I visited Kohl's Huntersville around 8:50 p.m. this evening to return two boxed items I ordered from Kohl's online. I entered the store, found a cart by the door to take to the car, unloaded the boxes on the cart, and found the store doors locked upon returning to the store two minutes later. An employee came to the door and let me in the first set of doors as he exited. I then found myself trapped between the exterior doors I entered through and the second set of doors to the store. Another young employee saw me after several minutes, opened a door wide enough to talk with me, and said they were closing. I was surprised because I thought they closed at 10 p.m. He said he would check with a manager, Simone he said, who we could see at the closest register to us. He said that Alan (I think) may be able to take the return. He checked my receipt and then went to speak with Simone closing the door so I could not follow him. I could see him talking with her from my position, she looked at me trapped between the two sets of doors, and emphatically told him that "we are closed." I could see her body language and I read her lips. She then sent him to me to break the bad news. Maybe she followed policy, but when I worked retail years ago, my coworkers and I would have been in big trouble for not helping the customer. It was 9:08 p.m. according to my car clock when I returned the boxes to my trunk and started the car. I am not gong to make an idol threat and say I will never shop there again, rather, I will just recognize my experience for what it was, poor service at the direction of Simone, the person in charge, with no concern for me. The two other employees tried to help but she did not have the same view of customer service as them. She offered no explanation or expression of empathy, just an emphatic "We're closed!" to the young associate to pass on to me. I am sharing my experience to say, don't go there after 8:30 p.m. with a return. If Simone is in charge when you visit then you have no chance at being respected as a customer, even when stuck in the store vestibule. I have no doubt the employees worked hard and were likely tired. Kohl's leadership's way of handling customers is different from what I would expect in that situation. I thought I had an hour to conduct business. If it were not for the friendly young employee who saw and spoke with me, I have no doubt Simone would have left me in the vestibule all night long. ~N
department store