- Report: #268588
Complaint Review: Kmart - Frederick Maryland
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Kmart
1003 West Patrick Street Frederick, 21702 Maryland, U.S.A.
Phone:
301-662-7232
Web:
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Kmart Poor Operation All the Way Around Ripoff Frederick Maryland
1)Very Long Checkout Lines
2)Severe Cashier Shortage
3)Disorganized, Poorly Stocked Merchandise
4)Opened Packages, Missing Contents/Used Beverages Around Merchandise
5)Very Slow, Poor Computer Systems
6)Need For Employee Training on All Levels From Security Through Management
We entered Kmart Aug. 18, after 1PM but couldn't get out until 5PM. We first waited in a line of 10-15 people. We were scolded like children by the lady at the service desk(Pam) for not going in her line with the same amount of people. We went to the only other line there was, which looked much the same. When it was our turn, the cashier bagged soap items in with our food. When we asked him not to do that and he continued to, and we suggested we bag our own items, he got very offended. He remarked, "You are having a bad day." We paid over $80 for our order to be treated like that in this Kmart. There was a man and woman directly behind us with just 2 drinks and he (and later, the woman as well)ended up insulting and harassing my Mother, blaming her for the line being held up when it was due to a slow cashier and a slow, poor computer system. They said horrible, unwarranted things that I will not repeat here. Security would not do anything about this man. We feared going to our car so we still could not leave. We discussed this further with Security(David, who first posed as management) and the Manager(Patsy), and they said in unison, "What could we have done?" I even went to call the police, at which point the man said I was as crazy as my Mother. There were many other disgusted customers and not just today. I witnessed Pam telling a customer, "There's no need to raise your voice," when I could not hear her voice, being 2 places behind her. I also witnessed the Manager, Patsy, complaining, "I can only do one thing at a time." It seems none of the aforementioned can handle what their jobs require of them. They certainly have shown that they do not care at all about the customer.
Personally, I am still very shaken up about this a day later. I don't know why these other customers were left to get away with treating us that way or even why they were allowed to stay in the store! Furthermore, they could have gone to an "express" line they had set up in jewelry or electronics(apparently) because all they had were 2 drinks. They could have been out of there faster than the rest of us but they chose to wait in a line of a dozen people and for some reason, they decided WE would be the ones to pay the price for that. We also had to pay the price for their not buying said drinks in the snack bar where they could have already paid for them and been gone. It was as if they hung around there for the purpose of starting trouble with someone.
I also don't know why the employees could not do anything about it, nor get any of the customers with larger orders out of the store in a timely, orderly fashion. They certainly should have appreciated our being there and realized the greater likelihood of OUR returning, with us having bought over $80 worth of items that took an hour to pick out, as opposed to 2 people that ran in for a couple of drinks and had nothing else better to do than to give others a hard time.
Shauna
Frederick, Maryland
U.S.A.
2)Severe Cashier Shortage
3)Disorganized, Poorly Stocked Merchandise
4)Opened Packages, Missing Contents/Used Beverages Around Merchandise
5)Very Slow, Poor Computer Systems
6)Need For Employee Training on All Levels From Security Through Management
We entered Kmart Aug. 18, after 1PM but couldn't get out until 5PM. We first waited in a line of 10-15 people. We were scolded like children by the lady at the service desk(Pam) for not going in her line with the same amount of people. We went to the only other line there was, which looked much the same. When it was our turn, the cashier bagged soap items in with our food. When we asked him not to do that and he continued to, and we suggested we bag our own items, he got very offended. He remarked, "You are having a bad day." We paid over $80 for our order to be treated like that in this Kmart. There was a man and woman directly behind us with just 2 drinks and he (and later, the woman as well)ended up insulting and harassing my Mother, blaming her for the line being held up when it was due to a slow cashier and a slow, poor computer system. They said horrible, unwarranted things that I will not repeat here. Security would not do anything about this man. We feared going to our car so we still could not leave. We discussed this further with Security(David, who first posed as management) and the Manager(Patsy), and they said in unison, "What could we have done?" I even went to call the police, at which point the man said I was as crazy as my Mother. There were many other disgusted customers and not just today. I witnessed Pam telling a customer, "There's no need to raise your voice," when I could not hear her voice, being 2 places behind her. I also witnessed the Manager, Patsy, complaining, "I can only do one thing at a time." It seems none of the aforementioned can handle what their jobs require of them. They certainly have shown that they do not care at all about the customer.
