I would love to hear your thoughts on how they or I could have handled the situation better.
I don’t feel they owe me anything at this point.
Where should we go to buy a couch? Are any furniture stores better than the others?
My requirements are:
It must be delivered, I don’t want to pick it up or assemble anything.
I want to see it & sit in it first. (Our current couch was bought online, sight-unseen, and is a dud.)
The store has to be able to actually hit promised delivery dates.
I’m stuck on a nice HIGH back after seeing a few.
🪑
Here’s the latest from Levin:
🪑
Eric,
I completely understand where you are coming from. I apologize that we failed to get your correct chair delivered to you during this time. I am the person that called your wife about the Facebook post. I wanted to reach out to you to apologize and see what I could do to help the situation. When we fail to meet our customers’ expectations, we want to make it right.
I know you said you weren’t sure what we could do at this point, but I feel we need to take ownership of our mistake and acknowledge your feelings. On behave of Levin Furniture I apologize for the mistake and the inconvenience this caused you during your recovery. That is a true heart felt apology, I treat customers the way I would want to be treated. I think sometimes we get desensitized and need to be reminded that people have other things going on in their lives and just owning our mistakes and saying I am sorry can make a difference.
I know you said you do not want to shop with a us. But if you would like to give us another chance in the future, please let me know and I will see we take care of you. If there is anything I can assist you with, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me.
Best Regards,
Kelly Matyas
Customer Experience Manager
🪑
Should I write/call back?
Actual footage from a staff meeting about my recliner.
Well, I was done with Levin. Then they emailed a customer satisfaction survey. That triggered me again. Here’s what I sent back. Then I dug up as many corporate names as I could, and their email syntax. I know some landed, because about three minutes after I hit send they were calling my wife.
Here’s what I said:
💻
Hello Friends,
I recently had what we’ll call a horrendous experience with Levin Furniture. I had vented about it online, and moved on. Until my wife forwarded me the customer satisfaction survey. That took some immense lack of self-awareness on your part, so I am hoping with this missive to make you a bit more aware. The following is what I typed up & sent along with the 3 1-star answers to the survey. I thought I would look up some email addresses and get it in front of as many eyes as I could. I will also copy the salesman that my wife dealt with who never replied to her email inquiring about delivery.
Already sent was the following:
On Saturday September 9th, my wife & son went to Levin and a few other furniture stores to purchase a powered recliner for me, to help with post colo-rectal surgery recovery.
Looking online at our options and various price ranges, I knew I wanted a chair that had a cup holder, phone charger, and storage pockets… as I was not sure how mobile I would be post-op, and was quite frankly uncomfortable going into surgery.
I would have gone to view them myself, but that happened to be in-between my second and third ER trips & hospital admissions in 4 weeks stemming from a burst pocket of diverticulitis and a nasty ensuing abscess and infection. I was in poor health, and in no mood to deal with furniture sales tactics. I can even provide photos of the CT scans and the drain sticking out of my right but cheek if you like to be grossed out.
My wife ordered an Ashley Model Next-Gen DuraPella Power Recliner SKU # 2200413, mainly because Levin promised to deliver before La-Z-Boy & Value City could on very similarly optioned & priced items. Remember that “before” qualifier as you digest (pun intended) the following paragraphs.
In hindsight, it was a largely false promise on the part of Levin, one that if I were a pessimist would assume is a regular practice on the part of your sales team.
The chair was promised to be delivered by Sept. 19th. That Tuesday came & my wife logged in to the website to see the delivery was now scheduled for Thursday Sept. 21st, and we had no communication on that change from Levin.
On Thursday, my wife called the delivery number, then the store to ask about the chair’s whereabouts. She talked to an Anna who said the original salesperson, Jared Chambers, was “new” and “didn’t know he had to schedule the delivery.”
My wife also emailed jchambers@levinfurniture.com on Sept. 21st to inquire about the delivery, but as of yet has not received a reply. We can forward that unanswered email if needed.
