When Fighting Back Goes Wrong, and When The Wrong Fight Back
I always love to see a fellow Consumer fight back against large corporations. However, when that consumer is trying to return stolen goods - stolen from me, that is - it's harder to get excited.
Last Saturday, a few upstanding gents and I took a stroll to our local mall. Flush some extra money from the relatives, I decided to spend a little bit on myself. Since I am trying to reorganize my work area, I figured removing some wire clutter and buy a nice Blackberry Charging Dock for myself. At the Best Buy Mobile stand alone store, I ended up getting the official charging dock for a cheap $18 dollars. Content in my gadgetry, my party and I went off adventuring further in the mall, reading books, discussing matters of state with fellow learned gents... alright, in reality, we went to the nigh-empty KB toys and played with the lightsabers and made googly eyes a very cute brunette. But that isn't the important part. Yet.
As we left the store, I realized that I was no longer carrying my charger — put down during the duel of the fates, no doubt. We immediately entered the store to find it, but we could not. Retracing our steps, we spent about ten minutes circling the mall, going to all the stores we could remember going in, finding no one. Just before we gave up, I decided to check at the local Full-size Best Buy, just down the way from the branch store where I purchased the charger. A brief look at the front desks didn't show anyone had dropped it off. I threw in the towel, and on my way back, I passed by the customer service line. And there she was.
Very Cute Brunette.
Arguing passionately at the return desk.
Holding My Blackberry Charger. (I knew it was mine because of a distinct dent the box received in the heat of our duel).
As I approached, I heard all the arguments that uphold our proud trade. She wanted to return it without a receipt. Right on, sister! It's a tough act....hey wait, I had a receipt in that bag! With my...name...on it. They want Identification? Hell no! That's your right to privacy you....thief.
Suddenly, I realized that I was dealing with a consumer who was abusing their rights. She was the reason that companies have restrictive policies that treat normal people as if they were criminals. She was Bizarro-Consumer, The Customer Rights Anti-Christ, and she had to be stopped.
I interrupted the return abruptly, but not boldly. I was, after all, accusing this woman of thievery.
"Excuse me, I know this sounds odd. But I lost that moments ago in the mall, and I am fairly certain that is mine. I bought it at the best buy mobile down the way, and put it in one of those bags. I left my receipt in there." The Manager looked at me, looked at the woman, and rolled his eyes.
"Sir, We can't just accuse customers of stealing product from you. It's your word against hers, and she is holding the product." He turned to the girl. "You said this was a gift, m'am?"
She looked at me, smiled, and said "Yes, I got this as a gift. For Christmas."
If my eyes could have emit pure hatred, they would have at that moment. My sanity stayed just long enough to see them hand her $34 cash, meaning she was not only stealing my product, but also about $16 straight out of Best Buy's pocket.
I whimpered, knowing that Best Buy just accepted a no-receipt return, taking down no information, paying back in cash, and it was completely undeserved. They did a customer more than right, they gave absolute and complete customer service in every way, and they did it for an undeserving thief. All the times they've dragged people through the mud, all the times people have given all the retailers in the world undeserving dollars only to have them greedily kept against the customers luck, and this opportunistic bitch gets grade A service.
Ladies and Gentlemen, this has been a true story. It's a cautionary tale for us as well as it is for businesses everywhere. Though monsters like her exist to strike where opportunity knocks, there are droves and droves of upstanding, honest, and mostly clean individuals who simply want to spend a dollar on something deserved. For every one Bizarro, there are thousands of legitimate people waiting for their fair shake. My charger is gone, and the Bizarro is thirty dollars richer.
What can we learn from this?
Firstly, always remain confident and resolute when addressing someone who you believe has wronged you. If I had been more confident in my accusation, mention KB toys, the dent in the box, I might have my blackberry charging charmingly next to me as opposed to tangled in a wire mess. If you are addressing a business that has done you some ill deed, be firm and calm, and do not shirk from your demands and intent.
