There’s something odd going on at reader Brian’s local Friendly’s. Brian and his wife ordered and paid for two sundaes, but when Friendly’s discovered they were out of the flavor they’d requested, things got complicated. First, the employees refused to give Brian and his wife their money back because the manager doesn’t allow refunds, then, when they asked to speak to the manager, not only would she not speak to them, but she also wouldn’t allow the employees to say her name.
Here’s Brian’s letter:
I thought you might be interested in an unbelievable experience I recently had at a restaurant.
Last night I went to Friendly’s restaurant in Norristown, PA to get ice cream. My wife and I each ordered a sundae with butter crunch ice cream. After we paid for them, the cashier realized that they were out of butter crunch. My wife is pregnant and has dietary restrictions that prevent her from eating chocolate or nuts – which rule out almost all of the other flavors. So, since they didn’t have butter crunch, we just asked for our money back.
However, she told us that she isn’t allowed to give refunds. The cashier explained that their manager had been giving too many refunds recently, and that the manager would get in trouble if she issued any more. So because they didn’t want the manager to “get in trouble”, they refused to give back our money – despite the fact that we had paid for two sundaes that they couldn’t give us.
We then asked if we could speak to the manager about a refund. After a worker disappeared into the back for a few minutes, we were told that the manager was in the back and on the phone, so she couldn’t come out. I was astonished that the manager refused to come out and help us deal with this issue. After waiting another 5-10 minutes, the employees told us that the manager would not be coming out from the back. I suspect that the manager was not even in the store and the “on the phone” excuse was just used to cover up for her.
We asked for the manager’s name, and were told by three different employees that they aren’t allowed to tell anyone her name. So not only did they refuse to let us speak to a manager, but they wouldn’t give us her name! However, I managed to overhear one of the other workers mention the first name of the manager [redacted.] The employee looked terrified after realizing that the manager’s name slipped in front of customers.
By the time we had been waiting at the counter for about twenty minutes, the cashier said that she would be willing to return the cost of one sundae. This was completely unacceptable, since we had paid for two sundaes that we never got!
Eventually, after about thirty minutes, one of the employees agreed to get one of the half gallons of butter crunch from the take-out freezer to make our sundaes. Finally we got the food we paid for and left.
So apparently the manager at this Friendly’s restaurant:
– has instructed her employees not to issue refunds – even when they are fully justified – because she doesn’t want to “get in trouble”.
– has strictly forbidden her employees from even telling customers what her name is.
– refuses to talk to customers, even if they specifically ask to speak to her. In fact, I strongly suspect that she was not even in the restaurant, but told her employees to say she is “on the phone” to cover for her if she is not there
I tried contacting the store’s general manager about this, but his business card only lists the phone number of the restaurant. I’ve put out an “email carpet bomb”, but haven’t yet gotten a response. Maybe getting the story out on your site will encourage them to do something about this.
Thank you.
-Brian
You might want to also give your local consumer affairs department a heads up about this new “policy.” Selling a product they don’t have and then refusing to issue a refund isn’t, um, cool. Ya know? Come to think of it… it’s not exactly friendly, either.
(Photo: *nomad* )
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I can’t believe the OP caved and accepted the ice cream after all that… screw that, they should have made a huge scene after the first 10 minutes…
Its a restaurant as well right?
Go inside and demand your money back, increasingly loudly so the other customers can hear. Make sure that you are right inside the restaurant and they cannot push you out.
Explain that you have paid for the goods and they refuse to deliver them, over and over again.
If they threaten to call the police tell them that you will be calling them yourself for the theft.
In fact what is most likely to happen is that one of the other diners will say ‘I’ll deduct it from my bill’.
You can be pretty sure that the manager is going to come out if there are customers creating a scene in the restaurant itself.
@eggshelld:
So what if they did? The BBB isn’t a government agency, it has no regulatory power and people generally don’t use it unless they have a complaint to make, or to confirm that they’re not the only people who were treated horribly by a company.
