It's always sad when a place where one shops has to end due to bad customer service. Below is an encounter I had at the Whole Foods Market in Redmond, WA this past weekend.
My wife and I were at this store to purchase some breakfast items at ~ 9:20 AM. Our plan was to consume the items there, before proceeding with the rest of our day.
My wife went to purchase some coffee, while I went to the smoothie section (I found out later that she went through Checkout Stand #9).
When she was done, she proceeded to sit at one of the tables and wait for me.
When my smoothie was complete, I promptly went to pay for it. The other Stands looked busy, so I found myself standing under Checkout Stand#9. The cashier (a middle-aged white guy with brown hair and a brown beard, named 'Peter') and was engaged in a conversation with another employee, though the cashier active light over the stand was on.
I waited, and he didn’t respond. He continued to engage the other employee in conversation.
After ~ 3 minutes, a cashier at Checkout Stand#7 suggested I go to the coffee stand to pay for my purchase.
I went to the coffee stand, and as soon as I arrived, I turned around, and saw that Peter was starting to take another customer (a middle-aged white male).
After paying for my beverage, I proceeded back to Checkout Stand#9 and inquired to Peter why he did not allow me to pay for my purchase at his stand, while it was okay for him to check out the current person.
He claimed he did not notice me, and that he was just doing his job. I informed him that I stood there for 3 minutes. He merely shrugged his shoulders. The employee at Checkout Stand #7 was now at #9, providing bagging services for the current customer.
At this point I was angry at the lousy customer service from this individual and promptly informed my wife about the situation. We left.
Both my wife and I have shopped at Whole Foods Market stores in Bellevue, WA, and at this store, and we’ve both received consistent and excellent customer service before (The employee who prepared my beverage was pretty good – she was working in the bakery and went over the smoothie section because no one was there. Now that's customer service).
I like Whole Foods Market. I like the one in Bellevue, WA. Because of that I expect a much higher level of service from them. It is also why I am quite disappointed that Whole Foods Market would employ such a person as Peter. I am frankly appalled that Whole Foods Market would employ the services of an individual who either –
1. Holds such a double standard as to provide customer service to two white-skinned people while I – a brown-skinned person - had to walk to another counter and spend an additional five minutes waiting to pay for a beverage.
2. Is too ineffectual at his job to notice a customer standing in his active checkout stand merely 3 feet away from him. I note again, the checkout light was on, and that the customer service rep two stands away noticed me. She was not able to assist because there were people in her line, which is why I believe she recommended I got to the coffee stand.
I don't believe him when he says he didn't see me. I’ve come to the conclusion that either this person was racist in his behavior, or he is too incompetent to be doing his job. Rather than continue on ranting, it's better that I will no longer be shopping at this store so long as they continue to tolerate employees like Peter who conduct themselves in such a callous and rude manner.
What do you think? Do you believe I over-reacted?
