Rite Aid should be called Band Aid

     It’s laughable how easy it is to find a job in the sales industry and yet the lack of actual customer service is so daunting. I don’t know about you guys but I pride true customer service. I was part of that industry and I had always exhibited the best.  To find it and be shocked into speechlessness is how often I come across it. Besides the fact that the title rhymes; the horrific experiences that I’ve had at this Pharmacy chain is beyond belief. Now one “W” is very prominent. “Why do you go there?” I will answer that question in due time. So don’t slip in your puddle with you lack of patience or pee in your pants.
         It all started in the month of April and yet the confrontation is still fresh in my mind. It was unwarranted the harassment I faced just to buy bottles of shampoo and boxes of soda. Instead of being heralded as a great customer, loyal to the extreme that spent over 100 dollars at this store; I was treated worse than a shoplifter.
       The sale was to buy three boxes of soda of 12 oz cans for 11 dollars which was a great deal but the real reason I was there was to buy overpriced shampoo bottles that were on sale. RiteAid was the only pharmacy that I found to have John Frieda on sale for “Buy one and Get one for 50% off” with a 5 dollar cash back option if you bought shampoo for more than fifteen dollars.
            Than the notch count against the common people began.  First the soda cans that were on their shelves were expired. There was only one person on the floor who had a clue about the sale. Their sale stickers were all old and no one had bothered to put the new ones up. Then I went up to the counter and found out that the cashier had no clue which  soda brands were on sale. He was asking me the customer if I knew. Then he went ahead and charged me for the soda that I didn’t want even though I repeated a zillion times that I didn’t want the product.  Annoyed, I was a bit short with the guy and I told him that this is his job to know the current prices in the store not mine.
            After the horrendous trial of just paying, I was catching up with my ex roommate that I had happened to bump into while at Rite-Aid. She had worked on Wall Street and had recently been laid off. We mentioned our various occupations, the economic downturn and lack of jobs. During this time the incompetent staff was privy to our conversation and I didn't know that would escalate into a situation where I would personally be under attack. I was about to leave the store and I mentioned to the security guard that I would need to take the shopping cart to my car since I had so many purchases that would make it hard for me to carry. He grunted and said as long as I bought the cart back to the store it was fine. I said farewell to my roomie and went to the car. When I turned back and wheeled the cart back into the store. I found the guard outside and the first thing he said “You gave the cashier a very rough time.” I frowned in confusion and responded “Well he didn't know what he was doing.” He agreed but then he prolonged the conversation and he tried to turn the tables and said “You should have been nice to him.”  Incredulous I was like “I am just returning the cart, unless you are the manager of this store why are we having this conversation?”  Then the personal attacks began; I was bitter ……. I had problems… Did I even have a man………he was just talking to me. Who cares if I just spent an easy 50 dollars on one transaction?  At this point I had enough. I gave him a really good backlash which included losing my temper and giving him a good dose of the true Brooklyn language. The manager was not there and the guards  name tag was turned around. Very sarcastically I said “So that is why you make sure your name is so inconspicuous.” I laughed in his face and I said; “You are a waste of my time. I will be making a few phone calls and filing an online complaint with Rite-Aid.” During this time a crowd had gathered and one customer actually came and asked me what the whole scene was about. My response I should have called the cops and pressed charges for such harassment of the verbal kind. Plus I should have just left the cart in the parking lot instead of being courteous and returning it to the store.
               I got home and filed an online complaint. The next business day, I called the company using their 1800 number open to the public. That very afternoon I got phone calls from a 718 number. No voice-mail, just hang-ups. This made me raise my eyebrows. Finally, I found that it was the Regional Manager of Rite Aid. Why didn't he leave a voice message which would be the norm? He apologized for my experience. During this time I was not allowed to talk and mention my grievances. He blamed the easy target; the cashier. My complaint was with the security guard. Then he mentioned policies and procedures like I was a two year old. Like come on even if you worked at McDonald’s; they are policies and procedures to follow. There was no talk of reprimanding the security guard.  The apology; a band aid useless when wet and came off easily.
            The next time I went to that Rite Aid………………… the cashier wasn't present but I did see the security guard. Oh and by the way he was telling another female customer ahead of me, quite candidly, how stupid he thought she was. She responded with a smile. Did they know one another? I don’t know. Was it professional? No.  As a customer I believe once you’re on the job your personal life should be out the door. He saw me looking at him and I believe he refrained from using perverse words of another nature.  I was highly irked with these new tidings and the outcome of my complaint which had been so easily disregarded. I sent the Regional Manager an email. It said the following:

Dear Richard:
Not that long ago I went to that location again. I was horrified to see that you still have that atrocious security guard working there. I see that the customers opinions are considered null and insignificant. His inappropriate remarks are generously rewarded. Considering that factor I was not surprised to overhear another inappropriate remark with his then present conversation with another customer. 
I used to work for a Rite Aid as a teenager, but if  he had did what he verbally did with me at my current firm which  I work for, he would have been terminated for his lack of professionalism. I am surprised that you keep on such employees when he is from a third party and probably a dime a dozen. 
I will take my business elsewhere and trust me when I say that word of mouth is very powerful. I was willing to consider the Rite Aid employees being written up or given a verbal warning because I understand that procedures differ at each company. For you to keep on a security guard that intimidates customers is horrible. Your lucky that nobody has called 911 for his harassing behavior. 
Since I am an Accountant and well versed in the business world I will tell you this. I will make sure everybody that I know in the immediate vicinity will not go to that Rite Aid or any other. I will even post my bad customer service experiences on my blog. I hope you will enjoy that since I can see how much you care about customer service. I will take all my prescriptions and my family members to CVS. I will also promote CVS and tell everybody I know or even briefly acquainted with why I dont go to Rite Aid. Competition is lovely thing isn't it? Especially in the private sector. 
I hope this has given you food for thought. I am disgusted that I have to mention my background for you to take me seriously. 

Regards,

Anam Shah ……

The Regional Mangers response to my concerns about a security guard that harassed female customers?  There was none. Great Customer service! My only regret, I should have called the cops and filed a complaint against that bloke of a security guard when I had the chance!

Customer Service

   Considering the horrible customer service experiences I have dealt with in the past couple of months , my next blog entry will explore this topic. I will narrate my experiences and why I take customer service so seriously.  The obvious reason would be the assumption that the customer is a paying customer and hence pays for the privilege. The lack of that therein is very baffling.

Journal Entry No 7: Lolita in Tehran

     The book begins with the author mentioning a picture of her group of students for the secret literature class. She compares two pictures, one with the burkas and the hijabs and the other picture where the girls are not wearing their veils. The splash of color between the two pictures make against the authors subconscious is highly evident with the tone she initiates within the memory.
     I find myself very annoyed with the author. I say this with experience. When I was 10 years old, I went to a summer camp that taught  Islam. I discovered the importance of the word and that I was Muslim. I always knew I was different from the other kids in my elementary school. As infamous as Pakistan is now, in the news, back then it was obscure not even known what part of the globe it was located in. Being bullied for my dark  "looks" had made me a very introverted child. I found my sanctuary from books, a place where I could breathe without the constant harassment about things I couldn't control. Teachers barely acknowledge bullying but from a child's' perspective I knew that my teacher was aware of my bullying as well as other children but it was ignored as children conversing and not a big deal. That summer the book I would be introduced to would be the Holy Quran.. I was fascinated by the stories of the Holy Prophets.
Until that moment my family was cultural which is very different from  being religious. Pakistani Culture does have some influence of Hinduism since it was part of India before the partition. One example is matrimony which can last for a week and is very similar to a traditional Hindu wedding, bridal dresses and traditions, with the only difference which is the Nikkah. I asked my mother to make me scarves. I had that feeling of belonging that was lacking in school. My mom was delighted with my enthusiasm and didn't discourage me from my choice, even though she didn't cover her own hair. I bought books about the life of the Holy prophet. I read books about various Hadiths. I had discovered a world of respect where no one  bullied me or called me names. My friends were from different countries and races, we were joined by the stitches of faith. I was accepted. Those were the happiest days of my life. Nothing could take me out of my dreamlike reverie. Nothing except for the event of 9/11. 9/11 changed my world and impelled me to assimilate.
          The author has no pride for her roots. In her liberation so far I find her narrow. I was also upset with the regime in Iran and how they took things such  as having blush in your bag to the extreme. I acknowledge that there is a problem there. I was also upset with how they jailed Manshid for her beliefs. Ignorance is the word for jailing women (people) for their beliefs yet we even find that in the states. Sadly one case is of Fahad Hashmi, who is Pakistani - American who is in imposed self isolation in the United States without the fairness of a trial which is his constitutional right. This is only because of what he is and for being a Muslim who openly advocated to protect the rights of Muslim Americans after September 11. For his beliefs he is in imposed self isolation for years, pretrial,  with no communication with the outside role, no sunlight or even the freedom to choose his reading materials.
         I do believe that following religion and the act of wearing the hijab should come from within. I am also disgusted with Muslims, that think being westernized will allow them to be accepted into the West with open arms. These individuals ostracize people that are  converse to what they portray and being in the middle of such a spectacle I can see a lot of different ideas. Apparently society, even a democratic one that wants to shine with example, has problems .

Catalysts: Empowered women or Victims?

 Catalysts: Empowered women or Victims?

