A follow up to this: I found the following online in Kroger's Code of Business Ethics PDF. I separated out the statement that applies here, it is the second and third paragraph.

Customer relations

Our company will succeed only if we serve customers well. All
customers deserve friendly, courteous treatment without bias or
discrimination.

Our customers have the right to adequate information concerning the prices of the items they purchase and the assurance that their purchase, combining price and quality, represents a fair value.

Customers deserve prompt, helpful and courteous responses to
questions and requests for assistance. Customers deserve clear and
accurate advertising that provides useful information to assist in the
purchase decision.

they should have given you your money back...shame on them

getting great customer service makes a big difference. my daughter got a leapster for Christmas, when it started to malfunction we called the manufacturer and they told us to mail it back for a replacement. we got another one in less than a week, no arguments, no hassles.

We will definitely buy from them again.

Too bad Ralph's had to give you such a hard time.

My wife and I shop in the Ralphs where the movie tickets were sold. We have 4 school aged kids and buy gift cards when the kids need a party gift. We have had the good fortune of not buying the movie card.

I called the Ralphs we will no longer be shopping in and spoke with Neil. He said there we two sides to the story and the man had made a huge scene and had made a number of harrasing phone calls to Ralphs corporate. He came in to the store very angry and made everyone uncomfortable. I countered with the fact that his customer and his wife had both called and been read the policy. I would have been frustrated too. Neil said a vendor places the cards not Ralphs. We all make mistakes and a card you need to drive 30 miles to use is a mistake. I also asked Neil why I would want to shop in a store where the management is unwilling to take corrective action and say sorry. Neil was alarmed this was on the blog and recanted his two sides to every story and was reluctant to admit they had not handled the situation well. I hope the management steps up to the plate and says sorry and does the right thing. This situation makes it clear that it takes a lot of work for the folks shopping at Ralphs to be treated with respect.

Dear AllenSCV (and everyone that has posted on our behalf),

Thank You for your support. I just wanted to clarify something. The only threat that I made to Ralphs was that I told them that I was going to get a hold of their District Supervisor or Ralphs' Corporate and I would no longer shop there...oooh, what a threat. I also asked him to put up a sign disclosing the fact that these were not the theaters in SCV, has he done that? I don't know...I don't go to that store anymore. The other problem with Neil's story, think about it logically....My wife and I both called them as reasonable people and when they didn't want to deal with it, I stopped doing my yard work and went into the store...so before any "threats" were made and before I caused a scene, they weren't dealing with me in a forthright, respectable way. The way that Neil makes it sound, is that I threatened them and made a scene before any reasonable dealing had transpired...he's putting the cart before the horse. They were not willing to deal with me in the first place and now they are diverting responsibility to AMC, the third party vendor. Ralphs is ultimately responsible to the direct consumer and if they have a problem then Ralphs corporate can deal with AMC corporate, but why am I holding the bag? This goes against everything that is in their own Code of Business Ethics that I posted...there was not enough information to make an informed decision as to what I was buying! You know; Ford, Chyrsler and GM did this in the 70's and 80' s and 20+ years later they are still reeling from it.

And if I was so awful as Neil makes it sound, why would I sign my name? I have since written to Ralphs' corporate two more times, left a message on their phone, written to Kroger Corporate and I wrote to Kroger's Investment Relations department and even sent them a copy of what I have posted here. I am not ashamed of standing up to them...how many people have they treated this way that won't do anything about it? If I treated one of my clients this way, I would be fired immediately. BTW, they own Food 4 Less also.

