FORGET THE NEW SIGNAGE - TRAIN YOUR STAFF! I've been going to Ralph's at 910 Lincoln Blvd. in Venice since 2001 and while I use Gelson's, Whole Foods & sometimes Erewhon for groceries and limited my Ralph's purchases to buying cleaning supplies, wine & liquor, yesterday was the last straw. I was wrongly, publicly, accused of STEALING because of a cashier, JOSE F's ignorance. As Jose F began to ring up my purchases, I asked for an in-store advertised liquor special that was in a locked case. After asking around for the keys, Jose F told me the liquor would have to be a second transaction because no one could find the key . I waited patiently by my shopping cart with paid for items until Jose F found the key and he gave it to a bag boy. I then helped the bag boy locate the bottles ( the bottles are labeled partly in French so it's not that easy), he opened the case & I took the bottles he handed me & I headed back to Jose F's line, which now had a few customers ahead of me. Seeing me waiting, I was waved over to a nearby register by a familiar female cashier. I paid for my bottles, I walked back over to my shopping cart at the end of Jose F's check stand and rolled out of the store, finally.
I'm in the parking lot with my cart & the bag boy runs after me, asking me if I'd paid for the liquor because "They're saying you didn't pay." I rolled back in, confused and getting annoyed since it was pretty clear I just paid. I'd also been very patient throughout the whole key search stupidity and now I'm being called a thief? As I pulled out both of my receipts and said, "I paid". Jose F shot back, "No, you didn't!" AS CUSTOMERS ARE STARING AT ME. I point to the female cashier two check stands over and said, "SHE rang me up." After a moment of silence, Jose F offers a weak, "Um. Sorry Sir". I asked to speak with the manager & Jose F points to the same female cashier who rang me up. She listened as I calmly explained that I didn't appreciate being accused of theft, especially since I've been shopping there for years. She said she'd heard the confusion about the key but seemed at a loss for words in an awkward public situation. Ultimately it's not like she could pull Jose F off of the floor at that moment.
Like in any retail enviroment, when a rude employee like Jose F wrongly and very publicly accuses a customer of stealing, he deserves to be fired. He's a liability to Ralph's/Krogers. As far the management, though I'm sure is teaching employees to look out for shoplifters in an area teeming with petty crime, to not accuse a customer of stealing before making logical deductions like - asking the other cashier if I'd paid first???
UPDATE: Two months after reporting the incident to Kroger's corporate, I received a phone call from Ralph's regional managment office offering an apology for my bad experience, assured me the incident had been addressed with the employee and hoped I'll "have a great shopping experience during my next visit." The call was way late but I'm impressed someone actually called. I'll have to see how my next visit goes. read more