Value Village / Savers review: Dangerous experience

Incident:
Location Value Village Tigard. 12060 SW Main Tigard, OR 97223
Time 7:32PM
Store 1015
Trans: 6624
Oper: 1015
Register: 00008

Susan,

Thank you for speaking to me today and providing me with your email. I am attaching pictures of the associates involved and the teenage girls that were insulting me in your store while your employees did nothing to stop it.

Here is the incident, but I can explain better if a phone call is needed. I am still a bit worked up as I am not usually one to get worked up, but when something is wrong, it is just wrong!

Hello. I went to the Tigard store after work yesterday for the Senior discount. I come to this store every Tuesday, and I have come to expect bad customer service but put-up with-it b/c I enjoy the thrifting experience & getting some exercise by walking up and down all the aisles. I donate every week so I can get a coupon to buy every week. The last time I went I had two full carts and as I was walking out the girl told me I had to put my rolling cart away. I said can't you do that since you are customer service, and you see I have two full carts of items I bought and have no free hands. She said no, I need to put my basket away. I said no, I can't do that and did not see why she couldn't have taken it a few feet to the front. I have come in the store and ask for help, and there is never anyone is the store to help. They are always walking to the back and when you try to ask their help, they seem like you are burdening them. That is the background to yesterday.

Yesterday:

I had a rolling basket full of 6 books, 3 large candleholders, planter containers, and a large cart filled with a 6 feet artificial tree, some wall art, etc. I then found a very large desk converter that makes it so you can stand at your desk while working on your computer. There was no one to ask how I get it. There are no signs or tags to pull off. I saw a bookshelf with a SOLD sign on it but wasn't sure if I go to someone to put a sold sign on it and they hold it for me. So, I dragged my two carts and the box to the front. I asked the clerk (I have pictures of each person this night I spoke with) if I can set it up front because I need to grab the rest of my items and he said no. I then said I need to get more things, can I just put it here by the counter that wasn't being used at checkout. He said I wasn't supposed to bring the box up, that someone would mark it and take it out back for me to pick up. I said there was no one to help me and there is never anyone here to help b/c I come here all the time. He said there were signs to tell me how to get big items, and I assured him there were no signs telling me to take it to the back for pick up or any signs telling me not to bring it up front.

He then allowed me to set it and my other things in front by the windows. I then came back and asked to check out with the "live" person, not the self-scanner since I had so many items. He said they don't have that, and everyone MUST go through self-checkout. I said "no, that is not true b/c someone was just at the person check out ringing people up about 10 minutes ago". He then said again, no I must go to self-checkout. SO, I did.

I then asked if I can't get the big item in my car, can I hold it and get my other car to pick it up and he said "NO, we don't hold items". (Mind you, there was a bookcase in the back near the tree I bought with a sign on it that said "sold", so I am assuming he was lying to me saying he wouldn't hold my item.) I said again that I'm just up the street and can come back but he said he wouldn't hold it b/c they don't do that. Another worker came up who said he was the manager/supervisor and I asked him if I can't get the desk in my car can I come back and he said no. and I said I've had things held in the past and he said if I can't get it in the car he has to put it back on the floor for others.

I then probably had my voice start to raise a little over the whole frustration of my experience. I am a senior citizen with arthritis and had to ring up two carts of very large items, and when I asked if they would help me load it they said no. I asked if they would at least take it to the front doors so I can pull up, but no one wanted to help me. I said this happens all the time like last time when I was told I had to put my own cart away even though I had my hands full, and the manager and other employee said "Yes, you DO need to put your cart away". I said to him, so I must put this cart away even though you see how I'm struggling with all the things I just bought. You can't just provide customer service and put my cart away for me seeing how I am not getting any help, and he said I must put my own cart away. At this point I really started to get worked up and said I need their picture. The manager told me I can't take pictures b/c it's against the law and a two-consent state. I told him that is a absolutely not true, and he kept telling me I was not allowed to take pictures. At this point three young teenagers walked over and started calling me an old hag and said I can't talk to the employees that way. So here I am, a regular donator and buyer being harassed and your employees did nothing.

