MENARDS Inc. "customer service" Antioch Illinois
Please find the complaint below:
The response was ( I am not making this up): Thank you for taking your time to write us. Next time if you have a problem contact ..............the same person you are complaining about.
It makes you wonder if the response was actually not automated.
I have an issue with Menards store in Antioch, IL. On 9/11 I visited the store and I have a comment about state of affairs there. Attempting to locate one item I inquired for help from two associates at the store. Both gave me a vague item locations/availability info which was completely false. I wasted 15 minutes and still was not able to locate it. The issue/question: why no one bothered to look at computerized inventory system and provide a definite answer? When I brought this issue to store manager Tom I was given a sheepish excuse instead of taking care of the matter and resolving it (incidentally he also did not bother to refer to database. The answer was: if it not here than we probably don't have it).
On the way back I inquired about an additional issue. A week earlier I made a $40 purchase and since I forgot to use a competitor coupon I phoned the store. I was told that as long as bring the receipt on the next visit it will be honored. (I used the coupon from that competitor before and did not have any issues in the same store). When I brought this issue up to customer service desk I was told to go to return desk right at the front entrance. When I approached the desk and explained the situation I was told that only store manager has authority to address the issue. After 5 minutes I was told that "she" did not approve of the coupon ($10 off $30 purchase)and will not adjust it on purchase already made. When I interceded that I just spoke with store manager and it is not "she", I was told actually that the decision was made not by store manager but someone else.
Questions:
Why Menards employees play games such as this that are devoid not only of basic ethics but any sound business practice?
What is the quality of leadership in the store that cannot enforce basic customer service function such as assisting people with basic function such as item location?
Sincerely,
D.Monroe
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Otkon
Menards "Customer Service" Issues Are Widespread.
#2Consumer Comment
Mon, January 27, 2014
Pray you never have a serious issue and ask to speak with corporate. They ONLY deal with customers via email. So you better have access to a computer. But the hassle simply won't stop there.
1) Menards will do anything to get you in the store. That includes leaving important information off of printed materials that they disseminate to the public. And if you ask for clarification at the store, the employees are undertrained and will give you incorrect information. So you won't find out things are too good to be true until you're at the checkout holding up a line of customers debating fine print. And even when there are a multitude of reasonable complaints about the same unclear stipulations, Menards refuses to do anything which means it is obviously a deceptive marketing ploy.
2) You will get a lot of lip service when you eventually get a corporate responses, but they will just pass the buck back down to the store you had the issue with. Expect the runaround. And despite their insistence on the use of impersonal emails for all contact, there will be so much miscommunication that you will become frustrated. And there will be long delays becaus Menards is in no rush to fix a problem.
3) When you have become completely despondent over Menard's deplorable approach to customer service, and after you tell them you are done with them for failing to professionally retain your business, the General Manager of the store may very well show up unannounced and uninvited AT YOUR HOUSE to personally hand you a $2 product that you do not want or need. And when you complain to corporate about why one of their employees just trespassed on your property, you will get no response whatsoever. So do NOT give Menards your home address.
The reason that things are so cheap at Menards is because they completely skimp on customer service. They have no toll-free phone system to address immediate concerns, the employees are lacking in knowledge, and they don't want you questioning the illogical way they handle complaints.
After the issues I have encountered at every level with Menards, there is really nothing they can do to earn my business back. There is a decent way to treat a displeased customer and then there is the Menards way. I will just ask for price matching at their competitors from now on. They are certainly not worth my time and money.