Melanie Ritter thought she was buying a video iPod from Target for her daughter’s birthday, only to open the box and find rocks inside. Imagine how much more disappointed she was the second time this happened.
I’ve heard of rocking out to your iPod, but this is ridiculous!
When Ritter tried to exchange the first iPod, they didn’t have the same iPod in stock. When she asked for a full cash refund, Target said they could only give her in-store credit because Mrs. Ritter had bought the box of rocks on a store credit card. She drove to a second Target which did have the iPod in stock. She asked to open the box first but the store said she had to buy it before she could open it. She did, and opened it in front of the employee, only to find it too was only filled with rocks. Defeated, Mrs. Ritter told her daughter to pick out $350 worth of merchandise around the store for her birthday present. Then Mrs. Ritter contacted a consumer reporter who has only been able to get pat boilerplate answers out of Target so far.
Sigh. Ok. Here we go. One, Target obviously has a supply chain problem in the Fort Worth, TX with assholes replacing iPods with rocks. Two, Mrs. Ritter might have had more success getting a full refund at that first store if she had called Target’s 1-800 line while she was in that store, or asked for a manager. Escalate. Don’t just accept the laminated notebook answer the grunts give you. This was obviously an extenuating circumstance where the no refund policy should have been waived, and it takes someone in a position of higher authority to do that.. Shoppers have a policy of their own, it’s called the “we don’t accept rocks in place of my iPod” policy.
Mom upset by Target’s tune in iPod case; teen celebrates rocky birthday [Star-Telegram] (Thanks to Ryan!)
Rocks found in place of girl’s brand new iPod… twice [ArsTechnica]
(Photo: Getty)
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One thing that caught my eye – “It wasn’t fair that I had to buy stuff that I really didn’t want. I thought they didn’t handle it properly.”
She told her daughter to go and pick out $350 of stuff, and then said that it was unfair she had to buy stuff she didn’t want? It doesn’t make sense that Target wouldn’t refund her money the second time around – that time, it’s obvious it isn’t a scam. Target doesn’t just let people take big ticket items off a shelf, the clerks have to open the case and take it to the register.
I believe Sam’s Club has a policy where they slash all factory seals on an item at the register and check to see that the item is actually in the box, I remember buying a DVD player there and they opened the box, verified the contents and sealed it back up with tape. This is a really good policy, could you imagine the look on a kids face if you gave them a Xbox360 box full of rocks or bricks for christmas while not knowing it?
I think it would be kind of hard to compare an Ipod with rocks, I can see it happening with a larger item, because there are other things you could fill a box with besides rocks, if there were rocks in there, it would feel disproportionate or you would hear the rocks rolling around in it.
Arnt the serial numbers for the iPods printed on the boxes? Can’t they contact Apple, file a fraud claim and as soon as some dumb fuck plugs in the ipod into Itunes, they will be found?
@Scazza: Happily, Apple has not turned its business of selling iPods into an Orwellian police state.
That is quite an expensive Pet Rock. No really, it’s obvious Target has a bad problem with employees stealing the devices somewhere along the chain. Now the question is, are they actually planning on figuring out who is doing this. Reminds me of the scam where people sell presumably stolen big screen TV’s in store parking lots and sell the person a box with a few bricks in it.
Ok something is wrong here.
I worked for target for 2 years. I worked at the service desk all the time.
If you bring in your receipt then they will give you a full refund on whatever you paid with. You used a credit card they put it on the card, you use cash they give you cash but you HAVE TO HAVE THE RECEIPT
BUT it says she used a store credit card. If she had her receipt ORRRRR her card they would have put it back on her card.
SOmeone is lying here.
PLUS they don’t give 350 dollars worth of store credit w/out a receipt. i’ll swear on my grave for this.
@louisb3: They do it with cellphones, and many other high priced electronics. theft is theft.
plus she went to another target to find another one with rocks in it? and there were no other ones in the store?
i call bull.
Somehow, this is all the customer’s fault. I don’t know how yet, but I have a gut feeling that isn’t related to the burritos I ate yesterday.
This is actually nothing new. First off, there have been similar instances this has happened. I think it was 2005 during Xmas when this sort of thing happened at WalMart, and I believe they found it to be internal. Since she did open the second box in the presence of the Target associates after purchase, then I find it hard to believe she is scamming the store. It is pretty hard to believe it happened twice, I do not think it is totally unbelievable. I know when new electronic items such as the Ipod, XBox, etc are released, most stores may only get one or two during a shipment. If these items go through a distribution center, it is highly likely that an employee in the DC is doing the switch. And, since the stores are close, then they obviously share the same DC.
Also, the commentor who asked why the box did not budge or rattle? First off, my Ipod came in an acrylic case, too thick to “bulge”, with an interior sheathing that kept me from seeing my IPod. Usually, these thefts are not spur of the moment, but well thought out in advance.
my advice is similar to others, i always open the product package to inspect the contents before leaving the store. since ive been doing this, ive saved many trips back to the return counters. sometimes, for expensive items i have a clerk open the box for inspection before i go to checkout. i have never been refused this request at any type of store. but when and if i am refused, i don’t buy.
