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Where has customer service gone?

W

Wag

Diamond Member
Bought a pair of sneakers from a local sporting-goods chain. Wore them once, hurt my feet really bad (unwearable). Website for the manufacturer says you can return/exchange them at the store your purchase was made if you're unstatisfied/has manufacturer's defect. Go back to the store a few times because they didn't have comparable pair in my size.

Today I'm at the store- big "GOING OUT OF BUSINESS ALL SALES FINAL" signs all over (not there 2 weeks ago). I still can't find something in my size- they call the manager up. She looks at my sneakers and says she won't take them back, no exceptions. I told her I was in the store 2 other times, and both times I was told I could exchange them. I pointed out that the manufacturer says otherwise- she said she didn't care.
So now I'm contacting manufacturer and see what they can do.

I have never experienced such a disregard for the customer before. Even the fact that I was in the store two other times and was told I could exchange them should have been enough to let me do it, let alone the manufacturer's agreement. That was just ridiculous.

It seems to be a trend these days- where there is less CS to save a buck. I'd rather pay a bit more and be treated like a human being then that nonsense.

Ah, I feel better now.🙂

 
To India, Phillipines, Mexico?

Well I've actually had that happen to me too. Foot Action sold me the wrong size. I mean I asked the guy to push down in the front of the shoe to let me know if he felt that it the right size. He said yes, so I took his advice since he sells shoes on a daily basis. I then went home and wore them a few times and noticed that they were really big for my feet. I bought a size 11 and I usually wear a size 9.5. But these were for New Balance, a brand I've never worn before, and it did not fit.
 
That sucks. Nothing worse than bad CS...In fact it's on my permenent list to stay away from... There are very few stores I can shop at anymore🙁

Dillards Newegg Lowes and Costco are about it. What store was it?
 
Decathalon (formely MVP). Little wonder they're going OOB. They're closing 14 stores in NE and keeping 4 open. It's not just the economy that effects a stores profitability. I think the retail chains need to wise-up (COMPUSA and Best Buy) or they're going to be next.
 
The thing about shoes is that you never know how they're going to feel untill you actually wear them out. That's why most of the shoe/sneaker manufacturers have satisfaction policies on their websites. I also had problems with shoes in the past and never had a problem returning/exchanging them.
 
Originally posted by: Wag
Decathalon (formely MVP). Little wonder they're going OOB. They're closing 14 stores in NE and keeping 4 open. It's not just the economy that effects a stores profitability. I think the retail chains need to wise-up (COMPUSA and Best Buy) or they're going to be next.
Click to expand...

What are you smoking? Those places are overflowing with customer service. They stalk me because my wallet is fat and I don't go straight to the big ticket items (Because I don't get my big ticket items there, unless there's more than 30% difference below Newegg including rebates). They damn near wait on me hand and foot "excuse me, where are the 4x DVD-R's" "hold on *bring 20 different brands to me while I'm playing with a widescreen laptop*"
 
I'm talking about customer service and and not sales-clerks.

Also, I'm not sure what stores you're going to, but I can walk around my local CompUSA, BB and CC for quite a while and not find anyone except the checkout people.
 
Originally posted by: Wag
The thing about shoes is that you never know how they're going to feel untill you actually wear them out. That's why most of the shoe/sneaker manufacturers have satisfaction policies on their websites. I also had problems with shoes in the past and never had a problem returning/exchanging them.
Click to expand...

Are you suggesting you should be able to wear them out and still take them back? Not IMO... if the item is not re-saleable or defective you should'nt be able to take back because the store and/or manufacturer will take a loss. This loss is paid for by all the other customers. Plus it makes merchants put up draconian return policies which also hurts us all.
 
If the manufacturer has a stated unconditional "satisfaction guaranteed" policy, then yes, I expect to be able to return them, or exchange at least.

And yes, if you wear shoes once and they hurt like hell you should be able to take them back. I've never had a store deny me this.
This is exactly what CS is for. I wasn't asking for a refund, just an exchange for a comparable item.
 
Two things need to be realized: (I picked these up on the other side of the CS counter.)

1) "The customer is always right" died the moment every customer believed it was true.

Why? Because "we" (the CS people) need to be treated as humans too. - BTW, I am not saying you were a nasty Mo Fo about it or anything.

2) Validity. Did that particular manager deal with you the other two times?

If not, think of her point of view. Are you just trying to cheat the "All sales final" policy?

And before you bring up receipt, (from a CS point of view) you could have bought a good pair of shoes, then bought a crappy sale pair, then bought the crappy sale pair back with the good pair receipt.

This does not excuse them, at least not in your mind, but it does help promote understanding between the two "factions."
 
Originally posted by: Wag
Bought a pair of sneakers from a local sporting-goods chain. Wore them once, hurt my feet really bad (unwearable). Website for the manufacturer says you can return/exchange them at the store your purchase was made if you're unstatisfied/has manufacturer's defect. Go back to the store a few times because they didn't have comparable pair in my size.

