We were talking about how there is no such thing as customer service anymore, in businesses. You go to a restaurant, in Illinois anyway, and you do not care for the food, it's not, "oh, let me bring you something else. We are so sorry. I'll talk to the cook."
No, it is, "it's made correctly."
I never complain in restaurants, but I have complained in a certain supermarket here in town, BI-LO, not about their products or the food, but how the management or costumer service is not serving the customer at all. They are not even there to serve customers. They are just there for a pay check, and quite frankly, although I have a disability, I am more intelligent than most, and I find these people to be outrageous.
I have a visual impairment. I am totally blind in my right eye, and I have tunnel vision and severe myopia in my left eye, as well as inoperable cataract. My eyes are prone to infection, but I am doing better with that now.
I have to enlarge my computer screen a lot, and when I am on facebook, I cannot see who is on line. I have been accused of ignoring someone I know, on chat. Of course I do not know he's on chat. I only get to see a small portion of the screen, due to magnification technology.
So, I had to wire some money to my son western union, and one manager filled the paper work out for me. When I went again, a few months later, the manager working was different, would not help me, and I had to ask for the other guy. If he cannot help anyone, why is he at the customer service desk?
Then, one day I am trying to purchase a Latin America calling card, to call my son in Peru, and not one person in the store is bilingual, to read me the instructions on the card, so I leave without buying a card.
I have spent thousands and thousands of dollars on food at this BI-LO, because it is the only grocery store close enough to my house. I do not have or drive a car.
Usually, I do not engage with anyone in the store, who works there, I mean. I just shop and leave. At one time I had food stamps, but for a long time, I have intentionally decided to try to manage without them, and cost the government less money. Disability is not much money, at all, so it is hard to get by. You can pay your bills, and you can pay for food, but you cannot live a luxurious life style, like vacations in Paris, India or even a stay at a spiritual retreat. You cannot even afford a therapeutic massage.
If I complained about anything or bad service, for any reason, there was no apology or 'here's a gift card for your trouble,' or anything, just excuses on their behalf.
A few weeks ago, I was accused of trying to take a shopping basket home with me, the kind with a handle, and is like a rolling suitcase, like people use in airports. An employee, who I could not see, yelled it out. I recognized her voice, as to which employee she was, though. It was about noon. Her voice was coming from the shady area, where employees sit, eat and smoke, as well as talk, on their break. I have very good hearing, and heard other voices there as well, although faint, and not identifiable. I felt I was being publicly humiliated for something I did not even do, like deformation of character.
The irony is that I never break any laws. I was the victim of a burglary, only about a week after this took place.
I was just going to put the groceries in our car, and bring it back like anyone else. I stopped in my tracks. "What?," I said. "You think I am trying to take this home with me? We have a car. Do you think I am a street person?"
I was so mad. I went back inside, saying I was going to complain to management. This woman comes over. I have never seen this one before. I tell her the situation. She tells me, "we have had a lot of these stolen lately." She did not say, "we're so sorry."
I raised my voice, talking about what a prominent member of society, I was, and I was not screaming by any means, but my voice got a little loud, I admit. I was explaining that I was a good citizen.
She accuses me of making a scene, and tells me to leave, that she is calling the police. So, I leave, since I was told to. And, I just carry the groceries, rather than use their basket. I did not intend to, and nor did I, break one law. I do not break laws. I do not even want to live in a world like this, if you know what I mean, a world this unfair and unjust, and so mean and nasty.
A half hour later, maybe more, Officer Bellamy, who I know, because I live in this community, shows up at my home. My son tells me the police are outside, and want to talk to me. He has a trespass order. He explains that I am not in any trouble, but if I go to BI-LO again, I will be arrested, for the next six months, that is. He said it is not a restraining order, and would not go on my record in any way, but I suppose I am spilling the beans, anyway, because I feel my blog is my outlet.
He apologized to me, but still, I do not understand how they can do that. Officer Bellamy said that they used the word, 'irate,' to describe the way I acted. Perhaps, I should have just taken their lousy treatment in stride. I suppose I should have been meek, and turned the other cheek, and not complained about being called a thief, when I am absolutely not. My grandfather, who died before I was born, was a CEO of the Grant Company, and one cause for huge lawsuits, was an accusation such as that, public humiliation and deformation of character.
I know they can ban anyone they want, but now I have no way to get to a grocery store, unless I get a ride or call a taxi. My son is usually too busy working, and all, to take me to the store, or anywhere, for that matter. There is a Dollar General, I can walk to, but I will not be able to get much fresh food there. My friend Gary took me to Kroger's yesterday, so I could get soy milk, kefir, and kashi cereal. I am fifty-one years old. I have to take care of my health. I have two sons living at home. One is working and eats out mostly. The other has a disability, and is on disability income, but cannot manage too much responsibility, which puts more responsibility on me, but he may have to take on more responsibility now.
What is really ironic is that about ten years ago, when my younger child was only about thirteen, I did have food stamps. I was in BI-LO, shopping. I had been at the self check, and South Carolina EBT card is like a debit card with a certain allotted amount designated, and you have to keep track of the balance. When I checked my receipts after the next shopping trip, I had my remaining ninety dollars missing. I had remembered two cashiers going behind me that day, but I did not accuse anyone. However, I put in a police report for the equivalent to credit card fraud, which is what they told me, and it was looked into. A detective came to my home, to tell me that two BI-LO employees were caught on surveillance footage, standing behind me, the day the money went missing. One wrote down my four digit code I had to punch in, and the other my card number, and they spent all of my family's allotment of government subsidized food money, on themselves that day. One got probation, and the other got PTI, pretrial intervention. They were of course fired, and I was given ninety dollars worth of store credit to buy whatever I wanted in the store, including paper goods, and what not, rather than just food, since it was their employees.
It was stressful for us, until it got solved, because we had no food. It was November, and so we had to eat remaining Halloween candy. That was all we had. I had no money at the time, with bills and all. The irony is that BI-LO employees committed a crime against me, and I never did anything to them. They stole from me, and accused me of trying to steal from them, ten years later, but the difference is that I was completely innocent of any wrong doing, or intention of wrong doing. I had forgotten this, until yesterday afternoon, and none of the same people still work there, and the store moved a couple of blocks south, and became a super BI-LO, but it is relevant, and to me ironic.
I have an attorney now, to handle it, and the president of the National Federation for the Blind, a friend, who is also an attorney, and a politician, called me back, as well.
I spoke to Lieutenant Boyd, and got a call back today from another police supervisor, who said he would talk to them, but my lawyer had told me not to do anything, so I declined, and now I wish I had taken the supervisor up on that.
Apparently, the store managers are not there to serve, only to be jerks. I said to her, "there is a thing called the first amendment." People are just ignorant and stupid, and think they are important, because they have some dumb job, and get to boss people around. I have done some research about BI-LO, and found a lot of complaints on line from employees being mistreated by managers. I also found a sight where customers complain about the lousy customer service at BI-LO.
What I am saying is that, I am not the only one who is having, or has had a bad time with that store.
I called their customer service headquarters, who called the store on my behalf, but that was to no avail. Hopefully, my lawyer can help. I do not know, but it does not seem fair, because I do not drive, and that was the only grocery store I could get to on my own.
I even wrote to Congressman Tom Rice. I received a typed letter back from his office, with numbers and addresses for legal aid and law enforcement, but I still feel helpless, and I do not know what to do. I wish my lawyer would do something.
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