Today I went to my local CVS and asked to speak with a manager and was refused. The cashier would not allow me to speak with him for some reason. I was seeking employment but was told they were not hiring, I put in an application two months ago. Why did she refuse my request? Is she saving the job for one of her friends or relatives or what? Highly unprofessional, I did customer service for 7 years and anyone who wishes to speak to a manager cannot be refused.

I had gone to store to pick up prescription that my mom's doctors had called to tell me had been called in. When I got there, they knew nothing about it. They said there machine was down. I explained that this had happened before and that it is inconvienent to run back and forth to the drugs store. Also I had been previously to pick up a script for pain meds. I had been paying 2.50 and they wanted to charge me 48.00. Said ins was no longer paying for this and that may well be but the clerk made the comment to me that had nothing to do with ins paying for it. I did not say that she did. She was rude. Instead of being compassionate she was a complete ass.

Hi,

I'm not sure who to write to to complain about an incident at the CVS store on Queens Blvd. and 67th. So I am posting here.

The incident occurred at 10:00 PM on Tuesday October 12th.

I was in-line checking out my merchandise with my pug dog in a sealed door stroller. I purchased this stroller specifically so I can take my dog out with me and so that it would be safe and sanitary and not bother anyone. I've had nothing but very positive comments about my dog in the stroller. At the very moment an employee was commenting at how cute my pug was and other customers were smiling at him, the manager burst out from the back and stood firmly in front of me and said harshly "dogs are not allowed in our store we just got fined for having dogs in the store. You can't have your dog in here!!"

The cashier and the people standing around all stopped what they were doing to look at what all the commotion was. I was quite embarrassed and politely told her "ok. I'm paying now I'll leave in a minute." She (I think it was a she) went on " You should read the sign there's a sign that says no dogs. We just got fined. You want to pay our fine?"

The people around and the employees were all embarrassed at this point by her rudeness. Everyone could see I was trying to be polite and we were causing no disturbance. I then told her " well, I never had any trouble before in any of the stores in Queens and Manhattan including Rite Aide and Whole Foods and Macys. I've had this strollers for 3 years and they're sold specifically so you can bring dogs into public places."

She went on, trying to rally the people in the store against me. "Well we had a complaint! Someone saw a dog in the store and complained and we got fined." She went on: "if your going to pay our fine! You want to pay our fine?"

"Look." I tried to be polite but was now agitated. "I said I was leaving. I'll never come back again. There's plenty of other stores around to go to. I'll just go to Duane Read or Right Aid. And if you keep giving me a hard time and don't let me leave I'm going to send an email and complain."

"Then go to Rite Aid" She said. "Your not allowed in our store."

Well, now I am writing to complain. I saw no visible sign on the door when I left and the manager's behavior was rude and inappropriate. And I can assure you that whatever the fine they lost more by loosing me as a lifetime customer.

I was emailed a $5 coupon with any purchase of $30 or more.
I also was armed with several manufacturers coupons.

I hit up the red box with my trusty CVS card to see what other goodies I could score. It's time for the redemption of 3rd quarter Extra Care Bucks people!

I gave the store the once over and then determined that some of the items which I wanted were out of stock. (Folgers Instant Coffee & L'Oreal Studio Secrets Primer)

I asked politely as I always do..."Excuse me Miss, would it be possible please to get a couple of rainchecks for items that are out of stock". She asked for my coupon so she could check the product against the store circular and proceeded to write out the rainchecks. (She didn't actually ask, she said..."Gimme that.". RUDE She was looking @ the back of the circular which displayed the Ground Folgers. I explained to her that the offer was on the front of the circular. She said, "I know, I heard you." RUDE. I was thinking "Well if you heard me, then why did you not acknowledge what I said?" (I still didn't let that get under my skin...afterall, this was a happy shopping trip!) I was still excited about getting my goodies) It had been a minute since I'd treated myself to a good drugstore haul!

Please correct me if I am wrong.

It is my understanding that w/ the Extra Care Bucks program,
You MUST purchase an item exceeding the face value of the EB.
Also
I did not think a customer could combine MULTIPLE EB to redeem in 1 single transaction.

As a result, I got in line several times to maximize my dollars & take full advantage of the program. The cashier was annoyed b/c of this.

I am not understanding why. It should NOT matter how many times I get in line. Her job is to ring me up. I can take service without a smile. That's fine. But she had the audacity to speak about me as if I were not there. It seems that true good customer service is a lost art. I have learned NOT to expect it anymore. However I do expect a MINIMUM of courtesy as a consumer.

She was EATING (an egg roll & some chinese soup) There is a Chinese Food Restaurant right across the street. If I got in her line 100x, I was spending MY $ and redeeming MY EB! Last time I checked having PAYING customers contributed to the salary of the workers.

