cuz this post sounds really, really off to me. 

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...

A photo lab I went to refused to copy a photo... that I am the photographer of. I offered to write up a release if they needed it. No because Zi "was too young and stupid" to have taken the photo.

Long live Spawl-mart.

[Spring Water on Sundays]

One of the chain jewelry stores in the mall near my home. Dh was going to the mall so I sent my engagement ring with him to have them clean it. When he brought it home, he told me they said the diamond was so loose and it was amazing it hadn't fallen out. They wanted him to leave it there so they could fix it for me. He knew better than to leave my ring without my permission. I took the ring to my mom's friend who is a jeweler. He found nothing wrong with my ring. Five years later, the diamond hasn't fallen out yet!

[Lorelei_Evil]

They were going to switch your stone had you left it, I suspect.  I once had a chain store jewelry store inform me my Tiffany bracelet "had to be a fake" despite my buying it at a Tiffany store!   

[lilfox]

I've actually only had decent food and service at Applebee's but I admit I haven't eaten there in 5+ years.  Then again, there were several times I probably had bad service (at various restaurants) when I was younger and just didn't recognize it as such because it wasn't egregious like some of these stories.  I think I've only not left any tip once and I doubt it was noticed because others in the group did tip (I didn't tip because my order was screwed up in several ways and never fixed since the server disappeared).

Midas:  Unlike the PPs who mentioned this place, I did fall for the highly inflated, probably unnecessary brake repair.  I didn't know then about getting a second opinion but I do now, and no opinions will ever come from that place (they're franchises so maybe they're not all bad, but still).

[Rosey]

One of the chain jewelry stores in the mall near my home. Dh was going to the mall so I sent my engagement ring with him to have them clean it. When he brought it home, he told me they said the diamond was so loose and it was amazing it hadn't fallen out. They wanted him to leave it there so they could fix it for me. He knew better than to leave my ring without my permission. I took the ring to my mom's friend who is a jeweler. He found nothing wrong with my ring. Five years later, the diamond hasn't fallen out yet!

I had a jeweler tell me that my stone was loose, but he actually had my ring in hand and used a pair of tweezers to demonstrate. If he hadn't done that, I wouldn't have believed him.

On Applebee's, does anyone remember this? http://www.pantagraph.com/news/article_d79e2bf5-9c7f-544a-bbe8-a12af0f8ecc4.html

[Jules1980]

An OB/GYN's office.  I guess it doesn't matter now, since the main dr was caught on drug charges and his office closed, but if it was open, I would never darken the door again and tell all my friends likewise.

I've had female problems pretty much since I started puberty.  We know what it is, it has been diagnosed and treated several times over the last few years.  I've had 3 surgeries to correct it.  I know what is wrong.  Anyway, after the last surgery I was still having trouble and my family Dr. thought maybe there had been some scar tissue growth or maybe nerve damage from the last surgery.  Unfortunately, my GYN had retired by that point and I couldn't go back to him so my doc set me up with this new clinic.

First of all, I didn't get to see the doctor, I got to see his NP since this was their policy for all new patients.  Normally, I have no problem seeing the NP but I was also charged 300 dollars for this visit and for that kind of money, I'd like to see someone with MD behind their name.  Besides, all the NP would do was report her findings to the Dr. who would then call you in for another appointment for a consult.  I figured for 300 dollars a visit we could skip the middleman.

But Oh well, I went back with the NP and she was examining me and talking to me about my lifestyle.  Was I smoker?  No. Never been. Never? Never.  Was I a drinker?  No.  Never? Well, I'd had a few drinks here and there, but never really liked any so gave it up.  Really?  Yes, really.  (See how its going?  Everything I say is questioned and re-questioned.) Was I married?  Oh I was getting a divorce? I need a full STD panel.  No, other Dr already did that when I found out ex-DH was scrabbling with everything on 2 legs while deployed.  It was clean.  Well, it all needed to be done again because some don't show up for a couple of weeks/months.  I told her that it had been over a year since ex-DH and I had scrabbled before the first test.  Are you sure?  At which point I wasn't an E-hellion and got mad, and said, "Seeing as he's been in a different country for the last 18 months, I'm pretty sure we haven't scrabbled lately."  (Ex-DH was in the army.)
 
So then it came out that I was seeing someone new.  Despite my protest that we hadn't scrabbled yet, she just insisted that I had a STD and needed the full panel test before they could treat me further for the other problem since the other problem shouldn't be causing my pain.  Fine.  Whatever.  Well she ended the visit by setting up and ultrasound for the other problem and giving me a scrip for a very expensive and powerful antibiotic for the STD I had to have.  I asked her which one she thought I had, she told me the would show that.  I asked her then should I wait for the test results to fill it.  No.  I needed it right away because she was certain I had an STD (But not which one?)  I was getting divorced and had a new boyfriend after all.

So I took the script but did not fill it since A) I knew I didn't have an STD, despite getting a divorce (Bad me for not staying with an abusive cheater) B) I hadn't scrabbled with my new BF (Now DH) C) it cost more money than I had and it was still a week to payday, D) even weak antibiotic make me so sick I want to die and E) I don't believe in taking antibiotic with a clear diagnosis needing them.  That's how you get medicine resistant "superbugs".

