Dear Wal-Mart Assholes
My complaint on the website ran thus:
While attempting to buy tobacco at Wal-Mart the woman refused to sell to me. I am 42 year old woman and was there with my 44 year old husband, who is disabled. I was refused service because my husband did not have ID. I was buying the tobacco but was told since we were together I could not purchase unless we both showed ID. This is not just inconvenient, but discriminatory. My husband has been disabled to the point of being non functioning for several years and has no need for a current ID, so we have not gotten one for him. He got out of the the hospital after 7 months just last week, and wanted some tobacco, and I can't buy it for him at Wal-Mart because he does not have ID? We are both most definitely middle-aged, and I'm deceptively youthful looking (let me be happy lying to myself), but he looks his age. We have 6 children, three of them adult. In the state of Texas one only needs to be 17 or 18 to buy tobacco. I can understand carding everyone who appears younger than 25, and while I look 19 (shut up, I do so look 19!), but had ID, I don't believe he would pass for younger than 40. There is not only no convincing reason to insist on ID from two middle aged people, but there is also no reason to insist on getting ID from BOTH people standing there, since I had my drivers' license and was buying the tobacco.
The cashier was also incredibly rude ringing up our purchases, ringing several purchases with mine of the woman in line behind us, despite the order separating bar being present. I heard her say, rather nastily, to the woman behind me to leave her kitty litter in the cart (It was already on the belt).
Finally, when I tried to discuss this issue with someone, I was in line at the customer service center for 40 minutes, only to be told at the front it was an issue I needed to discuss with the manager. I was given the manager's phone number, and when I called the phone was answered by a Latina woman who spoke minimal English. I told her I wished to speak to a manager (in Spanish, so she would understand me) and she put me on hold (Charging my cell phone minutes charges for a daytime call!) for 20 minutes before getting back to me to tell me the manager was not responding to his pages.
I really hope my issue is not only dealt with but acknowledged by Wal-Mart. I need to know customers' complaints are acknowledged and handled, so I feel valued as a customer. A family the size of ours spends over $1000/month at Wal-Mart and I would really hate to have to find another place to shop due to poor treatment by my favorite store. We were shopping at Store #1129
13201 Fm 620 Road North Austin, TX 78729.
While attempting to buy tobacco at Wal-Mart the woman refused to sell to me. I am 42 year old woman and was there with my 44 year old husband, who is disabled. I was refused service because my husband did not have ID. I was buying the tobacco but was told since we were together I could not purchase unless we both showed ID. This is not just inconvenient, but discriminatory. My husband has been disabled to the point of being non functioning for several years and has no need for a current ID, so we have not gotten one for him. He got out of the the hospital after 7 months just last week, and wanted some tobacco, and I can't buy it for him at Wal-Mart because he does not have ID? We are both most definitely middle-aged, and I'm deceptively youthful looking (let me be happy lying to myself), but he looks his age. We have 6 children, three of them adult. In the state of Texas one only needs to be 17 or 18 to buy tobacco. I can understand carding everyone who appears younger than 25, and while I look 19 (shut up, I do so look 19!), but had ID, I don't believe he would pass for younger than 40. There is not only no convincing reason to insist on ID from two middle aged people, but there is also no reason to insist on getting ID from BOTH people standing there, since I had my drivers' license and was buying the tobacco.
The cashier was also incredibly rude ringing up our purchases, ringing several purchases with mine of the woman in line behind us, despite the order separating bar being present. I heard her say, rather nastily, to the woman behind me to leave her kitty litter in the cart (It was already on the belt).
Finally, when I tried to discuss this issue with someone, I was in line at the customer service center for 40 minutes, only to be told at the front it was an issue I needed to discuss with the manager. I was given the manager's phone number, and when I called the phone was answered by a Latina woman who spoke minimal English. I told her I wished to speak to a manager (in Spanish, so she would understand me) and she put me on hold (Charging my cell phone minutes charges for a daytime call!) for 20 minutes before getting back to me to tell me the manager was not responding to his pages.
I really hope my issue is not only dealt with but acknowledged by Wal-Mart. I need to know customers' complaints are acknowledged and handled, so I feel valued as a customer. A family the size of ours spends over $1000/month at Wal-Mart and I would really hate to have to find another place to shop due to poor treatment by my favorite store. We were shopping at Store #1129
13201 Fm 620 Road North Austin, TX 78729.