Things you CANNOT return.....

[GayleShy]

A USED pregnancy test???
Someone peed on that! Did they not get a positive so they just didn't want it?

Maybe they didn't get the negetive that they wanted?

I've had someone try to return the same thing and flat out told them no. No manager was asked, because they were all pansys at that time and might have taken it back.

A bagless vacuum cleaner, which was so full of dust and long strands of rotten carpet that when I emptied it the contents fell out as a solid lump, like an adobe brick. ("But it doesn't work!")

Wow, that sucks. If the vaccum cleaner being returned was full, the customer had to clean it out themselves. This became policy afer someone had used their normal vaccum as a shop vac and tried to clean really nasty stuff with it. After that episode, we refused to touch them.


And as my own little stories, I've had a woman walk in the store, go into the bathroom and come out, holding a bra and telling me she didn't like it. I had to take it back because she had her receipt, it was less than 90 days old, and I hadn't developed enough guts to tell people no back then. I did, however, make a huge deal about the fact that she had recently worn it and use a couple of pens I had to put it in a bag. I then threw the pens away and used the hand sanitizer we had in one of our drawers. All while she was still standing there. I'm still surprised I didn't get in trouble for that one.

Then we had another woman tried to return a pair of shoes that she bought six months from then and raise all hell because the cashier told her that she could only get the clearence price. She didn't have her reciept, either. The pansy manager made the cashier take the shoes back and give her a full refund, thus helping to create the BIGGEST entitlement whore our store had ever seen. She whined to management about everything after that.

[air914]

Then we had another woman tried to return a pair of shoes that she bought six months from then and raise all hell because the cashier told her that she could only get the clearence price. She didn't have her reciept, either. The pansy manager made the cashier take the shoes back and give her a full refund, thus helping to create the BIGGEST entitlement whore our store had ever seen. She whined to management about everything after that.

See that's why I REALLY don't understand why stores take nasty stuff back - don't they realize that they're not getting rid of the customer, they're just making a bigger problem for themselves? And they're not "making the customer happy" they're making hte customer come back a million times to scam the store - and they're inviting all the scammer's friends to come scam the store too.... I just don't get it...

I am SOOO glad I've never worked in Returns! I think latex gloves should be a requirement for that job....

[AFpheonix]

Okay, although I would never try to return either item like this myself - but in some folks' defense...protein powder - maybe they thought it was okay the first time they tried it and thought they'd try it again...I know, no excuse...but I understand how that could happen....like..."hmm...I don't know if I like this?" then try it again a few more times and say "Nope, sir, I don't like it!"

They don't deserve defense. If it's a food product that they don't like, then like every other normal person on the planet, they should either give it to a friend who'd want it, or gee, throw it away.

I like Mr. Horse, too, though

[Blisskat]

When I worked for a cosmetics counter:
Customers would return a bottle of $46 lotion, emptied and refilled with Lubriderm, and tell us, "It doesn't smell right". (It smells just right for Lubriderm, ma'am).

Another tried to return a completely used, to the point of being dry, undereye concealer, and told me, "I didn't like it". God bless the manager who came up, looked at the concealer, pulled out the wand several times and said, "I guess you liked it enough to have used the entire thing!"

At the competetor's counter a customer returned a used bar of FACIAL soap that had curly hairs embedded in it

When I worked for the Cheapshoestore of America people would constantly bring back used shoes (stinky, falling apart, no sole) to exchange. The savy ones learned to keep their receipts so that they would get back credit for full price.

When I worked for the DMV:
The best was when a person tried to "exchange" their driver's license because "we" took a bad picture. We would do it, no problem for the standard $10 replacement fee. She pitched a fit about the fee, and then when she realized we weren't going to budge, took a moment staring at us incredulously and said "So you're telling me I have to live with this picture for the next 4 years?". To which we replied, "Not at all, you are welcome to pay the $10 to get a new license"... she didn't seem to appreciate our customer service...

