As a repeat customer who has spent hundreds of dollars in this store, i will no longer be shopping at Cranky's.
I tried to exchange a Christmas gift that I had bought my daughter. It did not fit her and was therefore of no use to her. When we walked into the store, the one and only clerk was on the phone, going into great detail over the particulars of ordering her lunch. When she finally got off the phone, I politely described the problem and the fact that i would like to do an exchange. The phone rang again. The clerk answered it, then said into the phone, "Well, I have a customer right here in front of me. Is this really important?" And then proceeded to take the call, telling me, "I have to look this up on the computer anyway. Just go look around." Um, okaaaaay. She carried on an obviously personal (not urgent) conversation for several minutes, then couldn't find my transaction on the computer. i explained that I had used a "buy 2, get one free" coupon, so the one item (a whopping $8, while the other two items totaled more than $50) was free.
"Well, I gave it to you for free. I can't do an exchange," she said.
"I used a coupon," I said. "It's still an item with some value. All I'm asking for is an exchange. My daughter can't use it."
She went on to insist that because she "gave it to me for free" there would be no exchange. That my daughter just needed to "stretch out" the item and it would be fine. After all, she "gave it to me for free."
I could almost understand her attitude if I were asking for cash back, or even a store credit. All I wanted was an item at the same cost that was actually useful.
I was at the point where I wanted ask to speak to a manager or the owner, but i realized I already was.
Incidentally, the same woman waited on my husband before Christmas. When he came into the store, she asked if he needed any help. When he said, no, he knew exactly what he was looking for, she said, "Oh, thank God. I feel lousy and i just don't feel like helping anybody today." Of course. Wouldn't want to be inconvenienced by customers, after all.
My daughter summed it up best as we left the store today, "Maybe," she said, "this is why they call it Cranky's." read more