Mission Beach Resortwear

Review: My mother and I stopped into Hamel's to look at beach towels on August 24, 2013. An employee came up to assist us and showed us towels that he said were $12.99. When we went to the check out, our total came to $32.38 which my mother questioned following her signing of the receipt. The employee at the register-[redacted]-said the towels were $15.00 a piece and the previous employee had been wrong. He even asked the employee to come up to the desk and asked him about the towels and the employee that assisted us repeated that "they were $12.99 a piece." We asked to return the towels because they were a higher price than we had thought and there was a better deal at the store across the street. The manager then came over and said it was their store policy to not give returns or exchanges and stated that "the employee being wrong wasn't his fault and all he would offer was a $6 in store credit." Since we are from out of town we didn't want to use the store credit and the manager and [redacted] began yelling back and forth at us as we stated that we wouldn't have purchased the merchandise if we had known the correct amount. The problem had nothing to do with the extra $4 we paid and everything to do with how shocked we were about the rude, aggressive and insulting nature of the store manager in particular. He refused to give us his name and recommended that "we file a dispute with our credit card company if that's how we feel." When we walked out of the store, the employee who told us the wrong price for the towels came out and apologized saying that he constantly argues with the manager and that the manager frequently argues with customers in the store. He apologized in the end and was very kind, which we appreciated.Desired Settlement: We would like a refund of the over charged amount and for this message to be shared with the manager so that he knows that he cannot treat guests of a store the way he treated us and expect there not to be repercussions.

Business

Response:

To Whom it might concern:

I apologize for the delay in responding this letter. I was out of town when I got to know about this issue, and it took me some days to inquire the facts involving employee/manager behavior and the customer's complaint attached . In discussing the issue with my manager ( who works over 10 years in the company) he said the price was disclosed by employee , he ( [redacted]) registered the sale, announced the amount prior to receiving the credit card ( which was given by customer), he swiped the card, the customers signed for it and he gave them the towels inside the plastic bag. The customers " then" decided to question the amount and demanded a refund. At this point, the sale was already considered finalized on company's side, and the only way to deal with a finalized sale is following the company's store policy - which states that we can exchange the item, or issue a store credit. I believe the manager followed procedures that we have created to minimize the buyer's remorse when dealing with fast pace beach merchandise items.

According to our manager, it became an issue of 4 dollars because the customers refused to accept the store policy and repeatedly demand the refund of the entire transaction. The manager said the line was getting bigger and he didn't want to miss out on actual sales over a customer with unhappy issues with our store policy. The manager ignored them to be attentive to other customers, and they became loud and argumentative over the discrepancy. The argumentation was back-n-forth for everyone else to hear about, but the other customers didn't stop from buying. Instead, they were appalled by the situation and consoled the manager and [redacted] after these customers left.

So I believe that what she is calling a "rude behavior " from our manager, it was actually a demonstration of employee enforcing company's policy and concentrating on achieving sales. Our manager understands that the customer had the right to walk away leaving the merchandise behind upon disclosure of total and not giving the credit card and signed for it. He tried to please these customers by offering another item of equal value ( which they refused) and the manager offered the store credit ( which was refused as well). Our company policy is actually very flexible in this type of business ( beach wear/souvenirs/ resort merchandise where most of our competitors says " ALL SALES FINAL"). Our stores accept exchange or store credit, and that's what my manager had offered the customers.

Apparently the whole situation became a matter of principle rather than money involved, and I understand that some customers regret some decisions ( or lack of) when they are purchasing from quick outlets such as kiosks and beach stores. We have all done that. The bottom line is that the company doesn't have the department store policy, and our employees are well trained to deal with situations such as this one.

I have shared the complaints to our manager, and employee involved, and I want Ms. [redacted] to know that our employees are trained to deal and treat our customers with kindness and respect that every one deserves. Unfortunately, respect needs to be shared in order to be received in return. Accepting the store policy and understanding that employees have to follow policies and procedures shows respect. Our store policy was fully disclosed. If Ms. [redacted] would like to accept another merchandise in exchange for what she has paid for, please return the towels and call our customer service to redeem another merchandise. Here is the phone number : ###-###-####.

Have a nice week.

PS: I have copy of the signed merchant sale slip in my possession. It has been signed by [redacted] on 8/24/2013.