Hire Adults as Managers, Walgreens

I just had a bad experience with a Walgreens punk kid manager too! I
just sent a Planet feedback letter before I read this one. I wish
there were more CVS's in Colorado!

Ever Since David Breunner took over as CEO (And this is while I was
working there) THEY DO NOT CARE ABOUT CUSTOMERS, THEY CARE ABOUT
PROTECTING $100K worth of COSMETICS, THEY CARE ABOUT PROMOTING BAD
EMPLOYEES, THEY CARE ABOUT FIRING GREAT EMPLOYEES THAN CARE ABOUT
Developing Film, Customers and promote Great Employees.

Take a look at Ripoffreport.com , they are getting more complaints
there THAN CVS!

They fired me 5 days before Christmas in 2005 because I decided to
tell the truth about them

As a former Walgreen's manager I can say that I understand his
attitude. Walgreen's is the worst company I ever worked for. I have
no idea how they have been around so long.

Well written and you certainly had cause for being upset with this
situation. I'm anxious to hear if you get a response from Walgreens!

Gosh that is crazy. I would have been pretty upset with that manager
and the store. I would definitely have called and went over his head
later. Ummm expired food should not be on the shelves, it certainly is
not the customer's job to check to see if an item is expired. It
sounds like that manager needs to go through a class for customer
service.

Sounds like they have a jerk for a manager. None of which has anything
to do with his age. Who cares how old he is? I've seen grown men act
like immature teenagers. And likely this guy will be just as much of a
jerk at 50.

You definitely were treated poorly, but I found it a bit offensive
that you blamed the manager's attitude on his age. I am a Walgreens
store manager and started managing my own store when I was 23 based on
my work ethic, determination, and yes- customer service. About once a
month I deal with a customer who insists on speaking to the "male"
store manager or the "real manager for the entire store." Yup, that's
me- 28 year-old, Caucasian female.

So figure this out. If I tell someone that my cashier is sour because
she is elderly, I can be fired for age discrimination, but if I say
she is moody because she's a teenager I still have a job. Fair? I
don't think so.

On a side note, we do have an executive assistant manager (EXA)
position that is directly under the store manager. He wasn't making
that up. But he does sound like a tool, and I sincerely apologize for
his poor service to you.

For everyone getting COMPLETELY bent out of shape over the age issue:
Have you ever met an "adult" who acts like a bratty little kid? Have
you ever met a teenager that acts like a mature, responsible adult? I
imagine you have encountered both of these. I don't see that Donna was
grouping all young people together? This "manager's" customer service
sucks! Period! I would be really irritated if some uppity little brat
(I'm 21 by the way) lectured me about checking exp dates before I
purchase from a well known chain store. What is so hard about "I'm so
sorry this happened, let me get you a replacement product" . Situation
doesn't really call for a title check and a lecture. You know it's not
exactly a mystery why people hesitate to post on this site. Sharing
your expierience only helps the company and other consumers-

I thought this website was to inform and help people with issues they
have with merchants. There's nothing helpful here but bickering and
name calling. We've all encountered a manager of this type, I don't
think age is the issue. I've dealt with people with plenty of life
experience who have no ability to resolve a problem and I've dealt
with children (some not even teenagers) who have a knack at saying
just what is needed to defuse a volatile situation. I'm sure that I
am not alone in this either.

Donna obviously felt she was wronged in this situation; she took the
time to compose her complaint and deserves credit for sharing her
situation.

I've only posted here once before, regarding a situation with a
merchant who didn't accept email. I looked through the other
complaints about the merchant and I don't recall seeing the bickering
I see in this thread. I'll look around some more and if I find this
is common at Planet Feedback, then I'll move on to something more
productive and not waste my hot air here.

The BEST comment is the one by Paul C. !!!

Ditto !!

And Donna , the last paragraph of you letter is a point well taken !

this whole "young people are all jerks" attitude you have is very
annoying to me. my son is 20 and has more sense and customer service
ability than most people twice his age. age doesn't equal smarter, it
just equals older. if the cashier is so smart why isn't he the
manager? this manager was doing his job as he saw it, maybe a little
over enthusiastically and possibly a little rude. just knock it off
lumping all young people together.

Yes , Donna , this manager is a child.

He is a small child in a man's body . I don't know how old he is from
your letter , but I picture an adult male who is very childish and he
should never have been promoted because he is not mature enough to
handle it.

The fact that he told you over and over about his current job title
tells me that this is is first real adult job he has ever held. He
also seems out of touch with reality. He seems like he was so
concerned with letting you know who he was , that he was not grounded
enough to realize that he should be embarrassed for having food items
that are 90 days expired.

