I am always amazed at how people act when they return items to a store.

[apirateslifeforme]

I worked at JCPenney when I was in college. First in housewares and lamps, then later in children's. I can't remember anyone being outright rude, but I had a few customers that I remember well, 20 years later.

One was the lady who wanted a floor lamp; she was adamant that she needed the three light levels. I told her that due to the number of lamps in the department, we only used single 25-watt bulbs for display, but I would show her the ones that could do the three levels. With each lamp, she asked if it was a three-way lamp, I assured her it was, she tested it and said, "No it's not." I then reiterated that we could not use anything higher than 25 watts in the displays and that she would need to use a three-way 50-100-150 bulb in it. EVERY SINGLE LAMP. She finally chose one and again asked if it was a three-way lamp. I said yes and reminded her that she needed to use the proper bulb, and pointed out where it said this on the box. Well, of course she showed up the next day, lamp out of the box, packing material gone, shade dented, and yelled at me in front of my manager that "you lied and told me this is a three-way lamp and it most certainly is NOT." I didn't say anything, but my manager had to sign the return slip and when he did, he threw the pen at the lady.

Next, in the children's department, we had certain basic items that were "everyday value," meaning that we always stocked them, and they never went on sale and coupons could not be used. A lady came to the counter one day and produced a very well-washed t-shirt (faded and pilled), a tag, and a receipt from TWO YEARS prior, and explained that she wanted to exchange it for the next size up because her son outgrew it. Um, seriously? We're not a lending library. But...I knew we had to exchange it, as she had the tags and receipt (our store had a REALLY liberal return policy). The problem I had is that when she originally purchased the shirt, it wasn't an "everyday value" and not only was it cheaper in the first place, she'd bought it for 20% off that price. I had to try to put it through the computer, being that the item numbers were different, but I couldn't get around the price difference; the computer wouldn't let me do it. I explained to her that I was trying to fix it, but she got really bent out of shape, grabbed the new shirt and old receipt out of my hand, and stomped off.

My other favorite was the guy who handed me a receipt and said, "I want to return this." I said okay...and waited for him to produce the item. He stared at me for a minute and said, "Is something wrong?" I asked him for the item and he said, "Oh, I forgot it at home. But I'm here now, so you can just give me my money back and I'll come back tomorrow with the item." I said I couldn't do that and he said, "Oh, you don't trust me? My word isn't good enough?" I had to get my manager and he still didn't understand why he couldn't have his money back.

 

[Geoff_M]

The most outrageous attempt at a return that I personally witnessed was a small group of middle-eastern college students in the line ahead of me at Best Buy a few years ago. It was apparent that they were students at our local university and it was then end of the school year. They were attempting to return a large flat-screen TV that they'd purchased at the start of the school year. Best Buy, to their credit, was having none of it. The clerk kept saying "Sorry, you're well past the date that we'd accept a return for that purchase". The leader of the group kept saying "But, we're flying home in a few days... What are we supposed to do with this TV?!?!?"

 

[TheDisneyNurse]

My other favorite was the guy who handed me a receipt and said, "I want to return this." I said okay...and waited for him to produce the item. He stared at me for a minute and said, "Is something wrong?" I asked him for the item and he said, "Oh, I forgot it at home. But I'm here now, so you can just give me my money back and I'll come back tomorrow with the item." I said I couldn't do that and he said, "Oh, you don't trust me? My word isn't good enough?" I had to get my manager and he still didn't understand why he couldn't have his money back.

Oh my gosh, this is a legendary customer service story. I feel you!

 

[mom to minnie&mickey]

Only once did I ever get nasty in returning something but it concerned the health of my 3 week old baby. I phoned dh at work and asked him to pick up baby formula, the ready to drink type, for our newborn. He walked over to a nearby pharmacy after work and bought a case of six cans. Now, I have this thing of checking expiry dates on all edible items and thank god I checked that time. The formula had expired SIX MONTHS before! In shock I phoned the pharmacy and (I am embarrassed to say) let them have it. The next day dh returned the formula and found a man clearing out all the shelves containing formula/baby food.

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

I think some people confuse "poor customer service" with "company policies that are clearly stated and must be enforced by the workers who are just trying to get by" What's the point of having return policies if the manager is expected to break them for every special snowflake customer that walks through the door?

I think some company policies produce bad customer service. Just because an employee is following the rules does not mean the store is giving good customer service. It even puts the employee in a position where it is impossible to give good customer service. That is on the store, not the employee. I get to give my opinion on customer service with my pocket book, and I do. I choose to go to stores that treat me and my dollar the way I want to be treated.

