It comes out of everyone's pocket. The manufacturer jacks up their prices to cover the losses. The store raised their prices to cover the cost of returns & the money that was spent on employees time.
So we all pay for this ________ behavior.
Banned from making too many returns? - Share your experiences!
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It comes out of everyone's pocket. The manufacturer jacks up their prices to cover the losses. The store raised their prices to cover the cost of returns & the money that was spent on employees time.
So we all pay for this ________ behavior.
CommeUneEtoile said:
My store we get a yearly bonus based on our sales. So when you have LOADS of people who constantly take advantage of this policy because they know of others who have gotten away with things or they themselves have in the past you lose hundreds of dollars everyday. I know this because I work in the office as assistant bookkeeper an I need to balance those things and review the refunds.
No one has ever been banned for this. Only people who have been caught stealing.
layd3k said:
Don't they just go back on the racks for sale? Unless they're damaged or missing something, why would they lose money? Kohls seems to do just fine. And most companies do bonuses based on profits so if you're a retailer returns are just part of life. I don't think anyone went out of business for it no matter how big the herd of returners becomes unless you're a small business and can't afford that. I feel that people and policies are more lax on returns in bigger chain stores because they can afford it.
That is true but I work at a 'high-end' grocery store. LOL Most things people return we have to throw out. For example, many people find lots of things very expensive at the store I work at so if they buy a giant bag of mixed nuts from the bulk department and they don't like the price they say they don't want it. We don't put that back on the shelf, it goes straight to the garbage. Other examples include anything taken fresh from the deli, they don't like the price after the cold cut or cheese has been sliced for them they say they don't want it. We can't keep that so we throw it out. Same with olives, hot foods anything from bakery.
And for Haloween candy, or Christmas/Valentines day stuff, we don't keep it until next year, it goes back to the manufacturer so we lose money on it.
Then you have the people who get away with all the returns. And it is a problem because a lot of these people DO NOT have receipts and many of them steal. And like another poster said, what is the point of a return policy if managers don't even abide by it? So people will steal meat products and say they lost the receipt and try to get money for it. The managers get called and they just say yes 'this one time.' But these people come back and do it again. I have so many more examples and it is just frustrating when you see people do this CONSTANTLY. And I am sure at some big retailers SA's see it all the time and they must think it is a little OTT and frustrating when people return things after three years. I know I would never do that!! lol
And the profit for my bonus does come from my individual stores sales. We are the only store in the company that gets it as per our union agreement.
Anywase, that is my opinion and experience.
layd3k said:That is true but I work at a 'high-end' grocery store. LOL Most things people return we have to throw out. For example, many people find lots of things very expensive at the store I work at so if they buy a giant bag of mixed nuts from the bulk department and they don't like the price they say they don't want it. We don't put that back on the shelf, it goes straight to the garbage. Other examples include anything taken fresh from the deli, they don't like the price after the cold cut or cheese has been sliced for them they say they don't want it. We can't keep that so we throw it out. Same with olives, hot foods anything from bakery.
And for Haloween candy, or Christmas/Valentines day stuff, we don't keep it until next year, it goes back to the manufacturer so we lose money on it.
Then you have the people who get away with all the returns. And it is a problem because a lot of these people DO NOT have receipts and many of them steal. And like another poster said, what is the point of a return policy if managers don't even abide by it? So people will steal meat products and say they lost the receipt and try to get money for it. The managers get called and they just say yes 'this one time.' But these people come back and do it again. I have so many more examples and it is just frustrating when you see people do this CONSTANTLY. And I am sure at some big retailers SA's see it all the time and they must think it is a little OTT and frustrating when people return things after three years. I know I would never do that!! lol
And the profit for my bonus does come from my individual stores sales. We are the only store in the company that gets it as per our union agreement.
Anywase, that is my opinion and experience.
I agree
I never return food. What's the point of that? What I've experienced in food places like chipotle or a deli where they make it in front of you is that they don't listen to what you are asking for and assume. So out goes that food. At chipotle he put the wrong meat but we said its ok just add a bit of the other one and he looked at us and just chucked it. I'm like what why??? So it's not just returns that cause losses. Groceries throw out so much it's unbelievable to me how much food goes to waste. I'm sorry you have to deal with weird food returns 
I have never and will never do that. I'm just a shoe and clothes returner lol. My bf calls me returney-returns-a-lot lol and not so much for vanity or money. It's more like sometimes at home you find something wrong with it that u didn't see in the store.Oh I will and have returned food. 8.00 for a big bag of grapes but they are sour? Back they go.