[k386trl]

I once had a guy try to return an outfit that was dirty and torn to me. He complained when he played football in it, the outfit ripped so we had to return it, then when I refused he yelled that I was racist and refused to leave the service desk. My manager laughed at him, he called the district manager right in the store and was told to leave and never come back I used to get the dirty underwear all of the time, if management accepted it they had to ring it out, I wasn't touching it.

[karma_gypsy]

How embarrassing it would be to bring back your stinky britches to a store anyway. I mean, you're pretty much putting yourself out there for everyone to stare at. . . scarey thing is, is that too many SC's are willing to do that . . .

[repsac]

Hmm. Time for me to break out the gross ones.


1.) A used toilet snake, complete with bits of paper hanging from it.

2.) Used squegee that smelled vaguely of crap.

3.) Grill with the remains of a partially cremated animal in it. (the story behind this one scarred me for life.)

4.) Dryer with a lint trap that hadn't been cleaned in six months. (Customer complained that every time they used it; the dryer caught fire...)

5.) Plants that were so dead, maggots fell out of the bag.

Not gross, but funny:

6.) A 2 by 4. Customer complained it wasn't exactly 2 inches by 4 inches. (Note: they're not. they're half an inch short on each side)

7.) Wood glue. Half used. Complained it wasn't water proof. (Yet another great story there.)

8.) Neon green paint. Customer said it quote "Hurt their eyes when they used it on their house." Thing was, that was the color they specifically asked for.

9.) Lawnmower, used once. Filter so stopped up the machine wouldn't start.

Some that defy explanation. Reasons included.

10.) Riding lawnmower, beaten to a pulp. Reason: Customer forgot it was behind their truck and backed over it.

11.) Shower stall. Reason: Did not hold up to 70mph winds. Customer was certain weight would keep it in the truck as they drove home. Did not tie down.

12.) Magnesium Tools, minus one wrench. Reason: Customer attempted to bend tool to reach another part of their motor. Used blow torch. Did not know Magnesium burns.

13.) Vise, with melted grips and remnants of a tool in it. Reason: See 12.

14.) Tool bench, heavily burned. Reason: See 12.

[DesignFox]

Witnessed in a toy store:

1) a woman tried to return a two month old stuffed animal because it "had a hole" in it.. (it was filthy and had obviously been dragged around by her kid) The manager refused to replace it saying, "Yea that'll happen when your kid drags it around for 2 months. I'm not replacing it. I'm not going to start you on a trend where you return the toy every two months so you can keep having a new one."

At my photo job:

A woman purchased a huge photo package during Christmas season. The store had a special where you would get a huge discount if you bought a certain package. It was cheaper to purchase the bulk package then to buy less sheets. A few weeks go by, Christmas comes and goes. This woman has the audacity to come back and try to return her "unused" photos (which is generally not accepted because deadbeats buy the 8x10's scan them and then return them). Well, she was expecting that I would refund her money for the sheets she didn't need. Well, if I hadn't looked or remembered that she purchased the package (I remembered 'cause I took the photos, and they were DAMN good and she was excited as a pig in shit the day she bought the package-bet she wasn't counting on me being MOD that day!) she would have ended up with a refund that would have been more than she spent.

Needless to say, she didn't like it when I broke down the package into parts...that would have meant she would pay MORE by making the return. She stormed out pissed off that she would have to spend more money to return the extra sheets... idiots. A Special Holiday Package means just that! I explained that to you when you bought it...which is why you bought it, cause it was cheaper, even though you got extras. Keep the extras and quit bitchin'.

And don't think I'll forget and give you more money. I'm not stupid, and I have a damn good memory.

[evilhomer]

Many people wanting money back for repairs because they changed their mind.... Oh you changed your mind, so that gives us back the $100 in non reusable parts and three hours of time that it took the technician to put them in.