                  Relationships are important and essential to living a normal life. The genders of the individuals involved play crucial roles within these relationships. In Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, the female characters Clarisse and Lolita become the catalysts to sequences of events that inadvertently affect the lives of not only the male characters, Guy Montag and Humbert Humbert, but also the sequences of events throughout their books. These events clearly show the power that both Clarisse and Lolita have, despite their lack of experience and age.
           Clarisse is depicted as very ethereal in Montag’s mind. Their first meeting makes a huge dent in Montag’s armor. He finds her questions disgruntling but they force him to think. When he returns home after meeting her for the first time, he sees the stark contrast between Clarisse and his wife. His wife is the total converse of Clarisse; a very shallow woman who just wants to watch T.V.  Montag amplifies Clarisse in his mind.  This is very evident when Montag thinks that she “had a very thin face like the dial of a small clock seen faintly in a dark room in the middle of a night when you waken to see the time and see the clock telling you the hour and the minute and the second with a white silence and a glowing, all certainty and knowing what it had to tell of the night passing swiftly on toward further darkness, but moving also toward a new sun (Bradbury, 10).” He is acutely aware of not just her physical appearance but also the strong emotions that she brings to the forefront. That description is a door into the subconscious mind of Montag. He is well aware, albeit unconsciously, that Clarisse is not meant to be in his life for a long period of time. The large age difference between Clarisse and Montag is a common denominator between both books. In Montag’s case it’s a difference of thirteen years.
                 Lolita is twelve when she and Humbert Humbert first meet. He is a man of great learning yet he is shown to have Lolita on a pedestal from the day that he first meets her. She was considered a grubby child by her own mother, yet Hubert’s’ descriptions of Lolita are of a beauty so undefined that his descriptions can go on for pages. These descriptions are in direct conflict with who Lolita actually is as a person. However, Humbert is well aware of the reality and acknowledges incidents that show her as she truly is. The advertisements that affect Lolita during their travels are examples of this, showing how she would take them at face value. There is a mention of that in the following: “She it was to whom ads were dedicated: the ideal consumer, the subject and object of every foul poster (Nabokov, 148).” His relationship and love is so one - sided that it often leads to ridicule from Lolita. This includes cussing and demeaning him. Humbert Humbert has to cajole her through the use of threats and constant entertainment in order to keep her his complacent Lolita. Humbert is not above using the threat that she will “become the ward of the Department of Public Welfare- which I am afraid sounds a little bleak (Nabokov, 151) ” if she doesn’t comply.   This is done to attain her full cooperation and make sure she doesn’t disclose the full reality of their relationship to anyone.              
            Clarisse’s questions are her weapons of choice. She is fully aware of the fact that she is asking the wrong questions, which would be normal in the real world, and delights in discomforting Montag. The woman in the fire that dies with the books supports those very discomforts that Clarisse’s questions kindle. The fact that a women dies with her books is another show of the gender power which also reinforces Clarisse’s questions about burning the books. That sequence of events coincidentally falls into the same time span as Clarisse’s’ questions. The next day, Montag is so disturbed by the death that he pleads sick from work. Around this time Clarisse disappears and Montag constantly asks about her. Their ghostly conversations repeat themselves in his mind.   This also leads to Montag’s exposure for the book hoarder that he truly is. He confides in his wife about the hidden books, who is greatly horrified. Were it not for the effect of Clarisse he never would have confided in her. This leads to his meeting with Faber, a fellow reader in hiding.  Beatty, the antagonist, dies in the end, which is another common denominator with Lolita because Quilty is killed by Humbert Humbert.  With Beatty’s death comes the realization that “Beatty had wanted to die. He had just stood there, not really trying to save himself (Bradbury, 122).”
           Lolita was a persona in his mind before Humbert Humbert even knew of her existence. This is seen through the mention of Annabel in the beginning of his narration. The power of the unattainable amplifies the lure of Lolita. The fact that Humbert Humbert kills Quilty towards the end, for kidnapping her, is another sign of her power. Even though Lolita is no longer in his life and pregnant with another man’s child, Humbert is still willing to take Lolita with him.   Toward the end of the book all his actions are driven by Lolita, as was Montag’s by Clarisse. Humber Humbert respects Lolita’s privacy, at the end, when he makes the statement “I make all the legal impact and support of a signed testament:  I wish this memoir to be published only when Lolita is no longer alive (Nabokov, 309).”
         The main characters Humbert and Montag are both influenced by women. Guy is troubled by Clarisse’s questions to the point that the hidden layers of his life are out in the open. It moves him to action. The main male characters, in both Lolita and Fahrenheit 451, kill the antagonists with their own hands. They both end up with a legacy: Guy with his entourage of fellow book readers and Humbert with his memoir. Regardless of how it initially began, all the events were kindled and sparked by two inexperienced girls, who swayed the two men with not only their beauty but also with the power of words.