I placed an order for a school event scheduled for this Friday and paid for it with my Visa. About an hour later, I returned to the store because I realized I had ordered more than I needed. I simply wanted to reduce the quantity of my order. I also specifically told the employee, whom I believe may be the owner, that I would be placing a larger order for another school event the following Friday.
Instead of helping me make this simple adjustment, the employee became visibly upset and commented that my order was "really small" and "doesn't do anything" for her business. She also told me that she had received much larger orders. Although she never directly called me "cheap," the way she spoke to me made me feel as though I was being judged based on the size of my purchase.
I politely asked if she could please provide me with a little nicer customer service. Rather than addressing my concern, she repeatedly asked whether I wanted to cancel my order. I explained several times that I did not want to cancel it--I simply wanted to modify the quantity.
I patiently waited while she helped other customers. When it was finally my turn, there appeared to be some difficulty processing the adjustment or refund through the credit card machine. At first, she suggested paying the difference in cash and wrote down the amount on the receipt. I politely suggested voiding the original transaction, creating a new order with the correct quantity, and charging my Visa card again.
During this process, while she and two other employees were trying to figure out how to process the transaction, she told me to "shut up"/"quiet" because I was talking too much. I was the only customer involved in this situation, while three employees were assisting with the transaction. I remained calm and simply explained that there was no need to be rude or mean to me because I had paid with a Visa card and wanted to modify an order I had placed only an hour earlier.
She also stated that it was their policy that an order could not be canceled when paid for with a Visa card. However, I was never initially asking to cancel the order. I was asking to modify the quantity of an order scheduled for pickup on Friday, and I had not even received the goods yet.
At that point, I had had enough. I decided to cancel the entire order and told her that, after this experience, I would not be returning. Her response was essentially, "Go ahead, just leave."
I have never experienced customer service this rude and disrespectful at a business where I was simply trying to make a reasonable adjustment to an order I had already paid for.
I understand that businesses have costs and that smaller orders may not be as profitable as larger ones. However, every customer deserves to be treated with basic courtesy and respect, regardless of the size of their purchase.
Unfortunately, because of this experience, I will not be returning to Colonial Donuts, and I cannot recommend this business to my friends, family, or anyone looking for a welcoming and respectful customer experience.
I have been living in this Montclair neighborhood for more than 10 years and have always supported local businesses as much as I can. I have never gotten this poor service before in my life. I hope the business takes this feedback seriously. Good customer service should never depend on how much a customer spends or paying with cash or credit card. read more