Here's the letter she wrote to Walmart Corporate Headquarters:
To Whom It May Concern,
I am writing to let you know of the worst customer service experience I have ever had at a Wal-Mart store, which happened yesterday October 11, 2009.
I went to the Wal-Mart Supercenter, store #[redacted]to make an exchange. I had purchased two weeks earlier from store #[redacted] a bottle of Spray & Wash "Bright & White" laundry additive. After I got home with it, I realized I had bought the wrong kind; I only wanted the regular Spray & Wash laundry stain remover. I had not used a single drop out of the bottle. I had my receipt with me and I was well within the 90 day period. It should have been a simple exchange, right?
Well, as it turned out, no. I waited patiently for 10 minutes at the Customer Service desk. I explained what happened (as mentioned above). The girl waiting on me poured out some of the liquid into the cap and then poured it back into the bottle and sniffed it. Apparently - they have had people use a bottle of laundry detergent, then refill it with water & then return it. She told me to go get what I needed and come back for an exchange only. I explained that I had several other items to pick up too. She told me then to go through the regular line with my items, just don't let them ring up the new bottle of Spray & Wash and they'll exchange it then. OK...I wasn't happy about the extra trip but fine. So, I did my shopping, checked out (another 10 minutes in line) and went back to customer service. When it was my turn again (after waiting another 7 minutes) - they told me that a manager by the name of "Peter" was refusing the exchange. They told me that the liquid was "watered down" and "missing half of its contents". I was furious, but I kept my cool - they were essentially calling me a liar and a thief – without actually saying it. I explained that it was that consistency when I purchased it, that Spray & Wash Bright and White was thinner than regular laundry detergent, etc. They either didn't care or were too stupid to figure it out. So, I asked to speak to another manager. It wasn't about the money - it was a matter of principal at this point.
Before the other manager could show up to address the matter — a lady named "Gabby" called out from the back, that to "go ahead and just handle it". She reversed the decision the other manager had made. They marked out as defective the bottle I originally bought (even though there was nothing wrong with it!) and then exchanged it for the one I needed.
It was stupid, humiliating and made me just plain angry. I have never had such a misery-inducing, wretched customer service experience before. I was well within the exchange policy they have posted behind the customer service desk. I will never visit Wal-Mart store #[redacted] again. And I'm seriously considering just doing my shopping at local grocery stores and Target from now on, as result of this visit. I'm 9 months pregnant and to make anyone suffer through that indignity is just plain wrong — regardless if they are pregnant or not! If a few bad apples are scamming the store by returning bottles of laundry detergent — that is not the fault of the rest of us honest people who have legitimate returns for products we purchase — and we should not be punished as such.
I wanted to make you aware of this sort of bad service that is being given and how matters are being handled at this Wal-Mart location.
The way the Walmart operated is a good way to get customers to shop somewhere else. Has anyone else had trouble returning detergent to Walmart or other stores?
(Photo: oamg823)
]]>@zephypyre: Also, the mexican grocery has waaaaaaaaay better detergent.
]]>Sweet. We of the New Mexico non-giant grocery store shopping ilk welcome you to our fold. Look around yourself (yes, I realize she's probably not reading this article) and take notice of the smaller, locally owned joints (and the giant mexico groceria in the south valley) with generally shorter lines and better products. There's no reason to go in to a walmart in new mexico.
]]>@pot_roast: The "I'm pregnant" thing isn't just asking for special treatment, it's letting the powers-that-be know that the customer who is unhappy with them is one who is about to spend lots of money on an additional human being.
Soon-to-be parents have more clout in the retail world not because they're supposed to be treated as if they're the first people in the world to reproduce, but because they are in a position to drop thousands of dollars on baby stuff while doing so.
The bottom line here is usually the store manager-- is he an ass or a good guy?
]]>Yes, 50 cents (more or less) per item is definitely worth it, especially when buying a couple weeks' worth of groceries. It adds up.
As for the the spray and wash, I would have suggested that they find another bottle of the stuff and compare the amount/consistency of the contents. Otherwise, they have no basis for comparison, and they cannot rightly say that the product was watered down.
]]>@MooseOfReason: You've never done this before? I am a diet coke fiend. NOTHING else will do. Yet, I've accidentally bought caffeine free diet coke and cherry diet coke before. How does it happen? It just does. I mean... you're pregnant, you're tired, you're hungry, you have to go to the bathroom, you're dying to get out of the Walmart dungeon?
]]>@ToddMU03: Yes, let's also not mention that the person is disabled or that it was purchased as a gift for Toys for Tots or whatever. Honestly, it's fine. It's a small mention of a personal detail in a big complaint. I remember that one time, I had a horrendous customer service experience waiting for a prescription at Walgreens. My husband had just had surgery and was waiting for me in the car. Do you think I didn't mention that in the complaint letter?
]]>@thezone: Wow. If my husband did that, I'd probably think twice about staying married. I don't need him second-guessing where I bought his toothpaste. That kind of micromanagement is what's wrong with some marriages.
]]>This Monday, I tried to make a money transfer to New Mexico at my nearest (Hallandale, FL) Walmart. I specifically told the clerk "It's New Mexico, not Mexico". So, it seemed to go smoothly.
The next day, the recipient calls me and tells me she is having trouble withdrawing the money. Apparently, Walmart tried to send the money to New Mexico! I went back to the store and talked to the clerk - it was the same girl from the day before. I asked "Do you know where New Mexico is?", I asked. She said she didn't. I told her it was in the US, next to Texas. She responded "Oh, well you learn something new every day!"...Appalling.
]]>I've never had a problem with Walmart (except on one occasion when I bought a pair of shoes and was almost charged double for them), perhaps because I never linger - I get what I need and get out.
This Monday, I tried to make a wire transfer to New Mexico at my nearest (Hallandale, FL) Walmart. I specifically told them "It's New Mexico, and not Mexico", and everything seemed to go fine. The next day, I got a call from the recipient of the transfer, saying she was unable to withdraw the money - it turns out they tried to wire it to Mexico! So I went back to talk to the girl at the desk - it was the same person. I asked her "Do you know where New Mexico is?", she responded "No". I told her it was in the US, next to Texas. "Oh, well you learn something new every day" is what she said. Appalling.
