For duo, Basement ban is no bargain: Sister shoppers get a dressing down from store honchos

Boston Globe ^ | July 13, 2003 | Bruce Mohl

[sarcasm]

The rare Basement ban was handed down in May in a bluntly worded letter to Nancy Singer from the chain's corporate parent, Value City Department Stores of Columbus, Ohio.

''Given your history of excessive returns and your chronic unhappiness with our services, we have decided that this is the best way to avoid any future problems with you and your sister,'' wrote David E. Sherer, vice president of loss prevention.

[gcruse]

I worked for Fotomat Labs at one time, and we had a customer
like the ones in the article.   Nothing ever satisfied her and she
was always bringing stuff back to the Fotomat kiosk near her to
be sent back to the lab for remakes.  Finally, the plant manager
got sick of it and paid her a visit, inviting her to take her business
elsewhere.  She did.

A few years later, Fotomat decided to get out of the retail business
and become more of a wholesale finisher, which they did.  In the
process they bought the photofinishing contract for the drugstore chain
that the problem customer had switched to and we got her back.
Argh.  And we couldn't get rid of her because she was the drugstore's
customer, not ours.  Sometimes life just sux.

[kitkat]

***I have seen people return snow blowers (no box) in the month of April, carpet cleaners the day or two after a major holiday. I sometimes wonder how stores can make any money with people abusing the return policy.
***

On the day after the Fourth of July I saw a woman return a large outdoor table, claiming that they had bought two by mistake and hadn't used the one she was returning.

When the clerk opened the box, food crumbs fell off of the table. There were also stains on the table.

The clerk accepted the return without any questions. I was astounded. The store in question is now out of business.

My question is why they give ME a hard time when I attempt to return an article which is honestly defective.

[kitkat]

Thanks for the information about today's Filenes. That explains the confusion I had over an article I read years ago about the store and what I actually saw when it opened in my area.

[Vesuvian]

My question is why they give ME a hard time when I attempt to return an article which is honestly defective.

Sometimes it all depends on the employee you get. I think also that today many people believe that pleasant + polite = sucker. When one acts courteously, they figure they have a sucker they can push around.

[Wrigley]

FYI

[CARepubGal]

That is wrong! I worked the returns desk in my retail days and hated sucky customers like these women. It is extremely rare for the CFO or anyone at corporate to be involved so there must have been a lot more returns than the norm. Usually it would be Loss Prevention (LP) or possibly the regional managers that would be alerted. I wonder if these harpies will be banned from all local malls!

[Wrigley]

Women like this give all you shoppers a bad name.