A week later, I still hadn't heard from them so I called for my test results.  Oh, everything came back negative and they don't call for negative results.  

Okay.  So if I had filled the script I would have wasted 150 dollars, been too sick to function and taken this medicine that I didn't need for over a week making it less affective if I ever did need to take it.  All because of the NP's preconceived notion that a 25 year old divorcee would be out partying and bed hopping with everyone.

I did go back to meet with the Dr. and it was the original problem.  I told them that.  He wanted me to start taking a treatment for the problem that was over 800 dollars a monthly dose.  I was willing to do this, since it is an approved treatment for the problem until I found out that my insurance wouldn't help with the cost.  I worked for a catholic hospital and had insurance through them.  It was flagged as a form of birth control because that is a side effect and they wouldn't pay for it.  Even though as the Pharmacist told me, taking that for birth control was like taking moraphine for a papercut.

I called and talked to the nurse about that since I didn't make 800 dollars in a paycheck and was told since I didn't want the medicine offered they couldn't see me anymore.

Never again.  

[rose red]

One of the chain jewelry stores in the mall near my home. Dh was going to the mall so I sent my engagement ring with him to have them clean it. When he brought it home, he told me they said the diamond was so loose and it was amazing it hadn't fallen out. They wanted him to leave it there so they could fix it for me. He knew better than to leave my ring without my permission. I took the ring to my mom's friend who is a jeweler. He found nothing wrong with my ring. Five years later, the diamond hasn't fallen out yet!

A coworker left her diamond ring for some service (I forget what).  The diamond was high quality and clear and sparkly.  What she got back was dull with black marks. 

I don't trust chain jewelry stores or the places they send things to.

[sparksals]

Farrah - be careful. The claws on rings don't last forever and just bc your diamond hasn't fallen out doesn't mean it won't. They do wear down after awhile.

My dad gave me a diamond ring many years ago. I wore it for many years and took it in to be cleaned at a trusted jeweler.  Lucky I did bc many of the claws were worn down and he said it was only a matter of time before they'd start falling out.  After I had it reclawed, I couldn't believe the difference. 

One should get their jewelry checked occasionally to ensure all the claws are still doing their job.

[Spring Water on Sundays]

Farrah - be careful. The claws on rings don't last forever and just bc your diamond hasn't fallen out doesn't mean it won't. They do wear down after awhile.

My dad gave me a diamond ring many years ago. I wore it for many years and took it in to be cleaned at a trusted jeweler.  Lucky I did bc many of the claws were worn down and he said it was only a matter of time before they'd start falling out.  After I had it reclawed, I couldn't believe the difference. 

One should get their jewelry checked occasionally to ensure all the claws are still doing their job.

Thanks for the info. I just didn't want to take the chain store's word for it. My mom's friend is a professional jeweler of 40+ years and he said it was fine. I had him look at it again a couple of years ago to appraise it and it was still fine. The ring was completely refurbished before DH gave it to me 7-ish years ago (family heirloom) and this jewelry store incident was only about a year after that.

[AprilRenee]

The last dentist I went to (I posted about it) I guess I wasn't so much a "customer" as their "tax break". I had won a ten thousand dollar gift certificate to them. I needed extensive work so I was really excited. The staff was WONDERFUL. The best ever. The dentist was a grade A jerk. He talked down to his staff while he was working on my teeth. He would get upset and complain that I have a small mouth, it was too hard to work on, like I shrunk my mouth on purpose just to piss him off. The worst was when I had to have 5 teeth removed, The novacaine wasn't enough and it HURT. I tried to tell him but he ignored me. I eventually had my first ever (and the only one since) panic attack in that chair. I couldn't breathe and tears were streaming down my face. He told me, only, that "If you can't handle this, I'm stopping now and you will have to go to a place with sleep dentistry" in an angry voice. I came home from that appointment in tears, and cried anytime I tried to talk about that appointment for months. My DH wanted to kill him. I cried typing it out the first time I posted about it.

I have dental insurance now and I need to finish up the rest of the work. He could have had the business of my entire family for years, but now we go to a chain dentist and are very happy with it.

[magiccat26]

Someone up thread mentioned Jiffy Lube.  I quit going there because they often tried to add on unnecessary services.  My favorite was when the mechanic came out and said to me very seriously...

Mechanic:  "Ma'am, you really need to change your transmission fluid. I can take care of that for you for only $180 (or something high like that)".  
Magiccat26: "Really?"
Mechanic:  "Yes ma'am.  I really recommend you get this done today."
Magiccat26:  "Wow.  You know, I've talked to my regular mechanic and he said that STANDARD TRANSMISSION cars rarely need this done."
Mechanic:   "...um...that car is a standard?"
Magiccat26:  "Yes.  I'm surprised you didn't know that since you took such a close look at the transmission."

The mechanic just turned around and walked out of the waiting room.  I paid my $19.95, gave the manager a piece of my mind about his scam artist mechanic, and left.

