I worked retail at two major chains (Costco and Kohl's) while I was in college and worked in the Customer Service department in each. I've seen much, much worse customers than the original poster. Costco used to have a very liberal return policy (it's a bit different than BB because you pay them to shop) and I remember people bringing back heaters and snowblowers after the winter season. At Kohl's, we had a group of customers that would buy tons of clothes, take them to their family in India, then bring back all the ones that didn't fit months later. They did this multiple times a year.

If someone spends $15,000+ after returns (which could be verified by the RZ card) and follows the return rules, i.e. has the receipt, is in the allotted return window, buys no more than three of the same item at a time, then there's no reason a company should not bend over backwards for this customer. $15,000 isn't much to a company like BB, but every single person at their corporate office would say that this was very poor customer service.

I personally would not take back food I didn't like to a store, but if it's allowed in the store's policy, then I can't argue against it. Stores have to stand behind their merchandise.

What if she feels like ... COMPLAINING?

I do a fair amount of returns as well, but I always feel guilty going to the same store. So I rotate the stores I return things to. But I don't return multiple copies of the same item. If you are returning the extra 2 copies you pick up for friends that much, then stop buying for your friends! Just buy one copy for yourself, or maybe 2 copies. Returning 2 copies of the same items looks suspicious, which is probably what got you red flagged...

Wow. I've never seen so many people come to BB's defense. I think that you were treated bad sillymonkey and I hope that corporate "corrects" the behavior of their managers at that store. It's your money and you can spend it however you feel like spending it and I would think that BB would want you to spend it at their store. Look at the Las Vegas casinos and the things that they do for their "high rollers"....


As far as returns go, if they don't want to adhere to their own policy then they should change it. Period.

I used to do a lot of impulse buying (3 or 4 titles a week) at lunch at Suncoast in Burbank and would end up returning at least a couple of them a month at the local Suncoast where I live over the weekend. Don't ask me why I didn't take them back to Burbank, I guess I never really thought about it.

Until getting rudely scolded at the West LA Suncoast for screwing up their inventory for constantly returning there but never buying.

Sure, some buying/returning patterns are kind of weird, but the store should always politely warn the customer before cracking the whip.

We only have your word as to the manager being rude to you. As to any wild accusations made, well, again, yours is the only version of events we have to go on...it's interesting that whenever something doesn't go the way someone wants it to, at least on this forum, it's always the store manager or company policy that's being unreasonable. Never does it occur to the complainant that the story is being told in such a way as to put them (the complainant) in the most favorable light possible, facing down the Big Bad Store.

I hate to be behind anyone in the line.

If they think you resell, they don't want to deal with you. Not saying you are but you might have given them that impression. It's like they hate to see you make money off them.

It's so obvious to me that the OP is a reseller. She states how "almost every week" she'd make here pilgrimage to BB for the new releases and exclusives yet 2 days ago she was trying to return items [Stargate SG-1 sets] purchased back in November??!! It's not like you hadn't been there since. OP states buying a Halloween DVD there on the 18th of December. I guess the SG-1 sets didn't garner the "profit" she really wanted.

I totally agree with BB on this one!

I agree. It's obvious this woman is a reseller and she is just embellishing the story to make herself look good. I'd say get yourself a new job. Doesn't seem like this job was all too profitable anyway.

Nothing wrong with being a reseller and being one doesn't warrant poor service or being banned, as long as you don't over do it.

What does your husband think about all this?

Sounds like she did over do it.

