Yesterday, we decided to take a family trip to Walmart, mostly just to get out of the apartment, and to top off my supply of frozen vegetables and bubbly, flavored water. Our local Walmart has a Dunkin Donuts inside, and to be honest, we almost never have positive experiences going there, and this time was no exception. But we love Dunkin Donuts, and it is the only one around (there are 2 or 3 Starbucks, but we were already there), so we keep going to it.
Before I tell you what happened, let me tell you something about Kyle and myself. We are both the type of people who avoid confrontation. We are easy to please, and we’ve worked with the public (we both have worked years of retail, and I have fast food experience as well), so we are pretty understanding when it comes to mishaps, slow service, etc. In fact, unless our order is completely wrong, we almost never correct it. I will eat anything and everything given to me, so if I get something I didn’t ask for by mistake, I will still eat it, no problem. Kyle is a lot pickier, unfortunately. No vegetables of any kind, no mayonaise, blah blah blah. So sometimes we have to go in to correct his order. Or if we are charged for something we didn’t get. Stuff like that.
And we are always sickeningly polite, because we’ve been there.
I am also the type of person who enjoys filling out satisfaction surveys, because I love free food, or a chance to win money! Walmart, Target, Taco Bell, McDonald’s, you name it. However, I very rarely fill them out in a negative way, even if we didn’t have a 100% satisfactory experience. Because no one is perfect. I enjoy praising employees by name, and giving specific, positive feedback (for example, I said nice things about a Walmart employee yesterday who smiled and said hello to us, which has NEVER happened in the 5 years I’ve been coming to this location). If I have something negative to say, I don’t usually call out an employee by name, and like I said previously, I am very polite. It goes a long way!
This was not the case yesterday.
After walking around Walmart for a little while, we decided to stop by Dunkin Donuts after we checked out. Since starting my vegan diet, I’ve been trying to avoid Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts, even though they do offer non-dairy options. Trying to be all around healthier, ya know?
I went to one of the tables to feed Liam, while Kyle went up to order an Oreo Coolatta, which is something he has gotten dozens of times in the past. While he was waiting, I noticed a large group of people sitting at the back of the DD, chatting loudly. Two of them were in DD uniforms, the rest were in street clothes. They were gossiping and talking loudly, though I didn’t really mind, and assumed the girls was on break, or off the clock.
Kyle came back to the table, noticeably upset. The drink he held was black, and you could see tons of chocolate syrup on the inside of the cup. Definitely not an Oreo Coolatta. I took a sip, and it honestly made my teeth hurt, it was so sweet! He refused to go up and have them fix it, because he hates confrontation, despite the fact that he didn’t like the drink, and we paid over $3 for it. So I offered to go up and do it for him.
I walked up to the counter, 3rd in line behind two other customers. The elderly man in front of me turned to me and asked about my drink, making small talk. I noticed that no one was at the counter, and assumed the girl was making the guy’s drink who was at the counter. After a few minutes, the guy at the counter cussed loudly and turned to us, asking if we saw the girl working. I told him that she might be sitting at the table with the others (who were now laughing very loudly), and he said some expletive words, before walking off angrily. I noticed that there was no “Be back soon” type sign on the counter, and poked my head around the corner, asking if anyone was working the counter.
The entire group then stopped talking, turned to look at me, and GLARED, as if I had just called them all something awful. One woman, who I believe was a manager, stood up and asked me what the problem was. Her tone was not pleasant. I told her that there was a line waiting, but I just needed her to fix my drink. Then another girl, the one who had made Kyle’s drink in the first place, said very loudly, “Those AREN’T supposed to have coffee you know!”
I told her I was aware of that, but the drink was still not right. The manager realized what I was saying, and got to work on making the correct drink for us, while trying to show the girl how to make it properly. It all would have been fine, but the girl had to say an a snarky tone, “Her boyfriend ordered it for her, that’s probably why it was wrong.”
To which I replied, “It was HIS drink, which he has ordered dozens of times before. The drink was made wrong.”
She ROLLED HER EYES and mumbled something about, “I ain’t never seen it made that way” to the manager, and proceeded to take the order of the man who had been waiting in line with me, while the manager woman fixed my drink. This is how their conversation went:
Man: Do you have mocha in yet?
Girl: What?
Man: Have your mocha flavors come in yet?
Girl: Huh?
Man: … Mocha. Do you have mocha here?
Girl: Oh, you want a mocha?
Man: Well, I want a mocha coffee-
Girl: Coffee?
Man: Yes, a mocha coffee. With the coconut as well.
Girl: What?
Man: A mocha cappuccino, and can you add the coconut stuff?
Girl: Toasted almond?
Man: … No. The-
At THIS point, a third employee, with at least half a dozen dermal piercings in her face (I didn’t think people working in food could have those, I know I couldn’t have my eyebrow piercing in), came up and started talking to the girl taking his order, who then proceeded to stop taking the man’s order, cutting him off mid-sentence, turn around, and talk to the other girl. And no, they were NOT talking about work. In fact, their conversation was very inappropriate to be having at the counter in front of customers.
The man tried to continue his order, now talking to the girl’s BACK, but she completely ignored him. Right. In. Front. Of. The. Manager. Who did nothing! The man looked at me, flabbergasted, then looked at the manager, who had just put my drink on the counter in front of me. She said, “Maybe now we can finish our meeting.” to the girl at the register, then she walked away without saying a word to me, or the man at the counter.
We never even got a receipt, so there was no way for me to fill out the survey, but I did have my Walmart receipt, and decided to include our DD experience on that survey instead.
They give you 1,000 characters to talk about your experience… I used 933 of them.
I was not happy. And neither were the other two customers who were in there.
This is not the first time we’ve had a bad experience at this location, with both managers and regular crew people. We’ve had employees casually swear while talking to us (literally, there was one guy who dropped the F-bomb 4 or 5 times while taking our order and chatting to us, and even though he was nice, it was super inappropriate). We’ve also had bad experiences in the past with both of the female employees who were there last night (not the manager), where they argued and said rude things, despite being wrong about the situation, and refusing to correct it.
And there is no one you can complain to, because the management is just as bad.
I guess I just wanted to rant about it, haha. I have NEVER been rude like that, to anyone, no matter where I worked. If you are that miserable at your job that you have to treat your customers like shit, who are just trying to get what they paid for, maybe you should quit and let someone else, who won’t be a snarky bitch, have your job.
Thanks for reading, guys!
Jan
My Life as Jan 