Today I'm at the store- big "GOING OUT OF BUSINESS ALL SALES FINAL" signs all over (not there 2 weeks ago). I still can't find something in my size- they call the manager up. She looks at my sneakers and says she won't take them back, no exceptions. I told her I was in the store 2 other times, and both times I was told I could exchange them. I pointed out that the manufacturer says otherwise- she said she didn't care.
So now I'm contacting manufacturer and see what they can do.

I have never experienced such a disregard for the customer before. Even the fact that I was in the store two other times and was told I could exchange them should have been enough to let me do it, let alone the manufacturer's agreement. That was just ridiculous.

It seems to be a trend these days- where there is less CS to save a buck. I'd rather pay a bit more and be treated like a human being then that nonsense.

Ah, I feel better now.🙂
Click to expand...
If I were losing my job in 2 weeks, I wouldn't care about the customer either. Not that it's justified, but you gotta look at it from the manager's point of view.

If it's a chain store, try another one.
 
I have to agree with DOSfan a bit here, I too work in Customer Service in a large UK retail chain ("Where in the..." is the only clue I'm giving), and the amount of sh!t we have to put up with from customers is just unbelievable.

Granted, I work in a store that pretty much caters for dumbasses, but I am paid to be a Technician, not a sounding board. The situation's kinda getting better now that we have people solely dedicated to sorting the massive piles of returned stuff that 99% of the time is not even faulty, and dealing with issues. However, occasionally I have to stop what I'm doing and help out, and it's the part of my job that I hate with a passion. People will break stuff and return it after being told that we can't return something that's 2 months old simply because they didn't read the system specs and can't get it going. (Software being a favourite here).
People will swap stuff out into the box they bought it from, and when there's 25 people waiting at the desk, you don't have time to check everything until it comes to sort it all.

I've had customers scream, shout, yell and threaten me. My staff (well, the people I'm supervisor for) have been poked in the chest repeatedly, had to walk away from situations where the person was being so unbelievably rude that they were close to hitting them right there... you get the idea. And yet, the "customer" still thinks that we should bend over and drop our trousers (pants, whatever 😛) when they walk through the door to satisfy their every whim.

The other week I had an hour-long argument (I kid you not, I was in it for the fun but it got rapidly boring) with a guy that had two wireless cards and insisted that you could not share a DSL line with them. He'd read that you need two Ethernet jacks on the machine with the Internet, and overlooked the fact that he did not have an Ethernet-based connection, and that info therefore didn't apply. I even set up a share right there and then to show him that it could be done, and he accused me of trickery and sleight-of-hand. Huh? He then told two of us that we were "the only people in the world who have done it then". God, I was so close to screaming at him that he was retarded and should leave before I install a monitor implant into his backside. He. would. not listen. to. me.

All I'm saying to this is that even if the customer believes they are right, that does not give them the right to forget that we are human beings too. It only takes one asshole to ruin a day that was otherwise great, and that's just not on.

</rant> (I got home a couple of hours ago after a typically busy Saturday at the Tard Farm (aka. the Service Desk). Sigh.)

[Edit] By the way, the sneakers should have been taken back, IMHO. Unfit for intended purpose. I don't know about US Consumer laws, but in the UK, you cannot return something that you bought in error, etc, but you are perfectly within your rights to return something that is not fit for the intended purpose. Open and shut case.
 
Originally posted by: Wag
If the manufacturer has a stated unconditional "satisfaction guaranteed" policy, then yes, I expect to be able to return them, or exchange at least.

And yes, if you wear shoes once and they hurt like hell you should be able to take them back. I've never had a store deny me this.
This is exactly what CS is for. I wasn't asking for a refund, just an exchange for a comparable item.
Click to expand...

I guess you have the right but I would'nt do it unless defective. To me it's getting something for free. Remember the "spirt" of the policy is important. And if everyone abuses it CS will suck for everyone. It's your responsiblity to make sure they are comfortable when buying them.
 
Keep in mind that most "Going out of Business" sales are conducted by a 3rd party group. Usually, the contents of a store are sold for a "price" and the company that specializes in such sales is responsible for clearing out the store.

But, I will agree with you that customer service has been slipping for some time. 🙁

 
How long have you had the sneakers?

I think the biggest issue is the going out of business sale. Usually once that happens, the rules change, and that's probably why they won't return them.
 
I had them for a few weeks, but I went back the next day, and they kept stringing me along, telling me the next shipment will come in soon, come back tommorow and exchange them. I purchased the sneakers before they stated they were going out of business. There was only a sign that said "no receipt, no exchanges".

It's up to the manufacturer now to make things right. If not, I just throw them in a charity drop-box.
 
Timerland will replace a pair of broken boots if you ship it to the company, I'd look to see this this applys to you, then I'd snap those suckers apart...
 
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