Policy is policy. If the policy is ‘no receipt, no refund or exchange’ then playing the ‘I’m the customer, kowtow to my wishes’ card is crap. Were it me and you were asking me to break policy for you and gave that little diatribe, I would have offered to write down the CEO’s address for you.
There are reasons I’m no longer in that line of work, dealing with this kind of crap is part of it.
I have to say, Cazzle, that I had a similar experience, but from the customer side. I, too, got quite irate. Mainly because I had travelled across town, EXPRESSLY to get a printer that was advertised. I had CALLED to confirm that they had one, and was told “yes we do”. When I got there, it was apparent that, NO THEY DIDN’T.
What got me irate was the attitude of the employees. Basically… "meh, whatever. We don’t have one. " They went back to chatting about the big game or whatever. They really did not care. They were drones who were getting paid whether or not I was happy or bought anything.
I must admit, I would have come across as a “bad customer”, after I flung my other purchases (school supplies) on a nearby counter, and left, loudly proclaiming that the store was crap.
Also, this happened to be the final turd on a crap sundae of a week for me. Bear in mind that the customer who appears to be unreasonably pissed off probably has a lot of other stuff on their plate as well.
There may well be a reason where the “regular customer” line is important for getting a refund without a receipt. If the question is whether I purchased it at the store or from somewhere else, the fact that I, for example, come to the store every week, purchased it from you (the individual), and we spent three minutes talkign about the author and what else he had written… Well, in that case I would think it makes you more likely to remember.
If I am looking for the rules to be bent (which I have done, and will do again), though, I am not going to ask the person at the register to do it for me. I’ll try straight for the person with the authority to do that - the manager.
On the whole, having worked retail and CS, I try to be a good customer. The trouble comes with people like health insurance companies, and cell phone providers. I have lost count of the number of times that I have asked to be transfered to a manager (because yelling at the front line person gets me nothing, and they aren’t paid to deal with that) and my call has been mystically lost. Sometimes they have even just hung up when I have asked that. Also, when I try to be polite with the first level person, I seem to end up with extra services on my account that I specifically said no to. I then have to call up, cancel them, go through the whole rigmarole of getting a refund, etc.
So this cuts both ways. Treat me with respect, and I will give you respect back. Just as you may have had a bad day, so may I - and in fact if the reason I am calling is that your company has just set a collection agency on me for a bill that was paid three years ago, and because of that I have just had to spend 2 hours dealing with my ex-wife on the phone, you can bet I will have had a bad day. But I won’t take it out on you unless you start giving me shit.
Let me guess… Office Max? Or Office Depot.
I’ve had a similar experience there. Also the same nonchalance when (as has happened more than once) I tried to purchase an item using one of the several remaining “inventory cards,” or whatever they call them, and waited around several minutes only to have the employee return and tell me oops, we don’t actually have any in stock-- dunno why there’s five cards still out there.
Office Depot… You should consider doing Randi’s challenge with a talent like that. Can you see my aura too? The “inventory card” screw up was exactly the situation.
And the manager had that choice and elected to cooperate.
And the mananger had the authority to bend that policy, as needed. Which is why when the line employee explained regretfully what the policy was- I did not give him a hard time, just asked to speak to the Manager.
A unfair crap policy is not something to just take lying down- as a customer, you should complain to a person who has authority to change or bypass the policy. “It’s policy” is never the final reason- someone somewhere has the authority to change or bypass any policy.
Even when said policy is writ in law, then you go to your elected Official, whose job it is to listen to their constituents about laws and policy.
Just an example: There’s a book that’s stopped selling in my store, but you buy one elsewhere. You bring it to me and exchange it for a best-seller instead. Now I have a very slow-selling book, which I’ll end up selling in the bargain bin for a loss instead of the best-seller, which would have moved for me at a profit right away.
Unlike nuts & bolts, which are the same today as they were last year, book inventories change. Many new hardback books sell well for as little as a month, and then stop. I do take returns (exchanges) without a receipt from my regular customers, but only because nobody really abuses it. Obviously, some people try to game the system, but it usually doesn’t work.
