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| - The worst experience I have ever had as a customer of a Pittsburgh business came at Szmidt's Deli.
It all started when I bought a Groupon for the place. The owner admits there were some problems with the Groupon and says he won't be doing one again, but the source of my displeasure was how horribly everything was handled by the restaurant and how little the owner appears to value his customers.
The Groupon was good for 5 sandwiches. When I went to cash it in, I was upset to discover an undisclosed "one sandwich per visit" rule (not living nearby, this was a big inconvenience). This may have been Groupon's fault, but I've seen other businesses manage to communicate terms like that clearly and prior to purchase.
But the employee behind the counter said the Groupon, which had a stated expiration date, was to be cashed in for a 5 sandwich punch card which never expired. "OK," I thought, "I don't make it here very frequently, but at least I won't have to go out of my way to use the value." So I almost-happily traded my Groupon for a card (with no printed expiration date and promise to honor it whenever) and decided to use it only when I was already in the neighborhood.
I came back after the Groupon had been set to expire, only to be told by the owner that the card carried the same expiration date as the Gropuon. Whoops. Strike 1 against the restaurant, having employees make promises the owner didn't want them to. Shouldn't be a big deal, however, because I acted based on the promise of that business's representative, and any responsible business owner would stand by that pledge.
I tried explaining the situation to the owner, who repeatedly cut me off by repeating information I already had (namely, when the Groupon expired). My argument that my card had no expiration date (printed or spoken or disclosed in ANY manner to me at any time--in fact, "never expires" was a promise explicitly made) seemed not to register with him. He kept getting louder and louder, making a scene in front of other customers waiting in line behind me. Things were getting awkward.
Finally I asked him point blank, "Are you refusing to stand behind the promises your business made to me?" I never got a direct answer, he just said, "Look, the Groupon expired" (a fact which was never up for debate) "and I'm done with that company" (a fact which was never relevant). He not only flat out refused to stand behind the word of his employee, he refused to do anything to ameliorate the situation whatsoever. I never even got an apology for the misinformation. I was only berated loudly in front of a gathering crowd.
That's not an honorable way to do business. It's not even an ethical way to do business. And it certainly wasn't a proper way to treat another person, much less a customer. Maybe I have an overdeveloped sense of how to conduct good business, but the entire experience left me upset, offended, and quite surprised at the outcome.
I was left fervently hoping that Szmidt's would go bankrupt and close its doors, so that a better establishment could take its place in Pittsburgh's business community.
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