Unfortunately, it is unlikely that anything will come of it. What is more likely to happen, is that the manager is a spotty oik, all of twenty and is sh!t scared of the middle aged witches who really run the store. He will either say to her " 'ere you know that daft retard you joked about the other day, well they've only gone an complained. LOL HAHAHAHA." Or he will just ignore entirely. This "Customer Service Executive" will call in a couple of days and ask him if he has dealt with it. He will "yeah I 'ad a word." and that will be the end of it.
What you need to do is to write back and tell them that you consider this to a matter for a more senior manager to deal with and should not be left to some at store level. Insist that you get a written letter of apology from the member of staff involved and a confirmation that she has been dealt with by someone from within the CEO's office.
Speaking as a father of a son who has severe learning difficulties, I used to ignore such attitudes, but I just got so fed up with making excuses for them. Whenever I hear such comments aimed at him I make a stand at the time and as public as possible causing them as much shame and embarrassment as I possibly can.
I semi agree with this. I manage a store ( not tescos ! ) and if it is just a general person in customer service dealing with it, there may not be a lot they are doing. I would be inclined to ask for a phone call from the store manager or regional manager so that you can hear from the horses mouth what they are doing about it. Also a personal apology from the staff member is definitly something you need. If they try and offer you vouchers for the store turn it down, because by taking them they will think that the issue is not that big to you.
Just as an aside to the poster I quoted, if someone is twenty it doesnt mean they are rubbish at their job. I was a manager back then and the most prejudice I got was from customers who thought I couldnt do my job. Snap judging people works both ways.
Speaking as a father of a son who has severe learning difficulties, I used to ignore such attitudes, but I just got so fed up with making excuses for them. Whenever I hear such comments aimed at him I make a stand at the time and as public as possible causing them as much shame and embarrassment as I possibly can.
That's the attitude one of my friends has, & I agree with her & you. Her daughter has cerebral palsy, & tries really hard to walk without her walker. There are days when she does need it, but she'd still rather try to manage without it as much as possible. One day, her mum went with her to the supermarket, & witnessed a member of staff being nice to her face but behind her back cruelly imitating her walk & saying to another colleague that she'd hate to have to keep that up all day as her knees would be shot to pieces & she needs them to go clubbing. The woman didn't realise they were together.
My friend said nothing to the woman, but went to Customer Services & asked for a manager. When he came from wherever he was, she took him to the member of staff & repeated what had happened, pointing to her daughter who was now standing near the doors out of earshot. That was the first time the member of staff realised they were together, so she didn't have time to lie & no-one had a chance to try to cover up what happened or pretend they'd dealt with the issue when they hadn't. My friend got an immediate apology from both the woman at fault & the manager, which was followed up by a letter from the manager confirming what action he'd be taking. The woman was beetroot with embarrassment.
OP, I understand you may be shy & feel uncomfortable about confronting these things there & then. It's something that would be well worth you trying to get over though, because as long as you are out with your sister, such nasty behaviour could be an issue & there are going to be times when writing to the store won't be an option. You sound like a good sister, & you wouldn't like to know that one day your sister picks up on something that's said/done & is hurt by it. Dealing with the matter when it happens gives you the element of surprise & makes it far less likely the staff will lie, not least of all because big supermarkets often have CCTV which could have recorded such behaviour. It also lets staff know that their behaviour really isn't acceptable.
I had a total nightmare with this recently. A few months ago I ordered online delivery for a change. Apparantly the driver knocked down my pillar on the drive with his van but then parked further down the road. I didn't see this but two neighbours claimed they saw it plus I saw the pillar had fallen when 5 minutes before the van arrived it was fine.
Anyway, unaware at this point, I took the goods off him but he seemed in a hurry to get out of there (now I know why), and also didn't get me to sign for the goods which now I know has to be done!
So when I found out what had happened, I called them, logged the complaint and they kept promising to call back on certain days and not doing it. The number of times I had to call and go through the same thing time and time again.
After about 4 months of that, they then informed me I should have called a different department!
Called them, started the whole thing again, and eventually 6 months or so down the line it was passed to the insurers who are now agreeing to pay.
