Rural King MUSCLE SHOALS - Hours, Reviews & Deals

Darlene the cashier was amazing. She had a line all the way to the pet section and handled it. I watched a blonde manager and two other workers not help her at all or even answer the phone. She was doing it all. She deserves more credit

I rarely write reviews and hesitated to post this, but I feel it’s worth sharing my experience with Rural King in Muscle Shoals, AL. I purchased a generator after being told by the cashier that it could be returned as long as it was unused, unfilled, and unopened. After later reviewing the store’s return policy, I realized generators are typically non-returnable, so I contacted Jared, the general manager, to clarify the situation. I spoke with the general manager Jared twice by phone and explained that I was told the item would be returnable. I asked whether the store would honor the return based on what the employee had told me. He said he would look into it. When he later called me back, he stated that the employee denied saying this and referred to it as hearsay. I acknowledged that I understood generators are normally non-returnable. At that point, Jared told me to bring the generator in and said he would issue a refund. I thanked him and did so. When I arrived, I thanked him again for taking care of the return. However, the interaction then became uncomfortable. He stated there were signs posted everywhere regarding the return policy, though the generators had not yet been in stock at the time of my purchase, so those signs could not have been present. After thanking him, he responded by saying, “I’m not making anything right for you,” which was confusing given that he had asked me to come in for a refund. During the conversation, he also stated that he had been “dealing with people like me for 30 years,” which I felt implied that I was being dishonest. He again stated that the cashier never said the item was returnable. I chose not to argue and remained silent, as the tone of the conversation felt defensive and condescending, and I felt it was becoming unnecessarily confrontational. I’ve been in business for over 20 years, and while I understand policies must be enforced, professionalism and respect should always remain. I mentioned that I had a witness present at the time of purchase who overheard the cashier say the generator was returnable. His response was that he had many cashiers as witnesses, which seemed odd given there were only two employees at the front during my checkout. Because of how the situation was handled, I contacted Rural King’s corporate offices and ownership group to file a formal complaint. I am scheduled to speak with a vice president of the company and will also be filing a deposition with the Better Business Bureau regarding this experience. Ultimately, the return was processed and the issue was resolved. However, the way the situation was handled left a negative impression. I hesitated to share this since the matter was resolved, but I hope this helps improve communication, professionalism, and customer service moving forward. Jared made me feel very uncomfortable.