The cashier was correct to go to the register once you were headed
toward the check out line. The manager was wrong to tell the cashier
that you were still shopping. Customers come first . If that person
was assigned to the main register then stocking shelves was only a
fill in task, and customers come first.

I think it is fine for a manager to tell you once he/she is a manager
, but only once. The exact title , such as EXA , is not necessary, and
certainly not in every sentence.

I don't know how the manager was acting but I do know that YOU, Donna,
sound like a fussy little girl who needs to be put down for a nap with
her blanky. I mean it's endless, the childish condescending remarks
you throw out both in the letter and in the comments, over and and
over. I can't imagine you'd be able to control yourself in the store
long enough to refrain from exhibiting the same attitude....so it's
really no wonder the manager acted as he did.

I work at Walgreens. when he referred to himself as an exectuive
manager, he was probably telling the truth. each store has an
Executive Assistant Manager. we call them EXA's. an EXA is one step
above a regular assistant mananger, but one step below a store
manager. they are basically waiting to get their own store.

some EXAs do have HUGE egos. fortunately, ive worked with really nice
ones.

i have no reason why he was rude to you. but i know it isn't because
of his age. my current EXA is only 26, and gives the best customer
service in the store.

but he probably asked the cashier to ring you out, because that is
what typically happens. the manager gives refund, then hands
tranaction off to employee.

Donna, just be very very glad that this little twerp isn't YOUR boss!

Donna , The older cashier you met is typical. The older employees at
most Walgreens are usually not managers and are usually part time
people with day jobs. The cashier was likely a reasonable intelligent
human being and was the first person you spoke to. It is true that the
cashier came across as someone with maturity because she had life
experience .

The manager became involved because you wanted a refund and the
manager needs to decide on the refund and has to turn a key in the
register. This is why the cashier called the manager.

Now the manager is young and was just promoted to an EXA and he was
probably not happy that you gave the cashier more attention than him.
He wanted to make sure you knew he was in charge. This is why he told
you he was a manager over and over. He wanted to let you know he was
the big honcho and not the cashier.

You probably related better to the cashier because of her age was
closer to your own age and she listened to you.

You are correct. The manager told the cashier to get back to work
instead of ringing you out as a final message that he was in charge.

You are correct when you say the manager was not an adult. He did not
act like an adult. He acted more like a child trying to get attention.


In retrospect , the manager should have remained focused on being a
manager instead boasting and showing off, which showed he lacked
maturity .

I agree that this person was quite rude - but not because of his age.
People of all ages are inept.

Other then the age issue I agree with most of your letter and I hope
they get back to you.

I think it really stinks that by one bad experience you are saying ALL
managers who are young are not competent and have attitude. I know
many managers who are in their early twenties who do a DARN good job.
Besides, you will get a snotty attitude manager in any age bracket
here and there, not just young people. I encountered a nasty manager
that looked to be in his fifties.

Gary COleman and Emmanuel Lewis for example.

I have had supervisors where I worked that looked 17 and were in
reality 32. I'm 30 and strangers think i'm 18 or 19.

While the manager sounded as if he could use an attitude adjustment,
his age is wholly irrelevant and your continued reference to it makes
you sound like a bigot.

If you want to argue that he was cocky and rude, then argue that. But
his age, your age, the age of the cashier has NO BEARING on this
letter and seriously takes away from any valid point you made.

Next time,take any personal bias or emotion out of the letter and just
stick to the facts.

Donna he might not have acted like an adult to you, but his age really
has nothing to do with being a manager. I managed 100s of employees
at the age of 18. I was over all our cashiers and ran the security
dept. in a very large retail store. On top of that I had employees in
their 80s that I managed. I also handled all our court cases for
shoplifting and bad checks.

Now the manager does seem like he could of acted better. He might
even was a little stuck on his title. As far as pointing out you
should of check the expiration before buying it...that was a good
point. Stores with a lot of products espesically drug stores do
sometimes have outdated products. Not on purpose it just happens with
all the thousands of small packages. For your safety you should
follow up by checking dates. I don't know what you purchased, but
some items can become toxic if outdated.

I had a Walgreens manager give me somewhat similar service last year.
I had purchased a floor fan with a 2 year warranty from Walgreens. It
quit working after 6 months. The warranty said to return it to the
store for replacement or refund. I had the receipt and the warranty
booklet. I still had to point out, then basically read the line to
the manager that I was to return it to the store.

Anyway he took care of it after I pointed this all out.

I don't know that age has anything to do with his behavior. If he's a
poophead at 20, he could still be a poophead at 40. (Or not,
depending on how he responds to life's lessons.)

