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This one is a doozy.
This guy bought a used PS3 from one of our stores awhile back that crappped out so we did an exchange for him. As it turns out the second one crapped out too so he came back wanting a refund...about 45 days out of policy. He was initially refused, but he appealed all the way up to my regional manager and she agreed to do the refund for him as a one time courtesy. A few days he later he came back and bought an Xbox 360 and a Guitar Hero Band kit.
Some 38 days later (about two weeks ago) he comes back to a different store to try and get a refund for the Guitar Hero kit because he didn't like it. He drops the name of an employee who works at that store and says that person told him he could get a refund.
I should point out:
1) We don't do refunds on opened new items
2) We aren't supposed to returns on the band kits at all
3) He was outside the return window.
4) The person he name dropped had never dealt with him before.
As luck would have it, the Regional Manager was doing a store visit and happened to be there when the SC came in. You might think she caved to him again but no, she actually shot him down this time
(I was speechless when I heard this) and he left in a huff.
Of course that's NOT the end of it...
The SC drives to the next closest store we have and tries to get his refund again, saying the Regional Manager actually APPROVED said refund. Not being dumb, this store calls the other store back to confirm this, Regional Manager sets the records straight and shoots SC down again.
This is where I come in.
I take a call from the Regional Manager warning me about this guy. My store is the next closest one to the one SC was just at, so there's a good chance he might be heading here next. She tells me if he shows up to put him on the phone with her immediately. That's fine with me. Usually this is where these stories end. The SC will try several stores without success and eventually figure out they are not going to get their way.
Sure enough, he shows up at our store, Guitar Hero Kit in tow. He tells us the refund is approved and name drops yet another employee at our store (well I at least give him some effort marks on this one). So we tell him we have to confirm everything and get him on the phone with the Regional Manager.
He gets on with the regional manager and a long discussion ensues, when all is said and done...
HIS REFUND GETS APPROVED!
I cannot begin to tell you how much this pissed off everyone that had to deal with this person and even a couple who didn't (one of our other managers for instance got angry when she heard the story). I just have no words for this (Well okay, I do, but I'll restrain myself
). The only possible reason the Regional Manager might have changed her tune is because the SC hinted he would buy other products from us if he got the refund, but there are two problems with this:
1) We were sold out of the items he wanted.
2) If this were the case, why wouldn't he settle for a store credit instead of being so adamant about a cash refund?
I spoke with the assistant manager at the store where he originally bought the band kit and he said this guy has tried to pull shenanigans like this before and he actually once had to call the guy on his day off at the request of the Regional Manager to inform him a resolution had been reached on another matter.
This guy was already upset enough because we apparently kept "screwing him over" on returns (pot meet kettle...) and most likely will never step foot inside one of our stores again. So for those of you keeping score we actually lost a fair bit of money on this whole song and dance.
The final tally is something like this:
Profit made: $0
Losses incurred: At least $200
Customer relationships retained: 0
Employees angered: 6+
So how exactly did this "customer friendly" decision benefit our company?
This guy bought a used PS3 from one of our stores awhile back that crappped out so we did an exchange for him. As it turns out the second one crapped out too so he came back wanting a refund...about 45 days out of policy. He was initially refused, but he appealed all the way up to my regional manager and she agreed to do the refund for him as a one time courtesy. A few days he later he came back and bought an Xbox 360 and a Guitar Hero Band kit.
Some 38 days later (about two weeks ago) he comes back to a different store to try and get a refund for the Guitar Hero kit because he didn't like it. He drops the name of an employee who works at that store and says that person told him he could get a refund.
I should point out:
1) We don't do refunds on opened new items
2) We aren't supposed to returns on the band kits at all
3) He was outside the return window.
4) The person he name dropped had never dealt with him before.
As luck would have it, the Regional Manager was doing a store visit and happened to be there when the SC came in. You might think she caved to him again but no, she actually shot him down this time
(I was speechless when I heard this) and he left in a huff. Of course that's NOT the end of it...
The SC drives to the next closest store we have and tries to get his refund again, saying the Regional Manager actually APPROVED said refund. Not being dumb, this store calls the other store back to confirm this, Regional Manager sets the records straight and shoots SC down again.
This is where I come in.
I take a call from the Regional Manager warning me about this guy. My store is the next closest one to the one SC was just at, so there's a good chance he might be heading here next. She tells me if he shows up to put him on the phone with her immediately. That's fine with me. Usually this is where these stories end. The SC will try several stores without success and eventually figure out they are not going to get their way.
Sure enough, he shows up at our store, Guitar Hero Kit in tow. He tells us the refund is approved and name drops yet another employee at our store (well I at least give him some effort marks on this one). So we tell him we have to confirm everything and get him on the phone with the Regional Manager.
He gets on with the regional manager and a long discussion ensues, when all is said and done...
HIS REFUND GETS APPROVED!
I cannot begin to tell you how much this pissed off everyone that had to deal with this person and even a couple who didn't (one of our other managers for instance got angry when she heard the story). I just have no words for this (Well okay, I do, but I'll restrain myself
). The only possible reason the Regional Manager might have changed her tune is because the SC hinted he would buy other products from us if he got the refund, but there are two problems with this:1) We were sold out of the items he wanted.
2) If this were the case, why wouldn't he settle for a store credit instead of being so adamant about a cash refund?
I spoke with the assistant manager at the store where he originally bought the band kit and he said this guy has tried to pull shenanigans like this before and he actually once had to call the guy on his day off at the request of the Regional Manager to inform him a resolution had been reached on another matter.
This guy was already upset enough because we apparently kept "screwing him over" on returns (pot meet kettle...) and most likely will never step foot inside one of our stores again. So for those of you keeping score we actually lost a fair bit of money on this whole song and dance.
The final tally is something like this:
Profit made: $0
Losses incurred: At least $200
Customer relationships retained: 0
Employees angered: 6+
So how exactly did this "customer friendly" decision benefit our company?
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