]]>BS! There is always an alternative, or somewhere else to save in your life. Its all about having morals people. I compare this with buying stolen goods off the street. You know its a good deal, but you know it comes with a price. Some people would buy it without a problem, and some people wouldn't.
Do your homework on Walmart before you keep shopping there. [wakeupwalmart.com]
]]>@I_Elohel: I am, actually. A few years back, I worked for a subcontractor to a number of area retailers (including Wal-Mart) doing bike assembly and repair. Wal-Mart consistently had bullshit returns that would've been laughed out of other stores - like the guy who insisted he was pedaling so fast he'd set the bike on fire, or the skinny guy who sat on his bike and the entire frame just bent in a U-shape - sideways (ie, had been run over by a car). It got so bad that my employer actually instituted a minimum three-hour labour charge if the customer was obviously lying.
We were told by a good friend, and the manager of one of the Wal-Marts, that company policy was that no return was to be refused, as long as it had the proper paperwork and the customer didn't flat-out admit to destroying it.
]]>Zing!
]]>Wow, makes me really appreciate the now gone Linens and Things store. I bought an iron there a couple of years ago. Took it home unopened, and when I opened it I found I had bought my self an old, scuffed up, dirty, used iron. When I took it back to Linens n Things ad told them that someone must have previously switched in their old iron they replaced it right away, apologized and did not make me feel like they thought I did it. I guess they saw my anger was genuine.
Person who switched irons did a darn good job sealing the box so that it looked brand new.
I worked for a brief amount of time at a Wal-mart "customer service" desk and here's a brief listing of things I got to handle on a regular basis:
the "laundry soap" return
the "item not as described on the package" return (also known as the 'old switcharoo. Examples of this one: Buying a new computer and putting your old 486 in the box to return it, grabbing a tag off of a similar item that is more expensive and tacking it onto your item, especially nice if the item is a store brand of another store, etc.)
the "bought it at the dollar store and returning it here" return
the "I used it for a month but it's too expensive to keep so I'm just basically renting it" return (a favorite for seasonal things like lawnmowers and swimming pools)
the "I won't admit I'm as fat as an elephant and bought a too small size, wore it and ruined it" return
What a lot of people don't realize is that these returns (that do happen frequently) cost the companies a lot of money, therefore sometimes they do have to become jerks to try to rescue their bottom lines. Unfortunately, this does tend to spill over onto the decent customers with legitimate complaints.
]]>Target's gift return policies are very harsh. I can understand why they cracked down, but it definitely hurts the innocent.
]]>But my favorite scheme Target fell prey to (I can't say if it still works, I don't talk much anymore to the people I knew who did it) involved coupon skimming. You'd walk into Target, buy maybe a dozen of some new item that carried a big coupon (on your credit or debit card)-- I remember someone I knew liked the stupid automatic shower-washing thing from Scrubbing Bubbles because it had a $15 instant coupon that was printable online (and Target accepted one per item, even if you bought all of them on the same transaction-- and then you go home, and come back the next day to return them. Generally, they'd look at your receipt, see exactly what you did, and get the manager, who'd give you one hell of a lot of trouble, and generally deny your return or try to only give you the amount you actually paid after the coupons. But Target's transaction lookup by card didn't factor in coupons and also didn't provide store personnel with any way to actually see the original transaction-- so if you kept your mouth shut, handed them your card, and pushed the merchandise over the counter, you'd walk out with no questions asked, and a profit of fifty, one hundred, two hundred dollars.
I knew people who didn't work, and did this for a living. I never felt good enough about it to follow their lead, but I admired their gumption.
]]>There's no such word as "alot".@yentaleh:
]]>Compared Wal-Mart grocery prices to Super Target and Hy-Vee here.
Hy-Vee was the cheapest.
]]>No part of the customer service experience should involve badmouthing the customer and trying to intimidate them.
Either (1) determine that this is an exception case and enforce it with a smile and "I'm sorry we couldn't help you today" or (2) apply the same policy as you do for everything else.
I've worked in customer service in one form or another my entire life, and if you can't turn every cheek on your body and give service with a smile, you do not belong in the service business.
]]>It looks like K-Mart actually was the first *national* retailer to have a plan such as this, although theirs was $5 a month ($15 for a 90-day supply). This was launched in May, 2006.
Wal-Marts offering of the $4/30-day plan was launched in September 2006.
So some smaller retailers (such as Fry's Grocery Stores, which are only in Arizona (which, just FWIW, WAS started by the Fry Brothers in the 1960's, but was sold in 1972 and has been owned by Krogers since 1999. Oh, and one of the founders, Charles Fry, had children who started Fry's Electronics. Just a brief bit of trivia)) may have had a $4 plan long before Wal-Mart (or K-Mart, in this case), K-Mart appears to be the one that first rolled it out to all 50 states -- but of course K-Mart didn't have NEAR the market penetration of Wal-Mart, even in its heyday.
So I believe props would go to K-Mart for a similar plan (albeit only available on 90-day supplies) launching first, but Wal-Mart WAS (apparently) the first national retailer to offer a *30-day* supply of a generic drug for $4.
(Links used to research):
[www.flutrackers.com]
[diabetes.about.com]
[www.azstarnet.com]
[www.allbusiness.com]
At Wal*Mart the receipt checkers will write down if you buy an expensive item. (They did it with my Xbox 360 Elite.) Maybe they have some system for the TV scam you described.
I don't understand the razor blade scam. You return the razor you just bought to get store credit, then you go steal a box of razor blades with the receipt razor blade receipt? At Wal*Mart they use a black marker over the items on the receipt that you return.
]]>Long live Meijer!
]]>A tad hyperbolic, no? I'll grant that it was frustrating and inconvenient, though. And yes, insulting.
]]>I've done that too!
]]>Those warehouse membership places: We have no storage to speak of in our house. I cannot possibly buy the quantities you find in BJ's, etc. Plus, only one kid left at home instead of three. Supersizing just doesn't work for us.
