Take This Back. Now!

[Xieg]

Ah, not even 10 minutes into this crappy Saturday shift and already I get saddled with an SC. What's even worse, this was her second call on the same issue, and apparently when she spoke to another CSR before, she was an absolute peach and happy with the outcome. I guess I just bring out the worst in people.

Me: Stubborn mule
SC: Whiny Old Lady

Me: Thankyou for calling This Dump, this is Xieg, how can I help you?
SC: I just called about a return, and I just have a quick question.
Me: Alright, let me look you up under your phone number... Is this SC?
SC: Yes it is. Now, I was just wondering, do you send people out to pick this carseat cover up?
Me: After reviewing the information, it does look like you are responsible for mailing that back to us miss.
SC: Well, I don't think I should. It doesn't fit my car, so you should pay for it to be shipped back.
Me: As it is, there is no guarantee it will fit your car, so you are responsible for the shipping.
SC: But the catalog says it fits all cars.
Me: Let me just check. *Flip to the page* It says most cars, not all cars miss. It also provides measurements so you can be sure it fits your car.
SC: Well, what do you think "most cars" is? (I swear, I heard her use the quotation from here)
Me: Apparently, most cars does not include yours. However, that does not change the fact you are responsible for shipping this back.
SC: But there are no measurments provided.
Me: There are, they can be seen in the description of the item in the catalog.
SC: I'm going to have to dispute the charge with my credit card company.
Me: You can do that if you like, but it will cause problems if you choose to order from us in the future.

So we circle around like this a few times. Me explaining that she was responsible to send back this item, simply because she was too inept to put on a car seat cover, and her telling me to pick it up or she would dispute the charges. And suddenly more problems pop up all of the sudden.

SC: Well, the instructions say the seat needs to fold out and mine doesn't, and it does not say that in the catalog.

Followed by the same conversation, and then:

SC: The back is supposed to be rubberized to prevent sliding, and that is a load of crap, it just slides around.

Tired of listening to this, I ask the customer if I can call her back in 20 minutes, as I need to follow up on a few things on this. She agrees. I talk a leisurely walk down to our showroom (Lots of advantages to a company with only one call center), and pull out the car seat cover in question. I open it up, briefly review the instruction, and note that it provides instructions for both folding back seats and ones that do not fold. At this point she is proven to be a liar, allowing for me to tell her, in no uncertain terms, she is SOL. I spend the next 15 minutes or so browsing the show room, looking at cat toys for my cat.

Get back to my desk, and I give this SC a call back.

Me: This is Xieg, calling back from This Dump. I have pulled one of these items from our showroom here and reviewed the instructions. After reading them over I have determined that this, infact, can be installed in your car and that you have either not read the instructions or have been lying to us. You are, in no uncertain terms, responsible for shipping this back to us if you want a refund.
SC: I will just have to dispute the charges then.
Me: You are welcome to do that, however to order from us in the future you will be expected to pay the amount disputed, as you will have a debt with us since you have recieved product and we would be without payment. Is there anything else I can do for you today?
SC: No, I think not.
Me *Sickeningly cheerful voice* Well thankyou for calling This Dump, and have a fantastic day.

[BookstoreEscapee]

So wait, she wants to call the credit card company to dispute charges on a product that she admits she received, and simply refuses to ship back to you?...

OK, sure, why not...?

[Soetkin]

I work at a credit card company; you'd be surprised how often we get crap like this.
I usually advice the customer to deal direct with the store, but we know how that goes.

[IHateStupidCustomers]

I don't think she'll get anything back from her bank/credit card. I've gone through disputing charges on a debit card. And the bank made us do everything we could do with the company to get the issue resolved, had us report what happened to the bank, then the bank contacted the company to get their side of the story. If that happens...I doubt she'll get her money back.

This reminds me of a little story from when I worked at a furniture store. A very pleasant, nice, enthusiastic lady comes in and sees this huge wing-back couch (ugly thing) and just falls in love with it. She wants to buy it that day, which I am more than happy to write up. I do believe I ask her if she needs to measure at home first, and she does not. Couch gets delivered and behold! It is too big to fit through any door or window in her house. She turns into instant SC, is allowed to return the item without a restocking fee (strick no-no at our store) and I get BITCHED at by my manager for not making this customer measure her house.

I say, if she's too dumb to check and make sure the couch fits in her damn house, that's her problem. She should have at least had to pay the restocking fee.

[Alpha Strike]

This reminds me of a little story from when I worked at a furniture store. A very pleasant, nice, enthusiastic lady comes in and sees this huge wing-back couch (ugly thing) and just falls in love with it. She wants to buy it that day, which I am more than happy to write up. I do believe I ask her if she needs to measure at home first, and she does not. Couch gets delivered and behold! It is too big to fit through any door or window in her house.

I say, if she's too dumb to check and make sure the couch fits in her damn house, that's her problem. She should have at least had to pay the restocking fee.

I admit to having been "that guy" in the past when buying a desk. It was never suggested that I should check the measurements but it honestly never crossed my mind that I was buying a piece of furniture that was too big to fit through all the doors in my house. Fortunately the folks at the furniture store were very nice about it, especially once I relayed me interest in swapping out this piece for some other pieces that ended up costing more in the end - and yes, I did measure the 2nd time around.

[Freemage]

I don't think she'll get anything back from her bank/credit card. I've gone through disputing charges on a debit card. And the bank made us do everything we could do with the company to get the issue resolved, had us report what happened to the bank, then the bank contacted the company to get their side of the story. If that happens...I doubt she'll get her money back.

This reminds me of a little story from when I worked at a furniture store. A very pleasant, nice, enthusiastic lady comes in and sees this huge wing-back couch (ugly thing) and just falls in love with it. She wants to buy it that day, which I am more than happy to write up. I do believe I ask her if she needs to measure at home first, and she does not. Couch gets delivered and behold! It is too big to fit through any door or window in her house. She turns into instant SC, is allowed to return the item without a restocking fee (strick no-no at our store) and I get BITCHED at by my manager for not making this customer measure her house.

I say, if she's too dumb to check and make sure the couch fits in her damn house, that's her problem. She should have at least had to pay the restocking fee.

Honestly, if I ran a furniture store, on any 'iffy' items, I would want a space on the sales invoice that states the customer's estimate of the door measurements, with a line stating that if those prove inaccurate, the re-delivery and restocking fees WILL be charged. Putting a dollar amount on the issue ahead of time wouldn't do much for genuine Sucky Customers, who will sign it and ignore it and whine when it blows up in their faces--but it might save a few of us who are prone to momentary brain-farts from having to choose between paying a fee or trying to whine our way out of it.