Stores, Big K - Kmart store doesn't treat customers properly

doesn't treat customers as they should

K-Mart

From: Melissa Bingman Email User

Date: Saturday, January 06, 2001 07:57 PM

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i am not ordinarily the kind of person to stab someone in the back.

however , i am a kmart employee for one of the big k stores.

it has recently occured to me that the store not only has a complete lack of respect for the customers that have a hard time finding things, getting around, who do not speak english well, and those who have questions as well as the employees who work there.

they have an open door policy in all manors.

the door is open for the employees as well as the customers and i am sorry to say that i have shared that attitude at times.

today i was fired because in my belief i am young, female, pregnant, and i am intelligent.

my boss instructed me that i was to stand in one spot for the whole day and not to say one word to anyone near me or i would lose my job.

i informed him quietly and politely that it is very unreasonable to ask me to stand still and not talk to anyone for hours. i am a human social being. i had my work done in my area, as well as other peoples work to. i was greeting customers but it was very slow being so soon after january 1.

so i was chatting with my neighbor while waiting for more customers at the end of my checkout lane. but none of that was important. he sent me home anyway.

then he proceeded to make a marter out of me and tell others that if they did not do exactly what he said that the same thing would happen to them.

not only that but he just cut all of our hours (even us with families) to two dys a week. I have watched this man threaten employees, yell at them, and degrade them as well.

i have listened while he made fun of customers behind their backs.

and there has never been one time until today that i have not done exactly what he specified.

he has repeatedly lossed patience with me when i have had to go to the bathroom, even though i have a belly full of kid. and he got angry with me when i was sent home for morning sickness by someone above him. to make an even longer story short, this is the kind of man that k mart supports.

i have seen it from the inside. they do not care about their customers but only the size of their wallets. if this is the kind of treatment tht you like then i encourage you to shop there.

otherwise i would tell you that i do not think that you or anyone else should shop there unless it was absolutely necessary.

they dont care about you!

Comment On This

As a current Big Kmart employee, I will let you in on what goes on behind the scenes at my store. For customers who complain they are kept on hold, that it is hard to get an answer, etc, here is what is happening: This Kmart has no one designated to just answer store phone calls. This is left up to the one or two employees at the service desk while they also have to take care of the usually long line of customers waiting to check out or return/exchange items, give change when needed to the cashiers (who have to leave their registers while customers are in line to go get more change for their drawers), monitor the rest of the employees so they have coverage for their breaks, etc. It creates lacking customer service, inefficient operation of the checkout lines, etc. Kmart continually has to cut the budget, which results in fewer employees on the sales floor and fewer checkout lines available tot he customers. They continue to pay 6.55 per hour starting wage (if not in a MANAGEMENT position) and still cannot afford to properly staff thier store. The shelves are very old and there isnt enough staff to have them cleaned, they don't want to pay for more store help to straighten the shelves and to make sure every item is correctly signed or priced. I am sure that Kmart will not be around long-believe it or not I have received looks from some coworkers as if I am being TOO nice to the customers. They still use archaic methods of scheduling, inventory, etc. They still use paper pricing guns, for goodness sakes! Registers are all old, signs are old, and the store is allowed to look like a Big Lots or a thrift store on a bad day! I just cannot believe they can stay in business looking and operating this way. Most employees are just doing the best they can with what they are directed to do and with what they have to work with.

Comment On This

I completely agree with you as an employee of kmart going on three years. I have been on the inside and have seen the disrespect my managers have for customers, but more than that i have seen the disrespect that the managers have for their employees. You are not alone, but there are things that have happened to me that were not dealt with professionally and it was just swept under the rug. I am currently still employeed there but am looking for another job. Your voice has been heard by a fellow employee.

Comment On This

I agree, I was hired in on december 6 and as of today have still not received any pay for the work I did. I was told my first check would be december 18. Is this how all employees are treated. will I ever receive my pay? How long do I have to wait. I have stopped working there due to not being paid and having to stand at my register for 4 hours and not move and not talk to anyone. Was extremely disappointed with this treatment from them.