Personally, I am still very shaken up about this a day later. I don't know why these other customers were left to get away with treating us that way or even why they were allowed to stay in the store! Furthermore, they could have gone to an "express" line they had set up in jewelry or electronics(apparently) because all they had were 2 drinks. They could have been out of there faster than the rest of us but they chose to wait in a line of a dozen people and for some reason, they decided WE would be the ones to pay the price for that. We also had to pay the price for their not buying said drinks in the snack bar where they could have already paid for them and been gone. It was as if they hung around there for the purpose of starting trouble with someone.
I also don't know why the employees could not do anything about it, nor get any of the customers with larger orders out of the store in a timely, orderly fashion. They certainly should have appreciated our being there and realized the greater likelihood of OUR returning, with us having bought over $80 worth of items that took an hour to pick out, as opposed to 2 people that ran in for a couple of drinks and had nothing else better to do than to give others a hard time.
Shauna
Frederick, Maryland
U.S.A.
3 Updates & Rebuttals
Nbales
Lynchburg,Ohio,
U.S.A.
Unfortunate, but..
#2UPDATE Employee
Tue, March 11, 2008
These problems you experience are true of any major retail store I have ever been to. No matter how many functional registers there may be, only a fraction are open. Customers in crowded stores do tend to tear apart merchandise and packaging-- probably because personnel are busy dealing with people shouting about long lines and demanding to speak to managers. As for being treated badly by your cashier, cashiers are people too, and do get stressed out. However, he SHOULD have known to keep soap separate from food from common sense. (There is little, if any, bagging training.) Though he made a mistake, yes, and potentially worsened the situation by either not hearing you or ignoring you, I'm sure the situation was not improved by your suggestion of doing his job for him. As for our computers, I myself have complained about the ones at our store. I've been told it's "not in the budget," so until the economy improves, registers won't. Now, let's get to the disturbing part of this complaint-- the vicious customer behind you. I've dealt with fights in my line and a few nasties, but was informed that unless they do something physical, or threaten physical harm either through swinging fists or verbal expression of intent, we couldn't do anything. They might be jerks, but they were paying customers too. However, if this aforementioned swearing continued long after you had left the line, and they actually followed you, I think management should have requested they leave, on grounds of harassment. And just because this manager seemed overwhelmed by a busy crowd does not necessarily mean she does not care, or is unqualified for her job.. though it is possible.
Bay
Baltimore,Maryland,
U.S.A.
I have dealt with the same situations there
#3Consumer Suggestion
Sat, February 23, 2008
I went to get a toaster a couple weeks back and there was only two back there in the area which was full of trash and as you said opened packages The one was cheap looking and the other i took and got in line. The man tells me after i get my turn that he can not sell me that toaster it is a recalled product They had a whole shelf full of them If they KNOW it is a recalled item why not make sure to remove them?? the store is a mess you can never get checked out. Such a shame as it once was a nice place and with it being walking distance it was easy for me to shop there.
Thomas
Anderson,South Carolina,
U.S.A.
Most of your complaints are really "Management's Business"
#4Consumer Comment
Sun, August 19, 2007
because these K-Mart practices, which have endured for years at K-Mart, are slowly killing K-Mart. Maybe too slowly? I have never figured out WHY Sears ever bought K-Mart. Maybe a "Business-Strategy Weenie" can explain this to us. I know why Sears bought LandsEnd... because LandsEnd offers really tasteful, reasonably priced, good quality clothes & shoes, while Sears' comparable offerings are pitiful. But LandsEnd continues as before (thank god), Sears continues as before (no comment) and K-Mart continues as before...... Don't get so hung up on the other customers. People can be incredibly unobservant and thoughtless....and usually harmless. They likely thought that you "had a lot of stuff" and that "you slowed the cashier down with your unreasonable requests". You assume they were paying enough attention to the world around them to know that THEY had better checkout options. I will bet they were clueless. Move on.... and look for other stores.... you can pick from Wally-World, Target, etc. etc. It should not be too hard to find something better than K-Mart..... the aging shadow of SS Kresge & Co.