Despite this excuse smelling of total and absolute bovine feces, Anna told my wife that they could “squeeze us in” that Saturday the 23rd for delivery. Were we the first order where this was discovered? If not, why wasn’t it rectified sooner? Does Levin train all new employees this poorly? You don’t really have to answer that last one. It was rhetorical.
Saturday the 23rd came and two nice men delivered a recliner to us. Once they brought it in & put it together, I noticed that it does not have the cup holder, phone charger, or storage pockets. It happened to be an Ashley Model 5930213 Power Recliner @ $1349.99, completely not what we ordered. It was not the same model, SKU #, or price.
The guys sent photos to their boss, their boss contacted Levins, & Anna called my wife.
We tipped the guys $20 and they took the nice new recliner away.
In that conversation with my wife, Anna then blamed an incorrect tag or sku # being on the display model in the showroom. She also used the phrasing that it was “no one’s fault.” This incensed me, as it obviously was the fault of Levin employees on multiple levels. Who tagged the chair with the wrong tag? Who double-checks their work? The salesman did not confirm that what he was ordering matched the floor model? This is not “no one’s fault,” this is a tragic comedy of careless errors.
My wife asked Anna at that time if we could purchase the floor model, as time was of the essence. Anna said she would call back.
We went to Big Lots! in Washington PA that evening to look at couches. Yes, we need a couch, and Levin is off the table for what I believe to be quite obvious reasons.
Anna had still not called my wife as of around 6:00 PM, so my wife called her. Anna said we could have the floor model if we came and got it. Now, I am in poor health with restrictions on lifting, my kids are young, we have a vehicle classed as a station wagon, and my wife is a strong woman, but I would not ask her to move a recliner herself.
You would think the salesman and or store manager eager to make good on a sale, would have delivered the damn thing in a pickup or something.
Customer service is dead.
No concessions on price were offered from Anna. My wife asked for some form of compensation for our aggravation, and at first the only offer was to refund the original delivery fee… for the WRONG CHAIR. Crazy us to assume it would be a given to not pay for that. I believe we got half off of the 2nd delivery, and were refunded the difference between the original incorrect, more expensive chair, and the correct less expensive one.
If your profit margins are so small that you cannot automatically offer a few hundred dollars off on this purchase or even on a future purchase, you perhaps need to rethink your entire business model.
The correct recliner was finally delivered on Tuesday Oct. 3rd. This was a full two weeks after it was promised, after the dates when we could have received a recliner from your esteemed competitors, and 3 days after I was released from the hospital.after surgery.
Did I mention that we set our old chair out for the trash the Thursday night prior to the initial incorrect Saturday delivery?
I would like to ask you to imagine having a foot-long section of your colon and rectum removed, your remaining section of colon & rectum stapled together, a wound vac hanging on your side connected to a tube from an incision above your belly button, and a bulbous drain hanging out of your side right at your waistline.
That makes sitting anywhere uncomfortable. Imagine, if you would, a nice stressless recliner to ease the situation… because I can’t.
Some other person did leave a voicemail for my wife after I left a frustration-venting rant & a comment or two on Facebook, but that was the night of my colon-cleanse. If you’ll forgive the mental image, we already had enough crap to put up with.
Honestly though, for that attention-grabbing shenanigans to be the ONLY thing that triggered some sort of response, you were well past the too little/too late threshold.
Your people skills are abhorrent at the sales and service levels, and your corporate level customer service is merely reactionary to online “bad press” only to save face, not serve actual customer satisfaction & retention.
I actually applaud your testicular fortitude in reaching out with a customer satisfaction survey. It either takes massive ignorance or massive swagger. And you already know where I believe you fall on the scale.
I now intend to send this to every level of your corporation that has eyes. May the best of them find work elsewhere, and may the worst of them stay to drive you further into the ground than the last time you were there.
Thank you for your time, and may whatever deity you ascribe to have mercy on your soul,
I neglected to note we tipped the 2nd set of delivery guys $20 too. But, if they don’t even pretend to care about the customers, they certainly don’t care about the employees, right? While we’re on the subject… was that appropriate, or cheap? I try to check in on these things occasionally.
After Kelly Maytas at Levin left my wife a Voicemail, I got this email…
💻
Eric,
Thank you for reaching out to us and letting us know about your experience. We aim to deliver a great experience and are disheartened when we don’t. We will use your feedback to make us better.
I apologize for the inconvenience and the stress this has caused you. I personally would like to speak to you about your experience and respectfully apologize and take ownership of our failure to deliver a great experience. I know you need to rest, but at your convenience can you please give me a call at 330-###-####.
Best Regards,
Kelly Matyas
Customer Experience Manage
💻
I took the time to send this back…
💻
Thank You Ms. Maytas,
Not sure if you got just the survey response, or the email that I tried to send to a handful of people after researching names and email syntax online.
I am really not sure what you can do at this point for us.
I suggest you get your Robinson store in order… from tagging furniture properly, to sales reps understanding the product, your procedures, or setting up deliveries in a timely manner, and customer service reps that understand what apologizing really is. Only then can you maybe knock it out of the park for future customers.
We are in desperate need of a new couch, but not that desperate. I feel like your team has not only burned but nuked the proverbial bridge, and I concede that I worked on that from my side of things also. I am not a fan of phone calls, I prefer the written word. I also prefer retailers that automatically offer discounts on current or future sales without having to be asked. Again, we’re past that.
Unless you’d like to suggest a competitor that will actually deliver a quality product on time?
Good luck to you in righting the ship at Levins, as your tenacity in reaching out speaks to the fact that you will stay the course! I wish that we could have dealt with you on the store level instead of when it reached a wild level of ridiculousness (again, the online shenanigans are all on me – but it shouldn’t have taken that to garner attention).
I appreciate your time in reaching out! I like you, unlike your seemingly dimwitted and soul-crushed coworkers. Perhaps they need a pizza party or two for morale?
If I could give 0 stars, I would. If Levin’s had the last bucket of water on Earth, I was on fire, and it only cost 5¢, I would still not buy it. My wife ordered a reclinig chair about a moth before I had surgery, the delivery was pushed back twice, they blamed it on the salesman & made no apologies. The wrong chair was delivered. It was sorted out with absolutely no apologies or offered concessions. The correct chair arrived 3 days AFTER it was needed. There was no attempt to make any amends or apologies without my wife asking for them. The Levin employee even had the testicular fortutude to say the “error was no one’s fault” as the chair was tagged wrong. Yes, this is obviously Levin’s fault. On multiple levels, from inventory, to display, to double-checking, and scheduling orders. Any attempts to resolve the issue were made once I was busy & in the hospital getting major abdominal surgery. It was an absolute tragic comedy of errors. What a joke. In summation: [Fornicate] Levin’s, and the horse they rode on!
So, did you read the last post about the Guitalele & Guitar Center’s price match guarantee? The whole thing is pretty awesome, especially if you’re a musician and you actively purchase gear. It’s worth checking out, so click that link.
Once you’ve read that, this will make sense:
Free Gig Bag From Guitar Center! (1)
Free Stand From Guitar Center! (2)
Free Stand From Guitar Center! (1)
Free Gig Bag From Guitar Center! (2)
The gig bag & the stand are a perfect fit! Thanks again to Luke for the excellent customer service, and to YaJagoff for sparking it!
On the Saturday before Christmas, we were headed to a family gathering & gift exchange. On the way, we stopped at Guitar Center in Monroeville so I could pick up a book of Christmas Carols that I had seen at the Guitar Center in Robinson. I didn’t find the same book, but was pleased with two that I did find.