I was mainly annoyed at the time it took, and the empty promises of so and so will call back when we had to do all the calling back, spending more money and nothing actually getting resolved. If we hadn't had chased it we would still be at square one IMO. Also, we were told by a builder we should get the pillar sorted soon as it could cause a collapse of the whole gate (attached to the pillar)!
What you need to do is to write back and tell them that you consider this to a matter for a more senior manager to deal with and should not be left to some at store level. Insist that you get a written letter of apology from the member of staff involved and a confirmation that she has been dealt with by someone from within the CEO's office.
I agree you should send another email and ask to deal direct with somebody from the CEO's office.
I agree you should send another email and ask to deal direct with somebody from the CEO's office.
I agree with this too - the Store Manager may not have the skills to deal with an issue as sensitive as this and may just want to keep his staff sweet. People with any kind of disability, learning or otherwise, should be treated with respect and courtesy, and Tesco pride themselves on customer care. Someone with a bit of clout needs to be involved so nobody else has to suffer this kind of humiliation.
This thread has shocked me. I used to work in retail and dread to think what would have happened if I'd even dared say something about a customer - let alone say such vile things. Take it all the way OP - if you don't get the response you're looking for from the store take it to the local newspaper. I'm sure they'd love to fight on your behalf. And if nothing else it would put pressure on the store to take appropriate action. I hope you've had a positive response from them by now.
This whole saga is truly horrendous. Keep pushing for a resolution but you'll probably find they won't tell you exactly what action they have taken against the staff member. If you ask they will probably say that confidentiality means they can't disclose information about disciplinary action etc as this would be a breach of the employess rights. Never mind the breach of your sisters rights
This is really disgusting behaviour from the checkout assistant, I'm actually really upset to read this. Similar things have happened to my in the past with my Brother (he is very intelligent guy, but we suspect he has asperger's, although it has never been diagnosed - he is 29 now and getting on ok in life). However, he is a bit slow sometimes or perhaps acts a little strange, and I get fuming angry inside if I hear anyone make a comment - but like the OP here I'm quite a shy person and would never want to make a scene.
The OP says her location is Wiltshire and that the store is a Tesco Express, so a quick search on Tesco's store locator could probably narrow it down to one of these:
I'd like to say that I can't believe what I'm reading but sadly I know from experience what nasty pieces of work exist in this world and have the gall to call themselves human.
My brother who sadly died 11 years ago was Downs Syndrome and I spent most of my youth in fights over peoples nasty remarks. In fairness most of these people were maybe too young to know any better and seemed to see the error of their ways as they grew older. However it never ceases to amaze me the so called adults who still make immature and despicable remarks about people who they consider to be inferior to them. The truth is that my brother had more kindness and goodwill in his little finger than all the people in the world who as they become adults continue to be swines like this.
I think for the purposes of this thread DS should remove the ban on swearing as I have had to think long and hard for the appropriate words to describe these eejits.
I agree with this. Also don't foget to use social networking sites. The power of Twitter/Youtube etc shouldn't be underestimated.
Why not wait to see what the store does first? There are shit people in every line of work, it's the action that's taken to deal with them that matters. I'd be very careful about taking action through the media except as a last resort.
I thought this was going to be another petty complaint thread before opening where someone complains because a loaf of bread was in the fridges, but that is really disgusting. I hope you really do get somewhere with it and they get found out.
I came on DS tonight specifically to find out if there was any outcome on this thread. I am seriously thinking about not using Tescos having read this because I am SO disgusted. My two oldest friends both have disabled daughters and if anyone disrespected them I would go ballistic. There is not place for such behaviour in a so called civilised society.
I came on DS tonight specifically to find out if there was any outcome on this thread. I am seriously thinking about not using Tescos having read this because I am SO disgusted. My two oldest friends both have disabled daughters and if anyone disrespected them I would go ballistic. There is not place for such behaviour in a so called civilised society.
Jeez, so lets tar everyone who works for Tesco with the same brush shall we! Not shopping at any Tesco because of one **** is hardly realistic and a touch of an overreaction. If this is true she should be given disciplinary action. As a manager myself for a retailer, I wouldn't put up with this. However, it is one of those difficult situations where it is the OP's word against the member of staff. Very difficult to take it any further than a good documented talking to. Unless the staff member has a track record of this. It is a shame that you haven't got any witnesses. If it was me, I would personally apologise to you over the phone.
