November 2019 by Theon Boyer
To whom this may concern,
I recently placed an order online during your Black Friday sale. After I placed the order, I noticed that the item was the wrong size, then immediately called your call center. The representative said that the order could not be altered, but that I could exchange or return the item in store. Which was completely fine.
When I returned the item (the exact same day I received it in the mail), the sales associate put through the return online. The associate said I did not have to sign anything, or present my card, to which I found strange. The associate was non verbal through the entirety of the transaction. When I asked if I needed to do anything, she shrugged and said "no, it will be back on your card in, like, 5 minutes."
Well, that did NOT happen. I waited days for my return. I have worked in customer service and know that sometimes returns take a little longer when it encompasses a weekend/holiday (in this case, a weekend). I reviewed the courtesy email that was sent saying that the refund was processed, and if there was a delay with the refund that I should contact my payment provider. So yesterday, December 3rd, I called my bank to inquire as to the status of the pending return. My bank said there was no record of the return and there were no pending returns showing.
At this point, I tried to contact your call center again, to which there was an increased wait time. After waiting on hold for 30+ minutes, I left a call back number. I was not called back for 2 hours. When the representative on the phone spoke to me, they said they had never heard of this issue before, and that I should call Head Office; which she stated would be closing soon. I immediately hung up and called Head Office at 4:54 pm, and got the prerecorded message saying that their office closes at 5pm.
I then directly resorted to calling the store which I returned the merchandise and spoke to the manager. The manager did not apologize for the mix up, nor was she of much immediate assistance. She said that she wasn't surprised that the call center didn't answer, and after taking my phone number and order number, that she would look into it and call me back.****SHE HAS YET TO CALL ME BACK.*******
I'm not sure which part of this circus interaction is most irritating, but I can tell you that your company is lacking customer service skills and expertise. This issue was not handled properly. I spent far too much of my time calling around getting generic answers from associates that seemingly just wanted to brush off my inquiry to the next person. Not once was I offered an apology, a credit note or discount of some sort, or better yet- an explanation. Roots Canada had, both, my money and their product for days, while I was left in the dark. I have never sent an email complaint, as I, too, have worked in the customer service industry, but this was all just too much.
I also sent this exact same message to your customer service email several business days ago, and have yet to be acknowledged.