Guitalele GL1 (Photo credit: matsuyuki)
Usually, I’m the one who lollygags in guitar stores, but the wife has taken up the ukulele, and over the past few years she’s the one that lingers near the ever-growing uke section at music stores. In Monroeville’s Guitar Center, the ukes were right by the music books, so we both started looking. Bethany was the first to spot our newest acquisition… The Yamaha GL1 “Guitalele“. We both were fascinated by it, and I played with it a little as she asked “Do you want this as an early Birthday present?”
At first, I said no and went to hang it back up, but flipped over the price tag and saw that it was $99.99. She gave me the “just get it” look, so we both new I just landed an early birthday present. I do enjoy the wife’s ukulele, but the GCEA tuning did always mess with me. Now I can play the ukulele without having to play the ukulele. Although, if tuned “properly” the guitalele should be ADGCEA. Of course, I dropped it to E because I didn’t like pretending it was a guitar with a capo on the 5th fret. Although, I may have to get thicker strings or just suck it up & put it back in the A tuning. They’re sort of like rubber-bands at this point.
Well, that’s just the first part of the story. The second part stems from some interactions on Twitter. I’ll try to post it all here as it happened, thanks to @YaJagoff and Luke from Guitar Center.
Photo: Stopped at Guitar Center today to buy a book of chords for Christmas carols, and Bethany bought me an... http://t.co/pUgD3INm
A simple question. I gave the easy, flippant, and predictable answer. Rock musicians are supposed to rail against the establishment and big business, right? Well, Guitar Center proves to be awesome here…
@YaJagoff hmm... Local shops always beat Guitar Center. Ha ha. Pgh Guitars on South Side is awesome.
Musician’s Friendhad the Guitalele itself for $79.99 (It’s oddly now up to $99.99 on the website — aren’t Musician’s Friend & Guitar Center the same company? From Wikipedia: “Guitar Center’s sister companies/subsidiaries incorporate Music & Arts, Musician’s Friend, GuitarCenter.com, LMI, Giardinelli, Musician.com, Private Reserve Guitars, Woodwind and Brasswind and Harmony Central.” …Interesting.)
I only half-jokingly asked “Any chance I could get a gig bag or stand for free?” I mean, it never hurts to ask, right?
I was met with a response saying I was getting both of them for free! We discussed shipping details & the right size gig bag in a few more email exchanges… but they’re now on the way to me via UPS.
I’ve written to companies before, but I’ve never had any of them seek me out on a social media platform in a conversation that wasn’t even addressed to them. It’s pretty cool that Guitar Center believes in their price guarantee so much that they actively go after any perceived detraction. It’s also cool that they’ll not only go up against brick-and-mortar stores, but online retailers too.
That being said, the “little guys” could argue that they have no way to compete. They can’t buy in quantities & therefore probably not at such a low price… so there’s no way they can pass on such savings. Free enterprise, supply & demand, competition, it’s all very interesting & a continually evolving battle.
At any rate, I win out here… with a free gig bag & stand. So, thanks to Ya Jagoff!!! & Luke for helping to set the whole thing into motion! I’ll post some photos of the gig bag & stand as soon as I have them.
So, does the Guitalele count as a guitar in my “13 Guitars in 2013” goal?
Well, Krispy Kreme wrote back. No doubt they believe that I’m absolutely undeniably insane at this point, but they thankfully decided to humor me anyway. Here’s what I sent them…
From: Waldo Lunar <world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Feb 15, 2012
Subject: Re: Case #1099627
To: krispykreme@casupport.com
Aloha Lyndon,
Thank you for your swift reply! Hopefully Krispy Kreme is able to rebound to the Pittsburgh area, and stay a little longer this time. It’s curious that you blamed the franchisees for wanting to get into other business ventures, yet I read an article on CFO.com from 2005, detailing corporate buybacks. I’m not sure, but was that around the time when Krispy Kreme left the area?
