This story happened a few years ago, when I was a B unit O/O. I got a load offer, just as the techs at WalMart in Chicago had started to change the oil. When it was finished, I left in a hurry. (Too much of a hurry to go back inside when I found they'd left the van unlocked, windows down, and not in anyone's sight, either. I wanted to point out that they are responsible for vehicles in their custody, but nothing was missing, so I just made a mental note to avoid that place, in future.)
I got a phone call a few days later, from a lady who said I'd left my keys at the WalMart automotive counter, and I needed to come & get them. (I knew the keys were missing, but thought I had just misplaced them.) I explained that I didn't live in Chicago, and asked that they drop the keys in the mail, to the address they had on file. To my utter amazement, she refused to do so, saying store policy required 'lost' items be claimed in person. I said that I would come get them, but had no idea when it might be. She said they'd hold my keys until then.
It was the following month before I got to Chicago again - and only because I had tickets to see The Proclaimers, at the Abbey.
Of course I went the next day to retrieve my keys. When the young lady at the desk said she didn't have any keys that might be mine, I was pretty steamed, and said "I just KNEW this was going to happen!" She called the automotive mgr, who was very apologetic about it - he offered to copy whatever keys I had with me, and even told me to choose any keyring I wanted, no charge. Mollified, I accepted the offer, and left in a much better mood.
That happy mood lasted about ten minutes - until I passed another WalMart, and recognized it as the one where I had left my keys. I went inside, and sure enough, they were holding the keys. I was a little confused when they asked whether I had a receipt for the oil change, until I realized that it was their belief that my hurried departure had been because I hadn't paid for the work! Not having the receipt, (and frankly, not being 100% sure that I HAD paid, actually) I had no problem with their checking the old register tapes for the transaction. When they found that I had paid, they handed over the keys, with grudging apologies for the inconvenience.
On my way out of the store, I bought a 'Thank you' card, and sent it to the automotive manager of the WalMart that had replaced my keys. I enclosed $10 to pay for the items they'd graciously given me, in the mistaken belief that I deserved them.
When I was home again, I wrote a letter to the manager of the store that kept my keys, pointing out the difference in attitudes I'd seen: the trusting manager was wise enough to consider the ill will of a customer vs a few dollars a no brainer, while the suspicious manager had been more concerned with the paltry sum he might have lost, than the store's reputation.
That store manager replied with an apology, and a store gift card in the amount of $200, to pay for my trip to Chicago (I hadn't mentioned the concert) and a promise to remind her employees of the value of good will.
This little story shows that letters, whether complaint or compliment, are not a waste of time. And that we ALL make mistakes, even when we're positive that we are in the right.
I got a phone call a few days later, from a lady who said I'd left my keys at the WalMart automotive counter, and I needed to come & get them. (I knew the keys were missing, but thought I had just misplaced them.) I explained that I didn't live in Chicago, and asked that they drop the keys in the mail, to the address they had on file. To my utter amazement, she refused to do so, saying store policy required 'lost' items be claimed in person. I said that I would come get them, but had no idea when it might be. She said they'd hold my keys until then.
It was the following month before I got to Chicago again - and only because I had tickets to see The Proclaimers, at the Abbey.
Of course I went the next day to retrieve my keys. When the young lady at the desk said she didn't have any keys that might be mine, I was pretty steamed, and said "I just KNEW this was going to happen!" She called the automotive mgr, who was very apologetic about it - he offered to copy whatever keys I had with me, and even told me to choose any keyring I wanted, no charge. Mollified, I accepted the offer, and left in a much better mood.That happy mood lasted about ten minutes - until I passed another WalMart, and recognized it as the one where I had left my keys.
I went inside, and sure enough, they were holding the keys. I was a little confused when they asked whether I had a receipt for the oil change, until I realized that it was their belief that my hurried departure had been because I hadn't paid for the work! Not having the receipt, (and frankly, not being 100% sure that I HAD paid, actually) I had no problem with their checking the old register tapes for the transaction. When they found that I had paid, they handed over the keys, with grudging apologies for the inconvenience.On my way out of the store, I bought a 'Thank you' card, and sent it to the automotive manager of the WalMart that had replaced my keys. I enclosed $10 to pay for the items they'd graciously given me, in the mistaken belief that I deserved them.
When I was home again, I wrote a letter to the manager of the store that kept my keys, pointing out the difference in attitudes I'd seen: the trusting manager was wise enough to consider the ill will of a customer vs a few dollars a no brainer, while the suspicious manager had been more concerned with the paltry sum he might have lost, than the store's reputation.
That store manager replied with an apology, and a store gift card in the amount of $200, to pay for my trip to Chicago (I hadn't mentioned the concert) and a promise to remind her employees of the value of good will.
This little story shows that letters, whether complaint or compliment, are not a waste of time. And that we ALL make mistakes, even when we're positive that we are in the right.