Oh and to that Flyboy character above, I found your comment about 20 year olds very offensive. I'm 29 and have been managing in retail for a good while now. I think it is ageism in the extreme to suggest that someone who is young must be a crap manager. Also why do people always say that anyone who works in retail is spotty. I've had a look at all my staff recently and I don't think I have seen any spotty individuals!!
Jeez, so lets tar everyone who works for Tesco with the same brush shall we! Not shopping at any Tesco because of one **** is hardly realistic and a touch of an overreaction. If this is true she should be given disciplinary action. As a manager myself for a retailer, I wouldn't put up with this. However, it is one of those difficult situations where it is the OP's word against the member of staff. Very difficult to take it any further than a good documented talking to. Unless the staff member has a track record of this. It is a shame that you haven't got any witnesses. If it was me, I would personally apologise to you over the phone.
If you had read my earlier post you would have seen that I am actually very unhappy about a number of staff at my local Tescos who are incredibly rude. It is clear to me that Tesco does have a problem with staff as I have never encountered problems like this with any other supermarket. I am not tarring everyone with the same brush because many of the staff are also very pleasant. But IMO my local Tescos has more than its fair share of rude staff. They think nothing of physically barging customers out of the way and bashing them with trolleys. It happened to me last time I visited. So NO I am not basing that thought purely on this thread.
If you had read my earlier post you would have seen that I am actually very unhappy about a number of staff at my local Tescos who are incredibly rude. It is clear to me that Tesco does have a problem with staff as I have never encountered problems like this with any other supermarket. I am not tarring everyone with the same brush because many of the staff are also very pleasant. But IMO my local Tescos has more than its fair share of rude staff. They think nothing of physically barging customers out of the way and bashing them with trolleys. It happened to me last time I visited. So NO I am not basing that thought purely on this thread.
Well I'm sorry if that is not the case, your post suggested it was because of this one post.I'm also glad you don't tar all retail workers with the same brush. We get enough bad press because of idiots like this, it is already very tough working with the public believe it or not. I think it is perfectly acceptable to vent your spleen about customers or say what you want about them, when you are away from where you work (not on facebook) and in private, to do it on the shopfloor is not acceptable.
Well I'm sorry if that is not the case, your post suggested it was because of this one post.I'm also glad you don't tar all retail workers with the same brush. We get enough bad press because of idiots like this, it is already very tough working with the public believe it or not. I think it is perfectly acceptable to vent your spleen about customers or say what you want about them, when you are away from where you work (not on facebook) and in private, to do it on the shopfloor is not acceptable.
I think the vast majority of retail workers are very good and I always go out of my way to thank people who are helpful or be nice to them if I see other customers not treating them with respect. (I worked in retail briefly and I know what it is like to be on the receiving end). I had a bad experience in Tescos recently when an older male worker nearly knocked me flying because he pushed in front of me to put something on the shelves. I pointed out that he had pushed me and he started shouting at me and got quite nasty. I should have reported him but I didn't. Last week a group of staff were mucking around and bashing customers with trolleys in the process, including me. I have never had problems like this elsewhere or in any other Tescos stores so this might be down to poor management.
I came on DS tonight specifically to find out if there was any outcome on this thread. I am seriously thinking about not using Tescos having read this because I am SO disgusted. My two oldest friends both have disabled daughters and if anyone disrespected them I would go ballistic. There is not place for such behaviour in a so called civilised society.
You know these so called Tesco employees who plague you so probably all breathe oxygen? Why not seriously think about boycotting that too?
I had a phone call from the store manager on Thursday. He was very understanding and very apologetic.
I wasn't aware of this, but 2 other customers had witnessed what had happened, and reported it to the manager on duty at the time. He said he was glad I'd got in touch so he could apologise to me personally.
He is relatively new to that store (only been there 2 months) and knows that many staff members are set in their ways and can be rude to customers as it's been allowed to go on for so long. He's organising a customer service training session for ALL staff, and those who don't improve will have their employment status reviewed.