The only other one that comes to mind was a lady buying a remote control. I remember her vividly because she made such a fuss about it being a final sale. She was worried that it wouldn't work and wanted the option of returning it. I offered to demonstrate it working but she wouldn't bring her vcr in. I advised her to go to a number of other stores where refunds are allowed but they were too far away. She decided to take a chance since it was just $10, and I clearly marked the bill "Final Sale, no refunds, no exchanges".

So of course six months later she calls wanting a refund. I tell her sorry, no, it was a final sale item. She replies, telling me that I am going to give her a refund. I let her know that she's free to come to the store, but that refunds are not given on final sale items. After a lengthy argument, she was coming straight over... and never did.

[KellyHabersham]

There's only two circumstances under which I've ever had difficulty with returns at the department store I work at, and fortunately neither involve the customer having returned nasty stuff. The first is when the customer has a gift receipt instead of a regular one, because the division my store is in doesn't do the former, so it makes the return more difficult to process. Second situation is when the item is given as a gift, and the person who originally bought it either doesn't include the price tag, or cuts off half the SKU number so it's a pain in the ass trying to process things.

[greensinestro]

An earlier thread of mine was the lady at Best Buy trying to return a carpet cleaning machine that she did not bother to clean out, claiming it broke and quit working while she was cleaning her carpets. She figured it would be so easy, they would just take her word and refund her money. The panic set in the moment she saw the manager plugging it in behind the counter, then flipping it on! DING DING DING! We have a winner here! It was cheaper to buy a machine, clean her furniture and carpets, then return it for a refund instead of going to Publix or Winn Dixie to rent one. I was surprised she did not try to get more money for the cleaning solution she "wasted" her money on. They turned her away although I do think she may have gotten away with it had she at least cleaned the darn thing.

[greensinestro]

She believes she is justified in doing this since it is the only way she can wear nice clothing and "the stores make so much money anyway."

Does anyone remember Zayre? They actually were OK with this attitude from customers that they ended up going bankrupt. Much of the time, they extended credit to customers who were already in the hole just to get them to come into the place.

[MadMike]

You would think that items bought at our competition couldn't be returned, but judging by the number of items I'd regulary see behind the Returns desk that we didn't even carry...

[repsac]

Several I remember when working at Moore's.

1.) Ironed/Scorched jeans: Reason: Did not fit. Ok, this one has quite a story behind it, which I'm not sure if I shared or not. Either way, this guy buys some jeans for his bro who's about to get out of jail, and then irons them. Problem is he didn't know bro's size. A rather lengthy and hilarious story came out of this one.

2.) Dress, with tag still on: Reason: Found in closet. You'd think this would be a no brainer. She's got the tag, but not the receipt right? Thing is, looking at the tag I noticed that it didn't have a barcode. Furthermore, it just looked odd. Keying in the SKU, I find that the dress is priced at less than two dollars. ? Apparently, the woman's daughter (who was currently ill) had purchased it several (read seven or eight) years earlier and never wore it. The woman wanted to know if she could return it for full price.

3.) Lawaway not paid for: Reason: Customer wanted money back. This is a bit complicated. You see, our store had a policy that worked out to giving you your money back for the whole layaway; but only if you returned it the day before the thing was due. (This is assuming you had been paying on it.) Don't pay on it, and then return it late, and you lose the restocking fee. Which, works out to you only get sales tax back. I can't tell you how many times I was screamed at over this one. I've one story about this, which I'll post in its own thread so not to hijack this one.

[Pixagi]

I used to work in a deli...

-A woman tried to return not a chicken, but the bag it came in with the chicken's price tag FIVE DAYS after she bought it and drove to New Jersey with it (Note: I was working in BROOKLYN, NY!).
-1 week old shrimp you left out.
-No, that ham you had sitting on your kitchen table for 3 weeks is NOT good and no we WON'T refund it.
-Stale cheese you bought a week earlier.

All stories are true. Not all of them have I had to deal with myself, but friends at that store.