I don’t shop at places that treat me like crap anymore. If they want to keep their customers in good standing they should have honored their coupons.

Everyone here seems to think of cheap old navy clothes as a bargain. But there are “externalities” involved in such production. Goods are produced very cheapy in China, with poor environmental and labor controls. As a result, there are HUGE problems with air and water polution in China–I was just in a factory outside of Shanghai for work and saw this first-hand. I really encourage other fruglies to think of the TRUE cost of cheap consumer goods – to the planet. These are costs our children will pay. Are $3.99 (poorly made) kids’ polo shirts really worth that??

I know this has not been active in 2 years, but I came across this post and felt the need to give my opinion on this subject.

I’m an Old Navy employee, and have been working in retail for almost 6 years now.

Some quick info about working at Old Navy:

–We’re trained to work and communicate with the customer “with ease”–meaning as quickly and efficiently as possible.

–During our shift, as well as working the register, we’re responsible for:

1. Keeping the store in order (folding, putting things back in their proper place)
2. Assisting the customer with finding merchandise
3. Assisting the customer in the fitting room area
4. Assisting customers on the phone
5. Getting as many customers as possible to sign up for the email list
6. Getting as many customers as possible to sign up for the Old Navy credit card
7. Processing shipment
8. Doing returns and exchanges, etc, etc.

As with any corporate retail store, we’re often extremely busy and extremely understaffed, making it near impossible sometimes to complete all of these tasks as efficiently as possible.

In a perfect world, the economy would be flourishing, the company would provide the right amount of hours for coverage, employees would be paid well and not taken advantage of, and so things would run more smoothly and in turn, produce happier customers.

Unfortunately, that is not the case in today’s world, and anyone who believes that a store should “bend over backwards to make them happy” is either sadly misinformed or just plain narcissistic.

Nothing makes me blood boil more than when I hear people complain about, “Whatever happened to good customer service?”

What’s happening is this:

The employees come in to work and are immediately bombarded with stressed out managers who are pushed by the corporate office to meet impossible quotas over email captures and Old Navy Card applications, and as a result, overlook simple things like putting people in zones, which makes the entire day disorganized.

Plain and simple, the economy is bad, which means less hours, fewer employees, fewer raises, etc. Obviously this also that ten employees have to do the job of what twenty employees should be doing at less pay, which makes it more stressful and demanding for everyone. And raises are few and far between, or almost unheard of.

When an employee is doing 12944793 tasks as well as ringing up a customer, we also have to ask for an email address, ask for them to sign up for an Old Navy card, listen to them scream at their children, try to communicate with them effectively while they’re on their cell phone, explain why a sign that says, “$5 Shirts” doesn’t apply to the pair of pants that they want, explain to them why a coupon that expires in 2005 won’t work in 2011, enforce store policy, and then listen to them act like a five year old throwing a tantrum when they don’t get their way while their unsupervised children destroy the entire store, which we have the pleasure of cleaning up later.

And I’m waiting for this question:
“If Old Navy is so terrible, than why do you work there?”

Old Navy is actually a pretty good company to work for, especially compared to former companies that I’ve been with. Any problem that I’ve experienced seems to originate from the corporate level. Despite retail worker stereotypes, I’m not lazy, stupid, or have a bad attitude. I have a four year degree, and am going back to school, and I also happen to be pretty friendly and a hard worker. Old Navy isn’t a career choice for me–it’s a part time job that pays the bills until I receive my degree and move on in life, which is the case for most people in retail.

I firmly believe that all retail companies should integrate a new policy into their stores that goes something like this:
“Our employees are trained to be efficient, respectful, and friendly towards our customers–thanks for treating us the same!”

Again, unfortunately, in our time, that will never happen. My belief is that things will only get worse as the economy changes and people get used to “getting their way” by calling the corporate office and having their bad behavior rewarded with a coupon.

I’m confused about why you think you and your wife (and anyone else on this page) believe you were treated unfairly and received poor customer service. I suppose that you think poor customer service means upholding the company policy, which I find to be absolutely ridiculous.

The manager did not seem to be behaving rudely towards you or “having a crappy day and taking it out on a customer”, and I’ve done plenty of “returns and repurchase” in similar situations as yours without incident. No one told you that you could not do that, you simply decided to make an issue over it by yourselves. And the fact that you have an Old Navy credit card suggests to me that you’re a frequent shopper–you received the coupon after you made the purchase and did not want to “return and re-buy”–realistically, why would it be so hard for you to save the coupon for the next time you were shopping?

Anyone who wants customer service “like the good old days” in modern corporate America is kidding themselves, to be blunt. Low prices are in demand, so you’re going to get what you pay for. If you want someone to “bend over backwards for you,” maybe you should stick to local stores, boutiques, high end department stores, etc.

Everyone in retail is pushed for time and overworked. We clean up the tornado of clothes after you and your children leave the store. We explain simple company policies to you countless times with no avail. We compete for your attention with your cell phone just to do our job. We deal with your temper tantrums when you don’t get your way.

Not every customer is this terrible, but for those who are and then complain about “horrible customer service”:

Why on EARTH would you think that we would EVER want to “bend over backwards to keep you happy?!”

My hope with this comment is that it provides insight into the minds of those who believe they are “being treated unfairly” and probably never worked a day of retail in their lives.

Sincerely Frustrated,

An Old Navy employee.

Just try using your old navy rewards from your credit card – if they sell you an item online and there is a problem with the order -example not having a size after you’ve ordered or having a defective item and not having a replacement – you loose the points. This has happened to me twice now, so why should I use your crappy visa card to accumulate the points if you’re not going to give me full credit for them. I’ve emailed and phoned and never gotten anywhere with them. I’m so canceling their card and shopping elsewhere – and I’ve been a card holder since 2000. They don’t give a crap about anyone but themselves!