Oh My! Macy's!

So if you haven’t heard, Macy’s suffered a pretty dismal holiday season and will now lay-off thousands of workers and close 36 stores in the United States.  Now, I’ve been a Macy’s shopper for a very long time (Hudson’s to Marshall Fields and now Macy’s) and have frequented my local Macy’s stores for my apparel needs for years.

But, let me tell you after my last few shopping experiences the above news is no longer surprising.  I recently visited the Macy’s in Westland, MI for some long needed work cloths and jeans.  I can tell you that this was my worst experience at a Macy’s ever.  First of all, I must have hit the store on some type of special sale Saturday and by 11am the entire store was a mess.  By the time I tried on some cloths and had my items selected, the checkout lines were at least 6 deep all over the floor.  My line had about 8 people ready to check out at a counter with 2 salespeople.  One of those associates decided to go clean out the dressing rooms and leave 8 people standing in line.  All she did was bring out large piles of cloths and throw them on a heap to put away later.  Now what do you think would be more important?  Checking out customers who have already selected their purchase or slowly pile up the cloths.  When I mentioned this to the remaining associate, she apologized and eventually called her associate back to start the 2nd register. 

When I got to the counter to pay, I was told how busy they were and that their manager never had enough employees called in to work the sales.  When I was finished checking out, I went to where Macy’s customer service counter used to be and discovered only phones in its place.  There was no way to locate a store manager and convey my disappointment.

I have noticed a steady decline at this Macy’s over the last few years.  Cloths are on hangers that often have the sizes mismarked.  The dressing rooms are messy, out of date, with broken doors and hooks and the sales clerks are totally disinterested and never around to help or check you out when ready to pay.  I’ve visited several other Macy’s locations in Chicago, Ohio, and throughout the Midwest where service is still hanging on a bit better.

If Macy’s really wants to stay around, they need to address customer service.  I would have much rather stayed at home and shopped online than spent my day like this!