And in a bad way.
Now that I'm working retail again, I have to deal with returns quite frequently. That's not a problem, as long as you have your receipt, or at least the tags on the garment or item purchased. I understand what a hassle returns are (or can be) for the customer as well as for myself, so I try to be extra patient and polite. But sometimes, I just get frustrated.
Take for instance a customer (this customer may be real or imagined) who brings in a shirt and jeans. The shirt is coming apart and so were the jeans. Understandable problems and a good reason to return clothing. However, the garments were a few months old (by the date on the receipt) and had been worn numerous times and smelled like cigarette smoke. We were unable to process the shirt for the customer, but did manage to give a cash refund for the jeans. And now we have to try to re-sell smoky, worn-out jeans at a price upwards of $25. The garments were not even purchased in this town, but a town several hours from here.
Take for instance another customer, also perhaps real or imagined, who brought in a pile of baby clothes that were not only worn several (hundreds of) times, but also worn out, stained, and smelling of cigarette smoke. Obviously not brand-new and just the wrong size. The manager stepped up in that instance and took care of the problem, saying that we could not offer a refund or an exchange, but she had to say it was because we didn't carry those brands of clothing.
I later asked if there was no policy against severely worn clothing and returns / exchanges. There clearly is not, because the customer is #1, and that's what my manager told me.
I know it sounds like I'm being a big meanie. I'm really not trying to be. I understand that you have to return things. I return things. But only if they truly didn't work out. And I don't wear it and wash it and smoke on it and spill things on it for a month or two before I decide if it didn't work or not.
There is one problem, though, that I don't know how to solve. If a garment is really new, say less than a month old, and truly begins to break down in a way that it shouldn't, what is the customer to do? They paid good money for a piece of clothing that ought to last a good while, and it starts falling apart. Should that be a problem for the store to handle or for the manufacturer? Should they contact Tommy Hilfiger or Levi's or Sag Harbor or whatever? Do you see what I'm saying? So, there are problems at every turn.
What do you think?
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2 comments:
I sympathize with your frustrations Tarimisu. But I guess I've wondered about that last question too--should the retailer or the manufacturer handle problems with unsatisfactory goods? For example, last week I bought something from a vending machine. When I noticed that the item wasn't sealed properly I called the manufacturer of the item. On the other hand, Marty bought a pair of name brand jeans less than 6 months ago. One of the legs of that pair of jeans has developed holes (like in the thigh--not a normal high wear spot). With those, we have the receipt from the retailer and we plan on taking them there to see what they will do (if anything).
It is a delimma! People should be able to expect a product they purchase to last a certain amount of time (which is why there are warranties, etc., of course). With Pampered Chef, each item has a guarantee for a certain amount of years and the company will replace it free of charge within that time limit. But since it's direct sales, it's up to the customer to contact the company directly. I am not involved in any returns. I think it would be good if clothing came with that same kind of guarantee from the manufacturer.
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