Letters to the Editor: Good customer service has been out of reach for this reader
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- A longtime LA grocery store customer has struggled for months with corporate indifference after the chain refused to address product placement that’s inaccessible to shorter shoppers.
- Despite complaints to management and corporate offices, the company insisted its layout policy couldn’t be changed, leaving the customer unable to select unblemished apples.
- The experience reveals how retail’s customer service failures — from indifferent responses to accessibility issues — are driving customers away from stores and eroding loyalty.
To the editor: I have experienced this kind of customer service for several months from the corporate owner of a chain of grocery stores here in L.A. (“It’s not just you. Being a consumer really has become hellacious,” April 8)
For years, I have purchased a certain kind of apple in my local store. Suddenly, the store moved them to a position that I can barely reach (I am just under five feet). I spoke to the manager and was told that the company dictates the layout of products. I wrote to the corporate office and was told that it would be taken care of. It wasn’t.
The result after some back-and-forth correspondence is that nothing has been done. I struggle to reach the apples — a stretch for my back and arm. I was told that a clerk could reach for me, but I happen to be particular about the fruit and want it unbruised and unblemished. I cannot find this particular apple in any other nearby store.
There are a lot of short people shopping in this store. I am not unique. This is just one example of corporate indifference to its customers.
Julie May, Los Angeles