For the record, I felt the same way when I was on the customer service side of things. There were policies at a bank where I worked that I knew were not on the side of the consumer. While I was following policy when I followed the rules, I was NOT providing good customer service. I was providing the best customer service I had to offer...but it wasn't good.

 

[maxiesmom]

In the case of the camera, I did have the receipt dated the day before. I truly think that cashier was just being a snot for some reason.

In the other cases (and I was polite - the stores just lost my business for a long time), they were gifts to my DD. In the case of the doll, my mom had bought 3 of the dolls - one for each granddaughter - and we ended up with the receipt for the brown haired doll instead of the red haired doll (receipt didn't specify). We all lived in separate states, and my SIL no longer had the receipt that matched DD's doll. In the puzzle case, it was a birthday present, but it was clearly sealed with the BAM price tag on it. I told the cashier that I would gladly accept store credit in the lowest amount that the puzzle had been priced.

While it would be nice if everyone gave gift receipts (or even if every store offered them), they just don't. I don't feel I need to accept poor customer service when there are plenty of other options still available to me.

While I agree there is never a reason for a cashier to be snotty, it is not poor customer service for a store to follow their return policy. I know where I work even the managers can't change what the register will allow us to do. It is not poor customer service to expect a customer to know and understand and follow a store's return policy.

Unfortunately in this age of Ebay and Craigs List, companies have to do something to keep people from buying things on line or at garage sales, and then returning them for cash. Ask for receipts for gifts. Hang on to your own receipts.

 

[maxiesmom]

I think some people confuse "poor customer service" with "company policies that are clearly stated and must be enforced by the workers who are just trying to get by" What's the point of having return policies if the manager is expected to break them for every special snowflake customer that walks through the door?

Exactly. Word gets out. If they break policy for person A and they tell their friends, their friends then pitch a fit when policy isn't ignored for them. And that is what causes all of the bad behavior by customers.

 

[hereyago]

No, I hardly return anything. Plus I am too much of a bad liar(i am giggler). Plus I also worked in retail.

People are amped up nuts at Christmas season:.I worked 1 season at a military base exchange in their Toyland. Then a couple years I worked civilian retail, people get crazy over free gift boxes during the holidays.

I am now back in the hospitality/tourism aspect of customer service. I have met some doozies in the past, but on flip side, met some great guests along the way.

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

While I agree there is never a reason for a cashier to be snotty, it is not poor customer service for a store to follow their return policy. I know where I work even the managers can't change what the register will allow us to do. It is not poor customer service to expect a customer to know and understand and follow a store's return policy.

Unfortunately in this age of Ebay and Craigs List, companies have to do something to keep people from buying things on line or at garage sales, and then returning them for cash. Ask for receipts for gifts. Hang on to your own receipts.

I'm going to maintain that having a return policy that is not customer friendly is poor customer service. The employee may be offering the very best customer service they have to offer, but their only option may be to enforce a bad policy. This is still bad customer service offered by the store. It isn't the employees' fault or even their decision in most cases.

I'll even defend the store's right to offer non-customer friendly policies. However, I won't patronize a store whose policies I don't like. I will continue to seek out stores that provide good customer service, and I will refuse to shop at places that show me they don't care about my customer experience. I think it is an awful decision on the part of a store to turn away a good customer over a small return. There are other options for the store to handle loss prevention, which is where non-customer friendly return policies typically start. All of these stores have loyalty cards and most can look up my past transactions based on my credit card now. Empower employees to make decisions based on a known customer's history. Before you turn me away when I try to return a $15 gift, look at my purchase vs. return history.

 

[wenrob]

Too many years in Customer Service. I go out of my way to beyond polite and pleasant yet firm if I need to be. The closest I ever came to losing it was at Kmart. They had a sale on these Kinect Block Sets (bigger than Legos but smaller than Mega Blocks) that were really popular at the time and fairly expensive. The ad said buy this particular set get another set half off. There were several combinations and signs everywhere. I grabbed four sets inline with the ad. I get checked out and notice I didn't get the half off. Clerk says I have to return them and repurchase. So I head over to customer service. She sees my cart and immediately starts yelling at me, "those aren't half off, you can't do that" before I even open my mouth. I proceed to tell her there are signs everywhere and I carefully checked the combinations. She just keeps ranting like I'm trying to rob her so I pull out the ad. She starts reading it to me, her finger under each line as she MAKES STUFF UP! I kid you not, the words in the ad that she's pointing to were not the words coming out of her mouth. By this time I've practically got steam coming out of my ears and a manager comes by and asked her what's going on. She's practically foaming at the mouth and he says, "No, those are buy one get one half off, give it to her." She starts slamming the sets around, shoves them and my refund at me and walks away. Later that night my brother calls to tell me about the crazy customer service lady at Kmart who was refusing to honor the sale on the Kinect blocks. He DID lose it on her. I haven't walked into a Kmart since.

