dishonest practice
I was at Home Depot today returning a light fixture that didn't work right. The lady in front of me is returning a paint roller and a paint brush, both covered with paint, both obviously used. The tells the clerk they didn't "work right." The clerk says no way, that the lady has obviously used them and that paint brushes don't malfunction and so forth. The lady asks to see the manager, and the manager comes over, sighs, and tells the clerk to give the lady her money back.
After I returned my light I went over and talked to the manager and asked him if stuff like the paint brush lady happens a lot. He said it's an everyday, many times a day occurence. People will "buy" a sliding miter saw and bring it back three weeks later, covered with sawdust and with the blade practically worn out, saying, "it didn't work right." He said one guy came in on a Saturday morning and bought a tiller, weedwacker, shears, and a box of trash bags. Sunday night he comes back with the stuff covered with mud and grass clippings, saying every piece of it didn't work. He even wants a refund for the half empty box of trash bags.
I could not believe how prevalent this is. I can only imagine how much this must drive up the cost of what honest people pay. Has anybody else heard about this? If you've done it yourself, care to explain yourself?
After I returned my light I went over and talked to the manager and asked him if stuff like the paint brush lady happens a lot. He said it's an everyday, many times a day occurence. People will "buy" a sliding miter saw and bring it back three weeks later, covered with sawdust and with the blade practically worn out, saying, "it didn't work right." He said one guy came in on a Saturday morning and bought a tiller, weedwacker, shears, and a box of trash bags. Sunday night he comes back with the stuff covered with mud and grass clippings, saying every piece of it didn't work. He even wants a refund for the half empty box of trash bags.
I could not believe how prevalent this is. I can only imagine how much this must drive up the cost of what honest people pay. Has anybody else heard about this? If you've done it yourself, care to explain yourself?
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In her finest novel, ATLAS SHRUGGED, writer Ayn Rand's premise is that the Have-nots of the country discover that through the ballot box, they can elect officials that demand Captains of Industry share all the profits with the workers. Therefore, it becomes unprofitable to do business or invest capital and plants and businesses close throwing workers into unemployment.
While I doubt unmandated company policy will allow Home Depot or Wal-Mart to go out of business, the Welfare mentality so common now cannot be a good thing to encourage. Whatever happened to "you pays your monies and you takes your chances"?0 -
Society has adopted the "Wal-Mart" mentality. I couldnt agree more . THIS is whats happened to our country ..We live in a society now bulit on no morals and we wonder why we are in the shape we are in ..TOTALLY DISGUSTS ME..[:(] 0 -
I took a New loaner Oldmobile Cutlass S home to surprise the wife once. Had it three days. She didn't like it. Oldmobile went back. No paperwork had been done. I bought a Camaro.[:D] 0 -
I sold a forklift to a customer a few years back. He called 2 weeks later and wanted a refund. Even said he would pay the haulinig bill. When I asked him if something was wrong with it, he said no. Said it was in the same condition as I sold it to him. I told him that our place wasn't wal-mart. If it's not defective, he wouldn't be getting his money back. He asked what he should do and I suggested to him to put it in his front yard with a "For Sale" sign on it. He got pissed and hung up on me. I later found out that he had built a new building during those two weeks and needed the forklift for building purposes. He was to "tight" to rent one from me, so he came up with his plan of just buying it then returning it. Needless to say, his plan failed. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by forkliftking
I sold a forklift to a customer a few years back. He called 2 weeks later and wanted a refund. Even said he would pay the haulinig bill. When I asked him if something was wrong with it, he said no. Said it was in the same condition as I sold it to him. I told him that our place wasn't wal-mart. If it's not defective, he wouldn't be getting his money back. He asked what he should do and I suggested to him to put it in his front yard with a "For Sale" sign on it. He got pissed and hung up on me. I later found out that he had built a new building during those two weeks and needed the forklift for building purposes. He was to "tight" to rent one from me, so he came up with his plan of just buying it then returning it. Needless to say, his plan failed.
