When I first found out that there was going to be a Vitamin Shoppe in my area, I was pretty happy. After going there a few times with some friends, I've noticed that the male employees are pretty cool but the female employees here definitely pick and choose who they are friendly with.
I've noticed that they are very friendly with male customers but unfortunately rude with other women. I came in here once with a male friend and he walked in ahead of me. He was instantly greeted but when I walked in, silence. He asked an employee about a certain product and was given the run down about all of its information with a big smile. I asked a question and the girl was real short with me and acted uninterested.
I figured she was having a bad day and got my product and moved on.
Recently, I went in to use a manufactures coupon from a brand I work directly with. I was told by corporate to bring it into this particular Vitamin Shoppe and use it on a specific item. After getting it, I needed to do a follow up about how the store handled it and the product availability/item itself. What is usually a hassle free experience everywhere else turned into a disaster here. When I pulled out my code, the girl immediately said that she would not honor it. I was very nice about it and explained that I was sorry and didn't know that, but I was told to come in that day and get this product. She got an attitude and said that her system was having trouble "scanning" it. I thought it may have been due to a technical error or something. I asked her if she could try to scan it again (because I could clearly see her finger covering half of the barcode). She rolled her eyes and said again that she won't honor "third party coupons". I told her it wasn't something I just downloaded online to get for free, it was something I got from the company directly. At this point, I felt like I was really annoying her so I told her that it's not a big deal and I'll leave. I said I'll just contact the company and ask if there was any other place they could send me to. All of a sudden, she tells me that she is able to honor it for a penny. We input the code and I tell her thank you and that i appreciate it. She asked me if I wanted the receipt and I said yes. When I put my hand out to reach for it, she pushed it onto the counter and let it roll up and that was the end of it.
I left feeling awkward because it was such a *weird* experience. When I was looking for my item, I saw so many things that I was planning on coming back for that night to stock up on. However, after having such an odd experience, I just didn't feel comfortable returning. I see so many good and positive comments about Tim and I wish he had been there instead because I feel like everything would have been completely different. read more