[2littlemonkeys]

Someone up thread mentioned Jiffy Lube.  I quit going there because they often tried to add on unnecessary services.  My favorite was when the mechanic came out and said to me very seriously...

Mechanic:  "Ma'am, you really need to change your transmission fluid. I can take care of that for you for only $180 (or something high like that)".  
Magiccat26: "Really?"
Mechanic:  "Yes ma'am.  I really recommend you get this done today."
Magiccat26:  "Wow.  You know, I've talked to my regular mechanic and he said that STANDARD TRANSMISSION cars rarely need this done."
Mechanic:   "...um...that car is a standard?"
Magiccat26:  "Yes.  I'm surprised you didn't know that since you took such a close look at the transmission."

The mechanic just turned around and walked out of the waiting room.  I paid my $19.95, gave the manager a piece of my mind about his scam artist mechanic, and left.

PWNED!

[PeasNCues]

Someone up thread mentioned Jiffy Lube.  I quit going there because they often tried to add on unnecessary services.  My favorite was when the mechanic came out and said to me very seriously...

Mechanic:  "Ma'am, you really need to change your transmission fluid. I can take care of that for you for only $180 (or something high like that)".  
Magiccat26: "Really?"
Mechanic:  "Yes ma'am.  I really recommend you get this done today."
Magiccat26:  "Wow.  You know, I've talked to my regular mechanic and he said that STANDARD TRANSMISSION cars rarely need this done."
Mechanic:   "...um...that car is a standard?"
Magiccat26:  "Yes.  I'm surprised you didn't know that since you took such a close look at the transmission."

The mechanic just turned around and walked out of the waiting room.  I paid my $19.95, gave the manager a piece of my mind about his scam artist mechanic, and left.

They always, always try to get me to (1) buy a new filter or (2) rotate my tires when I am there. Even if I'm like, "I just had that done two months ago... here." they still show me the filter and say how dirty it is when I can clearly see it's in pretty good shape. It's really odd.

[Kaymyth]

Firestone blew up my transmission.

<bg> My father is a ride development engineer for an auto parts manufacturer.  He knows his car bits.  WhenEVER I have a car problem, I call him first to ask his opinion so that I can go into the repair place armed with knowledge.  Whenever I take my car in for basic maintenance and they come back telling me something is wrong somewhere, I expect to be shown the offending part and/or damage. I am not an expert on cars, but I'm not an idiot and I have an excellent resource to ask when I need advice.  </bg>

My Lumina had been having some weird transmission problems:  between 50-60 mph, it would 'shudder' between gears until I pushed down or pulled back on the gas.  My dad wasn't quite sure what the problem was without driving it himself (he lives in MI; I'm in MO), so I took it in to the local Firestone.  Again.  And again.  They kept telling me, "Well, WE can't find anything wrong with the transmission," when they hadn't properly re-created the conditions under which it happened, as they hadn't listened to me at all, as there was a definite undertone of, "Ha-ha, stupid giiiiiiirl thinks she knows about cars."  Finally, they told me that they could flush the transmission fluid and replace it with new.  Frustrated, I agreed.

About a week later I was accelerating onto the highway when:  BANG! Ka-THUMP, ka-THUMP, ka-THUMP.  My transmission had actually managed to explode itself.  DF called AAA, had us towed to the nearest mechanic to our house.  Reverse and neutral were completely gone, and said mechanic posited that the transmission flush had triggered a Catastrophic Ultimate Failure of whatever the original problem was.  The car would've cost more to fix than it was worth.

Which reminds me, I still haven't cut up that <bleep>ing Firestone card.  I'm certainly never going to use it again.

[taralee]

Someone up thread mentioned Jiffy Lube.  I quit going there because they often tried to add on unnecessary services.  My favorite was when the mechanic came out and said to me very seriously...

Mechanic:  "Ma'am, you really need to change your transmission fluid. I can take care of that for you for only $180 (or something high like that)". 
Magiccat26: "Really?"
Mechanic:  "Yes ma'am.  I really recommend you get this done today."
Magiccat26:  "Wow.  You know, I've talked to my regular mechanic and he said that STANDARD TRANSMISSION cars rarely need this done."
Mechanic:    "...um...that car is a standard?"
Magiccat26:  "Yes.  I'm surprised you didn't know that since you took such a close look at the transmission."

The mechanic just turned around and walked out of the waiting room.  I paid my $19.95, gave the manager a piece of my mind about his scam artist mechanic, and left.

They always, always try to get me to (1) buy a new filter or (2) rotate my tires when I am there. Even if I'm like, "I just had that done two months ago... here." they still show me the filter and say how dirty it is when I can clearly see it's in pretty good shape. It's really odd.

My husband and I stopped going to Jiffy Lube, after they broke his purge valve (no idea what that is, but it's apparently a little part next to one of the hoses they changed.  Must have leaned on it or something.) Instead of owning up to breaking it, they wedged the broken piece back into place without telling us what had happened. We drove away, and the engine light started turning on immediately; our regular mechanic knew what the problem was as soon as he saw it.

After a great deal of calling to the central office, we got the manager to pay us back for fixing the part. But still! To break it and say nothing...that's why we'll never go there again.