Another thing thats puzzling if she bought it at the first Target store, couldn’t they just go into survellance records and find her purchasing it on the camera, if something funny happened where she tried to pull a switch in the store, the camera would have caught it. Target also has reciept lookup so if this was purchased on credit or debit they should be able to access the reciept on the computer (which would also give the time and day she bought the ipod so they can check suvellance records), this might even work with gift cards.
If you buy a 350$ item at a retail store and don’t save your reciept then your an idiot and I am sorry but there is nothing else I have to say about that, the store doesn’t have to do anything for you in that case since there is no way to prove that you bought the ipod from that store if you don’t have a reciept or cannot use reciept lookup.
At the very least they should have a suvellance record of her buying the second ipod, I cannot imagine her pulling a switch especially since the employee usually has to walk it right to the counter from the case for her to pay, but again they should be able to look at survellance of this to find out if its a real scam or not.
If target really did stock ipods with rocks, then they have every right to own up to it whether the problem is in the distribution or the store, they should make it right for the customer.
Maybe this is a tertiary issue to this particular story, but why is she using a store credit card with such a crappy refund policy? At first I thought this was a store credit, but if this is a credit card, this is a terrible card policy.
So… what happened to the iPods?
There’s something fishy about this story. Are we expected to believe that the second Target had exactly one iPod, it was sealed and it was really an iRock?
The probability of this is astronomical, now compound this with the probability of the same person buying two iRocks at two stores on different days with no other reported incidents.
Right’o.
1: Cut a hole in a box
2: Put your rocks in that box
3: Make her open the box
And that’s the way you do it
Sorry. I just had to.
is chris angel involved with any of this? maybe he planned a magic trick and just didn’t make it to that target store yet… ?
This happened last night at TARGET in Montgomery Alabama: I purchased a brand new 80GB iPod Classic for $250 plus the Montgomery 10% tax for a total of $275. Got it home and opened the box and inside was a used scratched and dented 30GB iPod. Went right back to Target. They would not allow me to return it. What to do now?
I bought, last night, at Target, a brand new 80GB iPod, took it home to my daughter. She opened it to find a used scratched and dented 30GB iPod. Target will not allow me to return it. What do I do now?
I’m a Target employee.
Once you walk out of the store Target can’t do anything for you. You need to open the package when you buy it, or have the employee check it for you. Return fraud isn’t really THAT common, but it exists.
I’ve worked in electronics, and I’ve had to verify returns of PS3 and high-end electronics with wrong serial numbers, and their stories sound a lot like this blog post. Maybe they’re telling the truth, maybe not, but the only thing that’s relevant to us is whether or not the serial numbers match up and if the product being returned is the one that was purchased.
Some people may not like or understand this policy, and Target probably is a big enough company to shrug off these minor losses since the majority of customers are good people. But rules are rules, and if you learn them and play by them then you won’t get taken for your money.
Ok, first off, I am a team member at target [have been for 3 years now], and work as a GSA, and also the guest service counter at my local store. I do apologize to the author of this report and those of you who have had negative experiences as well. This would never have happened in my store, however, some locations are not of the same caliber. As for the policy, it’s straight up. Keep your receipts and there arent many problems. Also, if a guest purchases an item with her target credit card, the first option is to return it to the card. If she declines that, its a gift card [store credit] next.
In our first day of training at target, we’re told that it is all about the guest. However, there are always going to be boundaries. Unless you work the return desk, you can’t even imagine the things people try to get away with!!! Our ETL’s [managers] cannot override much on the register. And anything they can override, anyone can… we just need permission, or it’s our job on the line. It’s misfortunate the second one was like that also. With stores the size of Target, a lot of merchandise comes in just as it goes out… A few mistakes will be made. To err is human, and underneath our red and khaki, that’s what we are too.
Now my personal message… As i read through the comments everyone left, i couldn’t help but feel disappointed. I’m a 22 year old college student, working here to make my way through school. Ive had to deal with my fair share of assholes, bitches, crackheads, overbearing parents, liars, cheats, and all other sorts of society’s parasites. There is nothing wrong at all with going up the ladder… they may have some insight that the service desk team members don’t. however, its important to realize a few things… most of the people behind the desk make less than $8 an hour. Before you start screaming at us, PLEASE realize that. We are more than willing to give you the information necessary to contact corporate office. They make enough to deal with anger and the verbal abuse we get dealt. If you want to work something out, that’s fine… but please don’t treat me like Im an ignorant worthless kid b/c I cant give you your way. Most of us do what we can, but in some of these cases, the extenuating circumstances are quite comical.
So, again, im sorry to hear that stuff like this happens… but there will always be crime, and this will always come up in the world of retail.
Wow! Video iPods cost $350 back then?! We’ve come a long way baby! iPod touch’s go for $215.00 now- and they’re so much better! I feel so lucky to be living in the future!!