I have used the store locator at KrispyKreme.com to determine that the Krispy Kreme closest to me is all the way down in Washington County. This is too far away from me to take a chance on making a run hoping to get hot fresh donuts.
I’d like to resubmit my earlier message, with unanswered questions highlighted, and perhaps I’ll add some more that have cropped up after that. I hope that you (or someone at Krispy Kreme) has the time someday to come up with some responses.
I’m writing to ask you what happened. Occasionally I get an email reminding me to visit a Krispy Kreme, and I think to myself “yeah, that’s a good idea.” Sadly, there are no Krispy Kremes around any more. I remember the stir of excitement when you first came to the area many years ago. I believe it was even a news story… “Pittsburgh is getting Krispy Kreme!” The fervor for hot fresh donuts was palpable. The neon sign beckoning me in for a visit worked on several occasions when I wasn’t even craving donuts. I’d generally come in to buy a Boston cream donut & an iced tea or chocolate milk… all because of that glowing invitation. I always loved the retro decor, the smell, and the ability to see the magical doughnut making process. You quickly dispatched with local competition. Dunkin Donuts most decidedly took a hit, and you wiped out some of the local weird places like Donut Connetcion and Mister Donut.
Then, you pulled out like an occupying force ordered home. There’s hardly a trace of Krispy Kreme left in Southwestern Pennsylvania. I’ve noticed a lot of area locations like Greensburg, Pleasant Hills, and Monroeville are now Chick-fil-A restaurants, and a still-empty Krispy Kreme building sits as a shell of sadness in Robinson Township. I remember the “remodeling / be back soon” sign hung for years before someone just gave up. I mean, I absolutely love all the full service Chick-fil-A locations, but I also like hot fresh donuts every once in a while. You used to be in several Sheetz locations, but now I think they mostly receive their donuts from somewhere else. Plus, they’re not exactly hot n’ fresh there.
Remaining on your email list has become simply receiving an occasional taunt for something I can’t have. Perhaps I should unsubscribe?
Dunkin Donuts seems to be making a rebound, and I must confess that I find their Boston cream (Boston creme?) offering to be a much fuller, larger, and more satisfying confectionery treat. But, they don’t lure me in with a hot fresh free delicious donut, and I can’t watch them being made.(Is it doughnut, or donut?)There’s also a killer “mom n’ pop” donut shop that’s a bit of a hike for me, but worth the trip… Big Daddy’s Donuts.
The truth is… I miss you, Krispy Kreme. Do you have plans to come back to the area with hot fresh goodness? Are you going to make me drive all the way to Washington county to get a doughnut & take a chance on the hot light being on? Why did all of the area locations shut down? Were you muscled out by local donut barons? Did too many yinzers line up for free doughnuts and not actually buy anything? Did Sheetz want too much too soon? Did people go on diets or realize that too many donuts are a bad thing? Was you plan all along to wipe out local donut shops and leave the area starved of donuts because of the high geographical rate of diabetes, thus ensuring better health for the population of the Pittsburgh area? I need (and feel that I deserve) some answers, my friends. What happened? Please don’t brush me off with the standard, “it’s not you, it’s us.” I need some concrete reasons.
Thank you for your time, I hope you’re doing well. I’m sure you’re as hot n’ fresh as always… just not for me.
Hungrily Yours,
-Waldo Lunar
Well, there it is. And here are more that I have thought of since…
Why do you spell Krispy Kreme with K’s? Why not Crispy Creme or even Crispy Cream?
What’s the difference between Cream and Creme?
Why don’t you call a Boston Cream doughnut Boston Creme? Why is it Custard-filled? Is the Custard just pudding?
Is it “donut” or “doughnut”?
Why spell “doughnut” in long form, yet blatantly disregard spelling in Krispy Kreme?
What’s your favorite doughnut?
Thank you once again for your time & assistance in satisfying my inquisitive nature.
