Bottom line: we're paid to follow policy

[Food Lady]

So the new electronics guy simply made a mistake. We do price adjustments, but not if the item went to clearance. He either didn't know that or didn't realize it was a clearance price, so he sent the customer to the service desk and I got her. I didn't realize it was clearance either. I tried to adjust it and couldn't figure out why it wouldn't work, so handed it off to the manager. When I came back to the desk she was arguing with the staff. "Why did he tell me that?" I get it was annoying, but she had an attitude. Then she wamnted to return the camera she didn't have with her and re-buy it. We don't return items not physically present. And if she had it, it woukd have to go back on the floor. We don't re-sell stuff. It's policy; I don't know why. She told manager it was bad customer service. No, it was a mistake. All she had to do was buy the one on the floor and return the one she had. But she needed tob argue and get all pissy. Whatever.

[blas]

Have I successfully drank myself retarded yet, or am I just missing something....why would someone want to return then rebuy something they don't presently have with them?

[TheCheerfulTreeRat]

Have I successfully drank myself retarded yet, or am I just missing something....why would someone want to return then rebuy something they don't presently have with them?

Because the price has dropped in the meantime. Refund at receipt price and then re-purchase at new, lower price.

Always struck me as a dumb thing to do, but if you don't, you will get SCs just returning stuff instead.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Have I successfully drank myself retarded yet, or am I just missing something....why would someone want to return then rebuy something they don't presently have with them?

You've lived in our state your entire life, and you still haven't figured out people here are cheap as cheap can be?

Maybe you have drunk yourself retarded.

Because the price has dropped in the meantime. Refund at receipt price and then re-purchase at new, lower price.

Always struck me as a dumb thing to do, but if you don't, you will get SCs just returning stuff instead.

At the swamp, we do price adjustments. Bring in the receipt from your purchase and we'll refund the difference.

Which is equally stupid. Why should we take money out of the cash registers and hand it over to you because your timing sucks?

With the Super Duper Uber Mega Super Stupendous Lowest Prices of the Season sale beginning tomorrow, I suspect we'll be doing this quite often.

[cinema guy]

Why do stores even allow this?

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Because they want to give off the impression that "you always get the best deal when you shop with us!"

I.E. general customer ass-kissing.

[wolfie]

Expecting a store to do an "item not present" return/rebuy is stupid on a number of counts:

1) Lets customers buy the latest "gotta have it" just released stuff at clearance prices.
2) Scam #1: customer has lost an important part. After the return/rebuy, they come back to the service counter with the item and the 2nd receipt, demanding the store either get them the missing part or refund the item. Since the item was on clearance, and there are no more left, they get the rest of the refund over something that was their fault. If the item had been present at the return/rebuy, the service counter could have seen that something was missing, and refuse the return.
3) Scam #2: after doing the return, customer decides they don't want to rebuy it, and leaves. They've just got a full refund for an item they still have.

Good call on not allowing return/rebuy EVEN IF the item is present, but instead requiring the returned item to go out to the floor. If the customer wants to rebuy it, they'll have to spend some of their oh-so-precious time waiting for a batch of items to get out to the floor, and there's always a chance that another customer will get it before they do (or a stocker will see the service counter's innocuous mark and know to hold the item in back for a day or so instead of going back to the floor with the next batch) and they lose the opportunity to get the item.

[bainsidhe]

At the swamp, we do price adjustments. Bring in the receipt from your purchase and we'll refund the difference.

Which is equally stupid. Why should we take money out of the cash registers and hand it over to you because your timing sucks?

As a customer, I appreciate when stores do a price adjustment. For example, I paid $50 for an ergonomic keyboard. Immediately after, the keyboard was on sale for $30. I hadn't opened the box and it was still within the return policy, so I went in for a price adjustment. If they hassled me, I fully intended to return the keyboard and then just go buy a new one, which would waste their time and still get me my discount. I wasn't rude and was well within the return policy.

And SCs aside, getting customers back into the store encourages additional purchases. Of course the SCs are who everyone remembers.

[Food Lady]

I appreciate it, too, though I never notice if something I bought has gone on sale. Actually, I don't buy stuff full-price anyway. Always clearance, or less often, sale price.

[emax4]

I can imagine that it gets worse after Black Friday too.

[Mytical]

I can imagine that it gets worse after Black Friday too.

Oh god the nightmares! I will not sleep tonight, thanks for that . When I was doing the Worst Buy thing (call center for them, from home, ugh) this was a huge nightmare. They would price match for anything as long as it was within the return period..except Black Friday prices. Which made sense. Some of the prices were insanely low (there was a 32" TV for I think $39..sold out within minutes!). Boy did the customers NOT like that. Of course they further messed up by their inventory program going nutso and overselling the item (ie selling TV's they DID NOT HAVE NOR WOULD BE GETTING MORE OF!) and THAT was an additional nightmare..but yeah I can understand price matching if things are within the return window.

When somebody is an SC about it though, I say tell em to go jump in the Hat (cookies for reference).

[Andara Bledin]

When somebody is an SC about it though, I say tell em to go jump in the Hat (cookies for reference).

I think David rather squashed it, didn't he? Although, Jefferson can always make more...

^-.-^

[laborcat]

Oh god the nightmares! ... They would price match for anything as long as it was within the return period..except Black Friday prices. Which made sense.

yeah, we'll match prices for anything with a pictured, dated ad... except for black friday. No matter how many signs and how many announcements and how many times we tell them that, they still get pissed when they can't do it.

[Food Lady]

I'm pretty sure last year people were trying to ad match bf prices. There's also a farm/fleet store we don't match at all because they have some kind of special buying power on toys...or something. I don't know. I just know I can't match their toy ad, and it really ticks people off. I don't make the rules.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

I'm pretty sure last year people were trying to ad match bf prices. There's also a farm/fleet store we don't match at all because they have some kind of special buying power on toys...or something. I don't know. I just know I can't match their toy ad, and it really ticks people off. I don't make the rules.

The day their toy department opens is pretty much their Black Friday. This is from a co-worker who used to work at one of their stores. Every employee is assumed to be available to work and the store gets crazy busy.

I'd imagine their pricing strategy on toys is similar to any other store's on their Black Friday stuff--mark them way down to draw people into the store.