Bullshit on the not being allowed to tell the manager’s name. Eh, I’d refuse to leave. And if they called the police, calmly explain to the officers that they’ve stolen your money. And what kind of dipshits don’t know when they’re out of something? Sheesh
Swensen’s pwns Friendly’s in my book
@kabuk1: Food too BLACK at Denny’s? Racist!
It’s a well-known Teutonic folktale. If you can recite a manager’s name, you can get up to one human baby.
UPDATE: I got a call from the district manager. He was apologetic, and agreed that everything that happened was ridiculous. He is going to address the issue with the relevant parties, and send me something.
@TerpBE: Good for you. I guess you’re more apt to get a serious response from the higher ups/people with a vested interest in the company
@pixiegirl1: You hit it on the head. The manager probably was not there, also the mgr probably knows the threshold of the number of refunds before they start “looking” into it. There may have been other “refunds” made, or voids of cash sales is another method (did a rotation on loss prevention during my retail management days) of stealing from the company.
Call the police, they show up and start asking questions. If anything funny is going on, the employees will give the manager up. If not, and the police blame the OP, then there is another submission for the Consumerist!!
Technically speaking the service provider does not advertise any kind of guarantee regarding the time frame that services will be provided by. Thus, they have no obligation to render the services on the date purchased. In fact if they wanted they could fed-ex the customer a frozen sundae.
Also the service provider does not advertise any kind of refund guarantee or satisfaction guarantee, so they have no obligation to offer refunds of any kind regardless of circumstance. The customer should not in the absence of such an offer assume that one exists.
Also the service provider does not guarantee that sundaes will come fresh, or with any toppings, despite what is shown on TV. What is shown on TV is purely for demonstration of what the product could be should you choose to separately purchase toppings and add them yourself. (In the same way that the blueberries you see in Cereal TV ads don’t entitle you to sue Kelloggs because your box of cereal does not contain any blueberries). So the service provider could have given the customers sundaes sans-topping and sent them on their way.
Also it is not illegal for a manager to refuse to speak to a customer, and it is not illegal to refuse to give out the first or last names or employee numbers of staff members.
Also the service provider doesn’t need a reason to have their private security or the police escort the person off of their property at any time because it’s their property.
And if you don’t like it, tough. You are welcome to patronize a different service provider that does, in writing, offer you a satisfaction guarantee regarding your purchase.
Walk out.
Seriously, just walk out.
Of course ask the employees to make sure the security cameras are running and documenting their receiving money and then refusing to provide you goods… because you will need the evidence to be forwarded to the local DA.
Then walk out.
As soon as you are out the door of the store the criminal act of theft will have been completed. As long as you are in the store no theft could have taken place.
So walk out.
I bet the manager will come running after you to fix the problem well before you even get close to the exit door.
There is a legal term for that: Theft
@TerpBE:
Free Food from spit prone previous manager still working at the store in the entry level cook/bottle washing position?
Personally until the person is gone, I don’t return to the store.
I thought the picture was an ATM at first lol…
Dear Corporate-Shill:
LOL at your “Just walk out” comment. That’s not documented evidence of them not providing you the goods, that is evidence of you walking out of a store.
For all the police know, you ordered the item and simply changed your mind about eating it, (maybe you were in a hurry or remembered you were lactose intolerant or had a surge of willpower to stay on your diet?) and you asked the person behind the counter to throw out the item instead of providing it to you.
Also the security recordings are the property of the company and would only be provided to the police upon receipt of a warrant. Of course, since the company policy is to only keep the data for 24 hours, by the time the warrant would be granted the tapes would already be overwritten, and this would not be considered tampering with evidence as it would be the stores policy with all their stores to only keep the tapes for 24 hours.
And again, if it were possible to sue a company just by buying something and then leaving the store without taking it with you, then that leaves the system far too open for malicious litigation. People could do it intentionally in order to sue for other made up costs like emotional distress, lost work, legal fees, etc. It would never fly.
