Marathon Oil

Subject: Fwd: Horrific Customer Service @ Marathon Gas 2210 S Holden Rd, Greensboro, NC 27407, Phone:[protected] Store who treated me poorly: Marathon Gas Address: 2210 S Holden Rd, Greensboro, NC 27407 Phone:[protected] Hours: 7:00 AM – 11:30 PM To whom it may concern: Approximately 10:45pm on 12/24/2015, I approached the Marathon register faced by a representative that I have seen on hundreds of occasions, as I have been a regular customer of this Marathon Gas for more than 2 years. I usually buy 5 - 10 packs of cigarettes at a time. I asked for my cigarette brand "Kamel Red 100" and he reached for them instinctively as he knows they are the only cigarette brand I buy. As I am on disability, and this is the end of the month, so money is running low. I had only $3.01 in cash, and I was going to run the rest of the transaction (approximately $1.64) on my debit card. The attendant rudely stated that he would not be able to run my transaction because there is a $5 minimum on credit cards. I was not running a credit card transaction, I was running a debit transaction, so there should be no reason for him to balk at my payment method, as debit transactions cost a store nothing in transaction fees. I tried again to explain that it should not be a problem to your store to run this transaction, and again he refused. He said, "I work for a boss, and he watches everything I do." Embarrassed, I left. I drove up the block to the Kangaroo Express at 3302 S Holden Road, Greensboro, NC, 27407, at approximately 10:55pm. I was greeted happily by the clerk behind the counter, and I explained that I wished to purchase a pack of "Kamel Red 100" but that I had only $3.01 in cash, and I was going to run the rest of the transaction (approximately $1.64) on my debit card. He said "No worries ma'am, we'll be glad to take care of this for you". He ran my transaction, which was $4.31 (almost $.35 cheaper than the Marathon store). He took my $3.01 in cash first, which we counted out, and then entered that into the cash register. He then smiled and offered the swipe pad for me to run my debit card and enter my PIN. I thanked the kind attendant for his service as he handed me my receipt, and asked him a quick question: Do debit transactions cost your establishment any money to process? To which he quickly answered "No, only credit card transactions charge a fee." I thanked him again and went promptly to my car. My blood was boiling. Not only did Marathon charge more for the cigarettes, but they wouldn't allow a repeat customer who has spend hundreds upon hundreds of dollars at their establishment to run a split transaction just one time. I don't do this all the time, and I rarely ask for anything "special" as a customer. But I felt jilted, embarrassed, and thoroughly frustrated. So, I stopped by the Marathon store again, walked in the door, and loudly voiced to the attendant that "1) Debit transactions cost your store nothing, 2) I am a loyal repeat customer and you could at least shown me some courtesy as your $5 rule is only in regards to credit cards, 3) That I got my cigarettes $.35 cheaper at the Kangaroo, which will now be my store of choice (regardless of it's further distance)." He stood there in horror, and many customers left the store. This leaves me to my main point: word of mouth is your #1 advertising option. If you piss off your loyal customers, you will lose business. Your store is not visually pleasing, it is dirty, full of junk jewelry and appliances that don't work (and cannot be returned, even with a receipt [I tried on a phone charger]), and the attendees have no formal training in customer service. I worked in customer service for more than 13 years, and I know there are rules - BUT, rules are meant to be broken for loyal customers, especially when it costs the business NOTHING to make the customer happy. For this I will say to you: you will never get another dollar of my business and every person I know will know of how rudely I was treated, and about the total lack of customer service. I don't know how you people stay in business with crap explanations like "I work for a boss, and he watches everything I do." DON'T WE ALL? Losing a sale to the competition who had a better price and a better disposition is a no-brainer. But your ignorant representative is the reason I was drove to the competition. You might want to teach a course on "What is good for the customer is good for the business". You'll make a hell of a lot more money that way. Thanks for nothing,