I have been shopping at the HEB located at 11815 Westheimer, since Mr. Kerry was in charge of the store. He was always friendly, actively listened to customers, and made a wrong situation right.
Today I went to the store, around 12:30pm CST, to pick up a few items. I started in the deli section. The young man assisting me, was Hispanic and the shortest partner in the deli at the time. I did not get his name. Initially, I asked if there was a HEB chopped ham. The young man stated, "No, there is not. But Boar's Head Deluxe Ham would be similar to chopped ham." I then asked him if I could try a sample and he replied, "No, we do not provide samples due to Covid restrictions." I understood the reasoning, but I explained to the young man that I am not going to buy a product I am not familiar with, nor have tasted previously. He shrugged his shoulders and put the ham back in the case. I then asked for Boar's Head Beef Salami (sliced on 3) and HEB Yellow American (sliced on 1,5). While waiting, I decided that I wanted some HEB Mesquites turkey (sliced on 1) as well. Once all of my items were complete, I placed them in the basket. The cheese did not feel correct, so I decided to inspect it. The young man placed 8 slices of cheese, per sheet, which had them all sticking together. The standard is to have 4 slices of cheese (2 on each side of sheet) per piece of wax paper, so the cheese does not stick together. I then turned back to the young man and asked for more pieces of papers. The young man asked, "Why?" I was taken aback because no partner in the deli had ever asked me that question before. I then explained that I needed additional paper to properly separate the cheese. The young man then threw a piece of paper on the counter. Again, I was shocked with his behavior. I would not take a piece of paper sitting on the counter (which customers touch all day long) and place with my cheese. I asked for more sheets and the young man said with an attitude, "How many sheets do you need?" By this point, I was beyond displeased and feeling totally disregarded as a patron of HEB. I stated, "I need 4 pieces of paper because you did not separate the cheese properly." The young man replied to me, "That is my mistake." and threw 4 more sheets on the counter. I asked him, "Why are you throwing the sheets at me?" The young man argued that he was not throwing the sheets at me. There were several deli partners witnessing this interaction and one partner was dressed in black, so I am assuming she was a team lead. At no time, did anyone intervene or come to assess the situation.
I left the deli and first went to grab some cherries and then I went to find a manager to explain my situation. I located a manager standing near the frozen foods and cash registers. Again, foolishly. I did not get her name. I asked her if Mr. Sam was working today, as I have had positive interaction with him. (In May, I was cleaning up a spill in the store and Mr. Sam offered me a job!) She stated Mr. Sam was off today. I then started to explain the incident in the deli. She stated that the description I provided of the young man sounded familiar. While in the middle of our conversation, a man walks up to her and asks for a price check on a pot. Instead of telling the man she was dealing with me and my issue, she does a price check for the man. At this point, I feel invisible and that I, as a person, let alone a patron, hold no value in this particular HEB. I left the store in tears, and I sat in my car and cried for about 20 minutes before driving home, without groceries or my dignity and respect.
I have never had an encounter like this at HEB. In fact, a few partners know me and are super friendly when I come in to shop. As for the manager interaction, I am beyond disgusted. I frequent the store located at 5895 SAN FELIPE STREET. Ms. Christin and Ms. Dar are exceptional managers and focus on the customer that is speaking to them. They would never put off an escalation/incident to do a price check. Those ladies always go above and beyond to help a customer, especially one that is dissatisfied with service. Today was so traumatic and dismissive to me as a customer, that I do not know if I will return.
The most important thing to remember is that in today's climate, you never know what a person is going through and what emotional state a person is in. I left the store in tears because I was so hurt and could not believe I had been treated the way I was treated, in a HEB, that I have been shopping in for over 10 years. However, how many times in recent weeks have we read about a customer/client/patient shooting up a place or shooting innocent people because they felt disrespected or that no one listened to what they had to say.
I think this is a teaching moment and redirection is need for store #38, at 11815 Westheimer, Houston, TX 77077. Again, there are some really great partners who work there but bad apples really do spoil the bunch. read more