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Local Business Review….La Hacienda “CART NAZI”
It is not often that I take time to review local businesses in this forum, but after the experience I had yesterday, I felt it was needed. Read on!
I often shop in La Hacienda. It is seemingly just what the neighborhood needs: Affordable produce and international selections. On a weekly basis I spend about $40.00 in the store, which is baffling even to me, as their prices are really low. I suppose we eat a lot of produce so it makes since on some level, and since I cook daily I SUPPOSE it makes more sense. OK. I have rationalized it. Thanks for your help. LOL
When I initially reviewed this market I gave it a 5 star rating. This changed yesterday with the following experience:
I shopped, paid and left the store with a cart full of produce. Time was ticking and I was trying to catch my community shuttle bus back to my home, so I turned left and walked to the end of the plaza. Once I got there (with 1 minute to spare), I called the shuttle bus driver and told him where I was so he didn’t miss me. As I was calling the driver, a man was screaming “Senora” and running after me. Initially I thought I had left a package behind, but that was not the case. The man was SCREAMING at me in Spanish, pointing to the grocery cart, and making gestures with his hand. I told him calmly that I do not speak Spanish, but he kept yelling. I think he thought I was leaving the shopping center with the store cart (and it appeared he worked for the store).
I quickly downloaded a translation application to my phone, and told him that I was simply waiting for my bus to pick me up at the corner. Once it was translated to Spanish, I tried to show the still screaming man my phone and the translation. He would not even look at it and continued to yell at me. At that point, the bus came by and as the driver was loading my groceries this man was screaming at him in Spanish. My bus driver speaks Spanish as well as English and told me the man thought I was stealing the cart and if I want to shop in La Hacienda, I need to wait “RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE STORE FOR MY PICK UP”. This is insane. I have the right to wait wherever I want to within the shopping center. I am a respectful person and would NEVER STEAL ANYTHING, let alone a shopping cart from a local grocer.
I was upset with the whole situation, so I decided to call the store immediately and explain to them what had just happened. I let the phone ring about 30 times. Nobody answered, no machine came on for me to leave a message. and I hung up frustrated and feeling insulted: Thus this review.
There are a few issues here:
- If you are going to have a “Cart Nazi”, please be sure they speak ENGLISH as well as whatever their native language is. This alone would have taken care of the confusion.
- If you own a local business and rely on local customers, PICK UP YOUR PHONE WHEN IT RINGS or allow for people to leave a message. This would have made me feel on some level that they CARED.
- Train ALL of your employees to treat people with respect and dignity. The people working in the store have always been wonderful, but my experience OUTSIDE the store was insulting and embarrassing to say the least.
The bottom line is this: I will NOT be going back to this store until I get an apology from them as well as their word that they have properly trained their staff and spoken to the screaming “Cart Nazi “about his grossly inappropriate behavior toward me. If it happened to me, I am sure it has happened to others.
On behalf of those without a public forum,
Shereen Rios BAS, CPT
- March 10, 2020
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