Re: Give Me Liberty or Give Me the Big Cats 9/15/07 (or Give Me Both!)
Sheree, I'll do you one better, here's the letter I wrote in a 1/2 hours time. I wanted to make sure that I got back to Costco prior to closing to give the manager an advance copy....
August 25, 2007
Costco Corporate Office
c/o Consumer Complaints
PO Box 34331
Seattle, WA 98124
To whom it may concern,
I am writing to express my concerns and displeasure regarding our recent visit to Costco #490, the evening of 8/24/07. My wife and I have been loyal Costco shoppers for many years and frequent the store listed above many times a week. We have always found the staff to be quite pleasant and always helpful. So pleasant, we have been compelled on previous occasions to write in and share our experiences.
As with most Fridays, we frequently rent videos at a nearby Hollywood Video and then drive 10 miles to Costco to do our grocery shopping and get a pizza for movie night. Upon our entry into Costco on this particular trip, we were stopped and told we would have to secure our movie rentals in our vehicle and Costco’s “new policy†no longer allowed merchandise from other venues on their premises. Being that the current temperature was 112 degrees outside (130 + degrees in my vehicle), our videos would undoubtedly warp, certainly not what I would consider a viable option. I then had the displeasure of dealing with the store manager “Prestonâ€Â, who unequivocally would not grant a simple compromise by allowing us to leave the videos at customer service while we did our shopping and then pick them up on the way out. I then showed him the videos, bag, and receipt clearly displaying the place of rental, movies rented ( 2 of these movies not even carried by Costco) and rental fees paid. Preston once again reiterated his stance on Costco’s “new policyâ€Â, insisting we leave our movies in the vehicle. Preston showed no regard, no concern when I stated I would have to drive back home to leave the movies because leaving them in my hot vehicle to melt was a ridiculous suggestion. Upon exiting the premises I asked one of your customer service clerks for contact information for sending a letter of complaint. While directing me, she inquired as to my complaint and offered to let me pick up the videos on my way out. The fault is all mine for accepting her offer, for I didn’t realize your entry staff would run to Preston and make a spectacle out of something that wasn’t news worthy! While I can’t recall her name, we see her regularly during visits to the store and she was only trying to provide a simple solution to a simple problem…another words she was simply providing good customer service! Preston then proceeded ridicule his employee for her decision. Please extend my sincerest apology to her for putting her in this position. For this reason, I took my movies back and proceeded to leave after informing Preston of our displeasure over how he handled this situation and my intention of informing Costco of his actions. Not surprised, Preston showed no concern, nor did he seem to care.
In closing, I have been in management / customer service for over twenty years and I understand the need for operational changes. I also recognize the importance of communicating to my customers prior to policy changes taking effect to avert situations such as this one. A simple posting outside the entry a few weeks prior to implementation does not seem like an unreasonable request. Unfortunately, Preston didn’t share my opinion and felt leaving his entry staff to enforce the “new policy†was sufficient; putting them and the customer in a very precarious situation. Just as an after thought, I couldn’t help but notice those customers with large handbags and one with a diaper bag. Certainly there is plenty of room in these bags to violate Costco’s “new policy†, are entry staff going to insist customers open bags for searches and seizures? If that, then what frisking? Certainly both are absurd, but you understand my point. Unfortunately, Preston chose to let his ego and arrogance get in the way of good judgment.
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,
George A. Glaser II