Aloha,
-Waldo Lunar
Here’s what they sent back…
From: <krispykreme@casupport.com>
Date: Wed, Feb 15, 2012
Subject: Case #1099627
To: world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com
Dear Mr. Lunar,
Thank you for your email regarding your questions about Krispy Kreme. We appreciate the opportunity to assist you. I have provided the answers to the questions that you have asked, I hope you find this information helpful.
– Why do you spell Krispy Kreme with K’s? Why not Crispy Creme or even Crispy Cream? Krispy Kreme is spelled with the K’s simply to be different and stand out.
– What’s the difference between Cream and Creme? There is no difference between the two words, “cream” is the American pronunciation and “crème” is the French pronunciation.
– Why don’t you call a Boston Cream doughnut Boston Creme? Why is it Custard-filled? Is the Custard just pudding? It’s just the spelling we used for that doughnut. It can be filled with chocolate frosting, creamy vanilla, or custard filling. The custard filling is the same as the Bavarian crème filled, it’s just a different name.
– Is it “donut” or “doughnut”? Either way is fine, “donut” is just the shortened form of “doughnut”.
– Why spell “doughnut” in long form, yet blatantly disregard spelling in Krispy Kreme? Again, you can spell “doughnut” either way you would like. We just choose to spell it the old-fashioned way.
– What’s your favorite doughnut? My favorite is the Original Glazed doughnut.
Pertaining to the inquiry of the 2005 article that you have provided us, we have no privy to this information here at Krispy Kreme Customer experience. We apologize for any inconvenience that this may cause you.
Insanity. Absolute insanity. But, they did answer all of my questions. Well, all of the new ones anyway. They artfully dodged the highlighted paragraph o’ questions for a second time. Should I send a follow-up? Maybe I willdrive to Washington to get a doughnut one of these days.
I’ve been getting emails from Krispy Kreme reminding me to come buy & eat some doughnuts. The only problem is that there aren’t any Krispy Kremes around where I can go buy said doughnuts. Much like Quiznos, they seem to have parted ways with our area. I decided to write to them and see what happened.
From: Waldo Lunar <world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Feb 10, 2012
Subject: So, what happened?
To: JBryant@krispykreme.com; hotlight@krispykreme.com; contact@krispykreme.com; lwatson@krispykreme.com; webmaster@krispykreme.com; jmorgan@krispykreme.com; friends@krispykreme.com; krispykreme@casupport.com
I’m writing to ask you what happened. Occasionally I get an email reminding me to visit a Krispy Kreme, and I think to myself “yeah, that’s a good idea.” Sadly, there are no Krispy Kremes around any more. I remember the stir of excitement when you first came to the area many years ago. I believe it was even a news story… “Pittsburgh is getting Krispy Kreme!” The fervor for hot fresh donuts was palpable. The neon sign beckoning me in for a visit worked on several occasions when I wasn’t even craving donuts. I’d generally come in to buy a Boston cream donut & an iced tea or chocolate milk… all because of that glowing invitation. I always loved the retro decor, the smell, and the ability to see the magical doughnut making process. You quickly dispatched with local competition. Dunkin Donuts most decidedly took a hit, and you wiped out some of the local weird places like Donut Connetcion and Mister Donut.
Then, you pulled out like an occupying force ordered home. There’s hardly a trace of Krispy Kreme left in Southwestern Pennsylvania. I’ve noticed a lot of area locations like Greensburg, Pleasant Hills, and Monroeville are now Chick-fil-A restaurants, and a still-empty Krispy Kreme building sits as a shell of sadness in Robinson Township. I remember the “remodeling / be back soon” sign hung for years before someone just gave up. I mean, I absolutely love all the full service Chick-fil-A locations, but I also like hot fresh donuts every once in a while. You used to be in several Sheetz locations, but now I think they mostly receive their donuts from somewhere else. Plus, they’re not exactly hot n’ fresh there.