Good for you
Love the outcome
he tried to steel from you--stick to you guns0 -
We all pay for liars and cheats in the form of higher prices. I don't know if I could have remained silent if I was behind the lady returning the roller... 0 -
FWIW- this is not an uncommon practice in a LOT a stores- and yeah, YOU are paying for someone else to be dishonest. It gets factored into the cost of selling all the merchandise. Ask the department stores about the prom dresses that get returned with makeup on them. Daughter is mgr for small store- lets just call it Penny General. Yesterday she had customer that wanted to return merchandise- had receipt. Problem was, receipt- and BAG had name of Penny Tree, not Penny General. Daughter explained merchandise had not been bought there, but customer could return it to Penny Tree. Woman got extremely upset that daughter would not give her a refund on stuff not bought there. Demanded to see the manager. Daughter smiled and said "Hi! That be me. And you are NOT getting a refund from MY store." Frankly, I do not know how some people sleep at night.[:(!] 0 -
In November I bought a new snowblower. A week later it snowed the thing worked for about 4 or 5 feet with a major malfunction.
I returned it and the store manager told me it would have to go the the warranty repair shop-would probably be about two weeks. I looked out the window at the snow coming down and asked if they could let me use a loaner to move snow. He said no and I told him I wanted my money back and he gave me my money back.
I immediately drove down the rode to the other farm supply place and bought a different brand snowblower. I got it home and it the elctric start on it did not work. I suppose I could have duct taped a shovel to the front of it and pushed it around[:(!]
I called the store right away. The manager told me the switch was probably bad and he would get one on order for me, he told me to bring the old switch in. 2 weeks later I stop in to get the new switch and he tells me it has to go the the warranty guy. The warranty guy says I took the switch apart so the bad starter is not covered. I was really pissed by now.
I went and told the manager I wanted my money back and he got mad. Then they did not have enough cash on had to give me my money back and they would not exchange the broke one for a new one. I told him I would take a new snowblower in exchange for the broken one and he would not do it. Up intil now I had been reasonable and polite but started complaining and whining like southern trailer park queen and a small crowd gathered as it was right by the cash registers.
Finally when I just stood there looking at him with the crowd which had gathered he gave me a new snowblower in exchange for the bad one.
I have been using the heck out of the new one with no problems[:D] I stoll shop at both places and make a point to smile and say hi to the idiot manager in the second place everytime I go in there.0 -
A large percentage of business will no longer give your money back due to this abuse. Most of those will give you a "store credit" which I see as fair. You are also starting to see more and more "restocking" fees. Mant businesses now fill out a form with your name, adress and etc. so you can bet that they are tracking how much stuff you bring back.
One place that sees a lot of abuse is Cabela's. When I do shop there my first stop is the bargain cave. Most of the clothing has "soiled" written on the tag and obviously has been worn then returned after the person was finished with it. Same thing with a lot of the hunting equipment.0 -
I have personally observed "customers" take merchandise off a store shelf, go directly to customer service and demand a refund. When I told the customer service people what was happening they just said the manager told them to just give the refunds.
This is a really patheic way to run a business.0 -
When I moved to PA, the house we bought had really crappy appliances, so I bought all new ones. I own a truck, and I am a cheap-skate, so I didn't pay the $99/piece delivery charge. I figured I could just rent a furniture dolly for less than $300 and do it myself. Well, by the time I got done buying appliances, the U-Haul store was closed, so I stopped at Home Depot and Lowes to see if they rented them. Neither did, but the employee that I asked at Lowes told me this.
"Just buy one and then return it tomorrow after you have moved all the stuff into the house." The employee in question was a shift manager!
So, when the employees of the store are encouraging that behavior, what do think is going to happen?
Needless to say, the stuff sat in my garage overnight and I rented a dolly from U-Haul the next day.0 -
quote:Originally posted by KEVD18
quote:Originally posted by bhale187
It happens because spinless managers allow it. Walmart is probably the biggest victim of this. They will take stuff back that they do not even carry if the "customer" insists they bought it at Walmart.
i wont go so far as to call you out on this, but i have a tough time swallowing it for the simple reason being if they dont carry it they wouldnt know how much to refund. and if they are just giving the customer whatever they supposedly paid for it then im definatley in the wrong business.
Swallow it, because i had a neighbor that took an old Red Ryder BB gun back to walmart. Walmart has never sold red ryder. I believe he either got it at western auto or a yard sale....years before. He was also known to take worn out fishing reels/equipment back for new, or refund.0 -
quote:Originally posted by bhale187
It happens because spinless managers allow it. Walmart is probably the biggest victim of this. They will take stuff back that they do not even carry if the "customer" insists they bought it at Walmart.
While this is usually right I had one incident where wal mart would not take something back that truly was broken and I even had a reciept. They said they do not carry that item even though I had the reciept. I ended up talking to 3 managers, and walking out. I called the customer service number from the parking lot... they called the GM and told her that they would be giving me my money back. Next day that store had a new GM.0 -
Mom & Pop hardware store near me had very good prices. Sometimes less than the big chain stores. So I asked why?
