This used to be a go-to store for us. The staff used to be helpful and friendly, and I'm really sad to see how far their standards of customer service have fallen.
Unfortunately, after a recent visit, we will never come here again. The woman working the desk (Nicole) took issue with us looking inside an already opened box (as in the box was damaged, the tape was broken, and the top was wide open - we picked it up and looked inside without removing the item from the internal packaging) and proceeded to humiliate us in front of other customers. This included an allegation that we had damaged the merchandise and a threat that we would need to pay for it. When we mentioned that the box had already been open and that further tried to explain that we hadn't touched the actual merchandise, we were met with an "mhm", "sure", "okay" and a disgusting little smirk. She repeated that opening boxes damaged merchandise, and when we again tried to explain that we hadn't opened the box, she accused us of lying, said that it couldn't be the case because she had just sorted everything herself, and booted at a low-lying shelf that had a sign that did indeed read "please do not open the merchandise". She then proceeded to walk over and stand at the counter.
With other people in the store and this over-the-top scene, we decided that we weren't comfortable at the store any further and went to leave. My friend asked (nicely) to speak to her and mentioned that being that rude was completely unnecessary. She rose her voice at him and explained that she didn't care if she was being rude because that was her job. He asked for a manager. She said there wasn't one, and only gave her name after I requested it as well. The rude, hostile attitude continued further and culminated with her refusing to tell us when the manager would be in, walking away when we asked.
I'm kind of floored. As I said, we've been coming here for years and have spent quite a bit of money here. Neither we, nor anyone else we've seen in there, have ever been treated like this and that includes people that have rifled through clothing and products alike. Here's the thing: the sales associates don't need to aggressively confront customers and (loudly) accuse them of things that they -assume- the customers were doing without any shred of evidence or proof. A nicely worded reminder that we shouldn't be looking in boxes, even opened ones, would have yielded a very different (and profitable) result.
If these are the sort of customer service standards that PM is setting for their staff then so be it. However, if this sort of situation is not representative of your company, I would suggest that the management have a chat with Ms. Nicole about how to treat customers and address problems in an appropriate manner.
For our part, we will be contacting management directly and taking our business elsewhere. Adam & Eve is just up the road and we've heard great things about Frisky Business up near Durham.
A final note for Ms. Nicole, because these reviews often find their way into the hands of the employees. The (already damaged) box that you accused us of getting at contained an item priced at around $50. With a damaged box, you would need to mark it down to what, $25? That's a $25 potential profit loss on your watch for your company. Your hostile attitude, however, cost PM about $400 of potential business for that night, and hundreds more in the future. Just some food for thought. Happy holidays. read more