Bad Retail Experience (A Little Long).
Decorating By roxy-d Updated 23 Feb 2007 , 4:44am by CoutureCake
First, thank you for letting me get this off my chest. I was pretty sure you'd all understand.
Last weekend, I was in Minnesota visiting my mom. I took her to Sweet Creations in Maplewood, MN to buy supplies because I wanted to make a cake for her birthday. I also thought that she'd like cake decorating as a hobby so we bought pans, luster dust packets, food coloring, etc. The staff was so discouraging. I'll spare you the details, but at the very end of the experience, the clerk even mocked my signature on my credit card receipt -- "boy, what would your third grade teacher say if she saw your handwriting now." If they were this mean about my signature, I can't imagine how they'd treat my mom in a class.
Anyway, the point is that I was all excited for my mom to have a place to learn cake decorating, buy supplies, and love this hobby as much as I do, and it wasn't the experience I'd hoped for.
Very discouraging. Anyway, thanks for listening.
I am so sorry to hear you had to deal with such rude people=( Some people should just not be in retail! Jen
Did you ask to speak with the owner or manager? I would have insisted on it, and not left until the owner or manager showed up. Then I would have let him/her know how his people behave when he/she is not around. Then I would have demanded a refund, and had supplies sent to your mom from a vendor that you know you can trust.
Theresa 
Ohmygosh!! I can't believe the audacity of some people 
I agree that you should have asked for the manager, but at that point you were probably just ready to head out the door. Maybe you should call and speak to him or her. Unfortunately the owner might have already been there--and allowed this to happen or been a part of it 
I had a really bad experience one time with a well-known photography studio here in town, and was shocked beyond belief at how they treated their customers. I was not the customer but a co-worker of mine was, and because they were so rude and uncaring on the telephone to her, I called them back to try to resolve the problem. As it turns out, the place where we work (a University) stopped doing business with them because of this situation. They eventually went out of business which was a HUGE deal here in our community!
I am sorry for your experience, however; it is good to know I am not the only one who has bad retail experiences. People just don't show other people the common courtesy that was once a standard in our society. This might have been an isolated incident and for that chance I would call back and ask to speak to the manager. They need to know that the people on their "front line" are not aiding in customers giving them repeat business, let alone being loyal.
Kim
I actually shop there regularly and know all the staff very well. They have always been helpful and even know my voice when I call to order.
If it is who I think helped you she is very helpful and likes to joke around. I am sure she did not mean to hurt your feelings but I will certainly pass your sentiments on with the staff. I see them almost weekly and adore that they are comfortable enough to joke and kid with me.
That is just awful. My mum just had an experience like that at the deli department in a supermarket (grocery) store. She asked to have some meat from a fresh pack and the woman serving her started swearing at her (yes the "f" word) and refusing to give her anything. It was just out of the blue. My mum kept her composure and asked if that was how she was supposed to talk to customers and the woman replied back "yes it is". My mum reported this to the manager who wasn't at all happy. Apparently she's been treating other customers like this as well and is close to being fired!!
Hopefully you and your mum don't let this get to you. Have a great day!!
Mary
well it is nice to see that if they treat a customer bad, the have consquences. I too am sorry for the person who treated you wrong, but don't let it stop your mom, tell her that if she experiences it again to go straight to management.. hopefully moydear is right and it was just a cruel joke... but even still it isn't something she should have said and let you leave wondering if she were joshing you. Good luck to your mom, I also hope she loves our little corner of the world here in cakeland!
Unfortunately good customer service is severely lacking today. I can't tell you how many times I will go into a grocery store, drive thru at a fast food place or a retail store and get the I don't care attitude. Management plays and important role in proper training and following through with the development of employees. I spent many years in management and training for corporations, and they spend thousands of dollars to train.When I get this sort of treatment, I always know that there is a manager slacking. It is sort of like a parent with a child, it is always easier to do nothing, then to correct and discipline. As parents we have all been there. It is always a monumental task to enforce rules and to be consistent. It does not help that one day you enforce and the next saying I am too tired I'll just let it go. It is a shame that people can be so rude, and just don't care, why should they its not their business, they are there for the paycheck only. I am not saying that all business' are this way, but I bet the percentage is over 75% that say they are there for the customer, but really aren't. Work ethics, good manners, and respect are severely lacking.
I am so sorry you had this negative experience. Especially when you were trying to do something very nice for your Mom.