 

[unhinged]

In the case of the camera, I did have the receipt dated the day before. I truly think that cashier was just being a snot for some reason.

In the other cases (and I was polite - the stores just lost my business for a long time), they were gifts to my DD. In the case of the doll, my mom had bought 3 of the dolls - one for each granddaughter - and we ended up with the receipt for the brown haired doll instead of the red haired doll (receipt didn't specify). We all lived in separate states, and my SIL no longer had the receipt that matched DD's doll. In the puzzle case, it was a birthday present, but it was clearly sealed with the BAM price tag on it. I told the cashier that I would gladly accept store credit in the lowest amount that the puzzle had been priced.

While it would be nice if everyone gave gift receipts (or even if every store offered them), they just don't. I don't feel I need to accept poor customer service when there are plenty of other options still available to me.

It is not poor customer service to refuse to bend store policy for customers who are not following store policy.

Good customer service is not defined as getting what you want, be damned of policy.

Just be glad the stores were patient with you.

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

It is not poor customer service to refuse to bend store policy for customers who are not following store policy.

Good customer service is not getting what you want, be damned of policy.

Just be glad the stores were patient with you.

Having a bad policy IS poor customer service. And as a customer, I get to decide what I think is a bad policy. Then, I get to decide whether to spend my money there. The store gets to decide if losing money from good customers is worth policies that aren't customer friendly. I think it stinks that so many people have come to accept that a company can make any policy that they want, even one that is not customer friendly, and they just have to grin and bear it. We don't. We can take our money somewhere that has policies we like.

I don't get your last statement. I really am a friendly person, and 99.7% of the time, I am perfectly happy with my transactions. I rarely try to return anything, and when I disagree with a policy, I don't take it out on the cashier. I contact someone who can take note of my objection, and I take my money elsewhere. The one time I described getting angry was when the cashier refused to get a manager, which more than likely was not in line with her company's policy.

 

[unhinged]

I have, embarrassingly, lost it once. Thank goodness there was no social media back then, otherwise I probably would have made it onto the Passenger Shaming website. I can say I never called the airline people any names, but my voice did raise and I was angry.

It was our honeymoon flight. We had a short hop with a short layover and then the long flight to our destination. The person checking our bags at our home airport forgot to check us all the way through to our destination. She only checked us through to the first stop.

Thinking we were all good, we stayed on the plane like all the rest of the passengers. That is until they asked us to deplane. I won't go in to all the detail, but the gate agent told us that because we were not checked in on time and our bags had been taken off the plane, we could not get back on this particular plane as our seats were already given away and it was a full flight. The next plane we could get on was sometime the following afternoon.

I was tired and cranky from being at our reception till 2am with a 6am flight out, along with all the stress of the wedding. We had a tour planned and paid for the next day that we would miss if we didn't leave till the following afternoon. And they were treating us, the young kids, like dirt when it was their person who forgot to check us in. They did finally get us back on the same plane, but we did not sit together for the long haul to our destination.

When I cooled off I sent a letter to corporate. I was wrong to lose it, and it was one of those youthful transgressions that I learned from. But I did receive an apology and a voucher stating that they should not have kicked us off the plane for their mistake.

 

[unhinged]

Having a bad policy IS poor customer service. And as a customer, I get to decide what I think is a bad policy. Then, I get to decide whether to spend my money there. The store gets to decide if losing money from good customers is worth policies that aren't customer friendly. I think it stinks that so many people have come to accept that a company can make any policy that they want, even one that is not customer friendly, and they just have to grin and bear it. We don't. We can take our money somewhere that has policies we like.

I don't get your last statement. I really am a friendly person, and 99.7% of the time, I am perfectly happy with my transactions. I rarely try to return anything, and when I disagree with a policy, I don't take it out on the cashier. I contact someone who can take note of my objection, and I take my money elsewhere. The one time I described getting angry was when the cashier refused to get a manager, which more than likely was not in line with her company's policy.

They would lose far more money honoring returns without receipts.