I worked at a Friendly’s for five years in high school. I can only sum up my experience with a phrase I uttered to coworkers while there:
“Why do they call it ‘Friendly’s’ if we’re all so pissed off?!?”
@Carso: Steak & Shake is hand’s down better than Friendly’s. And are there any Frisch’s left?
The oddest thing about the story is that they did have the ice cream in the back freezer to make the sundaes as ordered. Why worry about a refund? Get a worker off their lazy keister and get the ice cream!!
Another point is that there must be something awfully bad about the restaurant if the manager is in trouble for giving out too many refunds.
Poor training and low expectations of the staff and management at the local level are to blame.
Last time I ate at UnFriendly’s, we started to order, and for each one of us, the waitress asked something to the effect of, “Would you like to try the double bacon barbecue cheeseburger?”, we say no, she goes on with “Are you sure you don’t want to try the double bacon barbecue cheeseburger?”, yes, we’re sure, “You’re sure you don’t want the double bacon barbecue cheeseburger?”. Finally, she shut the hell up and took our orders after it didn’t even work on the 9 year old in the group, and then we sit there for an hour and a half as groups that ordered the double bacon barbecue cheeseburger come in and leave, and we get no service, no drink refills, no meal. Last time we ever set foot in there was on the way out the door, but we did get a free set of drinks.
@tedyc03: The cops have better things to worry about than people shoplifting, too….
What the Friendly’s manager and minions did is stealing, plain and simple.
This is a perfect example of why retail food service is considered the dregs of the working world-it doesn’t have to be but this is what retail attracts.
Retail employees including management frequently confuse management or company policy with what is legal or ethical.They think because ‘a manager’ told them so it is right.
Sounds like this manager is just trying to control their costs by denying refunds.And trying to cover it up by trying to remain anonymous.Probably a franchise just using the company name.
Wait… they said they didn’t have it in stock but they got it out from the freezer and was able to supply it to you? WTF…
@u1itn0w2day: Ummm, I have worked retail and did a damn fine job. My coworkers did too. Our main problem was the customers who came in and stole from us. Oh, and the ones who didn’t realize that ALL of us held Bachelor degrees and most of us were in graduate school and very intelligent. And we knew what was “legal” and “ethical” and what was company policy. We broke company policy on a fairly regular basis but we knew where to draw the line. No, the customer is not always right.
And, honestly, if my job was on the line, I would not give the refund either. It isn’t worth my job.
This reminds me of the book ‘Catch 22′ and Major Major Major.
@ITDEFX: “It’s ICE CREAM!!! Get over it OP!!!”
I knew some idiot was going to say this. Congratulations. Hey idiot, gimme ten bucks. What for? Fuck you what for just give it me, shut up and go away. Get it now?!?
I’m also surprised to not see this solution: Take as much of their shit that adds up to what you lost, be it napkin holders or whatever. That would get their attention. It’s called street justice and it points out how ridiculous their theft is. I think they would be willing to negotiate before you left and if they called the cops, it would drive the point home. Why should THEY be the only ones to suggest a substitution for your money?
Why was the name of the Manager redacted? What is the location of this Friendly’s? We need to know in case we want to avoid it.
I haven’t been to a Friendly’s in years, but isn’t it something like a Bob Evan’s with lots of ice cream?
That grade of restaurant usually has a sign somewhere with the name of the manager and any “Commendations” they have “earned” somewhere near the front of the store–usually not far from the Feedback box.
And certainly, if your Server–who undoubtedly is wearing a plastic name tag– refuses to give the name of the manager, then THAT name should be included, whether or not they have been “told” not to reveal the name of the mythical creature.
“However, I managed to overhear one of the other workers mention the first name of the manager [redacted.] The employee looked terrified after realizing that the manager’s name slipped in front of customers.”
You have spoken aloud the name of She who should not be named. You shall die a horrible death after being forced to work 100 straight hours under my “management”.
If the Friendly’s that I used to work at for 5 years wasn’t demolished a year ago, I would have sworn up and down that this was mine.