Secondly, address your concerns in a proper manner. I charged up to the desk and made a demand, which immediately made me the bad guy, and made the manager brush me off as quickly as I came. If I had, with the same fervor, gotten a different employee, he could have dragged the manager away from the transaction so that I could have explained myself. Always look for the right way to voice your concern, and diffuse drama whenever possible.
And Thirdly, perhaps most important; Whenever engaged in a lightsaber duel, keep a close eye on your personal effects. Too many proud Jedi have fallen to this fact.
May the force be with you.
Pic:[Jrodgersart]
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Comments:
I hope you drop kicked her face after that stunt.
why couldn't you call the cops? They would have seen the receipt belonged to you, since your name was on it
Women. We men are idiots, especially when it concerns our lightsabers.
For one you did not argue correctly. You said there was a reciept in the bag with your name on it. You could have whipped out your identification immediately to prove you were the one who momentarily 'lost' the merchandise.
@slymaple01: I'm not blaming you here, its just that the world is not fair as you have said. There are just bad people out there who would not hesitate to take advantage of every conceivable situation. So one has to be a little street smart here. At best a lesson well learned. At worst, a 3 day annoyance that would continue to gnaw on you for losing and getting victimized right in your face.
Losing a Blackberry Charging Dock? Could have been worse. During the duel you could have lost your hand.
You are perfectly right. There are, in fact, reasons why return policies are in place. They are not there to try and screw you out of your money. Being calm about the situation will help you tremendously. No one wants to deal with a belligerent person. You may end up getting a phone number to a customer service center or even being kicked out of the store. On a sidenote, was there video surveillance in KB Toys? Or outside the entrance? It's hard to say it's a christmas present if you just picked it up off the floor...
Why was it cheaper at the Best Buy mobile store than the actual Best Buy store?
wow. that. sucks.
Yeah the arguing harder might've gotten you your stuff back, but I can't say I woulda done much different. I tend to try calm logic before anything else and it doesn't always work the best :/
Never, ever, keep the receipt in the bag. Always pocket it.
Well if he felt gutsy, he could have grabbed the bag, ran and if detained, just shown the receipt. Problem solved.
I missed something...
you bought it for $18, she returned it for $34 cash.
I think I found a new money making model for 2009...
@timsgm1418: Yes, I would have IMMEDIATELY called the police and had her arrested or at least scared.
So right on to best buy, upholding consumer's rights! Taking it in the shorts and giving her the benefit of thedoubt, overpaying,etc.
This is exactly the thing we (as consumers) want stores to do, right?
So why are people saying that the manager was in the wrong?
Man, I'm bummed out for you. Jerks like that ruin things for all of us, and show little respect for themselves. Sorry that happened to you.
@NigelEurotas: You're right. even the mention of "I am calling the cops" would probably have sent the thief into fight or flight mode. It might not have been pretty, but it probably would have worked.
A store giving cash for a no receipt return? I didn't think any store did that any longer. Isn't store credit the norm?
You should have taken a picture of the thief with your cell phone.
Sorry to be that prick, but could we get some proofreading before these stories are published? If you guys lost some editing personnel in the shift, I would actually volunteer to fill in. I'm serious.
I wonder if Best Buy cares that they are now in possession of stolen property...
@lintacious: Most likely the BB mobile store was using the "in-store kiosk/Intranet" system for its pricing. :)
@timsgm1418: The girl probably long ditched the receipt, I doubt it was still in the bag. And if he had kept the receipt in his pocket, there would still be no way to prove that the charger she is returning is the same one that he bought.
@timsgm1418: Somehow I think if you called the cops about a $18 theft, they would laugh at you. The police department here recently announced that, due to funding cuts, they would no longer investigate fraud cases under $5000.
Um, Alex, return to KB Toys, ask to see the manager. Explain that you left your product in the store and their employee took it upon herself to profit off the return. See if her job is worth the $34 she got from it.
