Today, a gentlemen came into the store. He had purchased a Christmas tree 2 weeks ago. It was quite obviously our tree. He wanted to exchange it for the exact same tree. When he had opened the tree recently to put it up, he found it to be defective. So he brought it back, wanting a different box holding, again, the same tree.
Our refund policy states that you must have a receipt for any return or exchange. Managers will, though, make exceptions if a customer used a rewards card (which allows the store to track the purchase) or if it was paid with credit card or check (again, allowing the store to track the purchase).
This gentlemen did not have a receipt. He did pay with a Sears credit card, but did not have the card with him. Our CSM called one of the managers, and they said he couldn't return it. He asked to speak with the manager. The manager called up and told the service desk to tell him he couldn't return it. They told her that he had requested to speak directly to the manager. So she paged the other one in the store and had him go up to the service desk to handle it. He, having already spoken with her on the matter, told the customer the same thing.
Needless to say, he got upset. With each time he was refused, he became more and more irate, finally leaving in a huff. He then came back in, with the tree in a cart, and rammed the cart so hard into the rows of carts by the door that it got wedged (and consequently, stuck, for quite some time) into the rows of carts. He yelled something akin to, "You can take your fucking tree and shove it up your ass!"
I have 2 problems with this experience.
First, with the customer. Who teaches people that it is okay to go into a public area and say things like that to a complete stranger? What kind of adult says something like that in a place where, more likely than not, there are children around? What does it prove to throw a temper tantrum in a store as if you are a toddler who didn't get his way? Why do people think it's okay to do this? I would be incredibly embarrassed if I was with that man, or anyone who did something similar in a store. Honestly, such violent anger does nothing, solved nothing, proves nothing, except for how unreasonable you are willing to become over some thing. Yes, it was expensive, and you didn't get your money's worth. But honestly? Employees are more willing to talk with you if you remain calm and reasonable.
My second problem with this is with the store. It was, in honesty, completely unfair to this man. Christmas trees, especially the ones I've seen in our store, are expensive. And it's not like this has never happened before. It was obviously our merchandise. He's not trying to rip us off, and if the tree was indeed defective, all we have to do is "damage" it and send it back. The store would be reimbursed and not lose money anyway. So what is the harm in letting him simply exchange it for another tree just like it on the counter? They've made exceptions for people before. So, I can understand the frustration of the gentlemen, but I also understand the managers' decision.
We have policies, and our policies are designed to protect the store's interest, not necessarily the customers. And these policies are designed by a corporation, one that doesn't have to handle day-to-day customer relations. Yes, it is wise to not allow someone to return an item without a receipt. Too many people try to return things to stores that they were not purchased from, hoping to rip the store off; or they may come in, grab something off a counter, and then try to return something they never purchased. So corporate has developed policies to protect those things, and many others, from happening.
Unfortunately for the man who came in the store this afternoon, today was not a day that the managers felt like bending the rules. It seems like nobody was a winner here. The man didn't get his tree, and, more than likely, the 'mart lost a customer (or several, considering he's probably telling this story now, too).
At least in this scenario, there wasn't really a "right" or a "wrong."
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