At this point I said to them if you are not going to help me then go away so I can finish paying and get out of her.

I would like to know how I can send you the photos I have so you can identify the worker and the supervisor who harassed and didn't help me. I could have seriously hurt myself and then your store really would have had an issue. I had to load the big computer stand desk in my car, and tree all by my self and drag it out to my car as they just watched me. The manager almost said he was going to trespass me when I took his picture, but then he stopped himself. I am thinking he did that b/c then a manager would get involved and he would need to explain how he didn't help a senior citizen customer and allowed his other workers to just sit back and be rude as well.

I would like a call from corporate or the owners of this store before I start posting my experience all over social media, and the news about the dangers of shopping at your store and the security risks I faced and the horrific treatment I received.

Please also advise me on your policy of self-checkout, requiring me to put my own cart back, dragging large items myself to the front, holding items or placing on hold. If the associate was wrong in his regulations regarding these things, will he be corrected and will the associates me trained in customer service and know when to help older persons, so they don't fall or hurt themselves loading their own items in their own store? I believe that could have been a major issue had I fallen trying to drag that huge desk myself to the front, and then told I need to take it myself to the self-checkout, then had to take it myself to my car.

Just unbelievable. I'm not done. I need to know who to reach so this doesn't happen again to someone else.

The one person who was helping at the jewelry counter who called the manager/supervisor over was the instigator. The one who helped with the self-checkout was just agreeing with them and not helpful, but wasn’t as bad as the other two. I just want to make that clear.

[protected]

[protected]@gmail.com

lisa.[protected]@va.gov

Pictures:

Manager who told me he can’t hold items, and that I can’t take pictures and that he was almost going to ban me from the store, and said he couldn’t help me load my car:

The main instigator that started it all telling me I shouldn’t have taken the desk from the back, but when I said no one was there to help me he said I needed to get someone to put it in the b ack for pick up, but I already dragged it to the front and he wouldn’t help me with in person check out and insisted I had to use self-checkout and they wouldn’t hold my item in case it didn’t fit so I could run up the street to get my other car, and then told me I have to put my cart back and just rude and unhelpful and lied:

The desk I had to drag to the front by myself b/c no one in the store was around to help, then had to push to the front checkout and check it out using self serve and employee wouldn’t help me even bring it to self checkout: I also had two cart full of other items I was purchasing:

Third employee who wasn’t as bad as the others, just went along with them and agreed they can’t help me: (He was the one who scanned my senior discount at the self-checkout)

Tree I bought as well I had to push to front by myself b/c no one would assist me and told me I even was required to put my own cart back where it belongs!

Girls that were harassing me inside the stores calling me an old hag saying I can’t talk to employees that way when I was asking the employees why they can’t help me and why I need to put my cart away when my hands are full and they can’t do that for me, and why they can’t hold my item even though there were items with sold in the back that were obviously being “held” because it was right before closing! They followed me outside and kept harassing me laughing about it.

Your manager (he said he was anyway) just watching me be harassed and putting/loading all these heavy items and I have arthritis into my car, not stopping the harassment or asking anyone to help me :

My Receipt after discounts:

If this was just a one person/one time issue I would not have even made an issue of this because I know it’s difficult to hire responsible workers for this type of job. However, the extent of horrific treatment this time had to be reported. I’m used to bad customer service or no customer service , but to flat out be lied to saying they won’t hold my items when it was plainly seen other items were being held for others, Lied to that no one could check me out and I HAD to use self-check out, lied to that I was required to put my cart back where it goes when this is just a courtesy customers do, Lied to saying I can’t take pictures to document my treatment, etc.

Please let me know you are going to train your workers on how customer service works, and to help prevent lawsuits on your company I would train up your employees on not allowing customers to have to carry their own very heavy items from the back and then carry them to self-checkout, then carry them to their care with NO assistance from ANYONE.

Just unbelievable what I experienced!

Lisa Stivahtis

PSA Social Work Service/Lodging

VA Portland Health Care System

Mailcode:P2SWS

Lodging [protected] x58200

Fax [protected]

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