Thought I'd try my luck with the 20% coupon at my local HD tonight after looking at the Ridgid WD5500. Only one register open & a friendly young female cashier working. She was very nice & explained they had some "problems" with some of these coupons so she would have to get the manager to approve the discount. I half expected this, so no problem--I stepped aside and let her continue ringing up other customers.
Enter the "manager" who comes scurrying over with an obvious chip on his shoulder. He looks at the coupon, frowns, and starts lecturing the current customer in line who was being rung up! I speak up, "Sir, that's my coupon". His response: "No, it's not a coupon--it's part of a huge eBay scam and we won't accept it here." He hands it back to me, spins around and walks off. :chill: I apologized to the cashier for the problem and left without making a purchase.
My reason for this post isn't to whine about HD not accepting the coupon as I know that the "coupon" is questionable at best. What is sad is the total lack of customer service skills that this so-called manager displayed this evening. He portrayed negativity through body language during his approach, didn't take the time to get the facts right (remember, he started lecturing the wrong customer), never gave me a chance to speak, and left his cashier standing there looking rather awkward after showing his a$$ to those around. This clown has no business in a public-contact roll, let alone as a visible member of leadership for any company. I don't think that he "owed" me anything this evening beyond a "Sir, we've had some problems and this coupon isn't legitimate so we can't accept it" delivered with a good attitude, but I guess I understand now why he was working at 8:30 on a Wednesday night "managing" one cashier!
No flaming me on this one please--poor customer service skills are just a very sore spot with me as I have dealt with the public for over 20 years now and have always had it instilled in me that the customer should always be treated with respect, regardless of circumstances. My local HD failed miserably in that arena tonight!
