Hassle Free: America's companies aid in destroying our society?

Okay so let me start this off by saying that I'm a college student working part-time in a grocery store. I work the customer service desk, so I deal with upset people and their complaints all day long. The grocery store I work in, Stop & Shop, is a large north-eastern chain which is run by a parent company called Ahold. More than half of all consumer food dollars in New England are spent at Stop & Shop (which has a revenue of $11.17 billion).

As customer service, my job is to make the customer happy, and keep them returning to the store. If keeping the customer happy means going so far as giving them a $25 gift card, well, I can do it. This is part of two huge store policies known as "1-2-3 hassle free" and "the customer is always right". These policies say that, unless there's a policy that overrules "hassle free" and "TCIAR", the customer gets what they want. No matter what. If a customer reads a sale sign wrong, our job is to give the customer the item for free, without even checking the sign ourselves. Even when the customer is proven wrong, when you show them that they read the sign wrong, they still get it for free.

This brings me to the main point of this thread. The company I work for is not, I'm sure, the only company that has adopted these policies. "1-2-3 hassle free" and "the customer is always right" makes the customer feel like they are in control. They feel like they actually get what they want. How is this aiding in the destruction of our society? The illusion of getting what they want distracts the sheeple from the fact that the government is taking away their freedoms.

Think about it. What do people do? They work, and spend money. If spending money is a large fraction of someone's life, then walking into a store and getting exactly what they want makes them believe they are in control. It distracts them from the fact that they really aren't in control. People walk into my store and demand that they get what they want. If they don't, they want to talk to a manager who will give them whatever it is that they demand. Then, the employee that barred them from their demands will get a talking-to and a refresher on the store policies.

Our society thinks it can have its way, simply because it can. Until it comes to the real freedoms and what actually matters. But then, they're too distracted getting what they want as consumers to see that they're not getting what they deserve as citizens.

I agree entirely, this is a very good observation you have made.

It's kind of ironic you know, they "demand to get what they want" and it turns out to be a package of totally poisoned crap like Aspartame or whatever.

Oh well, let em have it! We have warned people enough about this crap haven't we? Doesn't common sense have to kick in at some point and tell them they are wrong and they need to wise up and think about things for a minute?

Give it to em. Let em have it. Pour that Aspartame all over them.

I apologize for being cynical but after spending 15years trying to communicate with people I am losing most sympathy and compassion I have left. It's hard to care about people who don't care about themselves.

Originally posted by muzzleflashI apologize for being cynical but after spending 15years trying to communicate with people I am losing most sympathy and compassion I have left. It's hard to care about people who don't care about themselves.

I completely understand. I've also tried to wake people up. They're all products of a public school system that teaches them to sit back, relax, and don't question anything. And that's exactly what they do. Ignorance is bliss.

reply to post by MrFake


I wish your company's ethos would come to the UK.

You have a few large companies who will exchange goods. But a lot depends on the small print it is by no meens hassel free.

I can though see how for a relatively cheap item it is easier for a company to replace or give the item free to a customer rather than have to pay people to stand their arguing the point. But what happens when a few customers realize what is happening and decide to take advantage of the company because they know the companies motto is the customer is always right.

This is very interesting information. Thank you for posting it.
Is there an organized effort to scam the system yet? (Fake complaints, etc. for free food)?

I didn't even go into our return policy: no receipt and under $20 you get cash. This policy has created a huge network of scammers. I give $15-18 away per scammer a day, and I usually get about 8 or 9 scammers on my 4-hour shift. Mostly all the same people too. They either steal the items they return, or buy them in bulk at other stores to return one at a time for nearly twice the value.

As far as getting items for free, there are a few people who take advantage of this. One woman comes in every Friday (the day new sales starts) and she looks for old sale signs. She gets around $50 worth of free stuff every week.