Example: Someone tried to exchange a $20 book they said they bought at my store. It had a $7 “bargain table” sticker on the back from another store.
You could always go to Half-Price Books and exchange for store credit. Or sell it on Amazon. Otherwise, too bad, so sad. Did you SHOW them the proof you claim you had, or just make threats to the manager?
There may very well be good reason for so-called “unfair crap policies”, as InvisibleWombat explained. Don’t just fly off all half-cocked like a five-year-old because you didn’t get what you wanted.
Look, I’m not saying there haven’t been times businesses haven’t been dicks. But when they HAVEN’T, don’t be one yourself.
Except, like I said, it was a hot selling book at that point in time.
Why? I don’t get why when a retailer sez “it’s policy” a customer has to bend over and say “Oh, it’s policy, please butt-fuck me again, and no lube this time, either!” Is “it’s policy” a magic phrase?
And, like I said, I had the evidence in hand.
And your proof was?
Probably a print-out of his online bank statement or something. I’d consider that sufficient evidence, if not preferable. But does it really matter?
Yeah, it may surprise you to learn that in my free time I am often a customer too, and I’ve had bad retail experiences that piss me off. I’ve snapped at sales staff and once I even called a rude telephone operator a c*nt and slammed the phone down on her when she pushed me too far on the wrong day after messing me around for quite literally hours. You know who I don’t yell at though? People who are clearly upset that they’ve inconvenienced me and who are apologising and trying to set things right. We were all very concerned about trying to fix our mistake and I personally apologised sincerely and repeatedly, as did both of the managers who became involved.
The weirdest bit of all though is that, prior to being told we were out of the printer, I was chatting with them and they were telling me that they wanted that model because of the recommendation of the salesman at our rival store. They couldn’t speak highly enough of that gentleman and how much time he’d taken with them and how thoroughly he’d explained everything and how he put everything in terms they could understand and how he was wonderful, wonderful, wonderful and how from now on they would go to him for everything they wanted to buy because he was just the best… and I couldn’t help but wonder - why had they come to us to buy it? The stores are close to each other so it can’t have been that we were closer. We weren’t doing it cheaper than the rival, we were just matching their price. They had it in stock because I had to phone and check (we only match prices on stocked items). Could it have been because of our store loyalty card program and they just wanted the points? Seems unlikely. Was some kind of scam or attempted scam involved that went over my head? It makes no sense to me that they wanted to buy it from us instead of that wonderful salesman at the rival store - and that they hung around screaming at us past the closing time of the other store instead of just giving us the finger and dashing up there to get it.
Ya, I hear you. In my case, if someone had apologized, or even appeared to give a rat’s ass about me, I probably would not have been near as upset.
Sounds like you were dealing with someone teetering on the edge. Or someone who, as my Dad would put it, “would rather have their complaint than resolve the problem”.
I just had a wonderful experience. At my company we cash payroll checks, and if it is someone’s first time cashing their check with us, we call both the company on the check to verify employment, and the bank on the check to make sure the account is valid. If even one of these fails, we don’t cash. We do have to cover our own butts after all.
A customer just came in with his mom, and it was his first time cashing this particular check with us from a particular company. I told him unfortunately the bank was closed at this time, and we’d be able to do it tomorrow if he’d like to come back.
His mother then says how our business is ‘shitty’ and getting an attitude and how they will go somewhere else, adding in how she doesn’t even understand how we stay in business. :dubious: I calmly replied, “Well we’re still makin’ money”, or something to that effect.
She replied with, “Well good for you”. I just said, “Mmhm” and became amused as they couldn’t leave due to the fact that their little shitspawn had locked our doors and it took them a few moments to leave.
Seriously mommy, your kid is an adult, I’m sure he can deal with his own crap. If she was my mother with me and having a fit over our policies, I would have been so embarrassed. Cut the cord.
