Recently, a call taker from Walgreens called Yeni a bitch.
You can hear the call and read the story here.
For two weeks, I attempted to get Walgreens to apologize… and failed. At this point, I don’t know who failed… was it Walgreens for not caring, or was it me in thinking a big company would care enough to apologize to a customer they insulted.
After two weeks, I decided to post the call online and share it with the world. (I was hoping that they would issue a sincere apology and we would just move on). I then posted the blog on twitter and google plus.
Walgreens, through twitter, said they would reach out to us ASAP.
They lied.
So then, after waiting
24 hours from Walgreens’ tweet (promising they do care and will follow up with us), Yeni shared the story on Facebook.
Within an hour, 100 people listened to call. So far, over 1,000 people have read the post (as of 5pm on 2014-06-19).
After Yeni’s post, I received a call from the same specialist, shocked that we had not received the written apology. I told her I had no reason to believe one had been sent. After all, actions speak louder than words.
To make it worse, the only reason they were sending an apology was because I had demanded one… I had told the Specialist Yeni needed a sincere, real apology.
An hour ago, I was sent this scan via email:
][3]Here’s what it says:
Dear Mrs. Yeni Monroy,
I would like to take this opportunity to formally apologize for the service you received on 06/04/2014. I can assure you that this matter has been addressed with the team member in order to prevent a nonoccurence.
We expect our team members to always meet our customers’ expectations. When we fall short of those expectations, we too are dissatisfied. Our mission is to deliver the best possible service, while maintaining high quality standards in prescription dispensing, the pharmacy care centers have been set up to assist the retail stores and a Registered Pharmacy Technician or Licensed Pharmacist is at your service any time day.
You are a valued customer and your satisfaction is important to us, be assured that Walgreens takes customer feedback very seriously, and we will continue to try to improve the way we do business.
Again, thank you for taking the time to bring this matter to our attention. We hope you will give us another chance to serve you.Lisbett Rodriguez, Manager
Yeni’s response?
Nice form letter.Yeni Monroy
I have to agree with Yeni.
My expectations were a sincere apology — after all, I had fought for one. To me, and many others, a sincere apology has the following:
Ownership
I apologize that our company called you a horrible name.
I apologize that one of my employees called you a bitch.
Understanding
When you call in with a question, you should not be insulted.
There is never a reason to insult a customer.
You gave us your business and we insulted you instead of thanking you.
Make it Right
Although we can’t erase this incident, I will personally guarantee it will never happen again.
We do not want to lose you as a customer and will work to prove this to you by our actions.
To me, this apology was more of a sales pitch than an apology.
…take this opportunity to formally apologize for the service you received…
You didn’t provide service. You called Yeni a bitch.
In the last 5 years, we’ve spent several thousand dollars at Walgreens. I’m sure another company would rather I spend it there.
Actions speak louder than words.
This goes for me too… I can say I’m upset with Walgreens… or I can show them by taking my business elsewhere.
Actions speak louder than words.
What do you think? Is this a sincere apology? Would you give this company your continued business?