Sucky customer or did he have a point?

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

As is common at a video game store, any case that's on our shelves does not have the game inside it. This is obviously a theft prevention measure. That means that when you bring the case to the counter, we grab the game from a drawer and put it in the case.

It also means that sometimes we forget to do this and people walk away having just paid for an empty case.

This holiday, we had several instances where something that had been purchased as a Christmas gift, was in fact, empty inside. All of these folks were decent about it, some just wanted the game, others wanted a refund. Neither was a problem.

But a few years ago during my first stint at a games store, a customer did have a real problem with it.

He came in and bitched to me that his kid had opened the package on Christmas and nothing was inside, I apologized several times and got the game for him, but apparently this was not enough.

He proceeded to chew out my manager because he wanted a $15 gift card (which amounted to about half the cost of the game) on top of the apology because our mistake apparently wrecked Christmas for his son.

My manager refused to give in to the guy, told him that he had an apology and his game and that we had no obligation beyond that.

Our usual policy is that the customer gets their game and no other compensation when we've accidentally sold them an empty case. I did on one occasion give someone $10 back because it was a long drive for them to come to our store and they had unfortunately been given an empty case TWICE, but as a general rule, there's nothing extra given the customer in this situation.

Usually most customers aren't upset in these situations (they realize we are humans, we make mistakes). I've had a few incidents on Christmas where a product was not packaged correctly or missing pieces. It happens.

I often think of this situation and wonder how reasonable or unreasonable the customers request actually was.

[slavetotheman]

I presume your store sells used games, in which case the customer is at fault for being cheap with his son's Christmas present

[IT Grunt]

Our local game store does that even with new games. As far as I'm concerned, mistakes happen. If people weren't asses and constantly trying to steal things, your store wouldn't have to take that precaution and the problem would be eliminated entirely. Unfortunately there are a lot of assholes out there who ruin things for everyone. The guy was sucky in my opinion.

[MadMike]

I can understand the customer being upset. I'm sure when my son was little, he would have been quite upset about opening up and empty box on Christmas morning, and trying to console an upset child isn't fun.

That being said, all I would have expected was a replacement. If the store wanted to make it up to me with something extra, that would be great, and I wouldn't expect it.

[scruff]

It's the customers fault for not doublechecking the game was present before he left the store, in my humble opinion.

I've never been given an empty case, but I've certainly been given the wrong game before now. Mistakes happen. He should have checked, just like doublechecking your change or takeaway before leaving the shop. :-)

[SourRobot]

He was being an SC. If that happened to me I'd figure that all I could do is either go back and get the game, or just return the whole thing and get my refund. Why on earth should he get anything else out of that?

[Broomjockey]

I'm going to buck the trend, and say "both." He was sucky, but if you're not keeping merchandise in the boxes, you need to be double and triple checking that you're giving it to people. To use the cliche, giving a child an empty game box for Christmas really would ruin it. The kid's crushed, the parents feel like jackasses. And then they have to go back and basically beg to be believed, rather than they're scamming. When you're on register, your job is to make sure people are paying what they're getting for, and getting what they're paying for. If this is as common occurrence as you seem to be implying, then frankly, your store is not doing the job well enough, Christmas Rush or not.

That said, the guy seems to have been a right ass about the whole thing, and someone who's being an ass shouldn't get anything.

[South Texan]

I'm going to buck the trend, and say "both." He was sucky, but if you're not keeping merchandise in the boxes, you need to be double and triple checking that you're giving it to people. To use the cliche, giving a child an empty game box for Christmas really would ruin it. The kid's crushed, the parents feel like jackasses. And then they have to go back and basically beg to be believed, rather than they're scamming. When you're on register, your job is to make sure people are paying what they're getting for, and getting what they're paying for. If this is as common occurrence as you seem to be implying, then frankly, your store is not doing the job well enough, Christmas Rush or not.

VERY WELL PUT, Broomjockey!

I wanted to write almost the same statement, but I could not phrase it better than yours.

.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

The customer absolutely had a point. He paid for an empty case, the kid opened the case on Christmas to find nothing inside, and probably was pretty upset.

If you going to keep the actual games behind the counter (which is perfectly understandable as a theft deterrent), you need to make damn sure the customer gets the game every single time.

As for the gift card--If I were the customer I wouldn't have gone fishing for it. If I were the manager, I might've given it just because it was our mistake, after all. Or tried to see if he'd settle for ten.

[Megg]

It's the customers fault for not doublechecking the game was present before he left the store, in my humble opinion.

As much as I agree with the above, I also have to see the point others have made about the responsibility being on the employees, as well. The store does this as theft deterrent, which makes total sense, but also benefits the store more than the customer. Sure, the argument could be made that theft leads to higher prices, but really, it is to prevent headaches and loss to the store. Since they are the main beneficiaries of this policy, it does fall on the employees to be extra diligent about making sure the games are in the case. While the customer should check the case, they have a reasonable expectation that they did not just pay $50 or so for an empty plastic case with pretty pictures. Since the OP makes it seem like this happens a lot, it seems to me the employees are the ones who fail in this. Sorry, but if you went to a store regularly, and say 2 out of every 5 times you went you had to go back because the store left your game out of the case, would you be upset? I know I would, and I would stop shopping there pretty quick. Please note, all numbers pulled directly from thin air.

[RayvenQ]

If you going to keep the actual games behind the counter (which is perfectly understandable as a theft deterrent), you need to make damn sure the customer gets the game every single time.

If you're buying your child a christmas present, you should really check that it is the right thing. Then again, I double check them myself, even if i've had them put in the cases right in front of me.

[eltf177]

If you're buying your child a christmas present, you should really check that it is the right thing. Then again, I double check them myself, even if i've had them put in the cases right in front of me.

Same here. I shop at a used bookstore that also sells used DVD's. It's a long trip and I got burned once with the wrong DVD put into the case. I now double-check everything before I go; twice they've accidently put the wrong DVD in the case but since I've caught it there there wasn't a problem. Didn't blame the clerk, accidents do happen.

[Lots42]

The dingbat should have checked it outside of the exit door or at the counter. It's his fault.

[SuperRTL]

This actually reminds me of a Christmas when I was younger. My brother and I actually opened an empty game box because my parents had opened it before they wrapped it and forgotten that it was still in the machine. Apparently, they'd been up all night playing it.

Maybe doesn't answer the original question buy Yay for nostalgia.

[Andara Bledin]

I presume your store sells used games, in which case the customer is at fault for being cheap with his son's Christmas present

Column A & column B.

I don't buy from that game shop because when I buy a new game, I want a new game, not one that's had a good chance of having been played by the workers and then re-shrinked with the manual and ad inserts. I'm of the opinion that if it's not sealed, it's not new.

However, seeing as how all of their cases are empty, and there's a significant difference in the weight of an empty case and a case with the game and manual in it, and that the guy had it in his hands for a significantly longer time than the clerks had it in theirs, it's on him to make sure he has what he wanted.

Hell, for all we know, the guy was being a complete douchebag at checkout, and his actions were the cause of the clerk forgetting to put the disk back inside the case while checking the dude out.

If you're buying your child a christmas present, you should really check that it is the right thing. Then again, I double check them myself, even if i've had them put in the cases right in front of me.

I usually do the same, myself.

A friend that was buying from a different shop and he ended up with the first game of a series when he was trying to buy the second. Slight lapse from the clerk, and it was no trouble to get it fixed next time we went in, but it was a bit irritating for the friend as he's not in the area that often.

^-.-^