Sorry, but yes. If you didn’t want to get ass-reamed by these neo-Nazi “policies,” you probably should’ve been more careful to read them or discuss them with employees before you implicitly agreed to them by exiting the store with your purchase. Return policies are a vital part of any store running smoothly, because returns are the easiest thing to game, abuse, or defraud if there are any exceptions made at all. And especially when you get to big-box stores where the employees may be knowledgeable but don’t actually give a whit about whether their host company loses money on some transactions, you can get return policies bent way out of shape if they’re not followed strictly. Or, if any exceptions are made, the next asshole in line will want the same BBB-threat-level worship and allowances as the last.
Taking advantage of the fact that most middle managers would sprain their backs to be the first to throw their line employees under the bus if a customer complaint went over their heads just to get your way is so beyond inconsiderate it’s dancing with inhumane. Adhering to policy isn’t a personal slight against you, the customer - it’s giving every customer the same treatment in a predictable manner that’s been clearly briefed during the original transaction.
If you just want the policy changed, lawmaker-style, then by all means, write to the CS department or the CEO; start a grassroots campaign about buyers’ rights; do something healthy. But threatening to launch a complaint that high just to get your way in this one case isn’t Voting for Change - it’s being selfish and threatening someone’s paycheck who has no recourse for your bullying.
I like clearly defined policies.
From a customer perspective, I’ve never forgotten the terrible service I got at a local clothing store when I tried to exchange a shirt - and we’re talking 10+ years ago. It was a gift from my mother and it was too small so Mum gave me the receipt and I took it back. A fair time had elapsed between Mum buying it and me returning it, and I suspected it would be outside the specified time in their returns policy. I was right - there were signs on the counter saying their policy was strictly seven days. Still, there’s no harm in politely asking, and I was fully prepared to accept a no.
I saw the manager studying the shirt intently before she pointed out some small marks on it that looked like makeup, and told me she was refusing the exchange because the shirt had “clearly” been worn. I was taken aback, and stammered “But it doesn’t even fit me. And it still has the tags on”. She sighed, rolled her eyes and said “I’m not saying you did this, but some people carefully slip the tags off, wear the garment and then put them back on to return it”. I was still flabberghasted - of all the things I thought she’d say, an accusation that the shirt was used was the last thing I expected - and I said “But I don’t even wear makeup”. She told me that the store would never sell a garment in such a “filthy” state, and flatly refused a refund, exchange or store credit. Later when I told Mum, she said she’d noticed the marks on it when she bought it but took it because they didn’t have another and she figured they’d wash out. She was quite annoyed to hear the store was denying it would sell a shirt “in that state”.
The manager had a perfectly valid reason to deny a return - a regretful “Sorry, store policy is seven days. There’s nothing I can do” and I’d have walked out of there thinking no less of them, but the implicit accusation that somehow I’d been a party to the shirt having it’s tags slipped off so it could be worn before it was returned made me very angry, and I never shopped there again - nor did my mother.
I accept that the rules are there for a reason - in this case, seasons and fashions change rapidly, and if the store winds up with an out-of-season garment it can be very hard for them to shift. At other times it’s to stop people taking unreasonable advantage, because there are always people out there who will try to get away with things you’d never expect. If there’s a one-size fits all policy it may seem unreasonable at times but if it’s evenly enforced then no one need feel they’ve been unfairly singled out. It’s why I check the signature on every credit card that comes through my cash register, even those of people I know… so that other people in line don’t get the wrong idea and think I’m checking their card because I’ve made a judgement call about them personally.
Do you think a passive-aggressive comment from the sidelines helped the situation at all?
As a drone, not spending time bypassing policy makes me happy. No, ordering you tickets or letting you use my work computer to check your e-mail will not be possible.