Sincerely,

Robert Williams

Dear Bob. Your side of the story sounds like many we here from day to day in the grocery business. It is one that always puts the responsibility on everyone else, but not yourself. You are the type of person that cleans out your cubboards with expired dates and bring them to the store and expects a refund or replacement for your items. You are the kind of person that fits in the 5 percent that makes a company create policies that are difficult but are necessary to serve the better 95 percent. I can say this just by reading your letter and breaking it down. Let us do this right now.
To begin with, your day did not start with Ralphs on Mcbean and Decoro, it started down the street at the Grannary Square store. We had called that store after dealing with you to warn them of you and they said they had already called the cops on you because of the disturbance you made in their store. The manager there said you were loud, obnoxious, cursing, and a disturbance to paying customers. So your story has already begun with a lie.
Now let us read further into your story. You said if we did not deal with you futher, you would cause a scene. And you did. Now, as a father, when my child caused a scene because she could not get want she wanted, the worst thing I could do is give in to her desires just to get her to shut up. It is a difficult lesson to learn, but the best resolve is not to throw a tantrum, but to find the proper solution to the current situation. Customers of your character use the tantrum technique because you are part of the 5 percent. You want it, and you want it now regardless of whether you are right or wrong. It is all about you.
Now let us cover the gift card itself. There are many choices of cards that are available in our stores. These cards are available in every Ralphs in many areas and in many counties. These cards are contracted with each company to be provided at each Ralphs. Now, if a customer wants to go to Disneyland and by a gift card designated for that location, should it only be available in an Anahiem Ralphs grocery store? We carry Disney gift cards in our store for the convenience to the customer. The customer sees the card, makes a decision to buy that card, and then goes to the register and completes the purchase. Should we tell the customer before buying the gift card that Anaheim is over an hour away, and have you read the one of a hundred disclaimers posted over the many gift cards we provide? You aren't going to read it anyway. How do I know? Because you did not read the great big yellow and black sign on the display that said no refunds on gift cards.
Some people actually find a way to fraudulently use their card and then return them for a full refund.The only way to avoid this crime is to have a no refund policy for all cards. This policy exists in all businesses because the gift card companys require it of the retailers selling their cards.

I was unable to finish my letter because I had to many characters in my first letter. I wanted to finish by saying we do our very best to serve all customers in a friendly and courteous manner. If the customer is polite, or at least in control of himself, he deserves to be acknowledged and helped the best way we can. Sometimes, the managers do not give the customer the answer they want. It goes without saying that customers often ask things of us that we can not provide. I resently had a customer ask if they could by the store display shelves. What do you think the logical answer was? Most customers want something more practical but still not within our policies. If someone brings us a 1000 dollar payroll check, we will not cash it for them. Our policy is 400 or less. They often get mad and make a scene. They are part of the 5 percent. It is all about them.
When you entered the store at Decoro, you were already pissed off. You did not get what you wanted from the store down the street, so you tried to hit us up instead. This is a common technique of the 5 percent, so we call each store to warn each other of such events. What most commonly happens is the 5 percent steal from one store, and then try to get a refund for cash at another store. This goes on every day, even in Santa Clarita. The best thing we can do at the store level is look at each case and make a decision the best we can. If you don't like the answer, you have the right to call corporate, but you don't have the right to make a scene. Grow up.

Dear Ralphy,

We DID NOT GO TO ANOTHER STORE, that is your lie. We live at the end of Seco. Did you think that we drove all the way down to Granary Square? The store at McBean and Decoro called the police, it's the store where we bought the tickets and it is the store that we tried to return them, not the Granary Square store. We did not step foot in the Granary Square store, you don't even know what happened. If there was an incident in Granary Square then it was separate from mine and if it had to do with the same thing, then obviously you have a problem. But I will say, if I bought something at the Home Depot in Canyon Country and wanted to take it back to the one on Newhall Ranch Rd., they would take it back.

I think that most people know that Disneyland (a one of a kind place) is in Anaheim. As I said, your manager didn't know that Edwards Cinemas also goes by the name Regal when you go buy gift certificates. If I was selling gift certificates to Kroger, do you think that I would have to explain to people that Ralphs is the same thing? The burden is on the corporation, not on the customer. I was pissed off because you chose to bring a third party vendor into your store and did not stand by the product and you DID NOT FULLY DISCLOSE WHAT YOUR WERE SELLING...LET ME SAY IT AGAIN...YOU DID NOT HAVE FULL DISCLOSURE. What is it that I have said twice in this blog? .....

Your CORPORATE MANDATE IS: "Customers deserve clear and accurate advertising that provides useful information to assist in the
purchase decision". WHEN SOMETHING IS NON-REFUNDABLE YOUR DUTY TO DO THIS IS DOUBLED.

