CAFE RIO take out **

Best food ever but they actually suck at customer service.  I have had numerous experiences with them where they mess up a to go order or don't get something right and I call them back (because I got it to go) and they just tell me to come back.  Come back? Ya right Im not packing my kids back in the car to come back.

I know I am partially to blame as I should have checked my order but really, they can get my address and mail me a coupon or free meal ticket. Get with it people.

The last bad experience I had there was with a to go order i placed. I called ahead and ordered the shredded chicken salad with no beans, only rice and just pico. So I always clarify SHREDDED Lettuce but of course this time I didn't.  They brought me my salad to my car and I sped away as my kids were losing their minds. 

I got home and pulled the salad out and sure enough there was ONLY pico on the salad. NO lettuce.  Are you kidding me? So it was a tortilla with rice, chicken and pico.  I was thrilled as you can imagine.

So I called the store and the managers solution was to have me come back the next day and talk to her. Well the problem was the next day was not convenient for me so I ended up paying 8 bucks for a salad that wasn't great and received no compensation.

Will I ever boycott Cafe Rio? NEVER. But I have just learned to check everything before driving away because I know they don't care if my order is right. My mom has boycotted them.  Im proud of her for sticking to it.  It's true that they just don't care if they lose customers because there are too many customers that keep coming back.

I have had problems at ALL of the Cafe Rio's so I can't just alienate one location for horrible customer service.

So cafe Rio get's 5 stars for food and 2 stars for customer satisfaction.

It should be noted that my dining in experiences have been wonderful.  The staff are very friendly and helpful but for some reason they just don't give a whoot or holler about to go satisfaction.

Really ladies?

So there is a Maverick Gas Station really close to our house. We love to stop there for our night time Diet Dr. Pepper and Coke Zero fix.  And of course we love their frozen yogurt. 

We stopped in here one night, my husband, 1 year old daughter and 2.5 year old son.  My hubby was holding our daughter, and I was talking on my cell while helping my son decide on a treat.  I look up because I hear my daughter making a noise and sure enough she just throws up everywhere.  Poor thing.  She only got it on the floor, nothing on the stands or on any food.  So My husband takes her to the bathroom to clean her up and himself up. 

I go up to the counter where two Female employees are standing just staring at what has happened. I was like "Can we get something wet to mop this up?"  The ladies didn't say anything like "oh your poor little girl" or "don't worry about it we will get it." They looked disgusted and said they could get me a broom.  I told them something wet would be better.  They looked like they didn't know how to deal with this. 

It should be noted that the gas station was NOT busy.  We were the only ones in there. So finally one of the ladies came around the counter and went to the back and came back with a broom. I was like "don't you have anything wet?" She was like "I don't want chunks to get in it."  And the lady while cleaning up the throw up was acting like this was the worse smell in the world and like she was going to hurl too. 

I get if you are one of those people that at the mere sight of someone puking makes you puke.  But because of their lack of concern for my daughter and their rudeness at the counter before they got close enough to smell I discredit this action of hers. 

She then gets out this super easy floor cleaner that looks like a waxer but it just sucks stuff up and cleans it up.  It seriously took her under 3 minutes to get this all cleaned up.  She acted sooooo put out.  I was so mad.  I couldn't believe that no one asked about my daughter and that two people in customer service acted like they were so put out by this whole experience. 

Its a gas station. I know people spill in there all of the time. Yes throw up is disgusting but it wasn't very much and it was so simple to clean up. 

I have worked in a restaurant the last 3 months. I can assure you if a cutomer threw up on the table, I would make them feel like it was no big deal and make sure that their needs were met.  (Even if it was a big deal.) HELLOOOOO.

I know this sounds sexist but I was especially mad that they were WOMEN acting like this. Not that I would have expected it of a man but I just expected more from women.

So I told my husband we were boycotting Maverick.  But of course I was there last night getting a yogurt and drink.  But I wasn't nice to the lady that rang me up because she was one of the mean ones!

So MAVERICK FEMALE COWORKERS you get zero stars for your customer service skills.

WALMART

I know that for some of you just the title alone has created alot of thoughts in your head already.  More often than not people are complaining about Walmart.  But yet we still all go there because the prices truly can't be beat.  And it is of course a one stop for everything.

I went to Walmart for the purpose of getting "Melting Chocolate" for a chocolate fountain I have.  I had already been to another store (Target) that day and they did not have it so I went back to "old reliable Walmart."

Now my concern with Walmart is anytime I need to ask where something is I get the cold sweats and am already annoyed because I feel like I'm going to get frustrated with whoever I talk to. Because, as is my past experience there, I usually don't get the help I am seeking.

So before asking any co-workers I called my sister who had bought this chocolate before and she told me where to go to look for it.  And of course it was right where she told me. Now I needed the little skewers to use to stick in the fruit, candy or marshmellow's for the fountain.  There were none located by the melting chocolate. 

I made my first attempt at asking an associate.  Now this time I was partly at fault because I asked him where Fondue Sticks would be.  He sent me to housewares.  Once there I realized if I found any over in housewares they would be the nice metal ones and I was looking for disposable wood ones.  So I was upset at myself for not communicating clearly.  But the first wrong step that Walmart does EVERYTIME is they just SEND you to the aisle they don't TAKE you to the aisle.

So I find another associate who looks like she knows what she is doing and I ask her, in more clear terms, what I am looking for.  She says she knows what I am talking about but can't remember where they are.  She then sends me to an aisle and explains where I get them, but then says "I'll walk with you."  Bonus for her, I was impressed.  Then we get there and of course the skewers are not there.  She then sends me to another aisle, but does not come with me. 

Long story short, I left Walmart without any skewers as the next aisle she sent me to did not have the item or I couldn't locate them on my own without assistance and did not want to ask another associate for help again.

Moral of this judgement is ALWAYS stick with your customer until they find what they are looking for.

I think this is Walmart's biggest set back is their customer service.  They simply don't care and maybe they don't care because they know they don't have to.  Regardless of how many times I have said "I will never go back there." I always do.

It's time to tell it all

I take notice when I am treated right and when I am treated wrong.  I was raised to "write a letter" if I was unhappy or appreciative of something.  I have done this many times.  I have written letters of kindness and letters of disappointment to companies.  I have also learned that it doesn't always have to be a company either. I have learned to better communicate with those around me when I am not happy about their behavior and also to let them know when they are making a positive influence in my life. 

I have also had to learn that HOW I approach an individual or company makes all the difference on whether they HEAR me and take what I say to heart.  I have learned to be more constructive and definitely have had to lose some of my emotion in relaying this information or it isn't received.

I have decided to start a blog about my dealings with everything.  I have been traveling quite a bit this fall and thought about all the different companies and people I have dealt with from airlines, car rental, hotels, restaurants, colleges, and just random people I meet at events or on the street.

 I thought this would be a good way for me to vent my frustrations and share my appreciations. Don't worry I will still write my letters to the individual companies if I want something to change or share with them what they are doing good, but I thought I would like to start sharing my thoughts with everyone.

So I hope you will comment and share your experiences along the way with me.