I placed an online ordered for a 40 piece wings and sides on the Saturday before Super Bowl, February 5th. I had the option to pay in advance, so I provided my debit card and printed my receipt. On Sunday, I received a call from the Clifton store asking if I was going to pickup my online order at the designated time of 3:30pm. I asked if there was a problem, and the gentleman on the phone (identified himself as Moses) told me know, he was just confirming the orders in anticipation of it being a very busy day.
At 3:30pm, I arrived at the location to pickup my order. They were very busy and I was told my order would be ready in a few moments. Then the cashier asked my name, and the confusion began. After a few minutes, I was told there was a computer mishap on Saturday night, and at midnight it had cancelled all the online orders. They had a printout of the orders that were cancelled, and they had called everyone to confirm they were picking up, and were doing there best to re-create all the orders. The cashier then asked for my payment, of which I showed her my online receipt, I had paid in advance. It was then that a gentleman came out from the kitchen, and identified himself as the owner. He told me not only were the orders cancelled, but all the payments were cancelled as well. If I wanted my order, I would need to pay again. I explained that I ordered early on Saturday, and had a confirmation receipt. I also went online in the store to access my bank account info from TD Bank. It showed the debit of $47.12 from Saturday. The owner refused to acknowledge both my receipt and my online bank info as proof of payment, and began to yell at me. If I wanted my food, I would have to pay again. He said that if he made a mistake, I would need to return and he would refund my credit card. I again asked him why I needed to pay again, in essence, pay $94.24 for the wing order already confirmed and debited. Again, the owner became irate, and told me that if I didnt pay for the wings, he would not give me my order. I had 8 people at my house for a Super Bowl party, all waiting for wings. I relented and paid again. The owner pushed the bag of wings my way, I had to catch them before they went off the counter. I told him I would be back for my refund.
On Friday, February 12th, I returned to the store, this time with my bank statement in hand, showing the wings now had been debited twice. The manager on duty was Moses. He remembered me, and apologized for the way the owner had treated me. He said I was not the only order that was double billed, and he would process my refund. I gave him my debit card, he swiped it and issued me a receipt. Today, February 13th, I checked my bank statement, only to see the credit was never issued. I called TD Bank and was told they did not see any activity from Wing Stop, and all of my weekend transactions have posted. So tonight, I returned to the store for the third time. Moses, the manager I had dealt with was not in, but another manager from the Garfield NJ store was. I told him what had happened, showed him my receipts and my current bank statement, and also went to my online bank to show the credit did not post from Friday. He told me he could not offer me a refund, I needed to contact my bank, and let them handle the process. I objected. I asked why can't I get a credit? He asked me to wait, he called the owner (the nasty individual who I dealt with initially), who told him to issue me a credit. He asked for my credit card, and went thru the same process as I previously experienced. He handed me a receipt, and asked me to sign it. I declined, and instead, called my bank to confirm this transaction, especially if I needed to sign something. The bank told me there was not transaction from Wing Stop this evening. The only Wing Stop activity was the payments I made on the previous Sunday. The gentleman behind the counter then told me something that left me speechless. He said there was no method in place to issue credit card refunds, only cash. If I wanted my money back, the best course of action is to call my bank to stop payment. The swiping of my credit card for a refund was nothing more than a show, so the customer would leave. The refund transaction goes nowhere. Needless to say, I have contacted my bank to start the investigation of getting a refund, and to stop payment for the duplicate charge.
I can not begin to wonder how this practice is viewed by Wing Stop corporate office? Is it standard practice to cheat customers, or deceptively use tactics to make a customer believe they are getting something, then not? I would assume most customers wouldn't return, and WIng Stop wold have the extra revenue. Also, who monitors the franchise owners? Would anyone at any restaurant be treated as I was, and allow that to be acceptable?
Needless to say, I will never do business with Wing Stop at this Clifton location, or any location for that matter. read more