The management was notorious for using the back office as a vehicle to smoke, talk on the phone, and hide from customers. I am not at all surprised by this story.
As far as going to the back, the ice cream containers are giant and cold, which prevents most whiny lazy servers to avoid going back and lugging one to the front.
The only corporate management we ever received was orders to keep our shirts tucked in, and make sure the cooks were wearing hairnets. Myself aside, the servers there were all rude, boorish trolls.
As a former Friendly’s employee (2 years) I am not at all surprised by the strange and disorganized responses of the employees or the manager’s actions. The whole structure of these restaurants is appalling (I have worked in 2 other restaurants, one corporate, one private – so I can compare). The turn over rate is SO high, that lasting a few months can be a distinguishing accomplishment. Many times, I had seen servers promoted to managers only because they had been at the restaurant the longest. The managers generally didn’t know protocol of what to do when problems arose, and tried to solve things as they go. It is very possible the employee who offered the 50% discount was using a coupon code or transferring the balance to another check (maybe her own?)out of sympathy for the customer – knowing how frustrating the Friendly’s system is. All in all, it’s disappointing this situation happened, but we’ll just have to take Friendly’s for what it is, a cheap ice cream place with mediocre, erratic service.
I’ve had to make several complaints about service at my local Friendlys over the years. Just go to Friendlys.com and make a complaint there. There’s no reason to have to search for a GM’s phone number. Every time I’ve submitted a complaint I’ve gotten a response.
I decided to go to Friendly’s for lunch across the street from the mechanic who was changing my oil.
I was seated by the hostess, but waited 10 minutes before anyone came over. It was the manager, wondering why I hadn’t been served. She explained this table wasn’t in anyone’s section, and called over a waitress.
I ordered a cheeseburger, nothing on it. A long time later, I was delivered a chicken sandwich.
I advised the waitress of the mistake. I then waited a long time again, and was delivered a burger with everything on it.
I hailed the manager (didn’t want to take a chance of retaliation from the waitress, even though I had been mainly calm) and sent back the burger, it came out very quickly. Examining it, I saw the remnants of the mayo on the bun and the burger.
I stood up and left, leaving the bun off the burger displaying the mayo, and never returned. That location went out of business about a year ago.
Though they were incompetent, I think the nail in their coffin was the Baskin Robbins that opened up a block down the road, eating into their ice cream market.
@ageshin: Funny you should mention that. The manager of this particular branch is Manager Manager Manager and her assistant is Not Here.
Reminds me of the problem the newspapers were having when He won a female gymanastics medal. Tough constructing a non-confusing sentence in that case.
I used to love friendly’s(I’ve never had a bad experience with them, sorry) until……………………..they posted their food calorie count online. HOLY F**K. A chicken sandwich and fries is over 2000 calories. I know going out to eat is bad, but one meal shouldn’t be over my daily intake of calories.
It would be really useful to know which Friendly’s has that bonehead for a manager. The quality of service and food varies wildly from one Friendly’s to another. I went to one that had recently opened, and watched the staff argue about whose turn it was to take care of customers. The unlucky one stuck her thumb in our sundaes as she put them on the counter. There’s another one with a courteous, professional waitstaff that consistently produces well-prepared food. If you find one of the good ones, it’s a good place to eat.
At ice cream places like that, I never pay until they hand me my ice cream. I have never been to a place, including Friendly’s that took your money before they got your ice cream.
That being said, Friendly’s has never been one of my top choices. I had a couple really bad experiences at a Friendly’s. The first happened when I went for ice cream with my father. The waitress put down the tray on the table and the sherbet cooler tipped and spilled all over my pants. It was winter. Not fun. She said she’d come back to clean up and give it to us free. We got up and left. The second time at the same restaurant, the waitress was bringing our meals. She had one of the dishes on her arm. Being the same place as the first accident, I said to my father “watch her drop something”. Sure enough, the one on her arm went tumbling over just before she reached our table. We stayed that time because we weren’t covered in food and we got a replacement really quick. Normally, at any Friendly’s I’ve been to, the service is super slow. I now just go there for ice cream. It’s good ice cream.
