Tesco is our local grocery store, just a quick walk up the hill from our flat. This is a story about Peter, the Tesco Nazi:
From: James Preston (st*********ke@hotmail.com)
Sent: 19 November 2008 21:43:54
To: customer.service@tesco.co.uk
This evening my Fiancee, Heather, and I walked up to our local Tesco Express (TOTTERDOWN EXPRESS, 33 OXFORD STREET, BRISTOL, AVON, BS3 4RJ), to buy a few grocery items. While we were there we decided to take advantage of a "3 bottles for 10 pound" wine deal that was on offer. The deal was clearly marked throughout the wine section and we chose three different bottles of wine that were included in the deal. When we were at the checkout one of the bottles did not scan through the till as being part of the deal and the cashier told us that it was not part of the deal, even though the POP signage on the shelf clearly indicated that it was part of the deal. We told the cashier about the sign and suggested that if it was incorrect then it should be removed from the shelf. At this point Heather decided to get a different bottle of wine from the shelf, while she was back at the shelf choosing another bottle she also grabbed the offending incorrect sign and brought it back to the checkout, where me and the cashier were waiting for her. When we showed the checkout operator the signage she decided to call the manager over seeing as the signage did indeed advertise the non-scanning bottle of wine as part of the deal. When the manager, Peter, came to see what the problem was, the checkout operator showed him the ticket to which he agitatedly snapped "Where did this come from?!", Heather told him that it was from the shelf in the wine section and proceeded to lead him to the shelf to show him. At this point Peter became rather indignant and told Heather that she was not to take tags from the shelf and that it was not her place to touch them at all because if someone from Tesco head office had come in and seen a tag missing from the shelf then he could be fined up to 5000 pound (the internal workings of Tesco are none of our business, and we don't care to hear of them). All the while he was telling her this, he was very rudely standing over her and waving the ticket in her face. Heather apologised and explained that the only reason she had taken the ticket was to help resolve the situation. Peter proceeded to put the original three bottles of wine through the till for us. A customer that was at the till next to us saw the entire incident (she was not the only person who saw it as the store was very busy at the time), and as she was picking up her bags to leave, she remarked: "Well, obviously Tesco has forgotten about customer service", to which Peter very snidely replied: "Well, apparantly it has." Needless to say I am disgusted at this shocking lack of anything resembling customer service. At no point were we rude or confrontational, and yet this is all we received in turn. Sure, in the end we did get the three bottles of wine at the promotional price, but the road to getting there was far less than pleasant. I myself work directly with the public in a retail shop and know that if I ever treated a customer in this manner that I would be severely reprimanded by management.
We live very close to the Totterdown Express and shop there daily. But will not be doing so from now on until we believe that the situation has been dealt with adequately. This I will leave in your capable hands as I am sure that Tesco has specific procedure to deal with such a situation.
Yours sincerely
James Preston
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3 comments:
What a fantastic, professional, and respectful letter. Too bad your email address will make them think you are just some punk kid that likes to cause trouble.
Oh, and now I am going to spam you.
Wow! Sparks must have been flying from the keyboard when you typed that!
Yes, sadly jobsworths of the kind you describe in your letter are all too common in Britain, even in these supposedly enlightened days of modern customer service.
Under British law (Trading Standards), the shop is compelled to honour the deal as advertised on the shelf, even if it is a mistake. Good jargon there ("POP signage" -- show the buggers you know what you're talking about.
It's a good letter. The only thing I'd suggest is it is important when you're complaining to make it very clear what you want, even if it's just an apology. Otherwise "dealing with it as they see fit" will probably prove to be ignoring it or chucking it in the bin.
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