]]>"My wife recently bought a bunch of stuff there and I promptly returned it all."
Wow. Did she know you were a control freak when you married her? 8-/ My teenaged son reviles WalMart but that doesn't stop me from buying some things there.
]]>I had a summer job once working in a laundromat where the front counter happily sold detergents and bleach and softener and other stuff.
Small bottle of Clorox was $2.00 I recall. I didn't think anything of it until saw the owner taking out the trash at night. He would take out any aluminum cans (makes sense) and also ALL the small Clorox bottles and any fabric softener bottles that he'd sold.
He then proceeded to refill the Clorox bottles with cheap generic bleach and put them right back on the shelf for sale. He did the same with store brand generic softener standing in for Downy, except he'd water that down too to stretch it even further.
The next day, he'd sell the bottles again, fish them out of the trash again, refill and repeat.
It ended up being a major profit center in that place: selling a few cents worth of bleach for a couple bucks. Almost pure profit.
Nobody ever complained that the bleach wasn't as good (and it wasn't: this was cheap crap bleach) or that the Downy didn't seem to do a lot.
]]>But the Zellers in Ottawa are typically dirty, cluttered, and half the shelves are empty. But then again, the Walmart we go to in Ottawa every once in a while is a nightmare for parking and it's not even a superstore. The Walmart across the border in New York is clean and well organized.
]]>The thing with Walmart is that it's ALWAYS open. I get off work at midnight most nights, because sometimes you have to do those hours to keep the world running. And right now, it's a job. So what's open when I get off work? Walmart. Not Target. Not Kmart, nor Sears, Costco, Home Depot, Publix, Ingles, Best Buy, Frys, or any of the stores at the malls.
Just Walmart. And Kroger. But if I need anything other than food, Kroger can't help me. So at midnight when I need food and a shirt and some tools or some oil for my car, or whatever, I end up at Walmart. Because 1) they have it and 2) they are open when I need it.
If Target was open, that would be awesome. But they aren't open.
When you think about it, the fact that Walmart IS open 24hours means they automatically have somewhere around twice the trading hours per store compared to nearly anyone else. They win because everybody else closes at night.
]]>@Falcon5768: Sam used to say "why do we treat our customers like criminals when 97% are good?"
If only 3% of my customers through the year were a-holes trying to rip me off, I would be happy.
]]>The locally the law enforcement community just busted a counterfeiting ring that was purchasing modest priced products ($20 to $100) from stores with liberal return policies using bogus money, then returning to the store in short periods of time to return the products for cash or gift cards. The gift cards were being sold at a local flea market as well as on ebay etc.
Purportedly $33,000 of goods were purchased by the counterfeiting ring before they were caught.
]]>Way to reply my post directly, btw.
]]>That being said, yeah, I would have given her benefit of the doubt.
Still don't think it was really necessary to pull out the pregnant card.
]]>How do you lose money if you put the returns back on the shelf for resale? The last time I looked at their shoes I found a pair that had been WORN, on the shelf. Also the Leggs pantyhose are not the same as what you find at Krogers. Same box half the price half the quality! Dog food from China anyone?
]]>@bobateaforyouandme: You're the one who got married, you're the one whose spouse decided to drive a car, you're the one who was so bad at your job you got laid off, blah blah blah.
Oh, I forgot. Victim-blaming is only fun when you do it to other people.
]]>the cashier can only see the one standing over the height of the counter and the furniture displays.
the one on the floor grabs a $900 oriental carpet that is rolled up in a stack by the door and, crawling, hauls it back out while the person standing in the doorway distracts the cashier with something like "is there a payphone?" or "can i use your bathroom?"
2 minutes later someone drags in a $900 oriental rug and says "i lost the receipt, can i get store credit? [which i will then spend on small decorative items that will be easy to sell at my booth at the flea market on saturday?]"
ballsy. and the store was down 6 rugs in two months before they caught on to how it was happening.
]]>bj's sells a lot of products in smaller packages than the other two - i have sams and my sister and i split bj's and costco so i can compare all three.
if you have pets - a wholesale club annual membership for me pays for itself in two 50 pound bags of purina dog chow for $22 each. grocery store: $15 for 20 pounds.
i know it's not for everyone and it can get very expensive if they don't have the products you already use. but like i said, bjs at least you can check out the selection before making the decision to become a member and see if it would benefit you.
*speaking as someone who resisted the wholesale club mentality for years
]]>In the past alot of people without receipts were returning the items which were bought via a upc label scam- put a fake low priced upc label over the correct one on a high value item and then return for the high value credit on a gift card which could be resold for more cash. (This was also how an infamous Star Wars collector was ripping off high dollar Star Wars toys to sell on his website.)
I've also related on Consumerist before how my ex-wif's dim-witted but ultra-honest female cousin thought she would be accused of fraud when returning a sewing machine whose box had been filled with bricks.
When my 2nd wife and I bought the cheapest a/c unit Walmart had in 2008 (as a stop gap while our apt a/c was fixed) some interesting things happened. First the units were all plastic banded on the exterior probably to discourage return theft. Second: the individual serial number (printed on a label on the box exterior) had to be recorded by the cashier. I am guessing this was so that there would be record of us purchasing it and returning it if the box was returned as empty and found as fraud attempt either by us or a later purchaser.
As for returns, I have been behind a thug appearing guy who was trying to return several unused spools of high-dollar speaker wire without a receipt and with a completely bogus story about how he had "just" bought the wire at another regional Walmart about two hours before. He got shot down when the return person called that store to ask them to check their inventory for that sku sales and the other store had none sold that day. By the time his attempt was winding down, the clerk had also figured out that he was on Walmart's "frequent returner" profile so he couldn't even have gotten the speaker wire returned anyhow. I began to start coughing, stretching, and then talking to someone else about "returning a purchase without a receipt" to help the guy to understand that other people with legit returns were waiting (myself and three others) so he finally gave up and left. Big scamming dummy...
]]>(breaks out an abacus, tallies things for a moment)
No, it doesn't add up.
