Amanda G.
Yelp
I still enjoy shopping at Stews because the food is fresh for the most part but as of late, I have noticed that they tend to put meat products on sale with a 1-2 day expiration date and at times, the date is not accurate and the meat might turn earlier than, or on the expiration date. I have had several occurrences where I have had to return meat or seafood because it was off and I did not want to ingest it and get sick. I have never been met with a problem until today and because customer service has always been on the side of the consumer (as per Stew's own commercials), I always felt like they were eager to rectify a situation.
I purchased some bone-in New York strips on sale and the sell by/use by date was a few days away. I planned to used it within the time. I cooked one pack with no issued but when I went to open the second pack on the expiration date, the meat looked odd and the odor emitted was horrible.
My family moved back to the Bronx so it's difficult to run to Stews when I have to return something. I'm the past, I've never had an issue with a return of an item, especially when it went bad, even after the use by/sell by date. It hasn't happened often but the few times it has (bad shrimp, bad steak, bad ground beef, bad whole chicken), I was never met with any issue at customer service. I also was never informed of any policy regarding returning items.
When I brought this particular steak back, it was a few days after the use by date, the earliest I could bring the item back. A manager was called and she informed me that their policy will not allow an exchange or refund for turned items unless the customer either calls in or emails the company to inform them of the issue. When I asked how long this policy was in effect, she stated that she had been working there for two years and it was always in effect during her employ. What's odd, is that one of the employees in the customer service area actually took care of a similar return for me a year or so prior, and he never informed me of this policy. He allowed me to exchange a product that had gone bad, for a fresher package.
While they did give me a "one-time" (apparently) refund, they would not allow me to exchange for a different package that was fresher, at the sale price. I was disappointed because it's a drive to/from Stews during most hours of the day, and had I known about this policy, I would have called/emailed when I first observed the problem.
Stew Leonards prides themselves on customer service. They even have a plaque that states that their first rule is the customer is always right. Obviously, this should be taken with a grain of salt but within reason, I think they should have allowed me to exchange the product. Firstly, we purchased meat the went bad too early, secondly, the day the meat went bad, we had to find an alternative to dinner (delivery), and lastly, I had to schlep back up to Stews with dank and rotting meat, not even knowing they had such a policy.
I'm sure the customer service employees I interacted with previously likely just gave me an exchange/refund because they either just wanted to take the easiest course of action or did not know the policy. What the company should do is post this policy information in their stores and ensure that all customer-facing employees are aware of and practice the policy, as well as inform their customers.