What should we do about insulting customer service
 

So my girlfriend went to Macys today to return a jacket I got for christmas. We knew I was never gonna wear the jacket so we figured we would return it and get a couple of pairs of shorts for me since we are going on vacation in a few weeks. The return value of the jacket was $20. My girlfriend made a comment to the lady out the counter that we were going on vacation, etc..., just making conversation.

The woman working at the counter then says to my girlfriend " If you need to return this for $20 to buy shorts maybe you shouldn't be going on vacation"

Obviously my girlfriend was surprised and hurt. She called me very upset and wondering what to do. I told her to go back to the counter and get the woman's name so we could talk to her boss. My girlfriend went to the counter and the woman apologized and said she was trying to be funyy and she shouldn't have said it, etc... My girlfriend said the woman was obviously distressed by the situation.

My girlfriend called me again ( I was on my way to the mall at that point to raise some hell) and told me not to come and that the woman said she was sorry. Now I am wondering if the woman is truly sorry or did she apologize for fear of losing her job?

I realize if we report her she will probably get fired and I would hate to have someones life potentialy ruined for saying something stupid, however we are very insulted because this woman knows nothing about us and has no right to make a comment like that. FWIW we both do well, so it wasn't like she hit a nerve or anything, it was just rude and uncalled for.

So I welcome your opinions on what we should do?

She said it was a miscommunication. If your GF doesn't buy it, then it's up to you to take it to the next level. But if she apologized, that would end it for me.

Let it be.. if it was me, I woulda made a joke like "And what would a returns desk clerk at Macy's know about having enough money to take a vacation..."" but the moment has past. let it go.

I would probably have my actions determined by how ticked I was about it. If it caused me more than maybe five minutes of upset, yeah, I would almost certainly take it up the store's food chain.

That said however, I also believe the odds of anything signficiant coming from doing so are fairly slim, unless this employee is a repeat offender with only one chance left or something of that nature. Truth is, I've found that few places really seem to give a damn what the customer thinks under most circumstances any more.

edit to add: The other thing that is most important IMO is how you (or in this case, your girlfriend) reads the reaction & what you believe is behind it. If she's convinced this is something that just came out wrong or was like a braindead moment and the apology is sincere, then usually I'd say to let it end there. If, on the other hand, the cashier's apology seems more about saving her own ass, then I'd almost certainly do everything I could to fry her.

Why are you returning a jacket you got for Christmas in July? Not that that is an excuse for rudeness but why would they even take it back after all this time?

Let it go. Every time someone is rude or makes a stupid remark doesn't mean a thing these days. Don't stoop to that level of thin-skinness.

The odds that she was intentionally trying to make an insulting comment are like 100-1. I think you can give her the benefit of the doubt.

Yeah, I'd let it go too. It was a stupid remark by the lady at the counter, but it doesn't seem to raise to the level of all that bad. At least not bad enough to raise such a stink and possibly get this woman fired.

It was an idiotic thing for her to say though.

just curious what mall in jersey this is.

Monmouth mall.

I just never got around to returning the jacket, I'm a bit of a procrastinator.

Well, I'd say leave well enough alone. But i'd also say make the trip just so you can grab some White Castle!

I used to live in Brick, brother. Know the area well.

You think you'll get her fired for that one comment?

Wow... that's a horrible comment. Though she did apologize, so it depends on how sincere.


Toms River resident from the time I was 5 until 18 (college). My dad worked for Brick's government.

LOL, I currently live in Brick.

My two cents are that if your girlfriend was satisfied by the apology, as the wronged party that should be the end of the conversation. The whole thing sounds terribly upsetting, but also somewhat resolved.

Uh oh... ;)

When I go back and visit my 'rents (still live in Toms River... by the Ocean County Mall), we'll have to have a FOFC-meet ;).

crazy! i lived by the McMobil on 88 from 96 to 01 (well, the summers only the last few years).

i still miss Pats cheesesteaks, man. badly. grab a tomato focaccia for me, too!

:piss: Toms River
:piss: Brick

:woot: Montclair

We used to play hockey against Brick and Toms River. I forgot the name of the coach for Toms River, but he was supposedly one of the best in NJ and ran a yearly clinic I attended.