Remaining on your email list has become simply receiving an occasional taunt for something I can’t have. Perhaps I should unsubscribe?
Dunkin Donuts seems to be making a rebound, and I must confess that I find their Boston cream (Boston creme?) offering to be a much fuller, larger, and more satisfying confectionery treat. But, they don’t lure me in with a hot fresh free delicious donut, and I can’t watch them being made. (Is it doughnut, or donut?) There’s also a killer “mom n’ pop” donut shop that’s a bit of a hike for me, but worth the trip… Big Daddy’s Donuts.
The truth is… I miss you, Krispy Kreme. Do you have plans to come back to the area with hot fresh goodness? Are you going to make me drive all the way to Washington county to get a doughnut & take a chance on the hot light being on? Why did all of the area locations shut down? Were you muscled out by local donut barons? Did too many yinzers line up for free doughnuts and not actually buy anything? Did Sheetz want too much too soon? Did people go on diets or realize that too many donuts are a bad thing? Was you plan all along to wipe out local donut shops and leave the area starved of donuts because of the high geographical rate of diabetes, thus ensuring better health for the population of the Pittsburgh area? I need (and feel that I deserve) some answers, my friends. What happened? Please don’t brush me off with the standard, “it’s not you, it’s us.” I need some concrete reasons.
Thank you for your time, I hope you’re doing well. I’m sure you’re as hot n’ fresh as always… just not for me.
Hungrily Yours, -Waldo Lunar
I also had a Twitter exchange of sorts, but it was all DM’s on their end…
From: <krispykreme@casupport.com>
Date: Mon, Feb 13, 2012
Subject: Case #1099627
To: world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com
Dear Mr. Lunar,
Thank you for your email regarding wanting a Krispy Kreme in the southwestern Pennsylvania area. We appreciate the opportunity to assist you. We, here at Krispy Kreme, always love to hear from our customers and it is great to hear that you enjoy our products! We would like to take this time to thank you for taking the time to share your comments.
There are many reasons why stores close. Generally speaking, the franchisee decides to pursue other business ventures. We have shared your concerns and requests with our operations department for review.
Please be assured that we are working hard to open new stores and continue expanding throughout the United States and Canada. For your convenience, new store locations and details are also available on our website at www.KrispyKreme.com. The site is regularly updated with information as soon as it becomes available.
Best regards,
Lyndon Palmer
Krispy Kreme Customer Experience www.krispykreme.com
Doughnuts or Donuts?
I’m still left wondering if “Donut” is a bastardization, like “Late Nite” instead of “Late Night” or “Drive-Thru” instead of “Drive-Through. If so, why spell doughnut correctly while blatantly (and borderline offensively)misspelling Crispy and Cream with K’s? (I mean, add one more K in there…) While we’re at it, is it Creme or Cream? Are they the same, or different things? And, isn’t the filling just pudding or is it custard?
They declined to comment on the wiping out & eventual rebound of their spelling-handicapped competition. Perhaps a classy move. Dunkin’ Donuts never replied to that tweet, either.
You know you want some doughnuts. Come get them. Eat the free one, then buy some more. It's hot, well... warm, and fresh... and you can see some being made. Man, you're hungry for doughnuts.
I don’t believe that Franchisees simply chose to “pursue other business ventures.” You don’t quit if you’re making money. You don’t all dry up if there is demand for your product and you’re selling it at a reasonable price. I find it funny (odd funny not “ha ha” funny) that a lot of the old Krispy Kreme buildings became Chick-fil-A’s.
In fact, I’m not sure if they answered any of my questions directly. Should I perhaps write back?
Also, tell me in the comments where you get your donuts! Am I missing some great local shops? Who has the best donuts? What’s your favorite donut? Is it “donut” or “doughnut”? Let’s talk all things do(ugh)nuts in the comments!
