Why I’m never buying from this store again!

If I’m spending (regardless of how much or how little) on a consistent basis, why they hell would I put up with that kind of customer service?! As if they’re doing me a favor.

4 minute read

I’ve had some really exceptional customer service experience and some really terrible ones! Of course, I’m not here to bash any particular store but when you consider yourself a loyal and consistent supporter of the store and also receive poor customer – enough is enough!

This store is a well-known body supplements, health and fitness store who’s been established in the industry for quite some time. I started purchasing from them since 2015 when I started hitting the gym hard to get my protein powders, protein bars and snacks, workout accessories and vitamins. They’ve had pretty decent prices when compared to other supplement stores and a wider variety of brands to choose from. I’d be in the store at least twice a month to buy whatever supplements I needed.

As a consumer, I’ve always been one to do my own research about products and then make my own purchase decision about whatever I needed. If you’ve ever been inside a supplements store, you know you can come across some really unusual brands that you don’t find online, manufactured from independent businesses and private label brands. In that instance you don’t have the luxury of an effective online search and ask about the product from the customer service reps.

I asked the guy at the cashier about the brand at the time and he gave me a super snobbish response while he was doing, whatever he was doing on the store’s computer – as if he was too busy to attend to me in a store with two other customers who were browsing. At that time, I didn’t think too much of it and let it slide. I was literally like, “whatever” and purchased another familiar brand.

Now at the time when I started patronising the store, online shopping wasn’t as big or commonplace as it is today. There was also the perception that supplement products were expensive to ship – which made these local supplement stores all the more attractive. But my issues with the store did not stop at that one occasion. I’ve more times than not, received customer service that was either condescending, not helpful, or I was just dealing with someone who was full of attitude or generally “too cool” to deal with me. And this isn’t something that was specific to one particular individual – it seems as though that’s the culture of the store because I’ve encountered the same situations at the West branch and East Branch. The two times I had really great shopping experiences at the store was sadly, not from their customer service reps but from a random female shopper who was telling me about a particular product and then another time from a body-building friend who I met in the store and helped me choose a pre-workout supplement. If I’m being completely honest, I’ve received tremendously better customer service Pennywise than I have from that supplement store.

At no point am I suggesting that the store should have rolled out a red carpet every time I enter the store or be buddy-buddy with the store clerks. But at that time, I had a junior salary and a third of that was being spent at the store every month. So, if I’m spending (regardless of how much or how little) on a consistent basis, why they hell would I put up with that kind of customer service?! As if they’re doing me a favour.

I no longer or will ever patronize the store because I recently called to find out about a protein pancake brand and after answering “no”, before I could even ask my next question the person hanged up the phone – which was super frustrating to experience. I shop online now and shop at a popular local pharmacy franchise as they carry the popular supplement brands and are slightly cheaper than the supplement stores. Now the point I’m really trying to drive home is that we as consumers hold the power, not the other way around. I had to bite the bullet in the beginning and take my bad service but not that there’s options – I don’t have to deal with crappy customer service and will gladly take my business elsewhere. And you as a consumer should not settle for shit service like that as well.