]]>@LadyTL: especially if you live by yourself, all of that stuff spoils before you get to eat it all. I'll never forget when I brought home $40 worth of produce (cantalopes, tomatoes, peaches, etc) from the farmer's market and it all spoiled within about 2 days of my bringing it home...and yes, that was with me sticking it in the fridge.
]]>The smoker had problems with the venturi (the mechanism that forces the gas from the bottle to the burner). When I went to check on my ribs, the fire didn't seem to be burning so I hit the starter. All of the gas in the smoker box ignited, resulting in singed eyebrows and lots of laughter from my friends.
When I returned it the next day - they grilled me with all sorts of questions as to why I was returning it - never mind that I told them it was improperly built and a potential explosive device.
I finally got my money back, but not without enduring the sighs and whines from people waiting to return their Snuggies and Oxy-Clean.
I still shop at Wal-Mart, but only to buy food that is marked up 20% or more at the regular grocery stores (Albertsons, Publix and Sweetbay).
]]>does not matter. as long as they are still selling on the cheap, people will keep going back.
]]>@AirIntake: What was I thinking? The last time I made a quarter free and clear I had walked into a casino, picked up the coin on the ground and walked out.
I wound up scrapping the whole idea of counting my own coinage and the quarter went towards the cost of running my bucket of spare change through the supermarket Coinstar machine.
I always kinda turned up my nose at those things, but the convenience is worth the quarter someone else paid.
]]>They did it first here as hell. Everyone else including the small places didn't do it until they did. The general nationwide pharmacies didn't bother doing it at all...
]]>@holytrainwreck: Since she's willing to whip out the "I'm pregnant and don't deserve this because I'm PREGNANT" card, who knows how rude and uncooperative she was to the Wal-Mart staff. Since, y'know, we're only getting her side of things and they just happen to fit in with the status quo. From the letter: "...suffer through that indignity.."
Yes, because standing in line for 10 minutes is such horrible suffering. Nevermind that she got what she came for. Being asked to complete her shopping before doing the exchange was also an unbearable act of cruelty too, it seems.
Ah, a classic.
But really, this is a complete non-story.
]]>@brbubba: Oh and farmers markets tend to be (at least in my area) a bit more epensive than the supermarket as well as the fact that making your own food has hidden costs in time and the cost of the materials so it costs the same as processed food in the end if you don't have the time.
]]>@brbubba: yes well not everyone has the money to pay the membership fees or the high cost of bulk food. Yes their prices are lower per individual serving but they dont Sell them by individual serving so it can get very expensive.
]]>Yes, I made a huge deal about it because they were essentially calling me a cheat. I no longer shop at Walmart - any Walmart. I have to go way out of my way not to, but I'd sure rather give my money to a store that is grateful for my business. I may even pay a little more sometimes, but NO MORE WALMART!
]]>Of course, everyone and their child having a concealed carry permit may influence that somewhat, as well.
]]>I'd be interested in hearing who originated it, since the news stories I've seen covered it as an offer that Walmart started. Though even if they weren't the first, they did spread it nationwide and forced other nationwide chains like Target to match them. (Competition is a great thing) So if nothing else they enabled many more people to get the medicines they need that they otherwise might not be able to afford. Yet some just can't let a positive comment about Walmart go by without pointing out some unrelated negative.
]]>Apparently there is a difference between top-loader laundry detergent and side-loaded laundry detergent. Who knew? Not me. But twice my loving wife has noted that I brought home from WM the wrong $14 jug o' Tide, and twice I have gone back to return/exchange, and twice it was a piece of cake. And never again do I get the wrong detergent.
]]>*lights up tobacco pipe*
It was on a saturday about a month 1/2 ago, I bought a new pair of shoes for work (dress-type shoes/boots), I tried them on, they seemed fine and bought them. I only had work one day and was off for 3, but I happen to be doing some walking around in those shoes and the back ankle part of the shoe was rubbing against my ankle a lot, eventually it blistered up very badly where i had to limp.
I didn't have my receipt, but I did have proof on my debit card's site that I had bought them. Just as a precaution I called the store, immediately asked for a manager. I don't remember the manager's name, but I asked if I could exchange the shoes without a receipt and he said no if it was with cash, but if it was with credit or debit they would be able to cross reference it if i knew when i bought them (which luckily i did). Also on their site it says:
"Wal-Mart, for several years, has accepted returns without a receipt, even though many of our competitors require receipts for all returns. Wal-Mart gives customers the option of a cash refund (if the purchase was under $25), a shopping card for the amount of the purchase (if it was over $25), a credit to the customer's credit card or an even exchange for the product. Also, as applicable, we follow any manufacturer's warranties."
The shoes were $20... Anyways, I get to the store later and tell the woman there at customer service about the whole thing and she said they don't do cross references with small purchases, that's for electronics and major purchases. I'm like "Well, apparently you don't have real managers answer the phone either because I spoke to a manager". Eventually another manager let me exchange them, but of course not without a headache.
If one thing pisses me off it's when a simple process takes painfully long because some jackass wants to try to dispute your argument. I have to deal with manatees at the theater all the time but I always give returns/exchanges if I see it fit, even at times when I know damn well they're lying (the guy who found a long blonde hair in his popcorn and all of us working there have black hair...the guy has blonde hair.....).
]]>@michigan2cv: I love Meijer. I am originally from Michigan and live in Virginia, and I miss Meijer terribly.
]]>@Evil Otto - sleep deprived ftl: Not even that, I find that while you may be able to occisionally save 50 cents on a brand name of pickles the store brand of pickles at another store will be even cheaper, so I never saw a savings buying at walmart.
]]>I still won't shop at a store that assumes that every customer is a criminal until proven otherwise. They can go Cheney themselves.
]]>Obviously the company that instituted that policy hasn't drawn a line, but still, I'm not going to return something that wore out after more than a reasonable amount of time, or that was ruined because of something I did. In my personal view, that's stealing, and I won't do it. I don't want to contribute to a company changing their rules after being taken advantage of.
I'm not going to condemn someone for doing what they are within their rights to do, but I did hate seeing people (in my opinion) abuse the policy, and I did not enjoy processing those transactions. But, I also did not refuse to process them, and I was always polite.
]]>Just another reason why I refuse to shop at Wal-Mart.
]]>@K-Bo: That's funny; here in Nova Scotia, Canada, cat litter at Walmart is actually more expensive than the grocery stores. Even many paper products are more expensive at our Walmarts. It actually saves us money to avoid Wally's World.
]]>I forget where I read it, but between regular shoplifting, swapping out bar-codes, return for credit scams and all other manner costs US grocers 40 billion a year. This was data that was at least 2 years old - so who knows how enterprising these folks are getting? This 40 billion gets passed onto us as consumers - but we're all saying now that we can't afford it, so stores are trying to stop it. It's lose-lose.
Frankly, the fact that she was willing to stick to her guns is what probably convinced them it wasn't a scam. If Wal-Mart were smart, they'd pressure the detergent folks into putting a plastic seal-ring on detergents so folks could prove they hadn't opened the item.
]]>@ZoeSchizzel: On the other hand, twits like you don't shop at Walmart. So it has something going for it.
That said, not everybody is a spoiled urbanista who can go to Publix or Whole Foods or even a Target Superstore for everyday needs. If your choices were between Walmart and a tiny IGA where the prices were twice as much, and you didn't have so much money that you wiped your ass with it, you might think twice about Walmart.
]]>@FrugalFreak: Exactly. Mr. Otto must not know what it is like to live somewhere that doesn't have 2,492,394 retail outlets competing for your money.
]]>But the real question...Is Wal-Mart taking this seriously?
]]>Here we have Walmart and Winn-Dixie. Thats the only choice and Winn Dixie is $$$$$$ to me.
]]>Other pharmacies like to push generics, because the drugs are very cheap and they can really mark them up and still have them be cheaper than the name brand. Their profit margin can be astronomical. Costco will give you a really good deal, particularly if you buy a year's supply at a time; with many of the cheaper drugs, this can turn out to be only a few dollars more than a month's supply (because of the dispensing fee).
]]>I am proud to say I have not shopped at WalMart for over a year. I started shopping at local grocery stores and will stop at Kmart and/or Target when I need something other than grocery. It's a little more work, but you CAN keep the costs down and come in very close to WalMart's prices if you really want to. And it's oh-so worth it in the end.
]]>Seriously, I don't think it's a loss to society if we grant people a certain amount of slack for physically difficult situations, whether they're temporary or not, self-inflicted or not. People with injuries often did something stupid to result in that condition, but I don't think it's appropriate to differentiate between kinds of broken legs or causes of emphysema for the purposes of extending some kindness to them.
She didn't say she deserved more than other people, she just mentioned it. And presumably you agree with her point that Wal-Mart should have honored its return policy, right?
]]>My Walmart is newly built so it is clean but I would rather shop there than at the dirty, unorganized and overpriced Kmart that is down the street.
If you really want me to nitpick here Kmart's employees are about 3 steps down from Walmart's. Not only is the store dirty, unorganized and overpriced (and has outdated food products) but the employees look horrid with their not-so-white white shirts. They look more like they just rolled out of a giant dust pile.. They also have the nerve to keep only ONE register open most of the time, leading to huge lineups, another reason why I try to avoid shopping there, its just not convienient.
]]>In fact WalMart consistently uses their own employees in their commercials to demonstrate how happy and, more importantly, helpful they are.
If thye advertise lower prices and helpful service and don't provide both, anyone would be within their rights to be upset even if it is a commonly held observation that the helpful service is only a fabrication.
]]>You cannot expect retail employees who have had 2-3 hours of training or less and who are given no authority whatsoever to have any clue. The corporation simply doesn't give them the tools needed to do the job properly and to provide good service or they don't allow it.
If there is any flaw, its a flaw in how the corporations are run and corporate policies and perhaps bad individual store management who's attitude trickles down to the floor employees that the customer has interaction with.
]]>@AirIntake: Because you're a douche-bag when you're drunk. Also, while nobody has had the heart to tell you before, you smell like you haven't showered in decades. Get off the sauce and get your shit together already.
]]>The bottle of detergent probably only cost a couple of bucks, definitely less than $10, you would think for the small amount it cost that they would just take the return and eat the cost even if it was water in order to avoid the bad publicity. Its not like we are talking something of huge value here.
]]>@RedCatLinux: This is what I've been trying ineffectually to articulate for the last twenty minutes. I just tend to get hung up on how utterly clueless some of the folks around here can be, that I quickly lose sight of the relevant points.
Anyway, well said. ïŠ
]]>@justagigilo85: Except that not only did she mention her pregnancy well after she had already established her complaint, but she followed that brief mention by saying that nobody should be treated the way that she was, pregnant or not.
So hey, comprehension fail.
]]>Yikes. This remind me of the time I went to Target to get my thyroid meds and the lady said I already picked it up and treated me like I was a drug seeker. It was so incredibly embarassing. It was thyroid medication that cost $5.00 for Pete's sake, not Vicodin.
]]>Does anybody ever really want bullshit? Do you or anyone you know, pregnant or not, go to walmart with a hankering for some bullshit? You don't, and I don't.
If she seriously didn't want any sympathy points, why on earth would she mention that she's pregnant? On some days, my back is killing me. That doesn't speed up customer service and on the worse days, I won't even leave my house. I don't bother mentioning it to a customer serivce clerk... ever. I work in customer service and I could tell you right now, I don't have sympathy no matter regardless of side.
Regardless, I'd be pissed if I had to wait online for 2 hours if I was in perfect health, pregnant, quadriplegic, retarded, etc.
I'm not trying to write off being pregnant. I'm just saying that there's a decision that's made to have kids, and that involves being pregnant, miserable, in pain, etc. That's a choice made by both that woman and her husband. If she really felt like shit, she could have sent someone else to get it.
]]>I've been shopping at my local Walmart for years, and never had one problem with a return. I've always been treated with respect. I have had problems at Best Buy and several other stores that are always on consumerist, but never at Walmart. However, had I been treated like that, I too would not continue to shop with them.
