"I want a different one, this one's open" 2 for 1! (and a bonus)

[Mara-chan]

I had two different customers pull the same crap on me today, so it's a 2 for 1!

SC #1

A customer wanted a chair. Unfortunately they're on the top of our shelving and I'm a bit afraid of heights. So I trudge up the wobbly ladder, slide this big box down and bring it up front. The customers look at it and they don't want that box because they think the box was open. The boxes have plastic straps that you have to cut off and the original tape around them. So I had to get another employee to help me get another one down (since it was even HIGHER up). So I brought up an IDENTICAL box with the same tape and the same plastic straps.


SC #2

A lady brings back a camera because she thinks it had been opened because there was no tape on the box and there was no memory card. The cameras usually don't come with a memory card. So I get another IDENTICAL box with NO tape on it packaged EXACTLY like the first one and she procedes to open it up to look for the non-existant memory card and make sure this one hadn't been opened.



Both times I considered bringing the boxes to the back and coming back with the same ones saying "Here's your new box" to see if they noticed.


As a little bonus related suckiness...

Have you ever had a customer want to see inside a box of whatever product, rip it apart looking at the manual or what it came with or whatever, and then want to buy a SEALED one because this one was opened? Or even better yet ask for a discount since that box was open? I have. And I gave them my best "Are you fracking kidding me?" look.

[earl colby pottinger]

I have three digital cameras. My ex-girl-friend has two digital cameras (but with exchanges to find the model she likes she has gone thru five different ones). My girl-friend has two digital cameras - there is zero overlap in the models and very little overlap in manufacturers

Not a single one came with a memory card! Period! All have a small amount of internal memory that will take 4-9 pictures in the highest res, and about 25-100 in the lowest res depending on which model you are looking at. If a camera comes with a card it is some sort of store special and probably is never in the box with the camera in the first place.

[otakuneko]

I bought a digital camera way back when 3-4 megapixel cameras were top of the line, and that Sony one that used floppies for memory was all the rage for its convenience.

The one I bought was a 1.3 megapixel one, the only one with a 9-pin Serial interface--didn't have a computer with USB at the time! It was ~$150 I think, and came with, wait for it....

....a 4MB SmartMedia card!

(takes mighty fine pictures too)

[MannersMakethMan]

Quoth Mara-chan

The customers look at it and they don't want that box because they think the box was open. The boxes have plastic straps that you have to cut off and the original tape around them. So I had to get another employee to help me get another one down (since it was even HIGHER up). So I brought up an IDENTICAL box with the same tape and the same plastic straps.

Ugh. People would try to do the exact same thing at LBoD. Clearly the thing's never been opened; the security seal and the metric fuckton of manufacturers tape should tell you that. But no, you want another one that hasn't been opened. Fine, if you come into my store being evil, I'm doing the same. I'd send it back up the conveyor belt to the stock team telling them that the customer wanted another unopened one, and if they looked, there's one just round the corner from the top of the belt, fresh off the delivery. 30 seconds later, down came the exact same box.

The best bit is, the customer really thought they were getting preferential treatment, having the first new one out of the back room. Sorry, but we're far too busy for that kind of thing, especially so close to Christmas. You are not coming in here harassing us for no good reason.

Some days I look back and think "What did retail do to me? I used to be such a nice boy...

[CiggyStoreClerk]

Quoth Mara-chan

Both times I considered bringing the boxes to the back and coming back with the same ones saying "Here's your new box" to see if they noticed.

My friend did something like this once. He works in a hardware store, and one day a woman came in asking for a left-handed hammer. He calmly said, "Ok, I'll be right back." He walked over to where the hammers are kept, took one that was on sale, and one that was not. He brought them back to the woman and told her that the one that was on sale was a right-handed hammer, and the one that was not on sale was a left-handed hammer.

This woman actually took the two from him, compared them and said, "Yeah, the left-handed one would be better for me."

It was all he could do to not hysterically laugh at her.

P.S. sorry about the thread jack

[Chromatix]

I have two digital cameras - a Nikon from when 3 megapixels was good, and a newer compact Fuji, which has more megapixels but takes lower-quality pictures.

The Nikon came with a 16MB memory card. At the same time I bought the accessory pack, which had a 32MB card among all the other essentials - this is enough to be equivalent to a roll of film. I now have a 256MB card for it, which means I virtually never run out of space on high quality, and I can even take a decent number of lossless images.

It's still a good camera, despite being quite a few years old. It needs a bit of repair - the battery compartment won't stay closed, and there is a minor fault with the optic mechanisms - but that can wait for a while.

The Fuji came with nothing. I think it has internal storage, but that's so small as to be useless. I bought a 1GB card on the spot, which will be more than adequate.

But it's small enough to be taken almost anywhere, and manages to not look silly on top of a miniature tripod, which is necessary to get any kind of good picture from it.

[El Pollo Guerrera]

Quoth Mara-chan

As a little bonus related suckiness...

Have you ever had a customer want to see inside a box of whatever product, rip it apart looking at the manual or what it came with or whatever, and then want to buy a SEALED one because this one was opened? Or even better yet ask for a discount since that box was open? I have. And I gave them my best "Are you fracking kidding me?" look.

Yes.

Yesterday.

I opened the box for the customer so that she could count what was inside.

She counted them, then asked for a sealed box.



I pointed out to her that the box was sealed until I opened it for her, and she just blinked at me.

I put the sealed box back on the shelf, and she bought the box I opened.

Oh, and what was in the box?



















One dozen chisel point black markers, worth around $11.

[crazylegs]

I've never known a digitial camera of any description to come with any removable memory whatsoever!

I wish I didn't have to pay for one of my 6 2gb cards but there we go!

[Dave1982]

RE: SC #1

This is PRECISELY the reason why I despite dealing with furniture customers. Never mind the fact that I know squat about furniture, ALL the boxes come in with some sort of damage, or become slightly damaged in the process of removing them from the high overhead racks. And people ALWAYS think it's a return. n

Re: SC #2

FYI: Of the various brands of digital camera that Staples carries, only Canon routinely includes a memory card, and at that it's only a 32MB SD card. I am unsure if their SLRs come with cards or not, but the small ones (PowerShot series) do. Sony, Kodak, Olympus, Nikon, etc do NOT come with memory cards. Hopefully that info will come in handy for you next time.

(I'm assuming that you have the same lineup of cameras at your store that I have at mine).

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Quoth Dave1982

RE: SC #1

This is PRECISELY the reason why I despite dealing with furniture customers. Never mind the fact that I know squat about furniture, ALL the boxes come in with some sort of damage, or become slightly damaged in the process of removing them from the high overhead racks. And people ALWAYS think it's a return. n

I get the same thing at my store. Any damage to the outside of the box and they assume the product inside is shot as well.

It doesn't matter if the only thing visible through a tear in the box is a chunk of styrofoam and the only apparent damage visible is to that chunk of styrofoam. They immediately assume I'm bringing them a credenza that's been pre-fed through a wood chipper For Their Convenience.

Then they either ask me to open the box so they can inspect each and every piece (Makes for lots and lots of fun to take the thing out to their vehicle after it's been ripped apart ) or they just ominously threaten that they better not have to return it.

It doesn't help when some items are packaged in thin, flimsy cardboard boxes, thus making damage in transit inevitable.