What were your best and worst consumer experiences this week?

Which consumer happenings cheered you recently and which ones made you want to scream or weep?

Here are my best and worst consumer experiences this week:

My best: Nice customer service at Whole Foods

I went to Whole Foods to buy some barley cereal, organic nuts and nut butter, mouth wash, and a few other things I needed.

The sales associated were nice. They showed us the location of items and were pleasant.

When I checked out, the cashier was friendly. I thought the woman who was bagging my purchases might be grumpy, but when she finished, she looked up and gave me a big smile.

All in all, a hassle-free shopping experience.

My worst: Low-quality customer service at CVS – yet again

The day after I bought a banana at CVS, I opened it to eat it. Three-fourths of it was rotten. Although it looked fine on the outside, the inside was brown and inedible, like something had squashed the banana.

I took it back to CVS for a 69 cent refund. The first cashier I talked to said CVS doesn’t make refunds for food. I’ve never heard of any store not taking back rotten food, so I asked to see the manager.

The manager seemed reluctant to give me a refund. She left, and I thought maybe she went to call someone about it. When she returned, she said she couldn’t give me a refund.

I was upset. I said the customer service was so poor in the CVS store I couldn’t see why anyone would want to shop there. The manager changed her mind and gave me the refund. I left the store vowing to become a Walgreens customer.

Copyright 2010, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist