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So the day after Christmas I got to supervise the Guest Service Desk, yay! It wasn't so bad, and most returns went really smooth, but a few stuck out of course....
"So a gift recepit is just useless"
I hadn't encountered this before, but I had 3 different guests that were appalled that they didn't get CASH back with a gift reciept. The one that got really pissed was the lady who returned $230 worth of baby items from her baby shower with gift receipts and expected cash to just be handed over. Ummm, no I don't know any retailer that gives anything except store credit or exchange with a gift receipt, and she stormed out yelling that the gift receipts were just useless then.
The other lady who couldn't fathom recieving store credit was returning a movie worth $10, and was adamant that she couldn't find ANYTHING in the store that would be worth it. I'm sorry, but if you can't find something that could come in handy for only $10 at my store, The Big Red Bullseye, theres something wrong. Her friend with her was just looking at her like WTF, take the damn giftcard! lol
"You just did that!"
The one guy that was really trying to scam us was unlucky and came to me to return a TomTom GPS, not knowing I oversee the electronics department and know those return guidelines very well. Supposedly he recieved it as a gift and just didn't want it. Yet he had the original reciept, first red flag, next red flag was the fact that the sticker seal was broken and the lid flipped right up when I inspected it. Once I realized it was already opened, I informed him that I could only do an exchange for the same item, because the item was no longer new and unused.
This is when he flipped out and said, "That was sealed until you just opened it now!" I replied that no, it was already unseadled when he brought it to the counter, and pointed out where you could see scratch marks from being opened with a sharp object, like a knife. To which he replied, "Well you just opened it with a razor blade then!" I was so shocked he actually fabricated me pulling out a razor blade, I just looked at him, trying not to laugh. He then of course asks for a higher manager, and luckily our security manager was nearby and saw the whole thing, so I called her over.
The awesome thing about her is that she doesn't let the guest have just whatever they want, an will back up policy nearly 100% of the time. So she comes over and looks farther into the packaging, and lo and behold, the charging port has been used excessively, and the plastic is visibly worn down. The guys face drops at this time, and agrees to and even exchange.
He comes back with the same GPS and I inform him that I'll have to open the new one, and I also mark for exchange only on both receipts, so he can't go to another store that may not be so good about inspecting returns. 
Now onto the thread title incident...
This lady comes up to the counter with a bag and proceeds to pull out a shattered George Foreman Grill
.
FG=Flustered Guest
Me:
FG: Well I'm gonna tell you what happened here. I got this about 3 days ago, and was cleaning my counter and picked it up to move it to the table and dropped it. So I'd just like to exchange it out for this one, which I'm willing to spend the extra ten dollars for an upgrade. ( Gives me a smile like "You're going to do what I say if I smile real big!")
Me: (Trying to comprehend she's actually admitting to user fault and still expecting a new one free) I'm sorry ma'am, but we do not offer returns or exchanges for items broken from consumer fault.
FG: But you have to understand, a product like this should break under normal use!
Me: I'm sorry, hoewever "normal use" doesn't consist of dropping the product.
FG: Okay, so this is actually my tenants grill, and I'm just wanting to replace it for him...
Me: (wait what?) That doesn't change our return policy at all ma'am, you'll just have to buy a new grill.
FG: Then can I speak to the manager who will do this for me.
Me: I am actaully a manager, and small appliances is my department. I can assure you that these are good products, and normal use doesn't include dropping such a product. Any type of counter-top grill will break if dropped on the ground.
FG: But the design is faulty...
Me: Okay, how so is that?
FG: Well it was slippery from use because of grease emmitted during cooking!
Me: That is something to be expected when using such an item, in the future it should be wiped down before attempting to move the product if grease is visible on the outside.
FG: But it just slipped out of my hands!
So this whole conversation went on for about 15 minutes of rephrasing and such, until she eventually asked for the Store Manager! I call them over and the lady jumps into her story before I can paraphrase, and at the end the Store Manager, I swear her mouth dropped open just a bit, just shook her head in disbelief and said "Ma'am we don't offer returns on such a situation" I offered her the manufacturer number to issue a complaint, and she finally went on her way. I think the funniest part was the look on the guests faces in line behind her, wondering if she was actually serious, and if she'd get away with it!
"So a gift recepit is just useless"
I hadn't encountered this before, but I had 3 different guests that were appalled that they didn't get CASH back with a gift reciept. The one that got really pissed was the lady who returned $230 worth of baby items from her baby shower with gift receipts and expected cash to just be handed over. Ummm, no I don't know any retailer that gives anything except store credit or exchange with a gift receipt, and she stormed out yelling that the gift receipts were just useless then.
The other lady who couldn't fathom recieving store credit was returning a movie worth $10, and was adamant that she couldn't find ANYTHING in the store that would be worth it. I'm sorry, but if you can't find something that could come in handy for only $10 at my store, The Big Red Bullseye, theres something wrong. Her friend with her was just looking at her like WTF, take the damn giftcard! lol
"You just did that!"
The one guy that was really trying to scam us was unlucky and came to me to return a TomTom GPS, not knowing I oversee the electronics department and know those return guidelines very well. Supposedly he recieved it as a gift and just didn't want it. Yet he had the original reciept, first red flag, next red flag was the fact that the sticker seal was broken and the lid flipped right up when I inspected it. Once I realized it was already opened, I informed him that I could only do an exchange for the same item, because the item was no longer new and unused.
This is when he flipped out and said, "That was sealed until you just opened it now!" I replied that no, it was already unseadled when he brought it to the counter, and pointed out where you could see scratch marks from being opened with a sharp object, like a knife. To which he replied, "Well you just opened it with a razor blade then!" I was so shocked he actually fabricated me pulling out a razor blade, I just looked at him, trying not to laugh. He then of course asks for a higher manager, and luckily our security manager was nearby and saw the whole thing, so I called her over.
The awesome thing about her is that she doesn't let the guest have just whatever they want, an will back up policy nearly 100% of the time. So she comes over and looks farther into the packaging, and lo and behold, the charging port has been used excessively, and the plastic is visibly worn down. The guys face drops at this time, and agrees to and even exchange.
He comes back with the same GPS and I inform him that I'll have to open the new one, and I also mark for exchange only on both receipts, so he can't go to another store that may not be so good about inspecting returns. Now onto the thread title incident...
This lady comes up to the counter with a bag and proceeds to pull out a shattered George Foreman Grill
. FG=Flustered Guest
Me:
FG: Well I'm gonna tell you what happened here. I got this about 3 days ago, and was cleaning my counter and picked it up to move it to the table and dropped it. So I'd just like to exchange it out for this one, which I'm willing to spend the extra ten dollars for an upgrade. ( Gives me a smile like "You're going to do what I say if I smile real big!")
Me: (Trying to comprehend she's actually admitting to user fault and still expecting a new one free) I'm sorry ma'am, but we do not offer returns or exchanges for items broken from consumer fault.
FG: But you have to understand, a product like this should break under normal use!
Me: I'm sorry, hoewever "normal use" doesn't consist of dropping the product.
FG: Okay, so this is actually my tenants grill, and I'm just wanting to replace it for him...
Me: (wait what?) That doesn't change our return policy at all ma'am, you'll just have to buy a new grill.
FG: Then can I speak to the manager who will do this for me.
Me: I am actaully a manager, and small appliances is my department. I can assure you that these are good products, and normal use doesn't include dropping such a product. Any type of counter-top grill will break if dropped on the ground.
FG: But the design is faulty...
Me: Okay, how so is that?
FG: Well it was slippery from use because of grease emmitted during cooking!
Me: That is something to be expected when using such an item, in the future it should be wiped down before attempting to move the product if grease is visible on the outside.
FG: But it just slipped out of my hands!
So this whole conversation went on for about 15 minutes of rephrasing and such, until she eventually asked for the Store Manager! I call them over and the lady jumps into her story before I can paraphrase, and at the end the Store Manager, I swear her mouth dropped open just a bit, just shook her head in disbelief and said "Ma'am we don't offer returns on such a situation" I offered her the manufacturer number to issue a complaint, and she finally went on her way. I think the funniest part was the look on the guests faces in line behind her, wondering if she was actually serious, and if she'd get away with it!
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