"My significant other and I are frequent stoppers at the Stop and Shop in WInsted, my family also has gone there since I was a kid. There are employees that frequently recognize and say hello to us when we are there, and every employee I have come across has been outstanding. I'd also like to stay that this store is always clean and organized.
That being said, it was incredibly shocking this evening when we had gone through the self checkout line. As I said, I have been going for years and am not illerate to using the self checkout station. The gentlemen by the name of Howard, was the overseer for the self checkout area. The problems I encountered are stated below:
Howard raised his voice at the two of us in the middle of self checkout station, implying that we were not using the system correctly. As you probably know, there is only a certain amount that those stations can hold, and it allows you to remove bags as you bag but only at certain times. That being said we moved the bags "too quickly" and the prompt came up to put the item in the bag. Howard again came over--incredibly rude I might ad--and with an incredibly ignorant and unprofessional demeanor said "I told you not to move the bags". To which he then continued to instigate with other people in line about how it isn't that hard, speaking negatively under his breath.
I will not lie to you, I may have unkindly explained that he was unhelpful so far and that I knew what I was doing. He made us feel incredibly uncomfortable and embarrassed. I also said to him that we wouldt have to move the bags if the whole bagging station had been stocked, which it was not. When I brought that to his attention he stated that it wasn't his job to order bags, and that you were out of them. I proceeded to ring my groceries out then went to your service desk.
I did not get the woman's name there, but she sensed also unwilling to assist me with the issue after I explained to her that Howard was incredibly rude to us. Didn't offer to give a time to speak to or reach the manager on duty or give me any way to contact anyone about the issue that happened until I asked her for it.
When I returned home I tried calling the store around 7pm maybe shortly after. I was told that I would be transferred to the manager on duty, left on hold for almost ten minutes, then told that they were too busy and again had to ask who I could speak to and I when they would be available. I was told to contact Desiree tomorrow between 6am and 2pm. Please expect to hear from me.
As a business operator myself I know as well as you that your employees should make no attempt to make your customers feel anything but appreciated, and if this is the standard that you hold your employees to I will be finding someone else to consult about this within your corporation. I spend almost $300 dollars a week between stop and shop and stop and shop gas, but I am happy to take my business to price chopper, Aldi or even price rite if this is the type of behavior you and your management staff condone. Maybe there is a better spot for him that he wouldn't be directly involved with your customers, for I would hate to cause loss of a job. I hope you take this incredibly seriously because I would have immediately fired an employee that spoke to one of my guests like that.
Thank you for your time, I expect to hear from you, preferably via telephone."
I sent this to Stop and Shops online survey over a week ago and have yet to hear a single word from any management staff or employee. I am disgusted and will never return to this store. Clearly a non welcoming environment is something that the management staff in this store will continue to condone, and I will not use my hard earned money to disrespected by members of the Stop and Shop community.
Jordan Roy
jr0yyy@gmail.com read more
