Horrible experience in Tesco

[Dahlia]

Sorry, this is a long rant, but I need sympathy and understanding! Went to Tesco on Friday, bought a toothbrush for dd which is battery operated, big signs on it saying reduced from £4 odd to £2. Got home and checked through receipt only to find I had been charged £7.99. So after picking dd (age 7) up from school went back to Tesco to get balance refunded. Went to Customer Service and the woman was serving a queue of people on the next counter which is the photo counter. She looked at me like I was in the wrong place and said "Yes?" So slightly flustered I said I needed assistance, so she came over and I briefly explained the situation. She said oh, those sort of toothbrushes are about £8, and I said no, they had reduced signs all over them, so she came from behind the counter and went to look. Because she still had a queue at the photo counter I followed her to point out where the toothbrushes were to save her some time, and sure enough, she had walked straight past them to the end of the aisle, so I called out loudly excuse me, excuse me! They're here! and pointed to them. She stalked back to me with a glare on her face and said something like 'there's no need to be so rude, I'm not deaf and I don't take kindly to being yelled at blah blah blah' or words to that effect. I was gobsmacked, she looked so angry - I could feel myself start shaking (bear in mind I am 35 weeks, AND I had dd with me who is a very sensitive little soul) I said I wasn't being rude, I was merely trying to help her and point out the toothbrush as she had gone past it, and she carried on saying yeah well you shouldn't be this and that and the other, and then I lost it, and started crying, so then she calmed down slightly and started muttering excuses and took a toothbrush off the shelf and walked back to the counter, she then started putting it through the till and faffing about, and then said "I can see you're annoyed" I was still crying and shaking, and I said I wasn't annoyed, I was upset, and I just wanted the balance back, I didn't want a second toothbrush, but she didn't even listen to me, and other customers were staring and I felt absolutely humiliated and distraught and dd was staring up at me looking worried, and then this stupid bitch calls to another member of staff and mutters "I think I've upset this lady," and the next thing they were handing me a bunch of flowers off the flower stand nearby, and i was saying look, I just want my refund, and bitchface said I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap, I've had a stressful day, so because I am nice I said oh, never mind, don't worry etc etc, and then just legged it with my second toothbrush that I didn't want and my crappy flowers and dd who was trying to be brave. Once I got in the car I just sobbed my heart out, and I couldn't stop til way after I got home, then when dh got home I burst into tears again whilst telling him. I have today written to the chief executive of tesco telling him I am not impressed because the more I think about it the more incensed I become. The worst thing was that dd was with me and I HATE her seeing me upset. And I wouldn't f*cking mind but I wasn't even rude to the stupid cow, I was just trying to help. So I need some nice mumsnet sympathy because I am feeling very sorry for myself!

Everyone, including the staff at my local Tesco, thinks that DD is a DS !!! "Oh isn't HE lovely ?" "Gosh, he's a real little smasher isn't he ?!". Whenever I correct them, they enevitably come out with something along the lines of "Oh yes, I can see that now, isn't she pretty".... GRRRRRRRR

Some people just don't know when to shut up !!!

Tigermoth, I read your experience in disbelief too. Outrageous!

EJsmum - always dress dd in pink to help others avoid confusion

DS2 was mistaken for a girl on several occasions when he was a baby - but I put that down to him being sooo cute.

My mum always calls my ruffy-toughy macho cat a she, but that's because her last cat was female

Dahlia, only just caught up with this horrible tale. I am so sorry to hear of the way you were treated and hope you get a good response from Tescos. Leander's kind message notwithstanding I have always found the local Tescos to be peopled largely with staff from the Sod You school of customer care which is why we don't shop there anymore.
Copper, as a fellow librarian, I think what you experienced was yet another example of the furniture not being expected to have a life of any sort. I am now 7 months pregnant, having lost a baby last year, and this morning I received a death threat by e-mail from one of the library users. You really wonder why you bother opening the doors sometimes, don't you.

Dahlia,
A bit late now, but big hugs to you. Hope all these messages here have helped you to feel better!

You do indeed, Marina. Horrified to read about this animal sending you such a thing. I hope your bosses are taking action and that you are ok.

Copper, Dahlia and Tigermoth- sympathies too. People can be so unnecessarily rude and vile, can't they?

