Ok, the damned thing WORKS and you still want to return it?

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

This is an SC behavior I've noticed that is really starting to bother me.

Let me use an event from today as an example.

A guy had bought a PS3 yesterday. He comes back today saying the system is broken (because of course, whenever something is not working, it's always "Broken" in the eyes of the SC). When I inquired as to what the problem was, he said he could get no display on his TV even though he had everything hooked up.

I decided to test the unit, hooked it up as one would normally hook up a PS3 and ta-da! It works just fine.

SC:

This is where the suck comes in, because at this point, the customer will do one of several things:

1)Insist the unit is still not working. (What? That's impossible! It wasn't working on my TV! ELEVENTY!!1!)
2) Inquire as to what special setting I have on my TV that enabled the unit to work when I have not touched a single button on the TV outside of the "power" button.
3) Demand to know what hidden switch or button I used to make it work

And on top of that, I would say 9 times out of 10, even though I have successfully demonstrated the unit works fine, they STILL WANT TO RETURN IT!

I just don't get it, this is not rocket science, you need to know how to plug in two cables to hook up a console.

And now I have to give up one of my perfectly functional units to you, mark your apparently perfectly functioning unit as a defect and get unnecessarily deprived of the opportunity to sell said product...and all because you just didn't trust me and thought I was using some magical voodoo to make your damned console work.

Why...just why?

[prb]

Because they use your store as a free video game console rental store.

[BookstoreEscapee]

Are they returning it for a refund or exchanging it for another unit?

If the former, they are just trying to get around the return policy on opened items by claiming it's defective.

If the latter...well...they're just idiots.

[Broomjockey]

It's not a console rental thing, it's buyer's remorse. A PS3 is hideously expensive, depending on model. 360's are a chunk of change, to be sure. Even Wiis aren't cheap, really. By claiming it doesn't work at home, it doesn't matter what happens at the store, they can still get their cash back.

[Pedersen]

I do have to point one thing out: Depending on your TV and which cables you use, you actually might have an issue with the PS3 that will not be visible in the store.

Everything I've ever read about the PS3 says that if you want to use an HDMI cable to hook up your PS3 to your TV, then your TV must support HDCP. Without it, you will not get a picture on your screen. For instance, my TV is not HDCP compliant. If I were to connect a PS3 to my TV using an HDMI cable, I would get no picture. I will have to use the component output of the PS3 to get picture on my TV.

Chances are extremely good that the TV in the store will be as new as possible, thereby having the HDCP compliance built in. Ergo, you in the store will see no problem. The customer, though, might have a 5 year old TV (like me) that does not have HDCP compliance, and will therefore get no picture.

Just pointing out that, even though the behavior is sucky, there is a real possibility of another problem existing.

[wraiths_crono]

LOL the cu probably bought it, rented a game thought it was crap and tried to return it

oh and most game stores I know and have been in (even one I worked in) had simple RCA connection style tvs (usually on sale or clearance from wally-world)

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

Actually our store TV is not that new, but works fine on most PS3s. I am talking about people who still want to do a defective exchange on a product even though it still apparently works fine.

[Pedersen]

I do understand that. What I was pointing out is the possibility that, as far as the customer is concerned, the PS3 does not work for him and nothing can make it work. No new information has gone to them as to how to make it work at home, even though the unit is apparently fine. Therefore, the system, for them is defective, regardless of reality.

[Threesidedorchid]

Maybe some of these people are just trying to get around the return policy, but given the reactions you described, I think sometimes it's just a case of pride -- they already said it didn't work at their house and unless they claim you're waving a magic wand in your shop to make it work there, they're admitting that they're just too "stupid" to figure it out themselves.
So they get defensive, and lock-down into that initial statement that it doesn't work, and force you to take it back.

[NightWatch]

When I got rid of my old TV for my nice shiny Samsung flat screen, I couldn't get my DVD player to work at all with it. The problem was that I was used to a TV that would recognize when a DVD was inserted into the player and if you were on the right channel, it would just start to play. I did eventually find the "source" button on my remote which makes my Xbox 360 and DVD player work fine... Don't judge me! *hides in shame*