Tesco - insulting and disgraceful behaviour

NiteRider

My partner and I have received appalling treatment from some staff members of the Carrickfergus Castle store, County Antrim, NI. Tesco Customer Services department been ineffective in dealing with this :mad:

I have posted my complaint in greater detail on the Tesco Complaint Blogspot. I will paraphrase it here. There are some fairly hostile comments from other Blogspot members who are current or ex-Tesco employees.

On 30 Dec (yes, that long ago) we had a routine and largely irrelevant query for Customer Services. A rude and surly CS assistant barked a question at me like I was a dog then stomped off like a stroppy teenager. I complained to the Acting duty manager who was patronizing and arrogant towards us. She leveled an unsubstantiated, very insulting accusation at us and upset my partner a great deal. We challenged her about this but didn’t receive an apology

I complained to Tesco HQ for NI, which is in Dundee. Eventually this was passed to the Store manager, who had been absent on the day in question. It was 26 Feb before he actually spoke to me, apparently he was absent a lot.

Well, it was not worth the wait. He quickly became quite aggressive, choosing to rant about one point in my complaint about which he took exception. Even after I conceded that particular point to him he carried on. He ranted at my partner when she tried to verify to him how upset she had been by the Acting Duty Manager’s comments. He glossed over our complaints and stated that the 2 culprits had denied everything. He was very rude and at no stage did he even attempt to deal with our complaint. I am convinced that the only reason he phoned was to rant at us.

I complained by e-mail to someone whom I initially thought was an immediate subordinate of Sir Terry Leahy but their title I found out later was Customer Service Executive. This person sent a bland reply, “I have spoken to the Store Manager, blah blah blah, I am happy with the way his staff treated you. The matter is closed.”

Yeah right, mate, I also complained about the actual Store Manager but he ignored that.

People reading this post may wonder why I am pursuing this but ask yourself if the person you loved was insulted and upset very much, what would you do? Also if we all let Tesco get away with appalling Customer Service, they will never change

I have sent another e-mail to Sir Terry Leahy. It is now 60 days since my first complaint. They are not exactly in a hurry to resolve the situation. :rolleyes:

I have also posted this in the NI section for local interest. Hope that is OK.

Sorry this is quite a long post, and that is the shorter version!

Will keep you posted.

Gabriel-Ernest

NiteRider wrote:

People reading this post may wonder why I am pursuing this but ask yourself if the person you loved was insulted and upset very much, what would you do? Also if we all let Tesco get away with appalling Customer Service, they will never change

I'd vote with my feet and never shop there again. Trust me, they'll never change.

uktim29

When one person has a problem with so many people the problem is often actually with them. I wrote a similar comment on the blog you mention. I am not a current or ex Tesco's employee on from any other supermarket for that matter as assumed.

People don't react like that without a cause. If it's kept happening then I imagine the way you speak to them is the actual problem.

icefall

Does not sound like you have been treated to well. Stick with your complaint personally I think too many people especially here in Britain don't complain enough to head office.

Sounds as if all you want is a sorry, which you have not received yet, I don't think that is too much to ask.

doitmyself

uktim29 wrote:

When one person has a problem with so many people the problem is often actually with them. I wrote a similar comment on the blog you mention. I am not a current or ex Tesco's employee on from any other supermarket for that matter as assumed.

People don't react like that without a cause. If it's kept happening then I imagine the way you speak to them is the actual problem.

Gotta say, I agree with you uktim...

rosysparkle

What was your irrelevant query, what was the unsubstantiated insulting allegation and what point did you concede to the store manager?

Were you calm and polite at all times and did all those people just be rude to you for no reason?

Is it just me who never seems to find the rude CSAs in Tesco (or come to that, anywhere else)? Even when I complain - which I do whenever it's warranted - nobody is ever rude to me. It's really very disappointing.

NiteRider

Thanks for the posts, folks.

Yes, my partner and I were calm and polite at all times both in the store and on the telephone to the manager.

The query which I consider largely irrelevant was a Mispriced item. I accepted their explanation but not their attitude and behaviour.

The unsubstantiated insulting allegation was "Do not treat our staff as animals, we are people". Now we did not treat anyone like an "animal". We challenged the Acting Duty Manager and explained that we always treated everyone in Tesco (or any other shop for that matter) with respect. She seemed to back down perhaps realising she had gone too far but didn't apologise.

I have heard from a source in the store that in their words, "it was mad that Saturday, just after Christmas and everyone had brought back refunds but had no receipts". I think we caught the aftermath of this through no fault of our own. Believe me if I thought we were at fault, I would not have pursued the matter to this extent.

You hit the nail on the head, icefall. We are asking Tesco for an apology for this insulting behaviour and attitude. As you say, it isn't really too much to ask.

I don't really want to get too much into the point which I conceded to the store manager. Compared to their treatment of us, it is minor. It is my opinion that the Store manager focussed on it rather that discuss our complaint.

Hope this answers your questions. Needless to say we are not shopping at our local Tesco at the minute, whether we return, well that is really up to Tesco.

Regards
NiteRider

scruffyone

What ever happened to the 'customer is always right'. Whilst this does not apply many times now, surely Tesco or their like are in a service industry unless you were extremely rude (which I doubt) the matter could have been easily diverted with an apology (even when they don't mean it - which is usual). Management usually back their staff which always makes the situation worse. Shame you can't get to their training department and make a few suggestions about how their staff should treat the customers - in other words the people who pay their salaries. Maybe if they kept that in mind before they were rude we would all have a happier time shopping!!! If they thought they might lose their job if they were rude they would keep a lid on it. Good luck and continue the fight if you have the patience for it.

NiteRider

Good post, scruffyone.

scruffyone wrote:

Management usually back their staff which always makes the situation worse.

Yes, that is exactly what Tesco has done up to now. They have shown no interest so far in resolving our complaint.

dangeroussports

Not being funny but you could take an A board highlighting your issue and demand to be seen.

All the other shoppers would notice and would support your cause.

Ive seen it happen before.

binty

I know you say you don't want to get into the "point you conceded to the manager", but I'm curious as to what this was.

You say that they glossed over your complaints, but I'm sorry, that post reads as if you are glossing over whatever you said. A sort of "they were rude to me, and I was a bit rude back, but that doesn't matter, because I'm the customer".

Yes, agreed, staff shouldn't be rude, but what was said that they took exception to?

Maybe you should draw a line under it, and shop elsewhere.