Target ( I no longer shop food items there ) had a bad habit of having fruit on chillers set very very high. You would never know the good was off / bad or not good because it was so cold and hard. Apples / grapes etc. I was sick of it so the last time I returned it and said those chillers are way too high. Of course they don't listen. Done with Target and food. Done!
Target ( I no longer shop food items there ) had a bad habit of having fruit on chillers set very very high. You would never know the good was off / bad or not good because it was so cold and hard. Apples / grapes etc. I was sick of it so the last time I returned it and said those chillers are way too high. Of course they don't listen. Done with Target and food. Done!
Back in high school, I had a teacher return a bag of salad because it had a worm inside of it. 
But I never returned food myself.
But I never returned food myself.
I just found this link! It is filled with crazy return policy stories.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/jtes/13-crazy-stories-about-customers-trying-to-return?s=mobile
http://www.buzzfeed.com/jtes/13-crazy-stories-about-customers-trying-to-return?s=mobile
Ugh, this makes me angry. I hate it when people abuse return policies. I've ordered shoes online, only to receive shoes that had obviously been worn outside - happened a few times.
My job is a store manager and a lot of people in this thread are being a bit dense... to the "bookkeeper" who said they are hurting your staff's bonuses, don't you realize the same people are increasing your sales? Unless they are returning from A DIFFERENT store (which is an awful thing to do) as long as the items are new with tags and in resellable condition then they aren't doing anything worse than wasting a bit of your time.
Large stores have forgiving return policies for a reason. It gives your average buyer like me more confidence, and makes me spend more. Thousands of people like me spending more are worth the financial trade-off, or they wouldn't do it. These large chain stores aren't charities, they are money machines.
And as with many strategies to increase sales, there are trade-offs. Some people will abuse the policy. I've lived overseas for years (in a country with very conservative return policies) and these people still exist. I think it's important to be aware that some of the people have real problems - impulse disorders, shopping addictions, etc. That is NOT the store's problem, so it's absolutely ethical to ban them.
However it is unfair to extend that blame and stigma to lost profits. Be empathetic. And be just. They are not detracting from your bonuses. They are not raising prices either - clothing especially has enormous margins.
Tag switching and theft are exceptions but I don't think that's what this discussion was about.
Went to return some items I ordered online from LOFT, I was issued a return warning and my return was declined b/c I exceeded their return limit!
LOFT would always require a form of ID (ie driver's license) when you're returning (even if you have the original receipt AND it's within 60 days) and in the past, I found that for every item I would return (they were all part of the same online order), they scanned my driver's license per item, when really they should have scanned it once per order.
At this point, I'm banned from making any returns or exchanges for 90 days... which I find ridiculous because all the items I had returned were unworn w tags attached... I feel like they're accusing me of return fraud, wardrobing, etc
how can anyone shop online with this type of return policy...
LOFT would always require a form of ID (ie driver's license) when you're returning (even if you have the original receipt AND it's within 60 days) and in the past, I found that for every item I would return (they were all part of the same online order), they scanned my driver's license per item, when really they should have scanned it once per order.
At this point, I'm banned from making any returns or exchanges for 90 days... which I find ridiculous because all the items I had returned were unworn w tags attached... I feel like they're accusing me of return fraud, wardrobing, etc
how can anyone shop online with this type of return policy...
That's ridiculous. At least they could be very clear about this initially, so that it doesn't become a problem.Went to return some items I ordered online from LOFT, I was issued a return warning and my return was declined b/c I exceeded their return limit!
LOFT would always require a form of ID (ie driver's license) when you're returning (even if you have the original receipt AND it's within 60 days) and in the past, I found that for every item I would return (they were all part of the same online order), they scanned my driver's license per item, when really they should have scanned it once per order.
At this point, I'm banned from making any returns or exchanges for 90 days... which I find ridiculous because all the items I had returned were unworn w tags attached... I feel like they're accusing me of return fraud, wardrobing, etc
how can anyone shop online with this type of return policy...