I’d still follow up with a registered letter.
E-mails don’t seem to have the same impact.
Yes, PLEASE make it a hard copy letter, corporate types do not always repsect email.
Good luck with it though, I know I hate Burlington and never set foot in there any more. I also warn friends and co-workers away if they mention going in there.
AngelicGemma: This is the type of stuff that a local journalist would love. Especially if you can find one who also hates the company.
I happen to be a newspaper reporter. In the United States no journalist runs around with placards that say, “Please tell me your story! I hate Virgin Airlines! And BMW North America! And all local politicians! I’m out to destroy them!”
Get a grip.
Re my earlier remarks still apply to hard copy letters.
Also–
I recommed buying this to all non-lawyer Dopers.
Amber, does your local TV station have a Crusading Asshole Reporter ™ or some sort? If so, take this story to the CAR. I guarantee that the station will be in Burlington with cameras and mikes and it will cause them vast amounts of public humiliation and decreased sales, which they rightly deserve.
I’d actually guess that this is what caused the problem. The only time my wife has EVER had any trouble returning items was to a Target store. We’d had an argument I believe and she left the house to get away from me no doubt. She was dressed in sweats and a shirt. Apparently when she was returning an item, and there was a problem, so the returns manager came over to talk to the girl handling the return.
Unbeknownst to the manager, she was still in earshot of my wife when she mentioned the words “druggie” in conjunction with her return. Man was she hot, and I was too. But there was no element of public humiliation like in your case and the anger faded until I was no longer mad at the organization as a whole and instead the manager in question.
Still pisses me off a little to this day, but when trying to make returns of trouble items-no receipt, past refund deadline, Etc. I make sure to be dressed accordingly. Sad but true-your appearance can affect the way puny little manager-types in retail outlets view you and influence your returns-but returns only, they don’t have anything against “druggies” who buy stuff.
Sam
We used to have advertisements on our local station for Dorion Suit, located in Montreal (that’s in Canada, for most of my fellow USers). The guy would talk about the store, and then issue Dorion’s tagline “Dorion Suit, where you don’t get any hassles”. However, the spokesperson had a very strong French-Canadian accent, and it came out "Dorion Suit, where you don’t get no assholes!"
Apparently, they all went to Burlington Coat Factory.
Well, I did appreciate their 10% discount on the second duplicate item when buying stuff for the twins from their Baby Depot section…
While I see your point, it just seems more likely that someone would be legitimately exchanging the pants for a different size. I guess this is where the manager would use his/her own judgement to decide whether or not the person looks like the thieving type (I know, I know) or if this person tries to do this on a regular basis, etc…
While I understand the store needs to look out for that sort of thing, it’s usually in the best interest of the store (repuation-wise, lawsuit-wise) to make sure they’re dealing with a shoplifter, including watching the security tapes, before accusing someone of it.
I was waiting in one of those for ever & ever lines at Burlington Coat Factory a few weeks ago, buying a few Santa toys for the babies & some underwear for Hubby.
It took sooooooo long, I was starting to hate everyone in sight.
Suddenly there’s a commotion from way back in the line. A crashing of glass, a sigh, some chatter, a thud. I turn to see what’s up, and watch as one of those glittery holiday dress displays falls over, slowly. The freestanding kind, with four arms and merchandise displayed on all sides. So just as it falls, it hits the one next to it. More dresses start to tumble. And they hit the next one. It wobbles…almost rights itself…then tumbles into the next display. And so on.
At least 15 displays fell, slowly, one after the other. The whole front row of the store was on the floor. Funniest damn thing I’d seen all day. And I was the only one who laughed!
The denoument was amusing as well - the managers had to leave their offices and actually work on the floor, picking up the merchandise and bossing each other around. Watching them with their little headphones and snotty attitudes cleaning up the mess was hysterical as well.
Shoplifting is a major problem. This is not the way to solve it. I would definitely write a long note to BCF expressing my frustration with the outrageous way they dealt with you.
I just returned a DVD to Costco without a receipt and had no problems whatsoever.
If they really, really want to avoid shoplifters returning stolen merchandise they could accept absolutely no returns without a receipt. But to harrass people who walk into their stores for a return…wow, that’s just terrible p.r.
Aww, I can’t help but sympathize with people who work in retail. It sure is hard to keep a smile up all day, every day.
I don’t sympathize with the manager that accosted Amberlei though. He just sounds like a prick.
I actually used to work for these ass clowns. Unless they’ve changed their attitudes, good luck getting any kind of response from Burlington Coat Factory’s corporate offices. They just don’t care.
I just had a thought on the “stealing the wrong size and exchanging them” scenario (BCF No-Cash policy would exclude them though I guess)…can you get a cash refund for returning something after exchanging it?
I mean after the theft and swap, could you then walk into a store with the exchange receipt and merchandise and that be as good as having the original for all intents and purposes?
I guess if BCF gives store credit for a return with a receipt it would work the same.
As everyone else has said, Amberlei, that’s pure bullshit you had to go through!
I hope you get to nail them good. :mad:
Before WalMart got the stored-value cards, my store’s policy no receipt policy was this:
If it was under $50.00 in total merchandise, you got cash back (if you wanted it, as opposed to an exchange).
If it was over 50, you could either do an exchange - for whatever merchandise - on the spot, or get a money order for the cash amount. You couldn’t get more than $50 dollars back after the exchange; return 200 dollars worth of stuff and you’d have to exchange it for at least $150. in merchandise.
If it was over $10.00, you had to have a driver’s license to do anything; if your license came up in the system more than 3 times in 6 months, you couldn’t do a thing.
And we had a little index card file where we kept data on the people doing frequent returns. I got pretty good at knowing who was going to be in the file before even looking, and knowing which people had 14 different IDs (with varying different names).
I also knew which items were most likely to be shoplifted. Now that they’ve instituted the highly annoying electronic-tag things at the doors, though, and gone to the stored value cards (nearly eliminating the prospect of cash), the problem has gone down dramatically.
LMAO. Get a grip? I don’t think I’m the one that needs to get a grip.
Did I mention placards? No. Am I also a journalist? Yes. If I really hated a company, would I use an opportunity like this to screw them over? Hell yes!
Am I also a journalist? Yes. If I really hated a company, would I use an opportunity like this to screw them over? Hell yes!
This will be my only reply. I’m disgusted that someone would relish using the profession to right some personal wrong.
Why?
Oprah relished using her profession to right what she saw as a personal wrong when she ‘outed’ the beef packing companies. Talk show hosts used to get racists and their ilk on TV to humiliate them out of some need to right what they saw as a personal affront to them. The president relishes using his position to right what he sees as wrongs committed against him and his people personally.
We are humans and as humans we are born with ulterior motives. Some use those motives for good(revealing BCF’s mistreatment of customers, Wal-Mart’s mistreatment if workers), some for bad(War in Iraq, Ratings, Etc.).
Be disgusted and pretend it doesn’t exist. It won’t change the fact that it exists, will always exist, and cannot be gotten around.
Sam
MercyStreet, I would respond but GaWd has put it perfectly. 
Well, I am not a journalist, just in case that matters to you.
Why do you think this is so wrong? If another journalist “hates” some company, there’s going to be some reason for it, probably for having seen bad behavior by that company in the past. And if this journalist “with a grudge” happens to come across a true story – where the facts check out – that puts that company in a bad light, what the hell is wrong with publishing this?