We are still in a credit crunch/recession (well they say not) but people are counting their pennies. Jobs are not at a premium. I would think she would have been happy to have ANY customer purchasing mdse so she could earn a paycheck. There is a RiteAid less than 1/2 a block from CVS. Now Rite Aid has a Rewards program, as does Walgreens. I later let the Corporate Customer Service lady (Colleen?) know that as consumers we DO have options & bad customer svc could mean the difference between my local CVS meeting goal or having those dollars walk to the nearest competitor! I explained to her that CVS used to be my premier source for drugstore beauty because of their rewards program.

I worked on and off in the customer svc industry for 20 years.
I expect a minimum of customer service. My hubby worked at one time a TeamLeader (Mgmt team) in Target.

We just expect a minimal level of customer service PERIOD. Which does NOT include being talked about as if patronizing the store is an inconvenience, even an annoyance to the workers. Obviously this woman had some other issues. Perhaps they were understaffed. Perhaps she was working a longer shift than she intended. NOT MY PROBLEM!

She told a visiting manager that he "brings them with him everyx". Implying that I was a problem customer & somehow this was his fault. One of her regular customers came in & noticed that she was perturbed & asked her how she was doing. She said she would be fine "shortly". I was standing near her register. This implied that I was a problem & she would be better once I was gone. RUDE

During my 1st transaction, I thanked her for her patience. There was some mixup about a coupon and she had to price check some perfume that I picked up. I bought the Shakira smaller bottle for $16.99. The larger one was $27.99. Of course I did not want the larger more expensive one. I was trying to redeem my $10 EB w/ the designer fragrance purchase. Yes, I thanked her for her patience and she said NOTHING. How rude!

I was so flustered that I forgot to use one of my coupons. UGH!
Flustered because it is not the customary for me to be wilding out in stores and turning them out. I work hard to accord every person dignity.

Afterall, I've been on the other side of the counter in 1 capacity or another at some time in my life. Cashier, Sales Associate, Waitress, Asst. Mgr. Receptionist, Production Assistant, Grunt worker, you name it. *smiles* The Cashier was older than me. I always show older persons respect. I have compassion for people who work in customer service. However, if you can't be civil and respectful, perhaps you need to find another line of work. Otherwise if you are rude and disrespectful, you could be costing your employer money.

Upon leaving the store, I dialed the customer service number on the back of my Extra Care Bucks card. I spoke with Juan. He patiently listened to my story and then repeated it as he understood it. He apologized for the negative experience & thanked me for sharing because he said corporate needs to know what is going on in the stores. He asked me to please hold while he transferred me to their Customer Relations Dept. I believe the woman with whom I spoke was named Colleen. I couldn't hear very well because I was on my cell phone.

She listened patiently while I explained in detail what transpired. She apologized and assured me this was not their method of doing business & said she would refer the matter to their District Mgr. She also assured me that the matter would be addressed with the Store Manager as well as the Cashier. I thanked her for taking the time to listen to me and also for apologizing for the rudeness of the cashier. I did let her know that I would most definitely be blogging about it. I told her not only on my blog, but also on others as well.

She got quiet. I will definitely update my blog should I hear from the District Manager.

On a side note, my DH worked w/ the Store Mgr of that CVS previously at Target. He was not there today. Too bad!

I still have $3 extra care bucks. I would have liked to have scored another bottle of polish, but I didn't really see any colors the beckoned.

I think though really, I was just so annoyed by the entire experience that I wanted to get out of the store.

If I AM wrong about combining EB on 1 receipt, please let me know. I think perhaps if I had gotten all of the items which I wanted, on one receipt things would not have been as hectic. But she was in such an terrible mood, it might not have mattered.

She was however pleasant to her regular customers and playful with small children in the store, so I presumed it was a personality conflict.
After it was all said and done, and I was outside of the store, I was thinking...

"Whateva lady...Gimme my prods for which I paid good $ and did MENTAL Olympics to maximize my dollars despite whatever REGISTER Olympics you had to do to complete the transaction(s)"
The things we endure to save on beauty! OMGoodness!

What are your minimal expectations from cashiers? How about your mimimum expectations from chain drugstore managment/corporate?

How can we as consumers send the message to companies that we expect a certain level of courtesy from their employees?

Manager is very unprofessional. Manager (D.Remblake) is always on a cell phone and rude to the customers. I'm sorry but she needs us in order to have a job. I go to that location atleast twice a month for my prescriptions but now I have switched to Walgreens on 91st ave and Peoria. It's out of my way but the Manager is alot nicer and I don't feel like I'm a bother. I recommend that anyone who needs to fill their prescriptions not to go to CVS on 99th ave. and Peoria. Hopefully one day someone will see and listen to the way that woman treats a customer.If you have the same complaint as me call her boss and complain (Charles Curtis).