Montclair sucks :p

It's too close to Newark and the Oranges for one.

When their job is to offer service and be polite, I wouldn't call this being thin skinned. Offending a customer is absolutely the last thing the store wants this woman to do. They should be told. This would also be an F-you moment for me and I would report it.

That said, some people are just a little awkward and say the absolute wrong thing at the worst time. If she did this and you believed she was sorry, I'd let it go. Rudeness is one thing, stupidity is something else.

Ha. I actually moved from Montclair to Brick.

I'm betting this was just an accident that was taken out of context.

When I was selling shoes, one Saturday morning, a lady came in and wanted a few pairs of hiking boots (she was the only person buying). I said, in a friendly manner, as I gave them to her, "Big weekend plans"?

Turns out someone in her family was missing and she was organizing the search party for them.

I'd hardly call what I said disrespectful or inappropriate, but if I were in her shoes I could've been very upset with me.

Please don't take this the wrong way, I don't mean it to be insulting or rude or anything....but why were you on your way to the mall to raise hell? This was between your girlfriend and the counter girl. Couldn't she handle this on her own?

I don't think that is really the same thing. Your comment was only inappropriate because of some specific circumstances. The other comment couldn't really be anything other than inappropriate.

I still suggest letting it go if it was a bad joke and she was sorry, but not if she was just being rude.

Some people don't like confrontation. Hard to fault a guy for wanting to take care of his girl.

You probably needed that $20 for a dub anyways.

see what Brian said. She was upset and I wanted to be there.

In my younger days, I probably would have flipped out, gotten the mgr, caused hell, asked for a $50 gift card, etc etc etc :).

Now that I'm more mellow at the ripe old age of 25, I just let stuff like this slide right off my back. Like you said, you're both well off in life, and just taking a stab, (You said it was a woman, and not a girl), this woman is probably not (unless they really pay these people well, which they don't).

Although not an excuse for her actions at *ALL*, I try and see things from the other persons perspective. While your gf certainly didn't do anything to warrant that response, I try and visualize what this lady's day has been like: Tons of returns, people trying to return clothes that have been worn for months without tags demanding a full cash refund, etc etc etc (you can probably imagine some of the shit that she's dealt with). Again, she chose the job, and its a free market and all, but like I said, I'm a kinder person now ;).

So in short, I'd leave it be without further incident, whether she was sincere or not in her apology.

You kids these days have no idea how to form a proper grudge. Someday you'll get old and crochety like me. :D

I'm sorry, I really don't mean to be a total bitch here. I know I'm coming off as one. I think it's very sweet of you to want to be with your girl when she's upset.

But I really don't understand why she was so upset that you had to go down there and comfort her. So some clerk insults her, so what?

Females are so foreign to me.

Nice, can't wait!!!

I have nothing to add to help but that was FUNNY.

I think she was more surprised then hurt. She has been working alot of hours and traveling back and forth to cincy every week and I think it just got to her the wrong way.

dola- the funny thing is that she isn't one of these whiny girls who has been sheltered her whole life, she actually negotiates multi millon dollar deals and is tough as nails, I just think the womans comments were so out of line it caught her off guard.

we are laughing about it now but at the time not funny.

Then it would have been classic if she told her something to the fact that "Hey, YOU work in a department store. So look here Bill Gates, shut your hole, and give me my refund.......stupid"

There is hope for you yet. I'm actually looking forward to sitting on my porch shaking my cane at kids cutting across my lawn. :)

Isn't Macy's pretty upscale?

Well that makes sense.

And I'm glad she's not one of those whiny, sheltered spoiled girls. Glad for you that is. :)

It's still a department store.

Curious what that statement means?

What's she do? Sounds pretty stressful.

Galaxy asked if it was upscale. It makes NO difference.


It's still a department store.

WAY off topic.

I just noticed that I am up to .11 posts a day. I guess I am now a regular.

She works for one of the biggest companies in the world doing sales and marketing.

Lathum, check your PM

how the hell do you find a jacket at Macy's for only $20?

Are you sure it was only $20? You should probably check your bank statement.

The value of the jacket is now only $20 since it is out of style.

It's a "Member's Only" jacket?

why do you think I was returning it?