I think so many people have come to their defense because we've all been behind the person that has an obnoxious amount of returns, and it pisses us off to have to wait in line while that crap is going on.

my husband thinks i'm crazy but he lets me do it because it makes me happy and we're not hurting for $. he was there when it happened so he knows the story

what's wrong with returning the SG-1 now? it was an extended return policy and i got a better deal later elsewhere later on. I bought those then returned my new purchases to BB with my old receipt. Again, same items, new and sealed.

true, i should have split my return up, it was big, but that still doesn't justify how rude the management was. I am only telling the story as i see it. yes. it is one-sided. It is presented as I saw the situation.

for someone who thinks this thread is wasting his time, DIRKUSA sure is posting and checking it alot. if you don't like what you're reading, don't read it.

like i said, if BB felt the need to ban me, fine. However, it would have been appropiate for the manager to have handled the situation in a more polite manner. Under no circumstances did he have to treat me rudely and to call me not a 'real' customer.

there is probably profit to be made at the prices i get some of the deals at but for the time, cost, effort etc involved, my time would be better spent getting in more clients for my biz. movies are my hobby, yes, maybe even a sport, hunting for the best deals and what-not, being able to get a rare-find etc.

and no, i'm not blaming BB for my buying habits. i'm saying, all these chain stores have their policies, store design etc in place to facilitate impulse-buying and to encourage spending. they produce a zillion different editions of each movie, all in attempt to get a collector's dollar.

I'm saying that BB is particularly successful in getting my business because they have these policies in place. that's why they've managed to grow so big & successful.

i own a mom & pop business. we are extremely competitive with our pricing for the quality of goods we produce. We beat out companies as far away as australia (incl shipping factored in) in terms of pricing. and yet, we're still able to make good profit. we also offer price matches after bids are submitted. That's the way it goes. that's how companies beat out the competition. I don't feel bad one bit about my PMs at BB or any other store. that's the way they keep my business, just like that's the way i keep my clients' business. We do custom work, so all sales final after approval. but in the retail business, it is standard policy to accept returns of resaleble goods (tea not withstanding)

I am never rude to customers. I have banned one customer who was more difficult than he was worth but i explained the situation to him, in terms he could understand (he owns a resturant) and told him that i was sorry to see him & his business go.

I would never tell anyone to get the F out of my store. that's why someone like cdollaz & Dirk should never own/manage a store.

I know I sound like a douche to many readers, out to screw with all companies i deal with. but i'm not. i do expect them to adhere to their promises. if i make a promise to a customer, i will bend over backwards to keep my word, both in terms of production time, and in terms of quality output, even if it's a $30 sale. if something's not up to par, we make a new replacement, even if it's at a final loss if it was our fault.

as a small biz owner, i do feel for small companies and do little things like pay with visa rather than amex to help keep their costs down.

all i'm saying is, regardless of how crazy my spending habits are, i should have been treated with more respect (yes, this again, it one-sided and my point of view). if my actions were costing BB more $ than i was worth, he should just have been upfront & polite about it regardless. to make boundless accusactions about me as a reason for banning me was uncalled for, whether or not i appear to be a reseller.

I agree with Best Buy.

And I never thought I'd ever use the term sense of entitlement until I read the tea story... I would never think of returning something because I don't like the taste. I give it away or throw it away and never buy it again.

WOW!!
I'll have to stand behind Best Buy on this one.
I think she over did it in returning so many DVD's.
My parents think I spend too much on DVD's they should read this story.
Anyways I do make returns or exchanges once in a while. This year I think I made more exchanges then returns.
For example She-Ra Season 1 Volume 2 the first set I bought one disc was skipping. So I asked for an exchange. Then the second set I got most of the disc were very scratch. Again I asked for an exchange. Finally the third time the set was perfect. This was the first time a season set caused me so much trouble.
Now I just have to buy She-Ra Season 2 so I could have the whole He-Man/She-Ra collection.

i don't know about you, but i'd be pretty offended if someone gave me tea they didn't like. you didn't like it so you're giving it to me? thanks a lot. you shouldn't have. really.

personally, if i owned a store than sold food, no, i won't take back stuff that's opened. but walmart stands by all its products. it can afford to. if i owned a small store, i won't be able to. simply put, as a consumer, i wasn't satisfied with the item and they agreed to take it back. simple as that.

Thats called a legitimate return and what the return policies are for.

The manager did everyone a favor (including you sillymonkey).

If your $15,000 (after returns) a year claim is true, then your spouse should have been the one to ban you from Best Buy. If you need to spend that much at Best Buy to be "Happy", you have even bigger problems.