I did not want anything but my money back for something that was sold to my wife that wasn't what she thought that it was. You're right, I did not get what I wanted, but all I asked for was my money back on a purchase that I cannot use that was purchased 15 minutes earlier. So if someone came into your store and bought a watermelon, went home and cut into it and found out it was rotten, would you give them their money back or tell them to go to the grower. I bet that you are still selling those tickets.

You can keep hiding behind your corporation. At least I had the guts to publish my name. You still haven't addressed the bad attitude that I would get in the middle of the night when I walked up to the checkout stand. I guess I played the 95% patsy customer, that you love so much, when I put up with this guy time and time again (actually, for years).

By the way, you really should get spell check....cupboards is not spelled "cubboards", recently is not spelled with an "s" and "by" is buy when speaking about purchasing something and in your sentence "to many characters" it is spelled with two o's as in too many characters. And you're the manager?

By the way, you are assuming that I go by "Bob", I do not! But you assumed a lot in your poor defense. But keep trying.

Robert Williams

Oh Ralphy,

I missed one, "here" in your first sentence is spelled hear. To be in a place is "here". To use your ears for sound absorption is "hear". Maybe you should get someone else to write your next commentary.

Just Want to be Treated Fairly,
Robert Williams

Ralphy one more thing:
By stating that I caused a scene at the Ralphs at Granary Square and that I was trying to commit fraud and that I used obscenities (which I did not..I have children and I would not do that in a public place), you have just committed a libelous statement. See definition 2a below from Webster's Dictionary. You can even check any surveillance video that you have, and you will find that neither my wife nor I were at your Granary Square store. HMMM, lawsuit?

li·bel
Pronunciation:
\ˈlī-bəl\
Function:
noun
Etymology:
Middle English, written declaration, from Anglo-French, from Latin libellus, diminutive of liber book
Date:
14th century
1 a: a written statement in which a plaintiff in certain courts sets forth the cause of action or the relief sought barchaic : a handbill especially attacking or defaming someone
2 a: a written or oral defamatory statement or representation that conveys an unjustly unfavorable impression b (1): a statement or representation published without just cause and tending to expose another to public contempt (2): defamation of a person by written or representational means (3): the publication of blasphemous, treasonable, seditious, or obscene writings or pictures (4): the act, tort, or crime of publishing such a libel

My name is Dorthy, and I live by the decoro and mcbean store. I have been watching this commentary grow. I happened to be in the Mcbean and Decoro store when this incident happened. I was going through the checkout. I don't know exactly what was said, but Mr. Williams lost his temper. I feel bad she had to try and help. He was shouting at the top of his lungs at the lady behind the counter. She was not responding to him, but picked up the phone to call someone else. Mr. Williams turned around and walked out still screaming at anyone who would listen. Mr. Williams, you talk about wanting to be treated with respect, but in turn you have to respect others. Your conduct to the lady behind the counter was anything but respect or civility. When I walked out, you were still yelling at the people outside.

I have shopped at the Mcbean store for quite some time. They have their flaws, but it is a nice store. The employees are friendly, and I have asked Neil, the manager on several occasions for help. He is always smiling and friendly, and always helps when asked.

I don't know exactly what was said, but I do know that it is hard to help someone who is screaming at you. I feel bad for the employees who had to deal with that situation.

Sincerely,
Dorthy

Dear Dorothy:

It is so nice of you to blog, I am all for free speech. First of all I was talking to a manager in front of me, not behind the counter, it was right in front of the cash registers toward the flower area, so not sure how you thought that I was talking to someone behind the counter. If you read the blog, I tried to speak to them in a civil tone, twice on the phone and once at the store. The manager walked away from me in mid sentence at the request of a cashier. Yes, I yelled loud enough to tell everyone to not buy these tickets and that Ralph's would not give me my money back but made sure not to use profanity due to children being present (seems to be the only way to let them know that you are serious). I have stated from the beginning that I caused a scene....I will not shy away from that. You go ahead and keep shopping there, that is your right. My right is to tell everyone what happened and to tell them to not shop there.

Dorothy, the problem is, that their own handbook states that they have to advertise clearly so that customers can make informed decisions, they did not (go to Kroger.com click on about the company, then go on Kroger Company Policy on Business Ethics and go to Page 9). Then they stated that I was at another Ralphs, which I was not. I have not hidden anything and yet they lied about me being at a complete other store, so you believe who you want.

