On Saturday, September 6th, 2008, I planned to pick up an online order at Pets Warehouse in Copiague, New York. A sizable business with a substantial internet presence, I had purchased from them online on several previous occasions.
In this particular instance, I required several pounds of bloodworms which I had ordered Wednesday, August 27th and which were confirmed to be ready for in-store pick-up by Raphael (Rafael?) on Friday, September 5th. (I was informed that part of the order, silversides, was not ready which would mean two separate trips to Pets Warehouse; however I did not urgently require silversides, so I chose to simply pick up the bloodworms.) Since I received this telephone confirmation from Pets Warehouse, I did not replenish my stock of bloodworms because I would not need them until September 7th, when my fish were due for feeding.
On the evening of Saturday, September 6th I telephoned Pets Warehouse to confirm their closing time which was stated as 9:00 pm. At approximately 7:45 pm on that evening, I drove with my wife approximately 45 minutes through very inclement weather (due to a weather disturbance which had been downgraded to tropical storm Hanna); we reached the store shortly after 8:30.
Upon entering the parking lot, I saw only one vehicle and then noticed that many lights were out. Upon realizing the store was closed, I looked at the store hours posted on the front door. They confirmed that the store was open Saturdays until 9:00 pm. Since there was nothing to do but return home, I went to my wife's car and explained the situation. It was at that juncture that I saw two individuals in the store.
I felt relieved since I reasoned that after I explained...
--My one-and-a-half hour round trip through very inclement weather;
--That all items were paid for in advance;
--That my items were confirmed the previous day by Raphael as ready for pick-up;
--That I had a printed receipt of prepayment which would make the transaction simple and quick;
--That I had no supply of blood worms remaining;
--That I had called in advance and that their closing time was stated as 9:00;
--and that it was only 8:30...
...that they would not hesitate to provide my order. I was abysmally incorrect. I tapped the glass at which point the closest of the two employees (whom I know to be employees based upon previous visits), motioned with his hand across his throat in a cutting motion, indicating "closed." Given that he did not know my situation, I motioned and requested that he come closer so that I could talk. He remained in place and repeated the motion with his hand.
After several more attempts, he reluctantly approached the glass doors, and through an opening between them, stated the obvious: the store was closed. I replied that it was 8:30, that I had called ahead and that the store was supposed to be open to 9:00 on Saturdays; I also pointed to the 9:00 time on the door, all to no avail. The employee simply asked if I had "seen the weather?" I stated where I had driven from and that I had driven one-and-a-half hours round trip. I added that Raphael had confirmed by phone a prepaid, in-stock order. He shrugged his shoulders and looked at me through the glass. I asked his name, which he provided and then simply turned and walked away. Unfortunately, I was so incensed I uttered a profane expression as he left. The employee, who now was some distance away with his back to me, simply shrugged his shoulders again. The incident was distressing enough that my wife offered to drive home.
While I can understand the inconvenience of remaining open in inclement weather, Pets Warehouse had several options which could have averted this situation: they could have alerted customers via a phone message that the store was closing "at...". Alternatively, the employee would have fostered good will by obtaining the in-stock merchandise and handing it to me. This message would then have had quite a different tenor.
In any case, upon arriving home, I immediately stopped credit payment and placed all items in dispute. I also made a follow-up call in which I left a message advising the store of this action and my intent to post a review of the events of that evening. Not surprisingly, my call has not been returned to date.
So, I write this for whatever it is worth...
Alan
In this particular instance, I required several pounds of bloodworms which I had ordered Wednesday, August 27th and which were confirmed to be ready for in-store pick-up by Raphael (Rafael?) on Friday, September 5th. (I was informed that part of the order, silversides, was not ready which would mean two separate trips to Pets Warehouse; however I did not urgently require silversides, so I chose to simply pick up the bloodworms.) Since I received this telephone confirmation from Pets Warehouse, I did not replenish my stock of bloodworms because I would not need them until September 7th, when my fish were due for feeding.
On the evening of Saturday, September 6th I telephoned Pets Warehouse to confirm their closing time which was stated as 9:00 pm. At approximately 7:45 pm on that evening, I drove with my wife approximately 45 minutes through very inclement weather (due to a weather disturbance which had been downgraded to tropical storm Hanna); we reached the store shortly after 8:30.
Upon entering the parking lot, I saw only one vehicle and then noticed that many lights were out. Upon realizing the store was closed, I looked at the store hours posted on the front door. They confirmed that the store was open Saturdays until 9:00 pm. Since there was nothing to do but return home, I went to my wife's car and explained the situation. It was at that juncture that I saw two individuals in the store.
I felt relieved since I reasoned that after I explained...
--My one-and-a-half hour round trip through very inclement weather;
--That all items were paid for in advance;
--That my items were confirmed the previous day by Raphael as ready for pick-up;
--That I had a printed receipt of prepayment which would make the transaction simple and quick;
--That I had no supply of blood worms remaining;
--That I had called in advance and that their closing time was stated as 9:00;
--and that it was only 8:30...
...that they would not hesitate to provide my order. I was abysmally incorrect. I tapped the glass at which point the closest of the two employees (whom I know to be employees based upon previous visits), motioned with his hand across his throat in a cutting motion, indicating "closed." Given that he did not know my situation, I motioned and requested that he come closer so that I could talk. He remained in place and repeated the motion with his hand.
After several more attempts, he reluctantly approached the glass doors, and through an opening between them, stated the obvious: the store was closed. I replied that it was 8:30, that I had called ahead and that the store was supposed to be open to 9:00 on Saturdays; I also pointed to the 9:00 time on the door, all to no avail. The employee simply asked if I had "seen the weather?" I stated where I had driven from and that I had driven one-and-a-half hours round trip. I added that Raphael had confirmed by phone a prepaid, in-stock order. He shrugged his shoulders and looked at me through the glass. I asked his name, which he provided and then simply turned and walked away. Unfortunately, I was so incensed I uttered a profane expression as he left. The employee, who now was some distance away with his back to me, simply shrugged his shoulders again. The incident was distressing enough that my wife offered to drive home.
While I can understand the inconvenience of remaining open in inclement weather, Pets Warehouse had several options which could have averted this situation: they could have alerted customers via a phone message that the store was closing "at...". Alternatively, the employee would have fostered good will by obtaining the in-stock merchandise and handing it to me. This message would then have had quite a different tenor.
In any case, upon arriving home, I immediately stopped credit payment and placed all items in dispute. I also made a follow-up call in which I left a message advising the store of this action and my intent to post a review of the events of that evening. Not surprisingly, my call has not been returned to date.
So, I write this for whatever it is worth...
Alan