Dahlia

I am really sad to read about your experience. I am avoiding Tesco, a couple of weeks ago, I had some diced chicken delivered in my internet shop, it was horrible, so fatty I couldn't use it. I phoned up and the lady on cust services said to bring in receipt and I would get a refund. I asked if she needed the packaging she said no. Last week was my first chance to go back. Well the frosty old cow - the same one who served you - was treating me like I had stolen the blooming thing. I had my receipt but NOT the original packaging, which I told her the lady on the phone told me not to keep. She raised her eyebrows at me, thinking "a likely tale". Anyhow I was humiliated too infront of a large queue of people.

I was so upset. When I got to the car I was shaking and eyes were filling up. I just felt I had been wrongly accused. She did refund my money, but to the exact 99p!! no question of her about to round it up to the next 1p for my phonecall or any of the inconvenience I had experienced.

I am avoiding it at all costs now. Makes me really mad, I want to say to all you mums who let your children eat in supermarkets, go eat Tesco out of their jobs. That will teach them to be horrible to mumsnetters.

I haven't read the rest of the thread I am sure these are one offs, but they dont half make you feel like you are really in the wrong for trying to take something back.

Dahlia

Just a thought, can you give me details of the chief exec too? I am going to write, will do him/her no harm to know how horrible some of their staff are.

God Marina, that's awful. I hope you're ok. My piffly problem seems like nothing compared to that. Meid, Tigermoth and Copper, sympathy to all of you! There really are some vile people around. I will let you all know when I get a reply from Mr Tesco, I posted letter this morning. Thanx for all the lovely messages, I have sat here weeping again!!!!

Hi gosh2, Mr Tesco is :

Terry Leahy
Chief Executive
Tesco Head Office
Tesco House
Delamare Road
Cheshunt
Herts EN8 9SL

This is a lot more trivial than Dahlia's awful experience, but my dh gets very annoyed when one of the assistants in Tesco's either insists on doing his photocopying or hovers over him. He now goes elsewhere even though Tesco's is nearer. Some of the stuff is financial/personal information and she's obviously a right nosy cow. Also, they copy onto this awful paper with punched holes because "they ran out of the proper paper". This from a store that had half a pallet of reams of copy paper in the stationery aisle!! Chin up Dahlia and well done for complaining.

I'm fuming on your behalf Dahlia! You really should print this page and send it to the Chief Exec - will get you more than a bunch of flowers (...but we may all expect a cut!) chin up girl - she doesn't deserve to be in your thoughts.

Iota

DD has red hair and so pink really isn't her colour ! Even with a sodding great obvious fuschia pink dummy in her mouth she STILL gets confused for a DS.

There's a boycott Tesco thing going round here at the moment. They have taken over a site formerly occupied by the Co-op which used to host the Farmers' Market once a month. Tesco have refused permission for the market to continue. The Co-op have given space at another store about 4 miles away.

I don't know if it's coincidental but I have been in Tesco twice since it opened last Monday and although the car park is busy, there is no-one paying at the tills.

Marina, ignore it. What sort of nut would do something like that.

Oh yes Marina, do read Stupid White Men or at least the bit about librarians, apparently the book wouldn't have been published without them. So sorry to hear about your bad day too.

Well, just to stick up for Tesco here, (no they're not paying me) I have occasionally had trouble with my internet order, forgotten items or the wrong item, or running late. And have to say their response has been spot on every time - running late - refunded all of delivery charge; wrong item (big bottle extra virgin olive oil instead of baby wipes - how did that happen) they brought along the baby wipes same day and didn't want the olive oil back; forgotten items were chicken and other chilled stuff - went back to store - picked new items and came back with them within 2 hours.
OK - they made mistakes (don't we all) but they bent over backwards to put them right.
But don't get me started on Sainsbury's internet shopping ....

message withdrawn

I hope that you are feeling better now. xxx

Terry Leahy lives in the next village to me, shall I let his tyres down?!?

Dahlia - I'd have been sobbing too.

Tigermoth - how dare they? That's JUST not on!

Copper - I can't believe that you're 'customer' didn't seem to have an ounce of fellow feeling.

Meid - I think that what that assistant said to you is just about the cattiest, most unpleasant, rude thing that I've ever heard.

What is the matter with all these people? Why are they in jobs with maximum human interaction - CUSTOMER 'SERVICES' even - when they are clearly incapable of doing it?

Dahlia, just wanted to add my sympathy and cyber hugs to you (and Marina, Tigermoth and any others who have suffered from other people being abusive).

Also wanted to say say thanks to Leander for posting (pretty brave to admit her link to Tescos!).