Op was not asking for a refund. She simply wanted to look and see if she could find the matching boot. There is possibly another mismatched set there. What would it have hurt them to let her look?
I wonder how much this shop spends in advertising dollars … at least $20, right? Dollars that possibly bring people into the store, or perhaps not. Here we have returning customers in the store. The staff could have been gracious, returned/exchanged the item, given store credit, whatever, and gotten a lot more good will and positive buzz out of losing $20 on that one transaction, turning it into $20 well spent on advertising to the community. Instead, they get a negative review here. Poor business choices.
[QUOTE=arapaloosa_lady;8245713]
It’s a good lesson to learn to check your purchases before the return date. It doesn’t sound like great customer service, but I’m sure the clerk was getting tired of your mom’s excuses as to why you felt exempt from their return policy.
Chalk it up to a communication error, move on, pick a new store if you don’t want to deal with this one.[/QUOTE]
This is the typical attitude of crappy small businesses who then wonder why they go out of business.
Small picture thinking and an exponential LACK of comprehension of 2 important things:
- social media
- competition who “get” customer service.
Quite stupid and short sighted.
[QUOTE=Highflyer;8245912]
They’ve probably already paid the consignor, since she said that it had been 30 days. So it’s $10 plus a $20 refund.[/QUOTE]
They are not losing another ten dollars. If they would refund the twenty dollars, they will take a hard loss of the consignment fee (which we are guesstimating at $10) but the other ten is a loss of profit. It is a loss but it is recoverable. They could price each wrap at 5 and recover the loss profit.
I have to wonder if all the posters supporting the store are rude retail workers justifying their actions…
OP did not do anything wrong and any well run business would have done it’s best to make things right with the customer. Especially a long time customer since happy customers are your best advertisement.
To me the probable explanation is the store knew they were different sizes.
Customer service is not the same thing as indulging everyone’s whims.
Complaining about their bad attitude is valid. Complaining that they would not allow you a return or exchange almost a month after their stated policy, because you were too buzy/lazy to get to it before then, is not.
But they were sold two different items. Not something that didn’t fit or was the wrong size. They were sold something not even useful. There is a difference. Something that was mismarked.
[QUOTE=ReSomething;8245237]
There’s a level of responsibility to undertake when you purchase a product to ensure it’s the right thing, a month is a long time to wait especially if you had four weekends to call about returning it. Everyone nowadays has a cell phone stuck to their ears, travelling or not. [/QUOTE]
Reported rude customer service and owner response to one side, I agree with the above. You could have called. Everyone has “work and school” and a million other obligations; being busy does not preclude making phone calls that are in one’s own best interest.
Fault here is shared; the shop should have carefully examined the wraps before packaging and selling them as a matching set (if described as such), and buyer should have observed the posted return policy or at least attempted to open communication with shop within the confines of that policy. It’s not great business practice to treat regular customers rudely or with disregard, but it’s also not financially practical for consignment shops to pay out to a consignor five days after purchase, then refund the buyer’s money when she returns unhappy after a month. Perhaps there was a matching horse wrap somewhere in the store and perhaps there wasn’t. Maybe the consignor provided what she thought was a matching set, and the horse-sized wrap is still buried in her tack trunk somewhere.
Whatever the case, consider this a learned lesson. Examine what you buy carefully and promptly, especially in the case of consignment. As far as their lackluster customer service response is concerned (I’d take issue with any tone that was taken, not with their adherence to their policy), maybe your days of patronizing this shop should be through.
[QUOTE=roseymare;8246203]
But they were sold two different items. Not something that didn’t fit or was the wrong size. They were sold something not even useful. There is a difference. Something that was mismarked.[/QUOTE]
And there was ample time to notice that. The store doesn’t have to agree outside of the period in which both parties agree to a mutual return situation.
Technically, was the product even marked at all? Or was it a set of wraps in a bin at a consignment store? Unless it said “pair horse size X brand wraps” on the tag, and she still has that tag, who is to say WHAT it was marked as? This is a bit of a risk you take with consignment stores.
[QUOTE=roseymare;8246017]
They are not losing another ten dollars. If they would refund the twenty dollars, they will take a hard loss of the consignment fee (which we are guesstimating at $10) but the other ten is a loss of profit. It is a loss but it is recoverable. They could price each wrap at 5 and recover the loss profit.[/QUOTE]
Because people so often go into a consignment shop looking to buy a single wrap in a particular color.
I wouldn’t hold my breath for that $5(or $10).
All this over $20? Heck…PM me and I’ll buy them from you. Mismatched or not!
It is not an auction or a garage sale. One reason to shop at consignment stores is to mitigate the risk for both parties.
It is not too much for buyer to assume when purchasing from a consignment store that both wraps were the same size.
[QUOTE=lmlacross;8246217]
Because people so often go into a consignment shop looking to buy a single wrap in a particular color.