Either way, he's a jerk. I'm glad you're complaining about him, and
in a specific way that shows he needs a talking to. Let's pick up
where his mom left off.

Your valid complaint became almost lost with all the insults you
hurled at the manager. Yes, he should definitely have acted
differently, and I think Wa;green's does need to hear about your
experience.

I think you should rewrite this letter, and include a brief (one or
two sentences) apology for being upset the first time you wrote. I
would leave out the words "young" "little" "ego" "impress" "punk" "job
title" and anything with roots of "child" or "boy".

I would stick to the facts and be less inflamatory about what
happened. You come across in a manner that the reader has a difficult
time empathizing with.

The manager shouldn't have questioned you about why you didn't check
the expiration date, but should have apologized that the store was
stocking an expired item. That is the subject matter, not all the
other stuff. Once you had the unsatisfactory discussion with him, the
checkout matter was bound to rile you.

Finaly, I have noticed many expired items on the shelves of my
supermarkets, which are good stores. Recently I brought 2 days
expired meat to the attention of some employees. They seemed almost
indifferent, which I found odd. With so many products on the shelf,
they do need to be vigilant to see that nothing is expired.

The manager had no right to bring up the point that you should have
checked the date, when he did (IMO). While it is true that the
customer should check, at this point in the festivities he should have
been apologizing, not challenging you. It is hard to know the dynamic
that occured, but a good manager could have prevented this from
escalating out of control. This person sounds new to the position.

His age really has nothing to do with this. He is a manager that has
an attitude problem.

I've been working in retail for a while. Jerks and stupid managers
come in all shapes, sizes, and ages. Actually, the ones that I have a
problem with are the ones old enough to be my parents who treat me
like a kid and not that the adult that I am.

You have a valid complaint, but I suggest you rewrite it to leave out
all the low shots you took at the manager. It really makes YOU seem
like the childish one, to be honest.

You don't say what the manager did that showed he had an attitude from
the start. You do, on the other hand, belittle him throughout this
letter. It really isn't clear to me based on what you say and how you
say it who started this.

When you say you were on the way to the register and he told the clerk
that he shouldn't go to the register and take care of you, you're
describing a specific incident with which you have a problem. I think
you're right about that one.

But all this "boy," "little boy," "boyish ego," "hire adults" stuff
completely overshadows your good points. It suggests a reason that
the manager may have felt the need to repeatedly point out that he
was, in fact, the employee with the most authority at the store at
that moment. It also suggests a reason that the manager may have
wanted you not to "go over his head" to his suboardinates. And --
which is pretty entertaining given the point you're trying to make --
it makes you look incredibly immature.

If you had stuck with addressing the man's actions -- which is fair --
rather than the kind of person you took him to be -- which is not -- I
might agree with you on more points.

On the other hand, I think it is perfectly fine to refuse to take a
return if the policy is 30 days and it has been more than that.
Especially when it's an item that you are claiming was expired when
you bought it -- how do they know that you didn't forget about it
until after the expiration date, buy another, and try to return the
one you let expire? I can see why it would make sense to bend the
rules, if the manager has the authority to do it, but I can also see
why it would make sense not to. Ultimately, it's his call.

But think about it: if the man did behave badly (at other points
besides the one when you were going to check out), you've just given
him an unbelievable gift by behaving so badly yourself in your
complaint letter that no impartial observer is really going to take
your vague assertions of "attitude" that seriously. If he really
behaved as badly as you seem to think, you may want to rewrite this
letter with more facts and less namecalling. If you do that, though,
since the letter is going to go to the same department that already
got this one, I would urge you to remember that when you are wrong, an
apology can go a long way.

This is the time of year when Walgreens promotes Asst. Managers to the
level of Executive Assistant Managers. And, yes, a number of these
assistants get "full of themselves" when they get promoted. It would
not surprise me if this was an assistant who was hired by Walgreens
right of college. From my experience these are the most inept type of
managers and the ones who are the most arrogant. I much prefer to
work with Asst. Managers who have worked their way up to the position
or who have had some real world (work) experience before becoming as
Asst. Manager.

Believe me, if a customer brought a food item back that was 90 days
expired I'd be totally embarrassed by it as a manager.

By the way . I had a receipt. The Store was in Connecticut. I think I
heard the boy mention his job about twenty times. He reminded me of
Wayans from In Living Color except he was less humble and not funny at
all.

There are many people out there who assume that a title of manager
gives them the authority to act like an arrogant arse. Age has nothing
to do with it.

But I agree that no matter what the age others should be treated with
respect no matter what.