]]>@pgh9fan1: 'I'm 9 months pregnant and to make anyone suffer through that indignity is just plain wrong - regardless if they are pregnant or not!'
]]>I'm in Vancouver, and I would agree with you on some of what you say. I don't like the Zellers in city and travel outside of Vancouver to shop at the one in Abbotsford. The staff are knowledgeable, its clean and its close to the border, and as for returns I have never had a problem. I only shop at Zellers though when I'm low on cash and I need groceries, or other everyday items. Mostly I just stick with Home Hardware, Save-On and The Bay for items when I'm having a good month financially.
]]>@pgh9fan1: If you read the letter carefully she doesn't play the preggo card; she indicated that the treatment was dispicable no matter if one's pregnant or not.
]]>@coss3n: Which retail stores treat you like a human being? I've yet to discover such a magical place.
]]>@Luna1375: Class is as class does. If the shoe fits, wear it.
]]>@pot_roast: Are you kidding me? You have the temerity to blame the victim after reading her letter? You spoolhead.
]]>They are allowed to have a NO RETURNS EVER policy, as long as they display it. When they have a policy that says "90 days returns on anything" and they *don't honor* it, there's a problem.
The shopper was following the rules.
Walmart wasn't.
End of story.
]]>As someone explained it in a post I can't find, at least part of the logic behind this is that if a company finds themselves mentioned in a story like this, they're more likely to (say they're) improving customer service across the board and not just at one store in particular.
]]>Yeah, I know the RAM probably just came unseated, but failed hardware 3 days after bringing it home means an automatic return for me.
]]>@tbax929 is just plain tbax929: AS they rightly should.
]]>This one was truly shameful: "..they're the embodyment of a genetic wasteland...The ones that stand out are the families that roll 3 or 4 generations deep. with the grannie in a scooter who has no concern for anyone around her, her large son in the home made A shirt with his large wife in the mumu and their son and daughter running around in dirty clothes that are falling apart."
Of course it's ok, because clearly they're not human beings like us, right? HA! HA!
]]>@Jabberkaty: I'm with you. I'd much rather pay a bit more and get good customer service than stomach the generally ineffectual customer service that I get at Walmart on the rare occasion that I go there.
]]>Wal-Mart will take anything - even if you didn't buy it there.
]]>@pgh9fan1: I think the only reason she included it was she might have been miserable to begin with being 9 months pregnant, and didn't need the bullshit. Not to say it has any bearing on the situation, nor did she want "sympathy" points.
People standing for 2 hours in a customer service line would feel horrible for the disabled dude with 1 leg having to wait that long.
Being preggo 4 times, I can understand the frustration of having to make multiple trips for something as stupid as spray and wash. Half the time, you don't wanna even leave your house that pregnant, afraid of going into labor at any moment. Feet, back, you name it, HURTS.
Granted, I probably would of kept that bottle and just bought another one, but oh well. But I maintain she wasn't trying to intentionally garner more sympathy for it. Just stating, maybe, she didn't want to put up with their bullshit being so far along.
]]>One of the things I can't stand about the Walmarts in my area (San Diego)are all of the people who open packages of cookies, chips etc and eat some while they are walking around and then put them back on the shelves. This goes for cases of soda, water you name it. They do the same thing to the make-up aisles too, open, use it and then just leave it. Has anyone else noticed this?
]]>Write back with "Our condolences on your pregnancy. WalMart wants to assure you that we hope it ends soon and that we wish you a quick return to good health with no adverse effects."
If you're going to use what should be a positive event as a negative (like having a broken leg or a disease that makes you wheelchair bound) then you get treated like someone who has experienced a negative event. Nobody would be insulted by a letter expressing condolences and a short recovery period for a broken arm, right?
]]>If your values tell you that shopping at a giant mega store to save time is better than the customer service you will get some place else and the money you will save (sorry to burst the bubble for Walmart shoppers but you are getting ripped off) then you have fun with that.
If I was in the middle of nowhere (which is where Walmarts seemed to start), I needed something and I had no other option, I might purchase something. They are a last ditch measure... just like eating at McDonalds.
]]>@floraposte: My disabled daughter cannot STAND the lighting in a Wal Mart for some reason, her senses go nuts! She cries, covers her eyes, just turns into the exorcist. I will shop there here and there, maybe once every month or two, but thats it.
I love shopping my local grocery store, Price Chopper. Not because they have absolutely wonderful prices, but it's a pleasure shopping there. They do have great sales, meat is fresh, everything is good- customer service phenomenal. I'm one of those gay people who loves their grocery store ;-) (and no, I don't work for them or have any affiliation)
]]>@squinko - is pretending there's a star:
Mine, too. Fry's Grocery store has been doing it for way longer than Walmart. When I found out Walmart was doing it, I assumed they stole the idea from Fry's.
I had a similar experience at Target a few years ago. I bought one of those "Simpsons" DVD seasons that were some kind of special edition. The box was made of plastic and shaped like one of the character's heads, and was taped shut on three sides and hinged on the bottom, but was not wrapped in plastic. My dad gave me the same set the next day as a gift, so I went back to Target to return the one I had bought. This was less than 24 hours since I had purchased it, and I had the receipt. The box had not been opened and was still sealed with tape.
The customer service employees removed the tape, took the DVDs out and held them up to the light. Then they told me I couldn't return them because they "had already been played." I have no idea what they thought they saw there, but whatever it was had nothing to do with me playing these things. I finally asked for a manager because it was just so ridiculous. The manager gave me the run down but eventually gave me a refund when they figured out I wasn't leaving without one.
I thought the whole thing with checking the DVDs to see if they had been played was kind of hilarious.
]]>@Watcher95:
Because it's Walmart, and Consumerist never misses an opportunity to bash Wally World.
@Evil Otto - sleep deprived ftl:
Because times are tough for a lot of people. If you can afford to shop elsewhere, count your blessings.
To whoever mentioned Aldi, we had those when I lived on the East Coast, and the quality of their off-brand stuff was horrible, IMO. We don't have them in Tucson, but I wouldn't shop at one here if we did.
]]>@LadySiren: Damn those kids and their grumbling stomachs.
