Hartford County Market

Review: I was shopping at the local county market and I was looking for children’s Allegra. A lady who was stocking the shelves showed me where the product was. I then continued to shop and pick up various items. I then remembered I needed to go to Wall Mart later that day and I could save some money and buy the children’s Allegra at a better price. I then put the product down on a shelf and proceeded to check out. As I was checking out the same lady approached me and asked me “weren’t you the guy I showed were the children’s Allegra was?” I said yes I am but I put it down because it was too expensive and I was not going to buy it. She then looked at me and said were did you put it? I said are you accusing me of stealing? I told her I have served this country for 16 years and I am active duty military I don’t steel! She then wanted me to show her were I put the item down because she obviously didn’t believe me. I turned to the cashier and said get your supervisor down here. I then walked the rude lady to the exact spot I put the product down and handed it to her. Then I was approached by the manager and who I latter found out was the owner. He immediately came up to me and told me to leave the store I was making a scene. There was no apology for falsely accusing me of steeling just a threat they were going to call the police. I told him to call the police I will gladly speak to them. The store owner told me it was a mistake and that’s all, still no apology from him or the worker. I then spoke to the police in the parking lot about what happened and they told me to have a nice day. What was even more messed up is this happened on Veterans Day! Workers can’t just walk around and falsely accuse people of steeling with no proof! It happens every day; people decided not to purchase something and they put it back on a shelf. So now everyone who walks into that store and puts an item back on a shelf is going to be accused of stealing unless they prove where they put it!Desired Settlement: I would like an apology from the owner of the store and the worker.

I want this posted under this stores Revdex.com info for everyone else to read how this store treats its customers and military!

Business

Response:

I was in my office working a couple of things when I heard a customer yell that he wanted a supervisor. I was then paged over the intercom system to come to the service desk. When I arrived at the service desk the cashier that was on the express lane told me that a customer was yelling at one of our employees. At that moment a man walked around the corner and started yelling at me that she accused him of stealing. He has very loud and was waving a box of Allegra in my face. I asked him to please lower his voice and stated to him that it was probably a misunderstanding. He became even angrier at me at this time. I again asked him to please come down and lower his voice. He refused to do this, so I asked him to please leave the store. He then stated to me that he was in the military and that this is how he greats treated on veteran's day, and that we treat all veterans this way. He also stated that he can’t believe that he served our country and this is how he gets treated. He then aggressively gave me the box of Allegra. At this point I thought that he was leaving the store. I then went into aisle 2 to put the Allegra back on the shelf. After I placed it back on the shelf I heard him yelling again, I went back to the front of the store and he was yelling at the cashier. I that point I asked him again to leave and he said no, what are you going to do about it? I then stated to him that he was making a scene and that I would call the police if he did not exit the store. He then stated to me that he was not going to leave, and I decided that I was going to call the police. Once I called the police the police told me that they would send an officer to the store. While I was on the phone with the police, the customer asked me what are they going to do about this. I stated that they would escort him out of the store, since he would not leave after I asked him to do so. He then stated that all he wanted was an apology and that he would never shop here again. He then left the store. I was still on the phone with the police at this time and they asked me to describe the type of vehicle that the customer was driving. I did so and they stopped him in the parking lot.

After the customer left I asked the employee what happened, and she told me that a customer asked her for some Allegra. She then helped him find it and she continued working. She was getting ready to go on break and was checking out some food and the customer was behind her. She noticed that the customer did not have the Allegra that she helped him find. She asked him, didn't I give you the children's Allegra? Then he asked her if she was accusing him of stealing. Then she stated no. He said do you want me to show you where the product is? At this point he was already raising his voice and making a scene. The employee stated, could you please show me. He then became belligerent with her and started walking to the back of the store with her, yelling at her about being accused of stealing. He then grabbed the product off the shelf where he had placed it, and started walking to the front of the store. The employee was just asking the questions to make sure there was no problem with the product and that it was returned to its proper place on the shelf. She was never accusing him of stealing.

I believe that this was a misunderstanding that was escalated out of control. I am sorry that the customer thought that we were accusing him of stealing. That was never our intentions to do. Also by the customer stating that we treat veterans this way was also a false statement. We have nothing but respect for what people in the armed forces to for this country every day. With having family members that have served and that are serving in the military now, I have nothing but respect for people in the armed forces. Like I said before I do apologize that the customer thought that we were accusing him of stealing the product, which was not our intention. I also showed the letter to the cashier and employee involved in the situation, and they both stated his version of what happened were incorrect. I given him an apology the day that the incident occurred, however he did not give me a chance because he was yelling at me, the employee and the cashier. I did not want to involve the police, but there was nothing else I could do in that situation. Again I do apologize that the incident occurred.

Consumer

Response: