It was only one piece of fresh cherry to taste for my little IC and there came a loud snarl behind us 'Oh nein, oder? Dass muss nicht sein! Sie mussen garnicht das kind eins geben!' (Oh no or? That should not be? You must not give a cherry to the child!')
IC who was a bit shocked, looked with large questioning eyes at me. I simply nodded and smiled at her. Since IC already took a bite in the cherry, I let her eat the rest. It is only one cherry, after all. Thinking the LIDL store personnel protested in fury because it is unhealthy, I let it go.
But while picking up more cherries for my basket, I felt something prickling on my mind. I needed to know why she snarled at us. Something isnt right here. I am saying snarled because she really sounded like she's snarling from her little corner there, she didnt even approach us, she hissed out those words.
So after packing some cherries for IC, I decided to approach her and asked, 'what are you really saying about the cherry? Is it because it is verboten?' And she almost hissed with her big eyes and yes, snarled at us again, 'yes, it is verboten. Because you must pay for it first!' After that 'oh so polite words,' I turned around because I was surprised with her vehemence.
I felt violated. There are, after all, more polite words that could be used. There are after all, direct ways to tell us about this. She snarled at us because giving a child a piece of cherry is verboten. Huh? I lost my energy to shop even though I have already a handful of items in my hands.
I have been doing my grocery shopping regularly in LIDL since I arrived in Germany almost 8 years now. I shop at LIDL at least twice, sometimes even thrice a week. I am a regular costumer. A few times, the kids have been given a grape or two, a cherry or two -- to taste; I have also seen some people pick a few fruits, too. Nobody went hysterical about it. And there was no notice or anything that indicated such things are verboten.
And now because we were caught with one cherry in the hand, we were made to feel like a low life? Is it fair to be treated that way?
I was violated. I was offended.
I approached another mom who was at that time also in the store and told her what happened. I simply needed to speak up. She said denying a child one piece of cherry is brutal; after all, we are buying those cherries, too. That's what I thought, too. Well that's that.
That decided it. I brought everything I have in my hands back to their proper places (yes, I even brought those items in their proper places even though I am so offended I am ready to burst) and went out of the store. IC was protesting but I told her that the service in that store is not good that is why we would not go back to LIDL.
And yes, that story would not end in my blog. I would write a letter to the LIDL store telling them of my experience. A copy of that letter I would send to the main headquarter. And I am writing my letter in English and not in Deutsch, I dont really care if they would even bother to translate them.
The thing is, with that letter, would also come my peace of mind. I dont know what should be done about that and am not waiting for any freebies nor any special treament.sa
And now I dont wonder why consumer confidence in Lidl is lower than in other discount stores here in Europe. Aside from these and other issues . I am sorry to hear that employees in LIDL are not having a great time in their company; but should that reflect their service, t00? I guess if you dont feel respected, you cannot respect back.
And then I told my husband about the story. You know what he said? That I should have asked the store personnel to weigh that piece of cherry and pay for it. Well, he's a genius. Why didnt I think of that! Tsk, tsk :D
You have lost one good costumer, LIDL.
P.S. And now I am thinking of going back simply because I sooo wanted to pay for that one piece of cherry. Or should I tack a zent into my letter? I am still so affected I am irritating myself :D
23 comments:
Hi raquel, grabe naman sila, one cherry lang pinagdamot pa, ako nga minsan tumitikim ng ubas kung matamis ganon din kasi ang ginagawa ng mga germans di lang naman tayo, di rin maganda effect non kay IC, wala namang nakalagay na verboten yon, sa aldi na lang tayo mamili o sa penny markt,nakuha mo ba yung name nung tindera? im supporting u 100% sa gagawin mong action, best regards. 2nette
Your husband is one smart man:) Why is it always so late when we think of a good comeback?
Go ahead and write your letter. In fact be specific as to what time of day and if you don't have the bruha's name, write down her description so it will lead back to her. You know, it's one thing for her to say you shouldn't have done that but it's another for her to shout and belittle you within hearing distance of other shoppers.
I am not one to always cry out discrimination but do you think it had something to do with you being Asian? You mentioned that other customers did the same thing before and no one bit their head about it. Maybe you should go back, eat a cherry in front of her and hand her one euro:)
oh i can imagine how upset you were! but service is really poor this part of the world :( unfortunately, i also had one experience in galleria kaufhof. i was so offended, i spoke with the service manager but her excuse was "sorry these people are not educated at all and of not so good background" like hey, then why don't you train them???!!! which i asked of course and her answer was "well we don't hire them loreal (i was buying a lipstick) hired them" then she gave me loreal's address - i asked hubby to write a letter in german to loreal.he said it was useless - we are in the "servicewüste" anyway. i got an apology letter from loreal and an eyeshadow and mascara. i'm easy to please so i still do buy stuff from loreal now.. i think that was nevertheless a nice response. keep me updated about this.
I agree with your husband. Go to manager of store. Explain u buy there all the time, and were buying cherries and lady was rude and you want to pay for one cherry. How manager deals with situation will help you decide whether or not to shop there.
Nobody deserves to be treated that way. And to think that they're in the business of customer satisfaction!! Tama, write them..complain..do whatever it takes to let them know that they have lost a good, loyal, and paying customer.
That's is not the way to treat customers! Snarl, ano yun parang guard dog?
We normally taste test cherries, so the store should give a free taste. Kahit wala, we still taste one. Just imagine paying $12.00 for a whole bunch and realizing that they don't taste good.
It's their loss.
tonette - if they have a notice that such things are verboten, it's ok to be told off, but not in such a rude way. my hubby went grocery shopping today and he went to ALDI
joanne - i am planning to go back and give that lady an euro but first i wanted to compose my letter and bring it with me. nope, i dont think is was discrimination; i think it was simply rudeness.
toni - you know what, that was the same reaction with my husband; never mind them, simply go to another store. but i dont think that is right, they should learn that their service isnt good. ignoring the problem would not solve it.
sinead - how come i didnt think of paying for that cherry during that time? anyway, i am going back to that store if only to pay for that cherry and to deliver my letter. let's see.
cookie - you might have read in toni's comment, they dont really care about service when it comes to discount stores here. they're thinking is this: as long as they have cheap products, people would come to them. sad but true :(
tina - we normally do that, too kaya i was real shocked when this happened.
Not worth the effort of going back to pay for the one cherry. I say, email their headquarters and whatever newspaper there which has a consumer complaint column. Telling management about it at least gives them the option to respond, and hopefully improve.
Shop elsewhere so you don't get stressed. God bless.
just when i thought things like this only happens in the philippines. meron din pala jan! lupet naman ng face ng taong yon. isaksak kaya nya sa baga niya yung cherry na yon. eh kahit ako manggagalaiti sa galit. pambihira!
i got you tagged sista! http://www.marriageandbeyond.com/2008/06/12/pink-ribbon-month/
I got your link from Raggold and I know Toni very well.
You shouldn't take that so personally, this girl was just in a bad mood or always is. She works there to get money and the well being of customers or customer's service she couldn't care less. After all she is not payed for smiling. She probably was very satisfied that you brought all your things back on the shelf. What a satisfaction ! She won ! You should have taken another cherry with a big smile and walk away. That would have hurt her much more and what could she do against you ? nothing ! Your letter to Lidl will immediately land in the bin they don't care they have enough customers.
I do my shopping at Lidl too and get upset when I ask for something and nobody knows where it is. The shop is cheap, so the personnel is cheap too. Don't expect a good service.
I met Toni because of a similar story of a very unfriendly salesgirl !
I don't believe in the saying that "Customer is always right" because there are SOME customers that are not di ba! However in your case you all have the right to revolt I am sure that IC would like to make sure that cherries are good, we do it all the time before we purchase something. The people are nice, sometimes they propose us free items pa with the one we bought :D!
A letter of complain should be filed. Talk to the manager because this could also happen to some of the clients. The lady needs to be educated on how to treat faithful clients !
Grabe naman yan :(
Its right that you wrote them a letter, Tsaka dapat hindi mo na binalik kung saan mo kinuha yung mga bibilhin mo sana, hehe.
lionel, oh what a great suggestion with the papers :D and yep, am over it but am working on the letter and am not going back to the store.
jen, pambihira talaga. will check your tag later, thanks.
gattina, you are right, the shop is cheap so service is cheap, a sad reality :(
haze, i think that lady is the manager, hay but am going back with my letter soon.
julie, heheh, another suggested that i should have laid everything in the cashier's table and say i wont pay for them, nevertheless :D
You have the right to be angry, and I emphatize .. and HOOOW! I wanna go to that store and add my voice to yours. What would I have done in your place? What your husband suggested was good. But even better, I would have bought a kilo of the fruit, then taken away one cherry and deposited it in the shopkeeper's hands, with some choice remark, the subtler the better.
Go ahead write the store manager. But not when you're still steaming. Keep cool and rational.
Let us know what happens next?
I would have been offended too. I admire how you calmly acted during that incident. I would have abandoned my grocery cart and left the store.
annamanila, am still steaming so i cant finish the letter, hayyy
rach, i had to slowly do those things as i am afraid i would errupt in from of IC who doesnt really feel good after hearing that lady scream at us
hallo raq,
sorry ha, hindi naman siguro sila madamot...kasi ganoon din ako, i do my grocery sa lidl, once or 2x a week, bago ako bumili sa mga fruits nila, tikman ko muna kung gusto ko or not.....
nakita pa ako sa mga customers at sa mga workers there.
siguro yon nangyari sa iyo, misunderstanding lang....
ganoon kasi, yon cherry, pag ibigay mo sa bata, without washing it, takot sila...
kasi alam mo na, pag mga bata, they are afraid what will happen to the KID, lalo na babies or ganoon na OLD sa mga anak mo....they are very careful.
kasi yon nandoon sa grocery, hindi pa WASH or ayaw nila ipatikim sa mga bata, baka anong mangyari sa bata, yon veranwortung nila.
or baka ma gifted, ang bata sa mga spray or insectide na used sa farm, or allergy sila.
kaya bawal ipakain or tikim sa mga bata bago washing......
please,dont misunderstood this ha?
kasa sabi ng may nakita or sino man yon.....ganoon yon....
'Oh nein, oder? Dass muss nicht sein! Sie mussen garnicht das kind eins geben!'
tama naman yon sabi na ito.....he or she don´t mind na masama ito....takot lang sila kung anong mangyari ni IC.....they don´t mind na ano ang naisip mo.....
nabigla ka lang....basta saan kung yon mga fruits na ganoon kalaki, ayaw nilang ipakain sa mga bata at there age, baka may mangyayari, lalo na sa CHERRY...maliit ang seeds, baka maschluck nya ang seed.
Hope, please don´t mind what you hear.....hindi ito masama...........
he-or she adviced only......
Hey, Stiftung Warentest.....heheheheh
thanks for sharing.......
ay oo nga, not only LIDL, hindi maganda ang sweldo or benefits....parang almost lahat na...gusto nila tax free lang ang mga workers para hindi sila maka bayad sa benefits.....
hay, paano na kaya ang mga anak natin sa future......
regards....free ako ngayon kaya nandito bisita sa iyo.
hallo raq,
balik ako, baka ma-misunderstood mo yon comments ko....
pls. huwag ha; opinion ko lang yon...kasi yon cherry-seed, maliit kasi....baka takot yon nakakita sa iyo, ibigay, baka sa isip nya na baka ma-schluck si IC sa seed....tapos hindi pa wash ang obst.
tapos ang cherry, dangerous....i mean minsan magsakit ang tyan natin dyan, parang...ewan, hindi ko ma-explain, kasi meron kasi sila in-laws ko ng tree nito.
alam mo naman sila dito, they are very careful sa mga maliit na bata.
yon sabi nya, hindi yon masama, read it will yon sulat mo...she or he don´t mind it na masama.....na baka may mangyayari ni IC....
kasi minsan takot sila, baka ma-allergy ang bata or ma gifted sa mga spray sa obst, kaya nasabi nya yon....
yon sabi siguro sa another frau na tinanong mo, she minds also, normal bayaran bago kakain.....lol
kasi, sa observation ko lang, may mga Eltern, bago tikman or open yon mga pkgs.-bayaran muna....
reason: para ang bata, alam nila na hindi buksan or tikman----if allowed tikman so tikman.....
na hindi buksan bago hindi pa bayad.
kasi alam mo na ang mga bata...open ng open sila, akala nila pwede mag-open kahit ano sa grocery.
not all kids....pero baka nakita nila or nobody tell them.
lessons daw sa mga bata na to be patience or wait muna before.. nabayaran......
sorry ha, hindi ko masayadong ma-explain.....
sorry, hindi naman na i don´t respect or iba ang isip ko sa way of up-bringing sa bata.....
sorry, na sorry sa comments ko ha?
i am very sorry kung mali ako.....
sincerely,
vk
hi vk - hindi sila madamot, sakim sila, hehehe. actually, that lady screamed at us. she was so loud and treated us like dogs. and since that lady was behind IC, my little girl became afraid. akala ko din she was screaming coz eating unwashed things might do damage but when i approached her - nilakihan pa nya ako ng mata at sinabing verboten yon at dapat bayaran.
well, if you could make free tastes in your LIDL branch, you are lucky. kasi i talked to some people here about it, kahit daw yung mga matatanda na nag try ng isang pirasong strawberry o grapes o kung ano man e nasigawan din daw.
kami nga kahit na stamm kunde e binastos ng ganon, at you know what, that was the manager of the store pa. okay lang kung maayos yung pagkakasabi nya, pero yung sigawan kami sa harap ng maraming tao, foul yun.
as for IC, na trauma sya. kapag napapadaan kami sa LIDL ang parati nyang sinasabi e bawal daw kumain ng cherry dun at masisigawan daw. so never na talaga akong babalik ng lidl. bad experience yon para sa anak ko e kaya until now inis pa rin ako. hayyy :)
hahahaha! kung ako yon? i would have picked a dozen, ngu-nguyain ko sa tapat nya and tell her "Did you say this is not good for kids, because it really taste shitty! Here, have some, try it!" sabay ismid! hahaha but then again, hindi ka naman butangerang gaya ko! hahaha!
pag tinutupak ako, i treat them exactly how i get treated, eh kasi sa mga merkano naman, what i found out is that, pag pa-martyr martyr ang dating mo, mas lalo kang yuyurakan, lalait laitin at hahagupitin. at least eto ang naging experience ko although marami namang mababait.
gaya nga nitong supermart sa area namen, as in haller, kahit kainin nang bata yong bread, ok lang sa kanila, wag lang ubusin yong buong sako, you know.
it really depends dyan sa management. i bet you, kaya medyo bastos ang mga yan is because iritado ang mga yan sa management and it shows sa service nila sa customer especially pag direct ang dealings mo with the customers.
pag ang management walang tamang leadership, pabalang ang takbo nang mga tauhan kaya what happens is that they are just there to earn money, that's it. keri kung anong klase ang bunganga nila.
kung ako ang IKAW, which i doubt na gagawin mo dahil alam ko mas matino ka saken hahahaha, i will piss her off until she gets it. hahahhahahaha
hi! bloghopped from mahal na reyna. i lived in Germany for 14 years, and all i can say is NULL sila pagdating sa customer service. i know how you felt at that time, talagang nakakangitngit yun. correct me if i'm wrong but knowing how germans are, i'm sure may halong discrimination ang pagtili nya sa iyo. feel ko lang....
anyway, dapat lang talaga na makarating sa headquarters nila ang ginawa ng empleyado nila. i'm not sure kung itatama nila ang mali o ,magbubulag-bulagan na lamang sila.
have a good day!
reyns - kapag naligaw ka dito, ihaharap kita dun, hahahaha
rhada - sad but real ano? hay, kung may discrimination man yon, that is really sick.
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