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

[alievans719]

I was a customer service manager for two years at Walmart. So I've been the one who's gotten called every name in the book, had stuff thrown at me, etc etc. So I am always as kind as possible to the people behind the desk.

One time someone tried to return a grass trimmer because he claimed he didn't use it. He bought it in May, returned it in like, September. We had a 30 day policy for it. I told him we wouldn't return it because it was covered in grass. This was after he tried to exchange it for a cart full of paper towels, and then another lawn mower(the display model you're not supposed to touch). He was so mad he got right in my face, wagged his finger at me, and said "Tut tut" and walked out with the grass filled trimmer.

 

[POOHsie]

My Dad bought eggs and 2 of them were broken when he got home. He had inspected them when he put them in the cart so he figures that the cashier or bagger broke the eggs. Since he is retired, he has more time to delve into these types of injustices. He called the store and asked if he could come back and get two eggs. They said yes. When he got there, they tried to give him a half-dozen in an actual half-dozen package. He refused. He told them, no, he wasn't trying to get any free eggs, he just wanted the 2 he was owed. He came home with 2 eggs in the pocket of his basketball pants.

Your story reminds me of when I was growing up and grocery stores were local, not big chains. It was common to break packages and purchase a part of the package. Like eggs, Or butter. Mom would open a pound package of butter and just buy one stick. There was no problem purchasing it like that. Maybe someone else can remember other food products that were sold in broken quantities. Nowadays, I don't think many stores would allow that.

 

[MIGrandma]

I rarely find the need to return something, but if and when I do I am polite about it. It never ceases to amaze me when people get rude and nasty with cashiers and/or customer service employees. I just don't see the point. Do they actually think the employee is going to want to help them when the customer is rude or nasty to them?

I think the last time I returned something it was a food item to a grocery store as it was spoiled and well before the expiration date. They exchanged the item for me just fine.

 

[LBIJim]

Your story reminds me of when I was growing up and grocery stores were local, not big chains. It was common to break packages and purchase a part of the package. Like eggs, Or butter. Mom would open a pound package of butter and just buy one stick. There was no problem purchasing it like that. Maybe someone else can remember other food products that were sold in broken quantities. Nowadays, I don't think many stores would allow that.

I remember decades ago at the small corner grocery stores you could buy just one egg if that's all you wanted. Or a stick of butter. They'd also cut the whole loaf of rye bread and sell you half. There were probably other examples as well.

I wish supermarkets WOULD sell the cartons with broken eggs at a discount. But I'm pretty sure they just throw them away. It's cheaper than paying someone to repackage them.

 

[kamik86]

The only one I ever thought might be a hassle and could have been rude about was the time I got a shrink wrapped head of cauliflower got home and found it VERY moldy. Not just on the outside but all the way through. I returned it (not to the store I bought it but to the one in my town of the same chain) with the reciept and they didn't give me a hassle at all though so I was able to stay polite. I expected much more of a hard time to be honest.

I have ended up rude when buying things though. Really rude lady at Target one time when I was shopping around here (when my husband worked at a store 6 hours away where we were living)she didn't know her own company policies and was trying to refuse various things. Like giving back my target % off coupon or that I could use that and the employee discount (this was before they did the rewards as being 5% all the time and instead sent you a coupon whenever you met some criteria. The coupon was good for anything you bought that day not just one transaction... I got a drink while I was waiting for something but planned to come back and buy more later that day)

 

[vrajewski10513]

It never ceases to amaze me when people get rude and nasty with cashiers and/or customer service employees. I just don't see the point. Do they actually think the employee is going to want to help them when the customer is rude or nasty to them?

Alot of people think that by acting out the store associates or managers will give them just about whatever they want just to pacify them or not to cause a scene. Unfortunately, most of the time it works, so it just puts the fuel on the fire for these people to continue to act like idiots to get what they want.

 

[sunnyday123]

When we bought our cookware set about 15 years ago a month before Xmas, we received an additional pan as a "free gift with purchase." We ended up not wanting the pan and never used it. We bought the set at Stern's (now out of business) and couldn't return the pan there. So after Xmas we tried Macy's. Sales associate scanned it, and said it wasn't theirs. So we tried Strawbridge & Clothier (also out of business) and they gave us about a $25 credit.

Wait, so you returned something you got for free? At a store you didn't purchase it from?

 

[superme80]

One of the worst was when I worked at Mervyn's. I was working in children's clothing and a woman wanted to exchange a pair of jeans for a more expensive pair and wanted the cheaper price. I politely explained that she had to pay the difference and the lady went off on me. She ended up calling me a rude profane name and I almost jumped over the counter at her. I have dealt with some rude people, but that one was just over the top and the straw that broke the camel's back.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

You should see the stuff our customers send back from construction sites. Stuff that's been run over by a truck marked "defective".

We sent a customer a video on Friday - us pouring water out of a ceiling fan motor they sent back.

 

[firecracker725]

Wait, so you returned something you got for free? At a store you didn't purchase it from?

Don't take the bait...

 

[LBIJim]

Wait, so you returned something you got for free? At a store you didn't purchase it from?

Yep.

The OP asked about return situations where perhaps one didn't act so nice, so I answered.

At least the OP promised there would be no judgments from her.

 

[NMAmy]

Nope, I'm always nice. I worked in customer service/returns many years ago. I don't understand why so many customers do not understand the whole, "You get more flies with honey than vinegar" thing.