Dorothy, I just hope that in your adventures in life, when a corporation sells you something and you take it home and open it up and find out that it was not the bill of goods that you were sold, that that company gives you your money back and if they don't, I hope that God gives you the courage to go up to them and demand your money back. The difference between you and me is that I do not lay down and take it. There are way too many pacifists and not enough people with guts enough to stand up for what is right and just.

All I can tell you is that I will shop at Sam's Club and Trader Joe's, and Albertsons. I urge everyone to go to Trader Joe's. The food is fresher and healthier, their prices are lower and the service is impeccable. Everyone who works at Trader Joe's is always happy and willing to help.

Trust me, when I have a good experience I even write. I wrote to the City of Long Beach 2 years ago because we had such a great experience and it was published in the Long Beach Telegram (I think that's their local paper). I will tell a waiter or waitress's manager when they have done an outstanding job, but I have to call them on it when they fail too.

I hope that you are not Neil's mom.

Have a Great Day

Robert Williams

This whole thing makes me chuckle a little bit. I so know that rage when a big corporation isn't clear with the rules and then refuses to help after they've screwed up. In fact, I got totally annoyed with that very same Ralphs when I opened chicken to cook last night and it was bad before expiration AGAIN. I have never experienced that until I started shopping there. Maybe it's their delivery trucks that aren't cool enough—who knows.

I think my two points are:

1. although I can relate, when you freak out and yell at Ralphs, you frighten the people around you. If I was there with my two preschoolers, I think I would've had to put you in your place.

2. Trader Joe's is ALWAYS a good option. Those people are SO nice and helpful and I always leave there thinking "I need to come HERE every week."

I think you probably got a few people to stop shopping at that Ralphs. Of course you've got to love the comments by "ralphy" -- how is it he's so convinced he's right but can't even sign his name?

Take a deep breath, Robert. You've made your point... you've changed some minds... why don't you take the day off and enjoy the movie tickets you couldn't possibly give away to an SCV kid. You deserve a break. :)

Well for one, I'm just trying to keep this post fresh and for two, Ralphs has done nothing to contact me and make anything right. It's sad, but customers are insignificant to them.

Corporate America has learned that if you just ignore problems like this, that eventually they go away. That is what is happening with this story. No one has contacted me from Kroger or Ralphs to rectify the situation and my blog just keeps getting buried further and further in. Let's freshen it up!

Just a quick story why this bothers me so much. About 2-and-a-half years ago, I bought an HD television from CompUSA. After about 4 days of watching the tv, I noticed a technical problem. I called CompUSA and they told me to call the extended warranty company. I called the warranty company and they told me to call CompUSA because it was within the "90 day" store warranty. So I called back CompUSA and after much negotiation, they called the extended warranty company and got them to cover it...great!....I thought.

I received a call from the warranty company and they had me call Andrew's Electronics in Newhall for repair. Andrew's Electronics informed me that they only sell parts for Apex televisions, they don't repair them. So I called the warranty company back. They gave me the number of a company in Chatsworth. That company told me, that although he had done all of the testing and paperwork for Apex to be a repair rep, he had not received certification or information on what to charge for repairs from the manufacturer.

To make a long story short, I now involved the manufacturer, who told the repair company in Chatsworth to go ahead and do the repair, but after numerous phone calls, they never showed up to fix it....it is a 300lb., rear projection HD 55" tv (so I couldn't just take it somewhere). So after about a year and a half of dealing with Apex (the manufacturer) and them promising to get me a new tv, even to deliver it to my door and take the bad one, they never did. Then they started ignoring every correspondence until I finally gave up. Now I have a $2000.00 boat anchor that is very hard to watch. And CompUSA is out of business.

Due to space, I will continue below in a new comment.

Shop Wisely,
Robert Williams

Continued from above

What I have learned from this is, go to your local business and buy from that person when you can. You may pay a little more, but they have to give you good customer service, it's all they can use to compete. When I buy my pet food, I go to Chris at Pet Supply on Bouquet and Seco, not Pet Smart down the street. Chris or his wife great me nicely every time that I walk into his store and are very helpful. I would give them my money any day over Pet Smart. I know that if I buy something and it isn't what I thought that it was, I will at least get store credit and I will be supporting a local business family and help them to succeed.

