Dear Madam,

Today I purchased 5 metres of Velcro from your shop and feel the need to write to you to explain why I will not be doing any more business with you.

I am an Art teacher. Tomorrow we are putting up our annual exhibition. The Velcro will be used on the backs of mounted art works to attach to display boards. I visited your shop at about 9:15 but you were just opening so I went to the Hardware. They had rolls of Velcro with the sticky part and the part to be stuck to that your assistant showed me. Last year we had purchased Velcro dots on a roll. That was what I was looking for.

While returning to your shop I had phoned my boss to ask her if I should just go ahead and buy a duo roll if I couldn’t get the dots from you. She was unavailable and I was told she would call me back shortly as there were also other bits and pieces that we were organising to purchase. Your Assistant explained to me that they no longer make the Velcro dots so I made the decision to purchase the available Velcro. As your Assistant was measuring it out my boss returned my call. I took the call on my mobile at the till as it was relevant.

Your Assistant loudly announced that the Velcro was £13.40. I turned to her and said ‘Excuse me please’ and attempted to continue the conversation about the Velcro with my boss. At this stage your Assistant yelled at me that she did not have time to wait around for me to pay for the goods. (I was the only customer.) I was trying to hear what my boss was saying so I missed most of what I consider to be verbal abuse by your assistant. As you were standing quite near I know you would have registered the abuse.

I completed the phone call as quickly as possible not bothering to check about the other textile bits and pieces that we wanted as of course I was very embarrassed by this stage.
I then apologised to you and paid the bill. I explained that it was my boss on the phone discussing what we were purchasing.

Our school has just received a Grant for a big Textile Project. Apart from making small purchases for our Art Exhibition I was looking to spend £250 – £300 in Grant money on Textile materials. After I left your store I reflected on the incident. Your Assistant and I probably would agree whole heartedly about the inappropriate use of mobile phones, however I was not taking irrelevant and intrusive calls in a public place. I was using my phone as a tool to complete a shopping transaction. Whatever personal feelings your Assistant has about mobile phones, or for that matter anything else, should never have to leave a customer feeling humiliated, embarrassed and not having made the purchases that she had planned to make.

I felt compelled to write this letter as I realised that if I didn’t write to you, you would be non the wiser about how one customer felt about what should have been a simple transaction and a continued customer relationship under different circumstances.

Yours sincerely