I was telling one of my co-workers about a phone call I had received from one of my curbside customers. I will get to that part but this is the part that made me sit up and take notice about what I was doing.
As were talking and I was adamant that I was not going to do the return, he looked at me and said you are talking morals and integrity. That does not fit in with the way the retail world works. We take back everything and anything to make the customer happy, it does not matter if you know they are lying, cheating, whatever, the end result is the Customer is Always Right.
Fuck that shit.
The other day, Tuesday, I received a call from one of my customers. Last week on their order (this was last Friday Feb. 10th) they purchased a case of soup. The case is regular price $19.99. This week, as in Thursday Feb. 16th, soup cases were going on sale for $11.00. My customer asked me if I was going to adjust her price to match this week’s sale price. I told her no I would not, that is not our policy.
We went back and forth, until she asked me if she brought the soup in would they return it for her? In exasperation I told her if that sat right with her, by all means she could come and return it but that I would not do it for her. Exasperated I ended the conversation with something to the effect of if I found something less expensive or it was going on sale after I purchased it I would never even dream of returning it.
Now, had she placed an order Wednesday and soup went on special yesterday by all means I will adjust your price. But not a week later. That does not even make sense.
And it is not like this would be a one off for her. Her last return she came in and brought in two containers of yogurt that had been purchased two weeks prior on her curb order, and wanted to exchange them because they were getting close to date. They exchanged them and tossed out two good 750g containers of yogurt. I had seen her at the till and thought nothing of it, until I spoke with K about it later. It was then that we decided were she to try and return perishable items we cannot resell that I will be the one to deal with it.
She ordered hams for Easter last year and returned them. $60.00 in meat that we had to throw away. She brings back her fruit and veggies all the time. She would make an error on her order and then send her husband in to do the exchanges.
In the last year we have probably thrown out close to $300 worth of perishable items that she has returned.
Do I know that Big Boss would tell me just to do it? Yes I do.
Can I in good conscious do it? No I cannot.
Entitlement is quickly becoming the ideaology of first world nations. Bend over backwards, kiss my ass, and watch while I spit on you. But you have to take it because you are just a lowly retail worker.
Try to buy your groceries without us lowly retail workers and see how far you are going to get.
The Wonderful and Wacky World of One Single Mom 