Trouble brewing with Cost Co!

So this happened last Saturday and I was pissed!  The following is a letter that I wrote to Cost Co and their response.  I'm pleased with Cost Co and how they've handled the situation, but tell me what would you do if this happened to you?  Last post I made the comments were shut off, but blogspot should have corrected that issue by now.  Leave a comment on the blog if you feel like it.

The Letter

"Today, May 14, 2011 I headed to a local CostCo to get some weekly shopping done.  I had to work this weekend, so I took off early to get some errands done and I headed to the CostCo on Renaissance Blvd in Albuquerque, NM.  I got there around 6 o’clock and as I was walking in was pointed at by the card checker on duty and was approached by a cart collector and was told that they were closing at 6 and I wasn’t allowed to enter.  They told me “As soon as the door closes, no one is allowed into the store.” The garage entrance door was still open but it was 6 o’clock.  Fair enough I thought there are times set for a reason and If I wasn’t able to make it on time, I’d have to come back on a different day to shop.  I had traveled 50 minutes from out of town to get my shopping done, but I understood why I was turned back.

The upsetting part of why I’m writing this letter is that as I was walking back to my car, there were other shoppers running to get in the store.  I couldn’t help but notice, so I turned to watch them get turned away at the door because they were closed.  The problem was that they weren’t turned back.  They told the card checker that they needed just one thing and were let into the store to shop.  That’s not the most upsetting part of why I’m writing this letter.

I had reconstructive knee surgery (ACL) last week and have been on crutches since then.  I couldn’t help but notice that the members that were allowed in the store didn’t have crutches.  I feel it is obvious that I was turned back and not let in at the last minute because of the crutches and the employees thought that I would take too long and not let them go home on time.  As I was walking back to my car, it just ran through my mind, should I let it be, or do something about it.  I was and still am pissed, so I went back through the exit and asked to see the MOD.

I didn’t get his name, but he did come out to talk to me and was very apologetic.  He offered me to go ahead and shop, but I had a lot to buy and didn’t think that it would be fair to the rest of the staff to hold them up because the two employees up front didn’t want a man in crutches holding up the store.  That’s the same reasoning why I thought it was fair that the store was closing at six and that I would have to come back another day.  But I’ll be damned to think that it’s fair to let certain members in to shop because they can move through the aisles faster than other members. 

He radioed to see who was working the door, but was told that her (Carmen) shift had ended at 6 and was already gone for the day.   We were able to find the cart collector that had talked to me and as I was leaving he was talking to him.  I didn’t stick around for the conversation to be honest.  Maybe my knee was hurting or my head was still spinning from the blatant idiocy of the employees up front.  It wasn’t just bad customer service that I got at CostCo that day, but I’m sure there was some discrimination laws looked over by those employees that day as well.

I’m not one to take pity on myself for physical difficulties; I hurt my knee in a skiing accident and have been taking the proper steps to recovery.  This incident got me thinking of other people that don’t have that road to a full recovery.  It would be sad to think that employees of CostCo have a downward looking attitude towards people with disabilities.  It also got me thinking that there is a Sam Club across the street that is open to 8:30 PM on a Saturday.

I’m not sure if this message will get to anybody that cares, but I figured that it was worth a shot.  Please feel free to contact me anytime 505-553-2366 or via e-mail stuart.seagers@gmail.com

Thank you,

Stuart Seagers"

The Response

"Dear Stuart,

We appreciate you taking the time to email Costco Wholesale.

Your feedback is very important to us.  We take very seriously any member service issues that occur within our warehouse locations.
We have forwarded your e-mail to the warehouse manager for their review and response.  If you would like to contact a member of the warehouse management staff you can call them directly at the phone number listed under the ‘Locations’ section of our website at www.costco.com
It has always been our policy to treat our members with the utmost respect and consideration.  I apologize for the unfortunate circumstances regarding your experience in our warehouse.

Thank you,

Kevin
Costco Wholesale Corporation"

I'm not one to dwell on such things, but I thought it was good on Cost Co to give the quick response.  Hopefully something will happen at the store level.  If something does, I'll post it and let ya'll know.