I feel the need to write once more to applaud their cleanliness & friendliness at the BBQ station (OK, the Smoke & Fire Rotisserie). Bethany & I were there for dinner & grocery shopping last night on a trip to get a bunch of stuff and take advantage of the dastardly cult-like fuelperks!®/foodperks!™ programs. (Don’t tell anyone, but Tuesday night is a great night to go shopping there.)
sign for the special sort of Yinzer…
I noticed a few things. First, I noticed a sign above the soups that said that seafood soups would be available in the seafood section. I wish I had snapped a photo. It may not have anything to do with allergies & potential cross-contamination, but I like it. Keep the deadly seabugs in their own little corner.
Next and more importantly, I noticed the employee that handled my order. She told me that she’d be with me as soon as possible while she handled the order for the people in front of me. I had no problem waiting, but the acknowledgement of my presence was a great start. You can’t imagine how many people behind a food counter will just ignore you, and how such a simple thing as a hello makes all the difference.
The big surprise came after I ordered my turkey sandwich with St. Loius style sauce & grilled vegetables (which are so incredibly awesome). I watched my new favorite employee take the carving knife carving, wash it in the sink, then come back to spray/wash/wipe the cutting board, then proceed to carve the delicious turkey for my simple yet tasty sandwich.
Such simple steps, such a comfort for someone with food allergies. I know I go to the Rotisserie station because it’s deathfish free, but hopefully this is an insight to Market District‘s overall food prep/handling policies. If not put in place by training, I applaud this team member’s personal dedication to cleanliness! I wonder if they’ve looked at FAAN’s guide to welcoming guests with food allergies? I was already a fan of the place because of other chefs there that I had talked to regarding food allergies, and this just put it over the top.
I hope to write to Market District to express my awe & thanks. If only they would do a few more simple things, they would indeed be the most awesome grocery store ever:
Carry LaChoy Teriyaki sauce. I’m just sayin’, I have to go to Kunh’s or Shop n’ Save to get it, and I don’t get my crack-addiction-like need for fuelperks filled when I go to either of those places. I have tried to get you to carry this to no avail. Why the hate?
So, Ernie and one Bert decided to crash a Houlihan's open stage last night in Robinson. Apparently it enters us into a contest. We'd like to take the other Bert to round 2, so we'd like you to vote for us. How do you do that? Like Houlihan's Robinson on Facebook. Vote for us here. This is what we sounded like: …sort of. Imagine that you ca … Read More
Somewhat humorously, the slowest responses from Chick-fil-A have been from the webform & customer service email address. I pulled out all the stops in tracking down & emailing every available Chick-fil-A email address, because you never know if you’re going to get a response from some companies.
I have a photo that I’d like to send with comments. Do you have an email that I may write to directly without the cumbersome contact form?
Thank you for your time,
-ERiC AiXeLsyD
And I got this reply…
From: Chick-fil-A CARES <chickfilacares@na.ko.com>
Date: Fri, Feb 18, 2011
Subject: Chick-fil-A Response
To: world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com
So, I sent them this:
From: ERiC AiXeLsyD <world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, Feb 20, 2011 at 5:55 PM
Subject: Re: Chick-fil-A Response
To: Chick-fil-A CARES <chickfilacares@na.ko.com>
Hello & thanks for the email!
My original comments & the photo referenced are attached.
Can’t wait to hear from you! (Oddly enough… the absolute 1st to reply to my email was Dan Cathy himself! The webform is quite slow in comparison to emailing Mr. Cathy directly.)
Rock on!
-E.
No response so far.
But, I did email the original message to chickfilacares@na.ko.com just to see if I got a response. I did.
From: Chick-fil-A CARES <chickfilacares@na.ko.com>
Date: Fri, Feb 18, 2011
Subject: Chick-fil-A Response
To: world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com
I wonder if Margaret realizes that she wrote back to the same nutjob twice?
World (and Lunar) Domination 