Horrifying experience in your store. Also called customer care. Went to the store to add money to my Green Dot debit card. Green Dot partnered with Walgreens to offer no fee if the money is added through the app versus swiping the card. It used to be only CVS and Walmart that partnered with Green Dot but they have since added both Rite Aid and Walgreens. I have been using Walgreens Pharmacy for decades. I even worked at one of their stores before. When I spoke to the customer care agent (who was incredibly nice I might add), she told me that there should not have been any issue. Basically, I brought my phone to the cashier and she refused to scan the barcode. I asked why? Her response was that it I was probably scamming the store. She called the manager up and the female (didn't get a good look at her name tag) manager came to the register and agreed with the cashier that I was trying to scam them. I even showed them that I was using the official Green Dot app, logged in right in front of them, showed them how I access the barcode and showed them that Walgreens was on the list of four stores that are partnered with Green Dot. They told me that my only option was to swipe the card and add the money that way. But when you slide the card it automatically charges you a $4.95 fee for doing it at the terminal. I'll be honest, I have very limited income and really bad credit history. I know this, I own that. But there were 2 customers behind me in line watching this and it was mortifying. I was told that they would not do it and asked me to leave. I did because I was embarrassed enough from the experience. I then went to CVS and just happened to be that the Manager of that store was the cashier. She was friendly and there was no one around, so I briefly explained what happened and she said that if it was her, she would be outraged. The point of all of this is that I was considered to be a scam artist, accused of such, asked to leave and all in front of other customers. The incredibly frustrating part is that I know there was a training module in their system that they were supposed to complete and just never did or didn't even pay attention to it. As a result, Walgreens has lost a customer that has been with them for a very long time. That manager should be ashamed of what she did. She didn't even try to look it up while I was there, call someone, anything... instead she treated me horribly and embarrassed me. Inexcusable by ANY standard of customer care. An industry, I will add, I have dedicated my life to. It is my career and my passion and I would NEVER even come close to what they did. You do whatever is necessary to assist the customer. And you NEVER accuse someone of being a scam artist without picking up a phone or looking at you training modules to make sure you are making the right decision.
UPDATE:
This morning I was woken up by a phone call from "a" manager at the store I went to yesterday. So I am thinking to myself... hey... here comes my apology. Nope... she said the same things that were said to me yesterday (being careful this time to not call me a scam artist). No apology at all. And she stated that the ONLY time they will scan a cell phone is if it is PayPal. Which is a lie right there because my cell phone has been scanned there hundreds of times for coupons, pharmacy, rewards, all sorts of things. So I asked her a few questions... Did you go online to find out more information about this? "No" Did you contact your district manager? "No" Did you contact corporate? "No" and then she told me that she only called me because corporate sent an email to the store regarding my issue. What?! Are you kidding me. Anyway, I called corporate again after that phone call. Again a VERY nice woman answered my call and just like yesterday was very understanding of my concerns. But something changed... she said it is up to store management as to whether or not a cell phone is scanned. That sent up a RED FLAG in my mind that I cannot get rid of. They are a chain store with thousands of locations that are all corporate run. So that comment suggested that there isn't any uniformity between their locations. Millions of people use cell phones more and more every day for everything in their everyday lives... Payments, coupons, rewards, etc. Okay... end of rant. I'm getting all of this out here so I am not plagued with it in my head and to get honest feedback so I know I am not crazy. read more