I wouldn’t hold my breath for that $5(or $10).[/QUOTE]
So the buyer should be stuck with them?
[QUOTE=roseymare;8246228]
It is not an auction or a garage sale. One reason to shop at consignment stores is to mitigate the risk for both parties.
It is not too much for buyer to assume when purchasing from a consignment store that both wraps were the same size.[/QUOTE]
Consignment stores are pretty much at the mercy of the consignor to tell them what they’re selling.
Frankly, I can’t even see the sense in consigning a pair of wraps for $20, or buying a used set for same, but what do I know?
Purely playing devils advocate, there’s nothing to say that this person didn’t already have a set of these wraps, ruined one, and put in a pony wrap, took it to the store, and said it was the store’s fault in order to replace it. Think that doesn’t happen? You’d be wrong. People do, and say, all kinds of things to return and exchange things to stores.
[QUOTE=roseymare;8246230]
So the buyer should be stuck with them?[/QUOTE]
Yes, if the buyer didn’t notice and report the mistake for a month.
[QUOTE=roseymare;8246230]
So the buyer should be stuck with them?[/QUOTE]
Yes, I believe the buyer should be stuck with them.
If I were to purchase a pair of shoes from Target (which I’d have even less reason to expect would be mismatched than this buyer did as they weren’t on consignment), tossed them in my closet past the three month return period because I was busy, then was refused refund or exchange when I ventured back to the store four months later, I would neither be surprised nor truly disappointed.
Perhaps the check-out associate should have more thoroughly checked the shoes to be certain they were a match, but, as the buyer, I should have done the same. Truly, the overhead of a small consignment shop is much greater (and profit margins much smaller) at a little consignment shop than at Target; given this, I’d actually be more understanding in OP’s circumstance than I would be with a big box retailer (and I’d expect nothing from them, either).
All this does not excuse rudeness on the part of associates or owner, though. Adhering to policy is one thing but condescension and insinuations of dishonesty are another.
A consignment shop that deals solely in equestrian items should know what they are selling if they want to stay in business.
It also wouldn’t be unheard of for the shop to actually own some of the items themselves. They could be buying at auction or buying small items outright.
So they basically lost a customer over $20. And note customer didn’t initially ask for a refund but instead to find the correct match.
[QUOTE=lmlacross;8246251]
Yes, I believe the buyer should be stuck with them.
If I were to purchase a pair of shoes from Target (which I’d have even less reason to expect would be mismatched than this buyer did as they weren’t on consignment), tossed them in my closet past the three month return period because I was busy, then was refused refund or exchange when I ventured back to the store four months later, I would neither be surprised nor truly disappointed.
Perhaps the check-out associate should have more thoroughly checked the shoes to be certain they were a match, but, as the buyer, I should have done the same. Truly, the overhead of a small consignment shop is much greater (and profit margins much smaller) at a little consignment shop than at Target; given this, I’d actually be more understanding in OP’s circumstance than I would be with a big box retailer (and I’d expect nothing from them, either).
All this does not excuse rudeness on the part of associates or owner, though. Adhering to policy is one thing but condescension and insinuations of dishonesty are another.[/QUOTE]
As a general aside, you CAN return items past the 90-day mark at Target. You will be given store credit or allowed to exchange it (as long as the item is still in the system, which it will be unless it was a clearance or seasonal item). It’s considered a “no-receipt return.”
And sorry, the store should have at least allowed to
OP to check the wraps in the back. I’m not sure why they didn’t allow that, unless they already knew the wraps were not a matching set. Wouldn’t they want a possible unmatched set that’s still on the floor to be found?
[QUOTE=Jarrn;8246290]
As a general aside, you CAN return items past the 90-day mark at Target. You will be given store credit or allowed to exchange it (as long as the item is still in the system, which it will be unless it was a clearance or seasonal item). It’s considered a “no-receipt return.”
And sorry, the store should have at least allowed to
OP to check the wraps in the back. I’m not sure why they didn’t allow that, unless they already knew the wraps were not a matching set. Wouldn’t they want a possible unmatched set that’s still on the floor to be found?[/QUOTE]
Sorry-- I didn’t mean to suggest that what I stated was Target’s actual policy; I was just reaching for any retailer’s name by way of (apparently inaccurate) example. Suffice to say, there must be a length of time after which no return or exchange is permitted.
I’m also unsure why they wouldn’t have checked their own stock “in the back” as soon as OP arrived and explained the situation (though I can understand why they wouldn’t want a customer “in the back”). Did shop personnel ever suggest (or did OP have reason to believe) there even were other wraps “in the back” to check? I guess I missed that part.
I’m inclined to think they were presented to the shop by consigner as a matching set, and they were packaged as a set for resale by the store. I’m still unclear as to whether or not the shop had affixed a label that read “horse” or not. To me, if only in spirit and not in letter, this would change my perception of how much responsibility the shop should reasonably assume here.
