Goodwill in Leland..... I am disgusted!

Hey Y'all.

I am writing tonight with a different purpose on my blog. If you are a first time reader of my blog, I promise this is not my typical blog post. I try not to use my blog as a rants/raves column but feel it absolutely necessary to let every one I know of that shops at Goodwill in Leland what they may be up against as a customer in that store. I have called and left messages requesting a call back from someone in corporate headquarters at Goodwill. I may not have had the funds in my bank account to help cover this lady's purchases tonight, but hope that the power of my voice and my testimony as a witness can go a lot further for future shoppers at this particular Goodwill. I am ashamed that I did not speak up or do more tonight for the customer ahead of me.

I come from a long line of GW shoppers and have always had good experiences when shopping at GW. I envy my MIL who's GW in Greensboro, NC has a cafe, employees with exceptional customer service skills and even a driveup donation center where the GW employees will unload your items for you! GW clothed my family on many occasions when I did not have the funds to purchase brand new clothes from other major retailers. I feel stores like GW are absolutely necessary in our community mainly because of todays economy, but also for reasons like reducing our carbon footprint, providing jobs in our community and a donation outlet for our gently used goods.

Tonight was what I will have to deem as an "exception" to what I know to be good customer service at Goodwill and this took place at the Goodwill in Leland, NC around 5:30pm. Here is what happened:
We arrived at 5:27pm on Saturday 3/2 and were excited to have this be our first visit to Goodwill in Leland.  Upon walking into Goodwill with my husband and 2 children, we were immediately advised  (yelled at) by the cashier that Goodwill closes in 30 minutes.We aknowledged the cashiers outburst by stating, "We will make it quick". I find a cute purse at the back of the store and proceed to the front of the store to checkout. Both of my children are under 5, hungry and cranky, so my hubby volunteers to take them to the car while I check out. I see a lady and her daughter admiring their finds while the cashier proceeds to ring them up. I get in line and must have been put in that place/time for a reason because the following is the poorest, most degrading display of customer service that I can recall in my lifetime as a consumer.

Something happened to where the lady did not have enough cash on hand to pay for all of her items. She kindly asks the cashier to remove some of the items from her bag to reduce her total. The cashier proceeds to let the customer know, and all of us behind her based on the volume and tone of her voice, that she only has the authority to remove 1 item and a manager would have to remove multiple items to correct the price. She also loudly states that the store closes in 15 minutes and Goodwill does not pay overtime. During this commotion, another customer walks in and the cashier yells at her, "We close in 15 minutes". The cashier yells across the store for the manager to come over and remove items from the total. The manager removes the items as requested by the customer. As the manager starts to walk away, the cashier makes the following statement, "No wait wait, don't go. I still don't think she's got it. Do you have it, do you have it? No she does not have it. ( This is being said in front of the customer along with other statements which I will not mention here but will most certainly be letting a member of corporate GW know were made)." All of these statements are being made as the customer is quickly counting cash and attempting to scramble through her purse to find change to pay for her order. Her daughter is standing next to me, clearly embarassed at what is taking place and is hiding her head. She hands over her cash and change to pay for her items and leaves the store with her daughter. I then step up to the counter, place my bag on the counter and stare at the cashier. She tells me the total I owe. I have all forms of payment, but flustered by the previous customers transaction ask the cashier if she can take a debit card. I am on auto pilot at this time because the GW in Greensboro has a debit card machine. She shouts "NO" and then rambles the forms of payment she can take. I take out my check book as she immediately starts schooling me on who to make the check out to. Then the defensive customer mode kicks in and I start to lash back at the cashier and her clear disrespect of me standing in front of her as a customer. I snap at her and ask if she needs to see my license to verify my check, I ask her if she is a volunteer and she quickly responds that she most certainly is not. I follow up by handing over my form of payment, in which I am then questioned as to whether I want my purchase in a bag or not. I then have a pastic bag shoved in my general direction and get no statement of appreciation for my purchase. I do, however get a nasty snarl and stare as I proceed to tell the customer & her daughter behind me about an upcoming sale in Wilmington for children where the customer service is far above what I had received in Goodwill tonight.

How can you work for an organization such as Goodwill and belittle a customer who is clearly trying to fit her needs within her budget? I just don't get it! And all in front of her daughter. Shame on you .... shame on you nasty cashier with the red hair at Goodwill. You made all of us feel unappreciated, rushed and the worst.... belittled as human beings! I am sorry that you hate your job. If you love your job, you need to re-evaluate the statements that you make in front of customers because it sure comes across that we become an inconvenience to you as soon as we step foot through the doors of your store. Folks come from all walks of life, we all have issues going on right now and the last thing any of us need is for someone to have an attitude and belittle us while we count our pennies in front of a line of waiting customers. I, as a paying customer am providing you with a JOB!

There are less fortunate that would trade her for that job in a heart beat and run circles around her and her poor attempts at what she calls "good" customer service.