If you had balls, you could have told her to call the person that gave it to her and get them to confirm it. On Speakerphone. Oh yeah, I went there. :)
Also I'm assuming the receipt had been discarded so it was no longer available
Why did you stay and fight it? If you used a credit card, chargeback. If it was 18 dollars, why did he give her $34?
You can still punch the brunette in the back of the head as she leaves the mall at night. I'm VERY certain that she will respond accordingly to that. :-)
@fantomesq: @KStrike155: And even if she were, she works for KB Toys. Her job is already not worth it, as they will be closed for good by the end of the week.
Another reason to use a credit card. American Express covers purchases against theft for 90 days (up to $1,000). I've definitely made use of this in the past, and found it much easier than pleading my case to a Best Buy manager.
She may have made $34, but she has forever lost her chance with an intern at a major blogging site.
Was it really worth it?
@timsgm1418: haven't been to a kb toys in years, but is it possible they'd have video of her walking in without bag, walking out with bag? it's obviously too late to catch her NOW, but maybe if you were able to prove she stole it, and manager man refused to listen to you, best buy might toss you a bone on that one if you could show she actually did take it?
it's also plausible she's a shoplifter (judging solely by her outstandingly high moral character) and she stuffed it in her coat or something so you wouldn't notice your bag walking by you out the store.
And now you know: when you're doing a lightsaber battle with your buddies in KB toy store, and a cute girl makes googly eyes at you, she's probably not actually interested in you.
Hindsight is always 20/20, but once the Best Buy manager tried the "your word against hers" tactic, you had more ammuntion. You could have pointed out that you were in KB Toys with a group of friends who could all attest to the fact that they were with you when you bought and then lost the charger. Since one of them was dueling with you when the box was dented, you even had a witness who could back up that part of your story.
This is, strictly speaking, a criminal event. It helps to think like a cop in situations like this.
Yeah, I was behind two women in a Target return line. They were returning the Toys for Tots stuff their kids had received for cash....
I just sigh and think of karma....
Chargeback? For what? Best Buy gave him the product he expected - they can't be blamed if he lost it...
Sounds like you have your answer. Buy two chargers and return one without a receipt. You are now no longer out the money, the store is. Normally, I would say this is unfair/bad, but it is the store that is stupid and deserves to fail if they are willing to do this.
@shepd: I'm not sure how much the store can really be blamed, though. Their two options were accept the return or not accept the return; there really wasn't an option where they called the cops on the brunette when Alex wasn't willing to. Even if they'd rejected the return, she would have just tried it elsewhere until she got a yes; they wouldn't have rejected the return and then given the charger to Alex.
And I can see their viewpoint. If I'm standing in line to return something that I legitimately bought, and some guy starts claiming that I took the item from him, I would accept it if that made them too unsure to bend the rules for me, but if they decided to police the situation by insisting in seeing my bag, etc., there'd be hell to pay.
Calling the police, would have only wasted everyone's time involved. It would be your word against hers. They would have no right to search her bag or investigate the package. I would even be worried about getting in trouble for harassing the lady. The only solid piece of evidence would be a credit card transaction, which Best Buy would have to have allowed the return and then complied with the police out of their good nature for you to have that.
@bohemian: I've never been given cash for a return without a receipt, and I also thought it was strange Best Buy would just hand over $34.
@DeafChick: I don't think the OP mentions using a credit card. If it's a cash transaction and he left his receipt in the bag, he's out of luck.
And the charger was $18 because he purchased it at Best Buy Mobile. The girl returned it to a regular Best Buy, which was selling them for $34.
How can you be completely sure that charger was yours. As hard as it may be to believe, you screwed up, you went to KB (played with their stuff with no intention of buying) and lost your stuff along the way.
I tend to believe you, but what was the store to do?? What if you were in a store trying to return a gift (no receipt) and someone said, hey I just lost that its mine.
Get a grip on reality
Wow I would definitely rip the manager of that best buy for doing the return. Did you pay for the product with a card by any chance? That would provide a record of the date and time of sale.