Like I said, there are good corporations or big companies out there, like Trader Joe's or Walmart, Nordstrom, etc. and when it warrants it, I will give them my business, but I will not ever stop into a Ralph's, or Food 4 Less or Fred Meyer again. It's like people that still leave a 20% tip, even after they have had horrible service, you don't tip for bad service, YOU TIP FOR GOOD SERVICE.

I am tired of being ignored by big business when they don't stand behind what they sell. Actually, this has given me an idea...I may start a Website that watches businesses and how good their customer service is and call it "Watchdog" and start it right here in Santa Clarita and maybe make it a national entity. Wouldn't that be great? A place that you could go to and find out if a business that you were going to shop at is treating its customers fairly....they would have to change their business practices, wouldn't they? This would be the power of the people and the internet used in a good constructive way.

Shop Wisely,
Robert Williams

OK, ralphy, I misspelled greet!

Maybe you should contact the vendor company that supplies the gift cards to Ralphs about your complaint since it seems they are the one that has control over which cards are stocked in the stores.

Maybe there are AMC theater gift cards because people actually drive outside the valley to go to movies that are not necessarily playing within the SCV.

Jtapper

Yes, people do actually travel outside of this valley to do many things. But then why not state that these are for AMC theaters which are not located locally....so that you know what you are buying, this would be in the tradition of Kroger's own Code of Business Ethics. My point wasn't that people don't go to Burbank or Universal or Woodland Hills for the movies, but one assumes that if you are selling something like movie tickets, that you could use them locally.

If a kid went to Woodland Hills and sold them a 25 score card and you looked at it, you would assume, hey I can use this at Jersey Mikes, Pizza Hut, Black Angus, but without full disclosure that these are only for the Jersey Mike's in Valencia and the Black Angus in Valencia and the Pizza Hut on Seco, the person in Woodland Hills would now really be out that money....oh but of course, people actually do leave the area of Woodland Hills to go out to eat! Do you get my point yet?!!!!!

I see your point but I dont agree with it. As an FYI, you used a bad analogy as 25 Score cards are not sold in retail stores.

The gift cards are clearly marked AMC. A mistake was made by your wife. How does the store know that you didnt buy the gift cards then use them to purchase tickets and then try to return the card? The store has no way of knowing what the balance is. I heard a story on the news that people were doing this.

Furthermore, the gift cards are there for convenience. Nordstrom cards are sold there but yet there is none in the SCV. Should a disclosure been made about that? Someone also mentioned Disneyland and you brushed it off as that's a one of a kind. Why would an exception been made there? If for one, then for all.

If you feel so strong about disclosure of gift cards being located within a certain distance of a store, call your congressman to pass a law. I'm sure it will get real far! Also, all itunes cards and other e-retailers should have a disclosure saying an internet connection is required. See how ridicuolus that sounds.

Your entitled to your opinions and comments. I just think most people would disagree with you and have enough common sense about what they are buying. Yet again, I may be overestimating people and maybe disclosures are needed to prevent idiotic scenes from people arguing over crazy things.

My receipt showed that I bought it 15 minutes earlier. It's not crazy when you are out $50.00, which may not be alot to you, but when you are supporting 5 people on 1 income, that $50.00 is a lot of money and I had to go out and get another gift now, on top of it.

BTW, what I suggested to the store management, is to just put up a sign next to the gift cards letting people know that they are not for the theaters in SCV, is that really too much to ask? I suppose that you are O.K. with stores who bleaches expired meat and rewraps it and puts it back out in the case and puts on a new date. I mean after all, "Buyer beware" and "We all know that they do it, so it's my fault for buying it".

Again, for the 4th time, IT IS EVEN THE POLICY OF KROGER (THE OWNER OF RALPHS) TO CLEARLY MARK ITEMS IN THE STORE SO THAT PEOPLE CAN MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS! This was not in step with their own policies!!!!!!!!!!

I'll state it again....when buying gift certificates to the movies, Edwards Cinemas sells under the name REGAL. So, if Ralph's was selling tickets to Regal Cinemas I will bet you $100.00 that they would make sure that everyone knew that it was the same theaters as Edwards because they would sell more, but the reverse is not true!