As a veteran, full-time student, working mom, and single mother, I was genuinely happy when I found…read moreReady Fit Go. Having somewhere I could quickly grab healthy prepared meals between work, school, and taking care of my daughter was extremely convenient. I had already purchased more than 10 meals from this location and had returned several times because I wanted to continue supporting the business.
Unfortunately, after my most recent experience, I will not be returning.
I had encountered the same employee once before, a woman with curly hair and light-colored eyes, and during that interaction, I felt she had an unnecessarily rude attitude toward me. I brushed it off, purchased my meals, and left.
This time, I came in with my two-year-old daughter. The store was completely empty. I purchased our food and was trying to heat it up so we could eat and get going. While I was doing that, my daughter ran a short distance and screamed. She is two years old. Before I even had the opportunity to correct her, the employee sternly told my daughter, "Stop screaming."
I immediately told her that if there was an issue with my daughter's behavior, she could address it with me and I would correct my child. I brought my daughter close to me and explained that I did not feel it was appropriate for her to discipline someone else's two-year-old child when the parent was standing right there.
Instead of simply allowing me to handle the situation, the employee began arguing with me and repeatedly telling me to "control" my child. At that point, the interaction became completely unnecessary. I understand that businesses have expectations for customer behavior, including children, and I have no problem correcting my daughter when necessary. My issue was never being asked to quiet my child. My issue was the way it was handled and the hostility that followed when I respectfully asked the employee to speak to me as the parent instead of disciplining my toddler herself.
As I was leaving, the employee continued dismissing me with comments like "bye, bye," walked toward the door, and shut it hard as we were leaving. The entire interaction felt unnecessarily aggressive and unprofessional.
What makes this especially disappointing is that I was already a returning, paying customer. I wasn't asking for special treatment because I am a mom. I simply expected basic courtesy and respectful customer service.
Parents understand that toddlers occasionally run, yell, cry, or get excited. That doesn't mean parents shouldn't correct them. I absolutely believe we should. But there is a respectful way to communicate with a parent when something needs to be addressed.
I really wanted Ready Fit Go to be a place I could continue purchasing meals from because it fit so well into my busy schedule. Unfortunately, after having two negative interactions with the same employee, especially the way my two-year-old daughter and I were spoken to during this visit, I no longer feel comfortable returning.
A business can have great food, but customer service and the way people are treated matter just as much.
