How often have you gone to a place of business or ordered a product or service only to be treated like crap by that business and/or for them to come up way short of your standards only to be scoffed at when asking them to fix the problem? Well that happened to me today. I was out shopping with my wife and needed to get a bit of food in me before my sugar dropped to low, so I poked my head into the local McDonalds. Shortly after placing my order I was informed that they where out of the Apple pies I ordered. I was not totally shocked, after all I ran a McDonalds for just over 2 years so I know that it can happen easily given that the sales of that product are so random that it is hard to predict how many to make on a given day even with sales history. So before the sales person asked me if i wanted some thing else to replace the order i declined when they asked if i was sure i stated yes because if i had wanted one of the items she offered I would have ordered that instead. She then got the “Store Manager” to give me my money back. after taking a few minutes to accomplish this she then handed me a pice of paper to sign. when i handed it back to her she told me I had to give my address and phone number in order to get my money back. I informed her i would not provide this information in which case she then told me that if I do not she would not give back my money. I told her then that she better produce the time I ordered. She told me that they where out of the item and that I had to give them my privet information or she was keeping the money. I of course was enraged by this action. I also knew that spending an hour waiting for the police to show up only to tell me there not going to enforce the law was a complete waste of time. I gave them a fake address and phone number. I made sure to follow up with the FTC and Colorado better business burrow, informing them of the actions of that store.
I bring this up not only cause I am upset with how I was treated when asked for my money back for a product they where not able to produce but also because this seems to be a growing trend in america. Business in america seem to have this attitude that just because there big they have the right to walk all over there customers and expect to get worshiped for it. Take my local KFC for example, every time I have tried to order from them I have been informed that they are out of some form of chicken that i ordered. EVERY TIME!!! How in the world can a place that only sells chicken run out of chicken? Then when I show any amount of annoyance at this I get frowned upon as if I should be grateful I was allowed to enter the location in the first place. Then of course when you report this to the company they just shrug it off as if it is no big deal that a customer was upset at the service they received. On 2 different occasions I was promised a gift card for my aggravation… one was over 2 years ago now.. I never got either. I for one am tired of business in this country treating there paychecks ( cause that is what we are ) like we should be honored to serve them. I personally will not stand for it any longer. I am boycotting McDonalds and the KFC franchises. I have no delusion that my little protest will in any way make a change in the way they operate, but I also will not support a company that refuses to correct a mistake they have made. We as consumers in this country have forgotten that our dollars are just like votes, every time we shop at a business or use there services we tell them that we are happy with them and will continue to do so. If we are not happy with the way a business operates then please stop giving them your money. Even if it is an incovenance to drive out of your way to go some place else or pay a little more for it. Screaming at them has not worked, protesting them has not worked, suing them has not worked so I say unless you do not mind them treating you like crap then stop giving them your money. I can assure you that the more people stop shopping at a location, or using a service from a business they do not like the more they will be forced to change, if they do not then they will go out of business. and while i might feel sorry for the workers displaced for this I am sure they will find better jobs working for the companies competitors that are still open because they operate there business with integrity and respect. I work to hard to let my money go to waste paying people for sub par products and services. If you are to then Take a stand, If not then just go about your day keep giving them your money. Just remember next time you complain about a location that you keep going to even though you know your going to get treated like junk, that this is partly your doing because you keep supporting them and there practices.