I worked at Friendly’s for about 7 months, and may do so again at some point so I’m going to refrain from making too many negative comments.
First:
“I suspect that the manager was not even in the store and the ‘on the phone’ excuse was just used to cover up for her.”
Nope. There is always, always, ALWAYS a manager present in the building. It may not be the head manager, but there’s always at least one. If there’s only one, they can’t leave the building until the next one arrives.
Second:
It may be different now, but last time I worked at Friendly’s (early December), none of the servers had the ability to void a transaction. The manager has to do it. So what’s more likely is that the server had had too many voids lately, and didn’t want any more, and refused to involve the manager to save his/herself.
Third:
Management style at Friendly’s is just odd. Some of it is mandated by the company, other times it’s just weird preferences from the manager. Either way, they end up hurting themselves at times for the sake of convenience. It’s a little sad.
According to the ReferenceUSA database (available at finer public libraries everywhere), the manager for that particular location is a Mr. Keit Vo.
How is it a refund how you’ve handed over money, they haven’t made you any food and they just give your money back? No food is used or wasted. It’s just lending them the money for a few minutes.
There used to be a Friendly’s near my house when I was growing up in Michigan. It closed down shortly after I left for college. Apparently all the Friendly’s in the midwest closed down at about the same time, as many of my friends from the Midwest also recall the place – and yes they all called “Surly’s”.
@TangDrinker:
You hate living in Texas, huh? Feel free to leave at anytime. We probably hate having you here.
@ExGC:
We have one. Right next to Target. Just the name “butterburger” makes me drool. I must try it.
I ate at a Friendly’s once, when I lived in Newark, DE briefly in ’87. The food wasn’t bad but I remember the restaurant was very dirty.
@lorenjfisher: Obvious troll is a little too obvious…
it’s not really a refund if no product was ever provided. They get nothing, you get nothing – just take it out of the cash drawer and give it back – or put it back on the card.
@ELC: It’s not that easy, like I said if it goes through the system (server had already run the purchase through the register) they would have to void the transaction to be able to remove the money from the drawer, which most of the servers cannot do without a manager. Even if the server wanted to refund the money to the customer, it’s possible that they couldn’t if the manager said no.
This reminds me of the time my family was eating in a Friendly’s in Cape Cod in the mid-80′s. It was freezing in there, so my mom asked them to turn down the air conditioning and they said they couldn’t because it was controlled in BOSTON. WTF?
So, the meal was pretty miserable. But it got even worse when my brother made me laugh so hard I threw up my entire Jim Dandy sundae all over the table. True story. I swear. My mom is still pissed about that meal.
@krispykrink:
I hope you really are a Deputy, because otherwise, you’d be in a world on legal hurt if it turns out there’s a real cop in the restaurant (or the real police get called).
on=of, and message not meant to imply krispy is a liar.
@IphtashuFitz: What’s really, incredibly crazy about the whole story is that they actually had the butter-crunch after all, but they were too lazy to get their butts over to the take-out counter for 30 minutes to even see if they had any there. So it isn’t just the manager in this story. I can see the employees being afraid to disobey the manager, but to say they were “out” of the flavor when they just had to check the other freezer is all on the employees.
@eggshelld:
Beaten to the punch by dantsea!
But it bears repeating: The BBB has absolutely no power or authority to do anything of consequence to any business, ever.
They’re really your only recourse when a company is just offering generally bad service, though.
In this case, the restaurant was actually doing something illegal: selling a product, refusing to deliver the product, and then refusing to return the money remitted for said product. A call to the local police would be appropriate, as would be a call to the locality’s department of revenue (or whatever local agency handles business licensing).
A call to the state AG might also be in order.
@tedyc03:
This was theft (though I’m not 100% on that, it may be considered a dispute over an implied contract), and the customer would have had every right to call the police (even in the second case). Just like purchasing an item from an auction site and then not being sent the item after remitting payment, this is illegal.