(Speaking as a mother of 4 who tend to have those same bad habits...)
]]>@Falcon5768:
It's the scammers who ruined it for everyone. Walmart used to have one of the most liberal return policies of any store out there. Unfortunately, people took advantage of it, so they became Nazis about returns.
Or buying a large item, like a TV, getting your receipt checked at the door, then going right back to electronics, picking up the same exact TV, and walking right back to the door to get the receipt checked. After all, the receipt says you JUST bought the same tv a few minutes before.
]]>@Candle.Jack:
Well said. If you want to be treated like you're shopping at Nordstram's (by the way, the salespeople there always seem snooty to me), shop at Nordstram's. You want cheap prices and (possibly) marginal service, Walmart's got you covered.
@Evil Otto - sleep deprived ftl: I feel bad for the people that don't have awesome local grocery store chains. We have Woodman's. It's employee owned (they don't force unpaid overtime), they have much much better food than any of the normal chains, and it's usually cheaper than even wal-mart.
]]>@floraposte: Touche! Brava. +1
]]>Tastes that way to me anyhow...
]]>$.50 may not sound like a great deal of money but trust me, $.50 here and $.50 there, and suddenly you're talking about a sum of money that isn't trivial. Personally, I hate Wally World but unfortunately, I'm driven to shop there because I just can't match the savings I'm able to achieve there at other stores, even with coupons - and I'm a fanatical couponer.
I'd happily give up shopping at Walmart if I could - every time I go there, it's like setting foot in the 18th level of hell.
]]>No sympathy from me.
]]>"I will never visit Wal-Mart store #[redacted] again."
WE HAVE A WINNER!!
Why do people shop Wal-Mart? Why? Is there a reason?
The stores in my area are messy, it takes forever to checkout, the staff is often rude when you do encounter a rare staffer.
No idea why people even bother! This experience underscores it.
]]>I am one of "those" people - I'm low-paid (despite my law degree), a bit overweight, far from attractive, and I can't afford nice clothes. When looking to buy a home, I seriously considered a trailer home until I found something that was cheaper. I certainly don't think myself above anyone. But there is something about Wal-Mart that is truly overwhelming. I can't bear to spend a lot of time there, as my senses are constantly assaulted. Sure, the shoppers contribute to it, but it's something else as well. I got the same feeling at Ames stores before they went out of business. Put me in a K-Mart, a Target, an X-Pect Discounts FILLED with the undesirables that also shop at Wal-Mart and I am fine. Drop me right in the middle of a trailer park or a Nascar rally and I am fine. Put me in Wal-Mart, and I feel like I'm not going to survive. They create this terrible ambiance, where the lighting and cavernous ceilings amplify every sight and sound to some weird degree.
]]>You should be doing this anyway.
]]>The clerks at expensive stores seem to be, in general, a lot more suspicious of returns. Every time I have returned something at a place like Saks or Nordstrom, I walk away feeling dirty, and I have in the past just thrown defective things away rather than deal with what I know is going to be an uncomfortable situation. I'd rather the rude clerks at Wal-Mart than the nasty suspicious ones at many other stores.
]]>There are an awful lot of dishonest, corrupt moochers in the world, and just by sheer numbers, most of them don't own or manage corporations.
]]>Why do people hate Walmart so much, they probably never been to one. You only hear about the bad experience they said they had, you never hear about the thousands or millions of good experiences people have.
People like to complain just to complain.
]]>I've got a question about the lifetime guarantee thing, though. I get that the first example, the stain, is owner fault, but isn't the second example exactly what a lifetime guarantee is about? The pants wore out through normal use, and the company basically guaranteed they wouldn't do that. Otherwise it seems like wanting really to have a limited-year guarantee but wanting the credit for having an unlimited one. (Actually, my guess is that so many people wear stuff out and don't take advantage of the lifetime guarantee--I know I never do--that it ends up even anyway.)
]]>In this case, redacting also leaves the situation a bit obscure: did the OP return the detergent to the same store as that from which she bought it? If not, it's possible that was a factor in initially rejecting the return.
]]>@yentaleh: I'm not so sure about that. Every Zellers I've ever been in has been terrible as far as its employees go. They're understaffed and terribly untidy, and the employees they do have are the most apathetic I've come across.
At least where I live, the Zellers is staffed by the people Wal-mart didn't want to hire, because Wal-mart pays a couple dollars more hourly to start.
]]>I shall take this opportunity to direct you to [www.peopleofwalmart.com]
]]>The only time I didn't complain was when a poor old lady came in with some shirts and a death certificate. Her husband had passed away a few days before, and she wanted to return clothes to get money for his funeral. Until I left retail, that was probably the saddest thing I ever saw.
]]>Yeah, completely agree. Walmart has been a target of scams on everything from food to electronics, so I understand their paranoia, even if it ensnared an innocent bystander.
]]>You know what? That's a really good point. I've never heard people insult the patrons of other stores on this site, just Wal-Mart.
]]>If you have never been 9 months pregnant, then you can't say anything about her mentioning this. When you are 9 months pregnant, everything about your day is much harder, more tiring, and tear inducing. She's allowed to complain!!
]]>@Watcher95: Because this is exactly why this site was created? Bad customer service = Consumerist story.
]]>We should ALL understand this by now. This person commented that this made her consider shopping somewhere else- DUH! I like to shop at Walmart because it's cheaper, but that saivings isn't free. If you want them to start returning items from anyone, no questions asked, then it's going to eat into their profits, and then you'll complain that Walmart got more expensive. This concept really doesn't require an advanced degree to understand.
You can't have it all people. If you want cheap stuff, go to Walmart. If you want customer service, go elsewhere.
Once in a while, the complaining consumer is the one who is wrong- this is one of those times. If I were that manager, I would have told her to shove off.
]]>Certainly has hurt other things, but I'm rectifying that by moving out of my apartment come feb for cheaper living arrangements.
]]>@Evil Otto - sleep deprived ftl: Where I live, we have Albertsons, Kroger, SafeWay, and Wal-Mart... Just as gparlett, without putting in any effort I save easily $40 on groceries just shopping at Wal-Mart. Occasionally I will coupon hunt and it is just that much more on top of that $40.