He said his policy now is "all sales final". Saves him an awful lot on returns. And passes that off to the customer. He's always busy with customers because of his prices.
And, he won't sell you a boxed item. It must be assembled and running satisfactorily before it leaves the loading dock in the back. Joe0 -
quote:Originally posted by spryor
quote:Originally posted by KEVD18
quote:Originally posted by bhale187
It happens because spinless managers allow it. Walmart is probably the biggest victim of this. They will take stuff back that they do not even carry if the "customer" insists they bought it at Walmart.
i wont go so far as to call you out on this, but i have a tough time swallowing it for the simple reason being if they dont carry it they wouldnt know how much to refund. and if they are just giving the customer whatever they supposedly paid for it then im definatley in the wrong business.
Swallow it, because i had a neighbor that took an old Red Ryder BB gun back to walmart. Walmart has never sold red ryder. I believe he either got it at western auto or a yard sale....years before. He was also known to take worn out fishing reels/equipment back for new, or refund.
Wal-mart does so sell Red Ryder BB guns. I bought one for my nephew from there at christmas time.0 -
Well, this was about 20yrs. ago. I don't believe they did, at that
time.
Edited to add: I didn't know RR were even still around, but i haven't
been in a WM for prolly 3yrs.0 -
Wal mart sells red ryder bb guns by the pound. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by spryor
WWell, this was about 20yrs. ago. I don't believe they did, at that
time.
Probably not. I've just seen them in the store here for about a year or so. And their not built like they were 20 years ago either. Wish I would have kept mine from when I was a kid.0 -
quote:
Originally posted by mlincoln
I was at Home Depot today returning a light fixture that didn't work right. The lady in front of me is returning a paint roller and a paint brush, both covered with paint, both obviously used. The tells the clerk they didn't "work right." The clerk says no way, that the lady has obviously used them and that paint brushes don't malfunction and so forth. The lady asks to see the manager, and the manager comes over, sighs, and tells the clerk to give the lady her money back.
After I returned my light I went over and talked to the manager and asked him if stuff like the paint brush lady happens a lot. He said it's an everyday, many times a day occurence. People will "buy" a sliding miter saw and bring it back three weeks later, covered with sawdust and with the blade practically worn out, saying, "it didn't work right." He said one guy came in on a Saturday morning and bought a tiller, weedwacker, shears, and a box of trash bags. Sunday night he comes back with the stuff covered with mud and grass clippings, saying every piece of it didn't work. He even wants a refund for the half empty box of trash bags.
I could not believe how prevalent this is. I can only imagine how much this must drive up the cost of what honest people pay. Has anybody else heard about this? If you've done it yourself, care to explain yourself?
It appears you are part of the problem. Answer your own question yourself
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Reloader, I don't understand what you mean. I bought a light fixture for the bathroom. I wired it up correctly and it wouldn't work. It was a defective product. The lady returning the paint roller and brushes had used them in their intended manner and then wanted to get her money back. To me, it's totally different. I think most reasonable people would find the two situations totally different as well.0 -
Whatever happened to "you pays your monies and you takes your chances"?
That's not the point. I view the purchase of an object as a contract between me and the merchant. The merchant is offering a product and is describing it in a fair manner, and I'm making my purchase based upon that description. If he says it's a screwdriver that works and it costs $5, then I plunk down my $5 and off I go with it.
Now, if he says it's a screwdriver that works and it costs $5, and I plunk down my $5 and off I go with it, and then the screwdriver DOESN'T work, then that's a breach of the contract and the merchant needs to make things right with a refund and or a replacement.
Overall, I just can't believe how widespread this is. What's happening to morality and decency?0 -
I bought a tile saw, a cheap one, at The Home Depot. I used it, cleaned it up, put it back in the box and set it in the garage. Next time I had a tile job to do, I got it out and found it didn't work. I took it back to the store, and because it was still within a certain number of days since I bought it, 90 I think, they replaced the saw without question. The clerk said he had a lot of the saws returned for the same reason.
My friend bought a tile saw at The Home Depot for a tile job. She wanted to rent one, but the clerk told her to buy one, use it, and then bring it back, and tell the service desk clerk that it didn't work right, and get a full refund. I thought that was dishonest, and said so, but she pointed out that the offer originated with the Home Depot clerk, not with her. She just did what he suggested.0
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