He also told me they're putting in self-service machines soon, I'm not sure if that was to entice me back in the store... but it won't work.
I accepted his apology, he didn't have to call or even say sorry, since it wasn't directly his fault. I was kind-of hoping I'd get some form of apology from the woman who said it, but I guess that's unlikely. He sounded very genuine, it could just be clever acting, but I think he meant what he said and was keen to put the situation right.
I also received a handwritten letter in the post on Friday repeating what he had said, and a £10 gift voucher for my sister
I'm glad they listened and took it seriously. I still don't think I could ever bring myself to go in there again, but I hope the staff will think twice before judging and making fun of someone with a disability again.
Thanks again to everyone who backed me up and supported me. I really have never complained before!
Comments
I semi agree with this. I manage a store ( not tescos ! ) and if it is just a general person in customer service dealing with it, there may not be a lot they are doing. I would be inclined to ask for a phone call from the store manager or regional manager so that you can hear from the horses mouth what they are doing about it. Also a personal apology from the staff member is definitly something you need. If they try and offer you vouchers for the store turn it down, because by taking them they will think that the issue is not that big to you.
Just as an aside to the poster I quoted, if someone is twenty it doesnt mean they are rubbish at their job. I was a manager back then and the most prejudice I got was from customers who thought I couldnt do my job. Snap judging people works both ways.
My friend said nothing to the woman, but went to Customer Services & asked for a manager. When he came from wherever he was, she took him to the member of staff & repeated what had happened, pointing to her daughter who was now standing near the doors out of earshot. That was the first time the member of staff realised they were together, so she didn't have time to lie & no-one had a chance to try to cover up what happened or pretend they'd dealt with the issue when they hadn't. My friend got an immediate apology from both the woman at fault & the manager, which was followed up by a letter from the manager confirming what action he'd be taking. The woman was beetroot with embarrassment.
OP, I understand you may be shy & feel uncomfortable about confronting these things there & then. It's something that would be well worth you trying to get over though, because as long as you are out with your sister, such nasty behaviour could be an issue & there are going to be times when writing to the store won't be an option. You sound like a good sister, & you wouldn't like to know that one day your sister picks up on something that's said/done & is hurt by it. Dealing with the matter when it happens gives you the element of surprise & makes it far less likely the staff will lie, not least of all because big supermarkets often have CCTV which could have recorded such behaviour. It also lets staff know that their behaviour really isn't acceptable.
Anyway, unaware at this point, I took the goods off him but he seemed in a hurry to get out of there (now I know why), and also didn't get me to sign for the goods which now I know has to be done!
So when I found out what had happened, I called them, logged the complaint and they kept promising to call back on certain days and not doing it. The number of times I had to call and go through the same thing time and time again.
After about 4 months of that, they then informed me I should have called a different department!
Called them, started the whole thing again, and eventually 6 months or so down the line it was passed to the insurers who are now agreeing to pay.
I was mainly annoyed at the time it took, and the empty promises of so and so will call back when we had to do all the calling back, spending more money and nothing actually getting resolved. If we hadn't had chased it we would still be at square one IMO. Also, we were told by a builder we should get the pillar sorted soon as it could cause a collapse of the whole gate (attached to the pillar)!
I agree you should send another email and ask to deal direct with somebody from the CEO's office.
PS Thats what we did in the end and it helped and speeded things up so go for it.
I agree with this. Also don't foget to use social networking sites. The power of Twitter/Youtube etc shouldn't be underestimated.
CALNE EXPRESS
DURRINGTON BULFORD ROAD EXPRESS
CHIPPENHAM PEWSHAM EXPRESS
LYNEHAM EXPRESS
CHIPPENHAM FOUNDRY LANE EXPRESS
FROGWELL EXPRESS
WOOTTON BASSETT EXPRESS
SWINDON FRESHBROOK EXPRESS
SHAW RAMLEAZE DRIVE EXPRESS
Edit: Actually I have just seen there is a load more than that, so difficult to narrow it down!
