Waldbaum's

Customer Service EPIC FAIL



Seriously, shop elsewhere if you possibly can. They need to teach their employees some manners! I had been a loyal shopper at their Southampton location ever since it was an A&P, but I am extremely upset that one particular evening in the past year, I was treated like street trash that just blew in off the LIE. I typically pay for my purchases with a check, but for the second time this week, my check was refused. The first time I was told that "the other checks had not yet cleared", even though I had only written three previously that week, and was therefore under the four-check limit according to YOUR store policy. On top of that, the store clerk who was to wait on me yelled in an angry voice, "Hey, you! In the red cap! Go over to another aisle!" (I and a gentleman behind me were wearing red snow caps). By that time, I had already placed my order on the conveyer belt, and silently pointed at it, taken aback by her obviously disrespectful attitude. "No", she replied. "I meant the two guys behind you." No "hello", no "Welcome to Waldbaum's", no sign of any appreciation for our patronage during a recession, of all times. So, I write a check, it won't go through, and she yells, again, "You wrote eight checks!!! I can't put an override on it." She called over her supervisor, Shernett, who repeated to me that I had written eight checks. Now, I have written many, many checks throughout the years to pay for my order, and have a check-writing card for it, too. Not one of these checks were dishonored. When I asked what the limit of checks within a certain time frame was, Shernett and the piece of trash at the register, would not answer, but again barked at me, "YOU WROTE EIGHT CHECKS!!!" No "would you like to pay for this with a debit/credit card?" No "sorry for the inconvenience." Just "YOU WROTE EIGHT CHECKS!!!!" over and over again in a very unfriendly and nasty way.

In all fairness, most of their employees there are nice and helpful, but all it takes is one or two pieces of work and lack of communications to spoil a good relationship between an establishment and a long-time customer.

I don't deserve this public humiliation. The store manager was called over, still would not tell me how many checks I could write within a certain time frame, or what that time frame was. . .just a bunch of nasty people screaming at me. At one point, a customer behind me complained to me that some items in his order were melting. At this point, I saw stars, as if someone hit me, and felt like both screaming back and crying. But instead, I left my shopping cart, with my order bagged and ready to go, behind in the store, and retorted, "Put it away", and stormed right out to take my business elsewhere (yes, they DO have competition in these parts). I never want to deal with this store and their pieces of trash that they see fit to hire (in a time of a recession, especially??!!) These rude slices of human lunchmeat they call "employees" should be licking the dirt off the floor with gratitude over having employment at all during these tough economic times -- not screaming at customers as if Waldbaum's prides itself on hiring people who behave like gangsters. (Are they?) I see no reason to shop at their store ever again, or to recommend it to my friends or family. I have twice written to them about this incident, both via USPS and their website, and have gotten no response.

when in southampton- this is where I shop