Customer Service Dead at Macy's

Is It Just Me, or is customer service continuing to take a hit? I've complained about this issue before, but intuitively, it seems to me that as department stores continue to struggle almost to the point of bankruptcy, customer service should be moving to the top of the must-do list. Not so at Macy's, I'm sorry to report.

It arrived in the mail last week: A "gift" card from Macy's offering my husband $10 off on a $30 purchase in celebration of his birthday, which is June 18. Fantastic, we agreed -- he needed to replace some old solid-color T-shirts, and the timing was perfect so he could get a good deal before we headed for our first vacation of the season at the North Carolina Outer Banks.

Over the years, I've learned that the "deals" from Macy's always come with strings; so it was that I hauled out my magnifying glass to read -- or so I thought -- the extensive fine print that laid out all the merchandise that's excluded from the savings. With card in hand and high expectations, we popped into the store at Eastwood Mall so he could redeem his relatively generous birthday "gift" from the company.

Almost immediately, he found what he was looking for. Just as immediately, I noticed the sign hailing the T-shirts as "Everyday Values" -- often not included in special offers. But, we reasoned, we'll just ask at the checkout counter to be sure.

As we approached the counter, we were accosted (yes, that's the word I want) by a woman wearing a manager's nametag and a sales clerk. Both greeted my husband, and his handful of T-shirts, with exclamations of "Would you like some slacks or shorts to go with those?" Chuckling but politely declining, we reached the checkout counter. There, my husband told both women explicitly: If this discount card applies, I want these; if it doesn't, I don't.

The manager, clearly aware of the type of card he had, said she was "pretty sure" the card was good on the merchandise he had selected. The sales clerk was noncommittal, saying only that she'd need to ring them up to be sure. The manager then walked away, leaving the clueless sales clerk to deal with the fallout, if any. She proceeded to scan in the items -- three T-shirts at the "Everyday Values" price of $14.99 each -- carefully removing the paper stuffing in each and promising to refold them before putting them in our shopping bag.

Then came the moment of reckoning I'd been half expecting. In fact, the card was not good on these items. That's too bad, the sales clerk cooed. And when I mentioned that I'd read the fine print but didn't notice the exclusion, she "sympathized" by acknowledging that the fine print is "really, really" small. Meanwhile, steam was starting to come from my husband's ears, but he simply repeated what he'd said at the outset: If the card isn't good on these items, I won't buy them.

Now I'm not letting myself off the hook; I'm more than willing to take responsibility for not catching the inclusion of Everyday Values on the do-not-buy list on the card. After all, I've been down this road many times before -- even complaining about the unwelcome practice on this blog. On the other hand, I can find absolutely no excuse for both a store manager and a sales clerk not being aware of what merchandise cannot be purchased with these cards, which obviously they were familiar with (as she walked away, the sales manager, who'd glanced at the card, said "Happy birthday" to my husband, and the sales clerk made a rudimentary attempt to read the fine print before she began ringing up the sale).

Customers come in with these and similar cards every day -- and I'll bet my shirt not a single one can be used to purchase Everyday Values items. We should have been informed immediately.

I've been a business woman for many years, and I am certain beyond any shadow of doubt that if I had either of their jobs, I'd know precisely what "counts" and what doesn't. But as I've said before, I have little doubt that employees are trained not to spill the beans before ringing up an order; the concept is that customers will be too embarrassed -- or want the merchandise too much -- to walk away empty-handed.

Not long ago, I read yet another list of stores that are on the seriously endangered list -- and once again, Macy's was on it. I admit we of all people should have known better; but after going through this experience again, I won't be at all surprised to see the company go down the tubes (nor will we blink an eye if it does). When it comes to customer service, Macy's has no clue. And, I suspect, it won't be long before they have no customers, either. We certainly know two who won't be back.

Or Is It Just Me?