This is an email I wrote to Uline...it says it all:
Wow!? So utterly defeated tonight. So much for, "We are all in this
together" and "Canada will be stronger for this and unite"!? Uline won't
even sell me ONE container of Lysol wipes (and you have it in stock
online!!) and your customer service rep didn't even give a damn. :( I wish I
had got her name...
I am so stressed and worried for my own family's health and safety with my
job, that I have not been able to sleep for weeks. No, I am not a frontline
worker (I am a dog walker & provider of pet services), but I help people
with their dogs that ARE frontline workers. I go into people's houses to
take care of their pets while they are at work. I have to touch common
surfaces like door knobs, crates, keys, facets, etc. I am in and out of
houses either walking the dogs or providing play dates/backyard breaks. I
NEED Lysol wipes and hand sanitizer to do my job safely. My husband also
does all the shopping for our family and his elderly parents and we have ONE
car to share to accomplish all this and it needs to be sanitized...we are
running out of things to sanitize with. We barely have any hand sanitizer
left and we are down to one container of Lysol wipes. Good luck finding any
of these supplies in the stores, let alone disposable gloves (not to mention
the risk it takes to go into these stores to check their supplies). It is
also worth mentioning that technically, my business is still legally allowed
to be open. The Government of Alberta has listed my business as essential:
"Businesses that provide for the health and welfare of animals, including
veterinarians, farms, boarding kennels, stables, animal shelters, zoos,
aquariums, research facilities and other service providers." I work for
SPOT, and we are contractors, so we get NOTHING in the form of supplies from
them...they are like UBER for dogs.
Not that it made any difference because I am small potatoes, but I am an
existing customer. I haven't ordered much but you would think there would be
some preference to the fact that I didn't just Google you and stumble upon
your Lysol wipes. I actually thought of your company from my past purchases
and thought, "Oh, they will help me since they seem to be geared to helping
businesses." Boy was I wrong! :(
There is still so much we don't know about this virus and even though my
clients keep telling me they have no symptoms, they could be asymptomatic
and their house could be contagious and for that matter, so could I!!!???
This is why I NEED Lysol wipes! I clearly was not one of those people that
hoarded supplies, but now I really need some. I asked for ONE container (not
the SIX order minimum...I would take that though, but I don't want to be one
of those hoarders out there!) and your staff said, "It came from the
president, we can't sell them to customers that haven't ordered them
before." I asked the rep if they could take my concern / story to the
president and she gave me a canned answer that essentially meant "no." That
is a really crappy way to treat your customers in a time like this. In some
ways, I think I am more upset about the WAY I was treated on the phone by
your staff...so heartless. WHY couldn't she ask her supervisor if she could
sell me ONE Lysol wipe!!??? I even asked if she could put me on a list to
get the first available supplies and this was her response, "I just keep
telling people to check back at the end of the month." Um....how is that
going to help me NOW and you can't even promise you will ship me some!??
Now, I am faced with the possibility of letting my customers down that are
OUT THERE HELPING SOCIETY by quitting my job for my family's safety. :(
Trust me...I make peanuts at this job, but I do it because I love dogs and
helping people. Those clients may, in turn, have to cut back their hours or
be stressed out finding alternative arrangements for their pets. Mr.
President of Uline, keep that in mind when you are expecting your next
shipment of supplies...my client, the truck driver, might have decided not
to go to work because he can't find help for his dogs. Uline is setting a
nice precedent during this pandemic, "Everyone for themselves!"
I will be sharing my story with anyone and EVERYONE that will listen.
A very disheartened customer,
Traci Valentine read more