My wife and I have been frequenting the Hawthorne Fred Meyer, even though it is in a state of great disarray. They are doing a remodel of the entire facility, and it has been in various states of chaos for many months now.
One of the additions is a new deli. We went there thinking we could order some sandwiches for dinner since we were running later than usual. The person behind the counter suggested Lisa look at the paper menu that lets you order sandwiches. We picked out what we want, which took a couple of minutes and she went back up to order. She returned in short order with a look of disgust on her face. “They close at 7:00 and stop making sandwiches at 6:50 because they can’t stay late.” It was 6:51 on my watch. With this kind of lack of appreciation for the customer, this latest expansion is not likely to be a success, in my opinion.
We had a cart load of groceries, so we went to check out. Given the volume of groceries, and the line at the U-Scan, we opted for a line with a person. We waited, as things seemed to be going slowly. Three quarters of the way through groceries for the person at the front of the line, a manager stepped in and said to the checker that they had to switch her out because she was on overtime. This was an unfortunate decision because it took a couple of minutes to make the transition. No apology was given to the people waiting in line from the manager, nor any acknowledgement that we actually existed. Normally, I would have gone to a different line, but I had put about half of our stuff on the belt. Lisa took the kids to the car, and I waited, and waited.
It look a very long time, and I was pretty soured on the whole experience. I think the Fred Meyer employees at Hawthorne could really use some customer service education.
#1 by X on March 3, 2010 - 1:37 am
I work at the Hawthorne Fred Meyers. I can understand your frustration. I must say however that this problem stems mostly from management as we’re frequently reprimanded for getting overtime. if a person goes more than 5 minutes over a 8 hour shift. it’s been made very clear, cut and dry to us that we may be terminated/suspended unless we had prior approval, and unfortunately for us customer services is not enough reason.
I totally understand how this may have made you feel.
I think the problem would be resolved if our managers worked closer to us to observe these problems and ways for us to handle them while meeting their demands.
#2 by Ted on March 5, 2010 - 1:31 pm
Black and White! Yes the company wants the customer to be happy, however the bottom line is that the employees have strick rules that supersede the customer. Being the only shopping center around what are one or two upset customers, there will be more.
#3 by In The Hood on March 20, 2010 - 12:39 am
X – I too work for Fred Meyer. Our customer’s are our first priority . . period. I would like to remind you of our core values, and the four keys.
I want you to take a moment and read your entry again. If jon is expressing his displeasure with the treatment he previously encountered with poor customer service, how do you think he feels now after reading your comments? Unfortunately, you have placed your store management in an unfavorable light. (I would be inclined to think that Jon is firing up his printer, and arming himself with some pretty powerful ammo to take to your Store Director).
Should you choose to engage in a customer blog and offer your point of view, take a momment to remember the customer comes first and that they are important. They are worth that extra 5 minutes.