Being nice has always worked in my favor and I'm sticking with it.

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

I went a little nuts once. A video camera I purchased at Walmart went down $200 over night. The Walmart customer service person wouldn't do anything to help me, so I asked for a manager. When she flat out said, "No, I won't get a manager," I flipped. It wasn't the return as much as it was the attitude and refusal to let me talk to anyone else. I left, called the corporate office, and returned 2 hours later after the manager called and asked me to come pick up the refund.

I'll be honest, one of the quickest ways for a store to lose my business is to refuse returns. I am choosy with how I spend my money, and, as a consumer, I refuse to accept bad customer service. While I am not going to put a big company out of business by boycotting, maybe I will give their competition a boost. Many people doing the same can make a difference.

Two examples - after Walmart refused to take back a doll DD received a duplicate of because I didn't have the right receipt (I had a receipt for the opened doll, but not for the one still sealed in the package - it was a Walmart exclusive item), I did not shop there again for a solid year. I made sure to give the competition many times the profit that Walmart lost by refusing to give an 8 year old a $15 return. I am currently avoiding Books-a-Million for the same reason. They wouldn't take back an unopened puzzle for store credit (they would only exchange for another puzzle). DD wanted a book, so I "bought" the puzzle from her and took her to Barnes and Noble to spend her money.

In both of these cases, I was polite but firm. I very sincerely let them know that they were losing my business over a very small amount of money, and I also contacted their corporate offices to let them know that I was taking my business elsewhere over their return policies.

 

[Mokat76]

I'm polite unless I get a snotty, rude attitude from the employee across the counter. When it comes at me I give it back slightly amped up. Fortunately that rarely happens.

 

[maxiesmom]

I went a little nuts once. A video camera I purchased at Walmart went down $200 over night. The Walmart cashier wouldn't do anything to help me, so I asked for a manager. When she flat out said, "No, I won't get a manager," I flipped. It wasn't the return as much as it was the attitude and refusal to let me talk to anyone else. I left, called the corporate office, and returned 2 hours later after the manager called and asked me to come pick up the refund.

I'll be honest, one of the quickest ways for a store to lose my business is to refuse returns. I am choosy with how I spend my money, and, as a consumer, I refuse to accept bad customer service. While I am not going to put a big company out of business by boycotting, maybe I will give their competition a boost. Many people doing the same can make a difference.

Two examples - after Walmart refused to take back a doll DD received a duplicate of because I didn't have the right receipt (I had a receipt for the opened doll, but not for the one still sealed in the package - it was a Walmart exclusive item), I did not shop there again for a solid year. I made sure to give the competition many times the profit that Walmart lost by refusing to give an 8 year old a $15 return. I am currently avoiding Books-a-Million for the same reason. They wouldn't take back an unopened puzzle for store credit (they would only exchange for another puzzle). DD wanted a book, so I "bought" the puzzle from her and took her to Barnes and Noble to spend her money.

In both of these cases, I was polite but firm. I very sincerely let them know that they were losing my business over a very small amount of money, and I also contacted their corporate offices to let them know that I was taking my business elsewhere over their return policies.

The way to fix a lot of your frustration is to hang on to your receipts. The stores can only do returns the way their registers allow. So know each store's return policy before you shop. If a store can't do returns without a receipt, then either don't shop there or hang on to your receipts.

 

[Squirlz]

I bought about $300 worh of clothes at Penneys one time. One item was a shirt on clearance. When I washed it one sleeve half fell off. I took it back and told the lady 'Iknow this was on clearance but it fell apart in the washing machine'. She cited the no returns policy and I said I thought you might at least stand behind the quality of your merchandise. She had the nerve to say "How do I even know that really happened?" Because I'm telling you it did! Seriously, you're looking at a receipt for over $300 and you think I'm trying to pull one over on you with a ten dollar shirt?

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

The way to fix a lot of your frustration is to hang on to your receipts. The stores can only do returns the way their registers allow. So know each store's return policy before you shop. If a store can't do returns without a receipt, then either don't shop there or hang on to your receipts.

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.

 

[wishesuponastar]

Recently my husband bought Plumrose bacon and when he cooked it it never crisped up it was so fatty. he was going to throw it away but I told him no let's just put it in a bowl and I will return the package for a refund. When I talked to the cust. Service person I told her what happened and if she needed the bacon I would go home and get it. It was cooling in a bowl and we really wanted blt's for lunch. She gave me a refund and then I bought another brand of bacon.

 

[TheDisneyNurse]

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?

 

[Geoff_M]

I was nice about it, but the only time I was miffed in a "return" situation was long ago when I purchased a clearance VCR tape of a TV children's program for our kids from our local TJ Maxx. We got home (5 minutes away) and when we put the tape in, it wouldn't "track" in our VCR (had a constant video roll). Other tapes worked fine. So, I returned it and got another copy. Went home, tried the 2nd tape, and it had the same problem. I had a good idea why the tapes were "clearanced" out by someone... they were defective. So, I took the 2nd tape back and asked for a refund. Only to be told it was against Federal law to refund money for a pre-recorded video tape that had been opened. By law, they could only exchange it for the same title if the copy I bought was defective. I thought for sure, the guy was wrong, so I exchanged the tape again from the dwindling number of copies they had left. I went home and looked it up, and to my amazement, the TJ Maxx clerk was right. When I found that the 3rd copy was also bad, I just threw it away and decided to cut my losses.