(And this annoys me; try to spend a second of your time to analyze the drone you are shopping from, note his or her body language and then tone and set of voice. “That will not be possible.” means “No.” Don’t press the point unless you want to be flat out refused. People who try to game and slither around the system irritate and embarass us. )
I will go a long way to facilitate any exchange between you, the customer, and us, the service provider. If you need two minutes to exchange money from one account to another so you can retain the room for another night, I can accomodate you. If you need to transfer money so you can go out drinking, sorry mac, you’re on your own.
And this is where the bad precedent in breaking policy comes in; if I allowed person X to first go in and change money from one account to the other in order to retain the room, and then the person came back and needed more money for a night on town, he or she would be affronted that she couldn’t use the computer for the other stuff. Or if he or she told her friends that we were OK with doing this, I have no longer made an exception, I have created a precedent and set an anticipation. And that’s going to be a headache for me and particularly for the other people who work here, because for me atleast it’ll be my own fault.
And since the “rule” (Thou Shalt Not Toucheth My Computer) is not writ in stone or obvious, I’ll have an explanation problem and have to rely on the - in the customer’s eyes - “weak” excuse of “Sorry, policy.” Or allow the precedent to get established and let my computer be used for mundane tasks, which will obviously disrupt my workflow.
And since people are notorious assholes about telling their friends about “Oh, Target at 37th Street are easygoing about return dates, it’s no big deal if you go in this friday or next wednesday” you’re pretty much better off - as a drone - sticking to the rules. Even if it means an occasional legitimate gripe gets thrown overboard with the trash. Fortunately, that’s why we have managers who we can discretely escalate an isoleted incident to.
On an unrelated note, there are some rules which should be implicitly accepted by a customer upon entering a store or service vendor of any kind:
1: You have nothing to do in an employee’s workspace. Whether this is behind a bar, in the kitchen, behind a hotel’s desk, in a factory space, in a office, in a cubicle or whatever is irrelevant. You have your area and I have mine. Cross the line without an explicit invitation and you will be thrown out on your ass.
2: Drones are in most cases paid by the hour. They are, for all intents and purposes, trained robots. Acknowledge this, phrase your extraordinary request politely and be prepared to accept a firm rejection and we can most likely help you. We do apologize for any assholes or abrupt customer handlers you may meet. However, pitching fits is not accepted in modern society. And while your threats of boycotting a company are no doubt scary on a macro-economic scale, drones would be hard pressed to care less than they already do.
Also keep in mind that while you may boycott us at a whim, we - speaking specifically for hotels here - can easily get you blacklisted for the entire downtown area if you take your shit too far.
Passive aggressiveness is not appreciated. Muttering under your breath that “this place/store/hotell/shop/restaurant/bar/pub/office/service provider sucks” while you know we can hear you is the product of you being poorly raised by your parents. You are getting what you are paying for. If you feel the quality is “beneath” you, please, feel free to leave and go up on the pay scale until you hit your comfortable level.
Failure on your part to read up on the terms and agreements between us and precisely what your order entails does not, except in very rare cases, constitute “Not getting what you paid for.” Not Getting What You Paid For (NGWYPF, or the sound oysters make when they slide off your plate) are actual clerical errors or misrepresentations of the actual product.
The best way to thank a drone is to thank him or her in front of his manager. While tips are great - fantastic, even - and personal thanks are always appreciated, being thanked while a manager is observing is perfect. A good Drone-Boss relationship helps us maintain our job security, increase our chances for promotions or raises and lets the manager know he made a good call on hiring us. Of course, we do not expect you to go to any great lengths to achieve this and would most likely be embarassed if you did, but if you have gotten consequently good service from a specific serviceperson, thanking him in front of the manager if there’s an opportunity is a most gracious move on your part.
Likewise with complaints. Letting the manager understand that you are displeased with the service provided by person X in an otherwise well-staffed store is better off done subtly than making ludicruous threats and complaints to the manager. Any decent manager will defend an employee when confronted by an external customer so if you’re expecting them to be chastised on the spot, you are stupid. No matter how good a customer you are, you are less worth than a competent and 95% good customer-handler drone.