"You should explain your ENTIRE return policy before...."

[Midnight]

....someone purchases something!"

Ugh, had a real winner come into my store last week. I manage a local independent game store. This black girl and her not to sharp boyfriend come into my store wanting to return a game since he claimed he never played it and just didn't want it. Now mind you, this was roughly three or four days after he had purchased the game....

Anyways, our store gives a 90-day replacement warranty against defective merchandise only. No cash refunds and all sales are final once out the door. We can't give you a new game because you hated the old one or little johnny found it to be to hard for him. If we don't have another copy of the game to replace the defective one, we give only store credit for the full purchase price so the customer can pick something else. We can buy it back for a normal trade-in price if you didn't like it, but you won't get what you paid for it in the first place. Unfortunately, as most small business goes, we can't really afford to do cash refunds like larger retailers can since we don't sell nearly the amount of product larger stores do.

Anyways, these two winners came in wanting their money back for the above stated reason. I told them I couldn't do that, and the guy pretty much gave the classic line "Well I was told I can get my money back!" Yeah, nice try, except I was the one who sold you the game in the first place and I clearly remember the transaction and never saying anything along those lines. I did say be sure to hang onto your reciept cause there is a 90 day replacement warranty on the game, because if you lose it, there is nothing we can do. He had selective hearing apparently...

Well, by this time, his girlfriend jumps into the fray and starts giving me a lot of attitude about how they should've been told about the WHOLE return policy before they bought the game. I kindly explain to her that I'm under no obligation to do so since we have our return policy clearly posted in two different places in the store, one of which she walked right by when entering the store. "Well, I never saw it the first time I came in here." RIGHT.....even though it's been sitting on our counter for YEARS, well before even I started to work there.

Anyways, they left still with their game since the few dollars I offered in exchange for the game wasn't enough. She came back a few minutes later to look at something else in the store, still ranting about how we should've told her about the ENTIRE policy. Caveat Emptor aka "Let the Buyer Beware" is what I told her in response. I'm sorry, but I'm not going to read every line of our return policy to every customer who buys something from our store. And her expecting me to do so is just plain idiotic. If you're to blind to read our return policy in the first place or ask specific questions about it BEFORE you buy your game, it's not my fault your stuck with a game you don't want after you buy it. Yeesh...

[CanadaGirl]

Lol. They'd probably get more money back if they put it on eBay.

[icia]

yeah, we have the same policy on games at our store. it's the copyright laws and for some reason people seem to think i get my jollies from not wanting to give them money back (well, if they're a jerk i DO kinda enjoy telling them no >>) but they just can't get it through their head that its policy and not my own personal rule that i've just made up to tick them off.

[varmintjane]

How is being black relevant to the story? Did she claim that it was racism or something?

[toolbert]

Quoth varmintjane

How is being black relevant to the story? Did she claim that it was racism or something?

i was thinking the same thing

But back on topic, I hate it when people come back to the store and bitch when I've already explained my store policy to them. For us it's on the reciept and I'm sorry if you can't read or if you threw your reciept away. That's our policy and I'm not bending unless it really is the fault of the item in question.

[Demonoid Phenomenon]

A lot of this attitude comes from many stores (mine included) who teach you that if a customer gets unreasonable, loud or makes a fuss, just give it to them.
In other words, act like a three-year-old and you get your way.

[Cvstos]

This makes me extremely happy that our return policy is on our receipts. I love it when they get all upset at me that they didn't read the signs next to the register, and I just circle the relevant bit on their receipt!

[technical.angel]

I had that too!

Woman walked up with a gift receipt, wanting a refund.

I explained that we could not refund with a gift receipt.

Well, no one told her precious angel that when he bought it.

"Actually, ma'am, I did. Not to mention, it's written right here on the receipt."

She left. I can't remember if she came back with the real receipt or not.

Jenni

[One-Fang]

I second the thought on mentioning her colour. Not because I think you should avoid potentially racist-seeming comments, but because I was reading it expecting to read something like "then she called me a n****er" and it never came.

Like setting up a joke and forgetting the punchline.

[Clintmax]

I worked for many years at an office supply store and our return policy stated 14 days on electronics, 30 days on everything else with your receipt. I was the KING of returns. Nobody returned anything to MY store after their time had expired. Nobody. I had people who would want to return open software. Didn't happen. I had to explain to them that they could easily have burned a copy of the disc or copied the disc contents to their harddrive, and they're trying to get the software for free. That's why opened software and music CD's can only be exchanged for the exact same item.

I hate returns.