I too agree that Customer Service is lacking in this day and age. I get very displeased with the way I see people treated and how I have been treated. I experienced this not to long ago when I went car shopping. I went to one dealership and loved the sales lady I had, she was awesome really working with me, etc. I had done so much research, even she was impressed and didn't know some of the stuff. Well, I told her what I wanted my payment to be and she crunched numbers, took it to the sales manager and he kept blowing her off saying no without even looking at the offers, etc. There were other issues with him too. I was sooooooooooooo mad. I could tell the sales lady was ticked at him too. I walked out and asked for her card and went shopping elsewhere. I called corporate on this company and said how great the sales lady was, but they seriously need to do something about the sales manager. Someone did get back to me and we talked about it. From what I understand the manager is no longer there, but I don't know the reasoning. I hated not to buy the car from her, but I couldn't possibly give in to the manager and pay way more than I could afford. I went to another dealership and walked out with what I wanted and then some.
I agree it does have a lot to do with manager slacking. I was previously in a Customer Service job for 2 years working with patients and their hospital bills. It can get very stressful especially when people don't understand, get irate, etc, but if you are trained properly you should be able to handle it. I know if I have a bad experience I make sure and tell someone and if I have superb service I am also letting a supervisor or manager know.
I am going to play devil's advocate for a bit, but first let me just say that good customer service is not as abundant as poor or horrible customer service so I do feel where you are coming from. At the same time, while I am not trying to find excuses for rudeness, but maybe this person was having a really bad day or something bad happened in their life. Divorce, death, separation, fighting with family. While I believe we shouldn't bring our home life into work, we aren't robots and it isn't as easy for people to put their personal troubles on the back burner, especially if Moydear77 says they are usually very pleasant and courteous to deal with. I often have to remind myself that the person who cut me off on the freeway and is driving like a madman may be rushing to a hospital or home for an emergency. Often times we tend to focus on the negative and forget to realize we don't know what is going on in the other person's life. Sorry, had to play devil's advocate, but while I'd like to believe that there were other issues causing this behavior, I know that there are people who are rude just to be rude.
hopefully moydear is right and it was just a cruel joke...!
I did not say cruek but OK.
Anyway Like I said--Hometown store with very nice people. I like that they joke around with me. I have never been put off. I am more put off by the grocery store cashier that chews gum like a cow grazing in grass.
Did they say it in mean way or did they smile when it was said?? Maybe maybe not. I would not take it so personal. They are a great bunch of people and everyone I know who shops there keeps going back.
www.customerssuck.com
Great way to see the worker's experience too.... and the sucky customers...
HOWEVER I think there's a severe feeling of "entitlement" in our country - that we shouldn't have to work for anything - that we're not responsible for the way we treat people.... we've gotten so caught up in political correctness sometimes that we've all gotten sick of it and just turned nasty on each other - well that's the way I feel. I've certainly experienced a great lack of customer service in the past few years - and I REALLY try to be a good customer..... but there is poor training and poor attitude... people just don't care anymore....
Sorry you had this bad experience!
I'm so sorry this happened to you!
I shop there often as well - that is NOT the norm. I'm not sure who you were served by - but you definitely should have complained.
Whenever I've gone in there to buy things they've been helpful, kind and courteous, so I'm soooo sorry you experinced a bad side to one of their employees!
If you're ever in the area again - I can recommend a different store to you if you'd like. It's a bit further, but it has similar, if not more, products and I've had good experiences there.
But I hope you give Sweet Celebrations another shot - if nothing else to complain to the management regarding your last trip!
I shop at the Maplewood Sweet Celebrations all the time as well and they've ALWAYS been very kind, courteous, and when I'm stumped on something can usually help to figure an alternative idea out and know when I ask for directions on the "how to" for a project they know not to go into 3-million details. And, as Moy has also said, I've also never gone there and experienced anything mean spirited (and I've got one of those signatures that if you can read it, it's not mine). Even when someone is busy, they always have taken the time to ask "is there something I can help you find" when I've got a perplexed look on my face. Even when my toddler is along, they're always kind as can be with her too and keep her laughing while Mom "strolls the aisles" (because I usually end up forgetting my list or pace to come up with a new strategy to accomplish something if they're out of an item).. It's the same experience when I go to the location a little farther to the south, though all the folks in Eagan don't know me on the first-name basis like they do in Maplewood.
I think it was a truly rare experience that you had and I'm guessing that the person that helped you intention wasn't meant to hurt you or anything like that. I've been going there for years and everyone is always GREAT and encouraging with getting off the ground in business decorating cakes.
I can just imagine the look on your daughter's face (like she's practicing for being a teenager in 7 years)... Now, if only mine could sit still for 6 seconds (mine wants to have one of everything on the shelves right now)...
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