...And That's
My OpinionŠ
By Sandy Goldman
The Rogers Park Community
Curmudgeon
A Dismal Day at Dominick's
(And How It Turned Bright)
The Prologue
The importance of these facts will become
apparent as the story unfolds.
The Story
On Thursday, March 9th I shopped at the
new Dominick's grocery store located in the Gateway Center, at Clark and Howard
Street in Chicago, as I have every week since they opened Dec. 16, 1999. I
handed the checkout person my Dominick's Fresh Value Card and my check. She returned
the card, but just stared at the check. Then she went to the next checkout
station and that person just stared at the check. Returning to her station, the
first cashier called for a supervisor. I asked, "What is the
problem?" She said, "The numbers don't match!" and shrugged her
shoulders.
The fact is that the top right side check
number had five digits (11851); the bottom right side bar code I.D. had only 4
digits (1851). There are, you see, a maximum number of digits, which can be
accommodated on the bar code line.
I tried to explain this to the cashier
and then to the customer service person who also just stared at my check. At
this point, three people had handled my check. I was also at the front of a
growing line of impatient shoppers. I was particularly exasperated because
there were people I know in that line. I was becoming increasingly agitated.
(Surprise!)
The customer service person, continuing
to stare at my check, disappeared behind a door. I don't know what she could
possibly have done because 30 seconds later she reappeared and said,
"Everything is O.K."
Now mind you, NOBODY HAD EVER ASKED ME
FOR AN I.D. or given any reason for the delay except for the digit dilemma
cited by the first cashier, but not the supervisor.
When I asked to see the store manager a
young man named Hemal Prajapati, who introduced himself as the Customer Service
Manager, came to talk to me.
It became increasingly apparent that the
befuddlement was over the numbers on the upper and lower right side of the
check. It also became increasingly apparent that Mr. Prajapati was embarrassed
over the lack of knowledge and/or training in this situation. He continued to
insist that it was only a routine check verification procedure in spite of the
fact that as I said earlier, NO ONE HAD EVER ASKED FOR IDENTIFICATION to
determine the authenticity of my check, my name and my address.
He indicated to me that all checks are
being scrutinized in this manner. A quick glance down the check-out counters
proved this to be incorrect. Continuing on, Mr. Prajapati began to patronize
me, telling me that many senior citizens were being robbed of their checkbooks,
purses, and wallets or that they were losing them. "This", he said,
"is for your own protection." Did I say I was agitated? Now, I was
bombastic!
"Do you know how many bad checks we
get?" I did not; I didn't care; I wasn't surprised. I wanted the problem
corrected so that it would not happen again. Mr. Prajapati, the Customer
Service Manager, could not do anything. Although his title said Customer
Service Manager, his actions did not meet any of the definitions of those
words.
The store in the still-to-be completed
Gateway Center has been open for only three months and already there are
serious problems requiring extraordinary procedures. What does this portend for
the future?
I can't wait for the theater complex to
open.
The Follow-up
My call to Dominick's headquarters was
taken by Ron Munson, Operations Manager. I read the story to Mr. Munson who
agreed that this was poorly handled. He said personnel should be trained to
inspect checks with dispatch; a quick I.D. request should be sufficient and
that managers should review procedures with employees, paying attention to the
situation of checks with high numbers. He was going to contact the store
manager at Howard and Clark.
Ted Lazar, the store manager, is a
personable young man, whose name I recognized from the Chicago Ave. store in
Evanston. He explained the technical computer procedure now in effect. He also
explained that the Fresh Value Card is now good only for discounts not checks.
But there is a process (based on the Fresh Value Card number and the info
contained therein) whereby checks can be verified instantly. This needs to be
done only once or when updated by Dominick's. Mr. Lazar indicated that upon his
investigation, my background check-up proved to be legitimate, genuine and
authentic. Since I have been shopping at Dominick's for 25 years with these
checks there seemed to be a huge "snafu" somewhere. My check should
have cleared with no problem. Perhaps, he suggested, that the cashier inserted
the check incorrectly, causing it to be rejected, in which case, there should
have been a second attempt.
It was certainly a comedy of errors and
mistakes at the lower level of store personnel and management, together with an
"us versus them" attitude. This could have been avoided completely
with a little common sense.
The Epilogue
Ron Munson and Ted Lazar are to be
commended for their polite and professional manner. They listened attentively
and analyzed correctly. Both men displayed critical thinking skills! They were
apologetic and helpful. Ted Lazar promised to correct the situation at the
store personnel level. I am grateful that now I will not be required to stand
at the head of a long line of glaring, impatient shoppers while several people
stare at my check.
The Postscript
I'm still waiting, however, for
Cineplex-Odeon to open its theaters. I wonder what the name of their operations
manager is?
...And that's my opinion.
And I'm Sandy Goldman
Send
me your e-mail address or those of others who would be interested and I'll add
them to my rapidly growing distribution list.
To Email Me: smgoldman@ameritech.net