]]>Sometimes Target has better prices on the same items.
No kidding. Your mileage may vary.
But all that aside, let's boil it down to the actual problem.
Customer purchased wrong item. Customer returned the item according to the posted return policy. Customer service failed the spirit of thier purpose, even if they eventually did abide by the letter of the return policy after some pressing.
Unless the customer service rep is skilled in judging the texture and color of the contents of bottles, AND they checked it's contents when it was purchased, they are out of line.
The last time I had to return something to Wall*Fart, it was an inoperative coin sorter. The paper coin rolls that it was supposed to have come with were missing, and there was a quarter jammed in the mechanism, stopping it from working.
I made a quarter, but clearly someone used and returned the item to the store already. Whoever accepted the return previously had not been paying attention. That didn't mean that I was not within my rights to expect and receive a full refund.
WalMart can change their policy, train their staff better (Heh) or alienate the legimate customers with accusations of theft when taking them up on their return policy.
]]>Then there's a similar situation (someone is basically accused of being a thief) and then people cry about how it's no big deal, they returned the product anyway, etc. You can't say being treated like a criminal in one situation is bad while the other isn't.
]]>I received (as a wedding gift) a set of sheets where all the pillow cases had torn seams - tried to return it the same day I received with the gift receipt and the packing slip and they refused to even exchange it because the purchase date was outside their return window. Nevermind that it was outside the return window because it was backordered and took forever to get to my house...
]]>1. If your item does not ring up at the correct price we'll give you $3 off.
2. If there are more than X number of people in each open line, we will open another one.
3. No hassle return policy.
I guess they felt it is too expensive to keep those signs posted. They never lived up to them anyway.
]]>@Watcher95: I think you need to level up your Reading Comprehensiion and Reasoning skills a little. She may have gotten the exchange but she was treated like a criminal by a clueless manager. How hard would it have been to get another bottle of the same product and compare them?
]]>Why redact the store number? Wouldn't we want to know which store this was?
]]>Unless they live only a few miles away, they will probably spend $2-$3 in gas for the trip.
]]>It seemed like a bit of overreaction to me. So..having someone deny your exchange for a few minutes, then change their minds is the most "misery-inducing, wretched customer service experience", that made someone "humilated" and "angry"? Sheesh.
]]>@Red-headed bookworm: And maybe this walmart was just staffed by rude people. I have never had trouble returning anything to Walmart. Half the time they don't even look at it.
]]>Thank goodness for Meijer. What is a WalMart?
]]>@nstonep:
Thye could at least have gotten another bottle of spray and wash to check the consistency.
@Evil Otto - sleep deprived ftl: Often times its just convience. I'm in college and the only store close enough is Wal-Mart.
]]>@morganlh85: I've never had a problem returning anything to Target, maybe your local store is just staffed with rude people? Of course, I'm a pack rat and keep all my receipts until I'm sure I don't need to return or exchange anything.
]]>AND last I checked this was The Consumerist... you know for the consumer? Sometimes embarrassing the hell out of a company publicly is the best way to get said company to better instruct its managers on the nature of consumer service.
]]>Maybe Consumerist should just put up a daily "stories we received about failed Wal-Mart customer service" article, then the news can be about the day it doesn't happen...and hell freezes over.
]]>Seriously, nothing in this world is free. If you want the rock-bottom price at Walmart, expect to be treated like shit (and to get shit-quality merchandise). If you want to be treated like a human being, go somewhere else and pay a little more. Nothing in this post should come as a surprise to anybody.
]]>I wouldn't have taken it so personally, and if I did find myself feeling mistreated, I'd leave with the wrong detergent and donate it to a charity. It couldn't be more than $10-$15 dollars ( and that's if it's one of the huge 120 load bottles) Not to say $10-$15 is not significant money, but it's not worth being humiliated and vilified and all the things this customer claimed to feel.
]]>Why does anyone who doesn't HAVE to shop at Walmart shop at Walmart? Their prices are NOT that great, especially if you shop the BOGO sales at other grocery stores and drug stores, and their in-store products and brands are terrible and a terrible value. Every time I walk into a Walmart (which hasn't happened in a very long time) all of my senses are assaulted -- the echoing sounds of bratty screaming, the gulag lighting, and the waddle of customers wearing house shoes OUT OF THE HOUSE! See...they are "house" shoes. Nevermind.
I brought my husband with me to a Publix once and he walked in, blinked with suprise and delight. "Wow. This is nice. Is that James Taylor I'm hearing? Do they refuse entry to people with crying children here?"
]]>Bla bla bla "I'm pregnant, I deserve special treatment" bla bla bla "I'll shop at Target from now on" bla bla bla.
(Yet she got what she came for?)
Sometimes the anti Wal-Mart bias gets a little tiring.
Unfortunately, people DO abuse Wal-Mart's return policy. People abuse Costco's return policy too. It's a sad but true fact that the few bad apples will spoil it for everybody else. This is certainly not an uncommon occurrence either.
]]>In high school when I worked retail I had a ton of people come in to return stuff after a delay (ie more than 1 week) and we were instructed to open the box as people would take stuff out then replace it with newspapers (or even rocks for heavy stuff) then reseal the box with hot glue, keep the merchandise and try to get a refund.
That was for sealed merchandise, most laundry detergents aren't even sealed. How is a store supposed to know if the woman used the stuff then topped it off with water (or just replaced with water) and brought it back.
What's the average return visit rate for walmart customers (I would think at least once a week)? That's why they and I call shenanigans.
When someone tries to pull this off then another customer just ends up paying for it, because they'll put it back on the shelf.
]]>You wouldn't even believe the stuff they had to let people get away with...
]]>Yeah .50 really has become that important to me. And I was not a extravagant spender PRIOR to my wife cheating on me and my kicking her out.
]]>How did a successful (although somewhat rude/inconvenient) product exchange become a headline story?
]]>Its in part one of the many reasons I rarely if ever shop there (receipt checking and general disgusting store being the other two)
]]>