$15,000 'entitles' you to nothing. Some stores might have a policy where the amount you spend determines the way you are treated. But any store that treats me differently because of how much I spend loses my business immediately. Best Buy does not survive on its $15,000 a year customers, it stays in business because of its $100 a month customers (the unwashed masses).

Stop complaining. Give some of that 15k you'll be saving to some one who actually needs it. Spend some of your new found time watching some of the movies you have been buying (if you dare risk removing the shrink wrap) and stop berating a store for doing you a favor.

Was the manager rude? I don't know because I don't trust your retelling of the story... but it sounds like he was honest. You're just lucky I was not in line behind you. I would have loudly said "THANK GOD!" and started clapping.

Ummm... People have different tastes. I like Diet Coke. My friend like regular Coke. If my friend gave me the Diet Coke he doesn't like, I should be offended?

personally, if i owned a store than sold food, no, i won't take back stuff that's opened. but walmart stands by all its products. it can afford to. if i owned a small store, i won't be able to. simply put, as a consumer, i wasn't satisfied with the item and they agreed to take it back. simple as that.[/QUOTE]

Thats just cheap. You spend 15K at Best Buy and return tea you don't like to Walmart? Have you no self respect? Is the time spent returning the item worth it? Or were you returning a bunch of other items too?

smorri,

if someone behind me clapped their hands and said thank god, i really won't give a crap.

i give $ to charity. i work hard for my $ and i'm free to spend my excess as i wish. my spouse has his expensive hobbies, i have mine.

No, i don't think spending that much money at BB entitles me to any special treatment. However, I expect to be treated as fairly as any other regular customer, even if i am a regular/demanding customer.

if the CSR is surly to me, and also surly to the person before and after me (like most at CC) then i accept that. if they're surly only to me (even if it's a 1-2pc return), then we have a problem.

i'm not so naive to think my purchases or lack thereof is going to affect BB's bottom line. however, they should stand by their policies. if this was an issue in my case, a forewarning would have been appropiate.

I'm sorry, but i thought this forum was for people to rant, whether or not you believe their stories or not. If you don't believe the story, or the whole thread annoys you, or whatever, don't read it. don't keep posting and responding.

It is for discussions...

Thats just cheap. You spend 15K at Best Buy and return tea you don't like to Walmart? Have you no self respect? Is the time spent returning the item worth it? Or were you returning a bunch of other items too?[/QUOTE]

yes, pple have different tastes, you're assuming the person i give the tea to likes the stuff. no one i knew had tried it before so why should i give opened tea which i didn't like, to someone else?

yes. i'm cheap. i will try to find the best deals for my purchases. self-respect has nothing to do with it. why should i pay for something i wasn't satisfied with? both walmart & celestal seasonings guaranteed my satisfaction. price is irrelevant. there was no time involved in the return, took no more than 1-2 min. that was my only return.

store policies like that is what gave you a job as a CSR. no price guarantee/all sales final, no CSR job.

No. They shouldn't. YOu've said something along those lines a few times in various posts. The amount of money you spend at a big box retailer does not garner you any extra priveliges.

If you make friends with some employees, they may treat you better and let more things slide but you cannot expect or demand that response from a "new set of csr's" who only see you returning a lot of stuff. MAybe those csr's that were always doing returns got fired or transferred because they kept doing large dollar refunds. LP looks at and monitors that stuff and knows which employee does what when it comes to refunds.

I would side with Best Buy in this situation although, if the story transpired exactly the way you say (I didn't see anything overtly rude that was said), then he certainly could have handled it a bit differently but with the same conclusion. You were getting banned no matter what that day. It doesn't really matter how he went about it as long as you got the point you weren't welcome there anymore.

Why do you equate wasting money with self respect?

Right!! Because complaining that a manager was rude when they really weren't is soooo satisfying. The service people at BBY are never rude, they have such an excellent reputation - just look at all the posts in this forum praising them.

It's not that you don't trust her retelling, its that you WANT to disbelieve her. You think people should be good little consumers and conform to your own made up rules about how to spend their money. She doesn't conform and you don't like it.