My brother who sadly died 11 years ago was Downs Syndrome and I spent most of my youth in fights over peoples nasty remarks. In fairness most of these people were maybe too young to know any better and seemed to see the error of their ways as they grew older. However it never ceases to amaze me the so called adults who still make immature and despicable remarks about people who they consider to be inferior to them. The truth is that my brother had more kindness and goodwill in his little finger than all the people in the world who as they become adults continue to be swines like this.
I think for the purposes of this thread DS should remove the ban on swearing as I have had to think long and hard for the appropriate words to describe these eejits.
Why not wait to see what the store does first? There are shit people in every line of work, it's the action that's taken to deal with them that matters. I'd be very careful about taking action through the media except as a last resort.
Jeez, so lets tar everyone who works for Tesco with the same brush shall we! Not shopping at any Tesco because of one **** is hardly realistic and a touch of an overreaction. If this is true she should be given disciplinary action. As a manager myself for a retailer, I wouldn't put up with this. However, it is one of those difficult situations where it is the OP's word against the member of staff. Very difficult to take it any further than a good documented talking to. Unless the staff member has a track record of this. It is a shame that you haven't got any witnesses. If it was me, I would personally apologise to you over the phone.
Oh and to that Flyboy character above, I found your comment about 20 year olds very offensive. I'm 29 and have been managing in retail for a good while now. I think it is ageism in the extreme to suggest that someone who is young must be a crap manager. Also why do people always say that anyone who works in retail is spotty. I've had a look at all my staff recently and I don't think I have seen any spotty individuals!!
If you had read my earlier post you would have seen that I am actually very unhappy about a number of staff at my local Tescos who are incredibly rude. It is clear to me that Tesco does have a problem with staff as I have never encountered problems like this with any other supermarket. I am not tarring everyone with the same brush because many of the staff are also very pleasant. But IMO my local Tescos has more than its fair share of rude staff. They think nothing of physically barging customers out of the way and bashing them with trolleys. It happened to me last time I visited. So NO I am not basing that thought purely on this thread.
Well I'm sorry if that is not the case, your post suggested it was because of this one post.I'm also glad you don't tar all retail workers with the same brush. We get enough bad press because of idiots like this, it is already very tough working with the public believe it or not. I think it is perfectly acceptable to vent your spleen about customers or say what you want about them, when you are away from where you work (not on facebook) and in private, to do it on the shopfloor is not acceptable.
I think the vast majority of retail workers are very good and I always go out of my way to thank people who are helpful or be nice to them if I see other customers not treating them with respect. (I worked in retail briefly and I know what it is like to be on the receiving end). I had a bad experience in Tescos recently when an older male worker nearly knocked me flying because he pushed in front of me to put something on the shelves. I pointed out that he had pushed me and he started shouting at me and got quite nasty. I should have reported him but I didn't. Last week a group of staff were mucking around and bashing customers with trolleys in the process, including me. I have never had problems like this elsewhere or in any other Tescos stores so this might be down to poor management.
You know these so called Tesco employees who plague you so probably all breathe oxygen? Why not seriously think about boycotting that too?
I had a phone call from the store manager on Thursday. He was very understanding and very apologetic.
I wasn't aware of this, but 2 other customers had witnessed what had happened, and reported it to the manager on duty at the time. He said he was glad I'd got in touch so he could apologise to me personally.
He is relatively new to that store (only been there 2 months) and knows that many staff members are set in their ways and can be rude to customers as it's been allowed to go on for so long. He's organising a customer service training session for ALL staff, and those who don't improve will have their employment status reviewed.
He also told me they're putting in self-service machines soon, I'm not sure if that was to entice me back in the store... but it won't work.
I accepted his apology, he didn't have to call or even say sorry, since it wasn't directly his fault. I was kind-of hoping I'd get some form of apology from the woman who said it, but I guess that's unlikely. He sounded very genuine, it could just be clever acting, but I think he meant what he said and was keen to put the situation right.
I also received a handwritten letter in the post on Friday repeating what he had said, and a £10 gift voucher for my sister
I'm glad they listened and took it seriously. I still don't think I could ever bring myself to go in there again, but I hope the staff will think twice before judging and making fun of someone with a disability again.
Thanks again to everyone who backed me up and supported me. I really have never complained before!