You absolutely have the right to take your business where you want. But I don't see how your attitude that the rules don't apply to me because I shop somewhere a lot and then getting mad when the store doesn't agree and enforces the same policy for all customers as bad customer service. Not getting your way is not bad customer service. Would you rather pay more money for your item to cover all the losses they would incur by taking people's word for it? Enforcing the same policy for all customers is good customer service

 

[sharona]

I confess - I'm a returner! I like to shop and I don't like to try things on in the store so for clothes I always buy and then return later if I don't like the fit or style on me. I'll buy 3 pairs of shoes and take them home to see which looks the best with the outfit I'm planning to wear then return the others. I also have no problem returning anything that doesn't last as long as I think it should (broken zipper, buttons that fall off, shrinks even though I followed the washing instructions etc.). I have even taken Home Depot up on their 1 year policy when a shrub I planted didn't make it through the winter. Dug that right up and brought it back. I save every receipt, I'm super polite about it and have not had any issues in years. Once though, years ago, I had bought a dress to wear on a vacation. I didn't end up wearing it so I returned it when I got home. Receipt in hand, tags still on the dress. The clerk at the store (Guess for anyone who wants to know) actually sniffed the armpits of the dress right in front of me to see if I'd worn it!!!!! I was completely flabbergasted and said "what are you doing????" I was in my 30s, not some teenager or college student. It was very embarrassing and insulting! I never shopped there again.

 

[wenrob]

Some where I was on the receiving end:

I worked CS at Michael's and we would have these crazy "stuff this bag" sales with coupons on top of that. Our manager was really loose with the policy and it became "stuff your cart" sales. This was before digital scanners and you had to type in dept, code and price for every single thing. We had lines all the way down the isles and to the back of the store for every register. I'm ringing, handling all the phone calls and issues. This lady comes in, walks in front of everyone and says she wants to make a return. I apologised and said that she would have to wait in line. She flipped out screaming that there was no way she would wait in line. I responded that if I let her cut the line the people IN the line would very likely kill me. Her friend very calmly suggested they come back the next day but she was having none of it. Finally a nice lady said she would wait while we did the return. I'm pretty she did it just to get rid of her, lol.

When I worked at a small bookstore this guy would come in, grab a stack of rag mags and then try to return them.

Same bookstore I had just opened when a guy came in grabbed the paper (.50) and handed me a $100 bill. We had a huge sign above the desk that stated we didn't take $100 bills and I explained my bank was only $100, he would wipe me out and I wouldn't be able to give other customers change. He lost it, threw the paper at me and swore he'd never be back. He came back 10mins later after getting change at the grocery store next door, lol.

A guy went all red faced rage on me when we didn't get People Magazine on Thanksgiving day. Another came in to look at girly mags. Problem was he set his 2yr old kid in front of it and when I said she'd have to move he went all, "you don't tell me what to do with my kid, who the F are you" on me. I got a million from that store.

 

[Andtototoo]

The only time I got aggravated was when I bought and tried to return a black knit shirt at Burlington Coat Factory. I wore it to work the next day and by the time I got home and took it off, it had turned the skin of my torso, chest, arms, shoulders -- anywhere it touched -- black. Not light black, but BLACK. The black would not scrub off. I took it back that night, aware that their return policy is that you get money for an exchange, but I was truly expecting that given their shirt was defective, that they'd give me my money back. Nope. And I got real attitude from the manager, who happened to be African American and accused me of being a racist for complaining that it turned my skin black.

Unfreakingbelievable. I had a few choice words at that point. I even wrote a complaint letter to corporate and got back a letter full of drivel about "Our policy clearly states no refunds." No response to their employee calling me a racist.

Basically haven't shopped there since. (It took nearly 2 weeks for the skin discoloration to go away.)

 

[Pixiedustaway]

I return stuff all then time. Sometimes I have a receipt, sometimes I don't. I take whatever I get I've learned to.avoid the stores with horrible return policies. I've worked.retail.forever and have seen it all. I agree with the more flies with honey motto but some people are straight up nasty.

 

[lizabu]

DH is the designated returner. My DS had a pair of shoes which fell apart after just a few wears. He wanted to exchange them but they refused. He got mad and asked for the manager and the lady at the returns counter said she was the manager. She ended up saying something rude to him. He got mad and chucked the shoes in the garbage and told her he doesn't need her money. He called the 800 number on the wall as he walked out of the store and complained about whatever the rude thing she said was. The next day a Walmart manager called him and said they would take the shoes back. He told them he already threw them out. They offered him a gift card and he accepted it.

 

[NFLDERS]

My DH's family have strong resemblances. When we lived in the same neighbourhood as his older brother it was downright crazy for my DH whenever he had to return an item, he would be met with rolling eyes, and skeptical customer service employees. He'd be mistaken for Dbil who was the kind of person that would take home a snowblower, clean up after a snow storm, and then return the snowblower. Ugh..