When you handle customer returns or exchanges, don’t let your company policy blind you to common sense.
A friend of mine told me about her recent trip to Target. She had purchased a Target brand rug for her home. When she got it home, she realized it was too small and decided to return it to the store.
She had lost her receipt but approached the customer service counter to make the return.
The employee pointed out that their policy had recently changed and that she would need a receipt to make the return for any items over twenty dollars.
The rug was clearly a Target product as it had numerous labels and stickers with their famous bullseye logo and associated verbiage.
My friend asked if she could exchange the product. She would gladly take a store credit since she was going to do some more shopping that night.
The employee’s response was no and that she would need to call a 1-800 number to get the issue resolved.
So there stood my friend and this employee at an impasse. There was no one else in line. Just the two. So why didn’t the employee help her resolve this issue?
Laziness? Lack of education on this process? Indifference?
No matter the cause, this interaction left a lot to be desired.
Contrast this experience with the famous tale of a customer returning a set of tires to Nordstrom.
Nordstrom didn’t sell tires and yet they accepted the return and refunded the money. In our story, Target obviously sold the rug and yet was unwilling to even offer an in-store credit. Ouch!
How your business handles returns and exchanges will influence if customers will want to do business with you again. Don’t let a punitive return policy prevent future sales.
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beth
October 4, 2007
Target is notorious for being really unreasonable. Did your friend pay with a credit or debit card by chance? I once had to return something without a receipt, and they were able to look up the transaction with my card number, reprint the receipt and issue my store credit.
Joe Rawlinson
October 4, 2007
Beth: My friend had used a combination of credit card and gift cards. The gift cards in the mix may have complicated matters but the customer service employee should have had the time to figure it out.
Demetrius Pinder
October 6, 2007
hmm…Target…another store I will avoid.
Listen up Big Companies…we have choices. Start treating your customers like you actually care.
Joe Rawlinson
October 8, 2007
Demetrius: Unfortunately, Target didn’t do so well this time around. In the past, they have usually been pretty good to us.
You’re right, though, big companies need to keep customers happy or the majority will start speaking with their wallets and take their money elsewhere.
Glenn (Customer Service Experience) Ross
October 21, 2007
I’m right there with you, Joe. Here’s my “manual trackback:”
Are You “Customer-Focused” Or “Company-Focused?”
Joe Rawlinson
October 23, 2007
Glenn: Thanks for the trackback. I appreciated your comments in your post about companies being too focused on themselves at the expense of the customer. It is always important for businesses to remember who they are serving. Customers are key stakeholders in the success of any company.
JB
May 5, 2010
I just came across this article and just wanted to comment on it. I handle setting up policies for a retail store, and personally feel that the company was correct in declining to refund the customer as she did not have her receipt. While it may seem an unfair practice, I feel it is the customers responsibility to know the companies polcies before making a purchase. The company would have gladly offered the refund/exchange or in-store credit had she provided them with the receipt.
I realize that the item was clearly a Target made item, and that it would most likely be obvious to the employee. However most stores have a set period of time that a customer can return an item say 30 days. How in this case would the store be able to tell how long ago the individual purchased the item without the receipt? How would they be able to tell at which Target store it was purchased etc?
Personally I think the store policies should come first. It is like playing a game of cards with two friends. Things can get confusing without the two friends knowing the rules of the game before hand. As long as the rules are in place there should be no dispute as to how to handle any issue that should come up during the game.
In the case above, the customer did not follow the rules of the game, so why should the rules be changed for any one person? I think she should have kept her receipt safe and none of this would have been an issue.
I also purchase from stores and know prior to making the purchase what the return policies are. If I lost the receipt, I wouldn’t even bother returning it to a store when such polices are in place that clearly state that I need my receipt to return the item(s) to them. I think your friend should have learned a lesson by this on how important it is to keep your receipts, just in case you need to return them. I am guessing she did learn the lesson, and will be more careful in the future. As a consumer it is very easy to agree with a fellow consumer, however if you put your self in the shoes of the other party you may see things a little differently.