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“Extremely disappointing service, staff incredibly rude”

written by pippal on 17/02/2014

My friend and I had gone to the Glasgow HMV tonight to meet Nina Nesbitt as she was doing an album signing. We had been queuing for a while when we realized everyone else had albums to be signed so I went downstairs (we were a few floors up) to buy one. The man who served me was really friendly and one of the only nice employees- no name but he was bald with a beard. I then went to go back upstairs to give my friend her album but one of the female staff members- I didn't get her name but she was heavy with mousy curly hair and glasses- told me they had closed the floor and that I couldn't get up. I tried to explain to her that my friend was already upstairs and I was just getting an album but she wouldn't listen to me and told me that if I wanted to meet Nina I had to go outside. Now I understand that hundreds of teenage girls must say the same thing to try and that it was after six and she must be wanting to get home but I felt that she was incredibly rude and unhelpful. I asked her if she expected me to go and stand outside by myself and she said yes she did. I am fifteen years old, I don't look very much older and I thought it quite unreasonable for her to ask me to stand outside myself at night in the middle of winter when there was no one else outside. I told her that it wasn't missing Nina I was worried about but that I just wanted to stand with my friend as she was also by herself but the employee just didn't care and told me I had to stand outside and wait. I understand her position but she didn't even try to check if I was telling the truth or not and was exceedingly ill-mannered. I then went downstairs to phone my friend and I bought a CD. I was walking about the shop for a while, talking to my friend on the phone to decide what to do when a male employee came up to me and told me I couldn't wander around the shop and that I had to leave. I wasn't creating a scene, all I was doing was walking about looking at DVD's and I had bought two CD's already so I really don't see what the problem was. Other people had been allowed to wait in the shop and they hadn't been asked to leave. The shop also didn't close until 8 and this was about half 6. I had to walk about Glasgow by myself for over an hour at night because I didn't want my friend to leave the queue. I thought it was extremely irresponsible for the staff member to tell me to go outside because, like I said, I am 15 years old and don't look any older and I was clearly upset about having to miss Nina yet he sent me outside anyway. Let me put that into picture for you- a fifteen year old girl, wandering Glasgow completely by herself on a Monday night with nowhere to go because most shops had shut. Not the safest thing in the world. I felt that the politest member was the security guard who, when I came back again to wait for my friend, allowed me to stand inside the door. I noticed that a woman had been allowed upstairs which angered greatly me as I had been so adamantly refused access. The staff's behaviour tonight was absolutely appalling, offensive, and utterly disrespectful. Their conduct reflects badly on HMV as a company and leaves little wonder as to why it is shutting down. It also essentially causes any artist who is related to it to look bad. If I was an artist I would be wary to promote my material with HMV. The customer service was thoroughly disgraceful and the worst I have ever experienced. I am tremendously unimpressed and I just can't express how disappointed I am with the treatment I received. This will be the last time I will ever shop with HMV unless they sort their act out and I will encourage my friends to boycott it as well. Not happy in the slightest.