[Blindtlk] A Horrible Experience at Kmart

[Charlotte]

Hello. Thanks so much for your advice. I will definitely write a letter 
and send it. I do have the names of the 2 people I spoke to and the 
dates and times. My county case worker has already contacted our 
newspaper but I do not know if it will get anywhere. I will put this 
letter together as soon as I can. Again, thank you very much for your 
advice.


On 7/15/2015 10:58 PM, Heather Field via blindtlk wrote:
> Hello Charlotte,
> Sorry to hear you were treated so appallingly.
> If you really want to follow this incident through to a satisfactory 
> resolution, I suggest that you document your complaint in writing and 
> send it, priority mail, to corporate complaints department. This way 
> you will be able to keep track of dates. It is important to get the 
> names of those to whom you spoke on the phone when you called 
> corporate complaints. When you write to them and you require a receipt 
> from the postal service that proves the letter was delivered, and it 
> lists when and to whom, you can build your case, showing how they  
> continue to ignore you and to do nothing about the unacceptable 
> behaviour of their store manager. If they do, in fact, ignore several 
> letters, then you can decide whether you would like to make a 
> complaint to one of the government entities. Or, you might decide to 
> take your story and complaint, and your carefully kept evidence, to 
> your local newspaper or television news producers, to warn everyone in 
> your local community about how K-mart allows some of its store 
> managers to treat shoppers with special needs.
> I hope you do decide to put your complaint in writing and follow it 
> up. It may take some time and effort but this is the only way we 
> achieve change, by individuals insisting on incremental changes.
> Warmly,
> Heather
>
> -----Original Message----- From: Charlotte via blindtlk
> Sent: Wednesday, July 15, 2015 10:02 PM
> To: Blind Talk Mailing List
> Cc: Charlotte
> Subject: [Blindtlk] A Horrible Experience at Kmart
>
> A few days ago my best friend and I were talking about the good deals
> she got while at Kmart with another friend of hers. They had sales on
> swimsuits, clothing, shoes, etc. and I was looking to purchase some of
> these same articles. She said she'd like to go back as well so we
> planned a trip for Friday, July 3, to go to Kmart on paratransit to get
> the items we wanted. I told her I'd call ahead the next day and let them
> know we were coming and that we would be there quite a while as we were
> two blind women, one in a wheelchair, looking for clothing and
> accessories. The next day I called to let them know. I spoke to the
> manager on duty. He assured me it was no problem. I didn't feel very
> satisfied with his brush-off quick response and told my husband about
> it. He then called again and spoke to a customer service lead. This time
> he, too, was assured that it would be no problem. He gave the times we'd
> be there and she said she'd get it taken care of and leave a note at the
> service desk so they could get someone in ladies' clothing or a similar
> department to help us. We again told her the length of time we were
> looking at and that there would be two of us. We arrived at Kmart Friday
> and I went to the service desk. I again said I had called ahead and
> spoken to two people and told them we were coming and that my friend and
> I would need help shopping. Not only were my two previous calls ignored,
> but we were given a male cashier who knew nothing about clothing. He, as
> an employee and a person, was fantastic. But I did not feel the most
> comfortable shopping for intimate apparel with a male not related to me.
> We proceeded to begin shopping and purchased some shoes, swimsuit, and
> were looking at pants. We had been shopping for about 2 hours. My friend
> and I were in the women's fitting room trying on clothing. All of a
> sudden there is a loud bang on the door. In a raised, scathing tone, the
> general manager of the store inquires how much longer we intend on tying
> his employee up. I again explained that we had called twice in advance
> and that I had indeed spoken to a manager on duty. I explained this in a
> calm tone, only letting a bit of my growing frustration show. Dan, the
> store manager, then proceeds to publicly, loudly berate me in front of
> the other customers and employees and tell me how unappreciative and
> ungrateful I am. He said I had tied up an employee for 3 or 4 hours. We
> had begun shopping at 11 and it was just after 1 when the incident
> occurred. He said that from now on they are putting a 30 minute maximum
> on any assistance because of my extreme attitude. I tried to reason with
> him as did my friend and say we were not being extreme. We'd tried to do
> the responsible thing and if we'd come separate they'd have had two
> employees tied up. It really hurt my feelings and upset me very much to
> be publicly humiliated and berated in front of the other customers and
> employees, and while I was trying on clothes in the women's fitting
> room. I came out of the room in tears. The gentleman helping us was
> appalled. He profusely apologized for his manager's rude behavior and
> said if he were us he'd just put everything back and walk out. I said
> I'd love to do that but with my transportation limitations, that wasn't
> an option for me. We did get checked out and went to wait for our ride.
> When I got home, I immediately called the corporate complaint
> department. The gentleman who took my call was also appalled by the
> classless behavior of the manager. I am still waiting to hear the
> resolution of this complaint. I will never set foot back in that store
> again unless that manager is no longer working there or at any store. He
> is rude, unprofessional, and according to the employee helping us, he
> treats his employees the same way. I've been verbally abused before and
> that was exactly what this experience reminded me of. My friend said he
> was accusing us of having an extreme attitude, when he was actually the
> one acting extreme. I would not recommend any person with a disability
> to go to Kmart. You will be treated as less than human and given the
> complete brush-off. If you go to the store on Lake St. Dan will impose a
> 30 minute maximum on your shopping time. This is not legal by ADA
> standards. He feels that we are taking advantage of a system and so I
> feel that he doesn't want us there or our business. Let Dan, the Kmart
> manager know what you think of what you just read. I have an update to
> this story. It is now July 15, and I still have not heard any word from
> corporate of any kind. I called twice and both times was told someone
> would get back in touch with me promptly. This has not happened.
> Apparently Sears and Kmart do not care about whether or not their
> customers are treated in a dignified manner.
> Charlotte
>
>

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