Walmart Violates Company Policy, Pretends Not To Accept Bike Returns
The Walmart in Norman, Oklahoma refused to accept bike returns until a district manager, acting on a reader tip, reminded the store that they were violating company policy. Reader Keia tried to return the "shoddily constructed," "dangerous piece of garbage" for a bike that Walmart sold him, but an employee, backed by the store manager, explained that since Walmart could repair the bike, their return policy didn't apply. That didn't sound right, so Keia went over their heads...
He writes:
Just thought I would share an experience I had at Wal-Mart purchasing a bike. I bought a bicycle with Wal-Mart in order to save on gas money and try to increase my overall health. Living within 2 miles of my University, and considering I happen to work there as well, riding a bike only made good sense.I bought a Next brand bike from Wal-Mart for the cost of 110 dollars, and about 100 dollars in accessories (helmet, lights, lock, etc). The first problem I had - none of the accessories fit. Literally, none of them. The lights, the bike pump, everything I purchased did not fit correctly on the unit I purchased. "Well, I'll just deal with it", I said to myself. Within a week, the chain kept coming off, the brakes were so tight the wheels could barely turn (because the tires, when completely aired up, were too big for the brakes), and on top of all that the right plastic pedal snapped while I was riding the bike and nearly threw me into traffic. All in all, it was a shodily constructed and dangerous piece of garbage.
Needless to say, I thought it would be best for me to return it to Wal-Mart. I loaded it in my car, took it to my local Supercenter with receipt in hand, and headed to the customer service counter. There I encountered Cheryl, the Customer Service Manager at the Norman - East branch. Upon trying to return it, I was told that they had a strict policy regarding bike retuns. What follows is a rough approximation of my conversation with her:
Me: "I'd like to return this bike."
Her: "We don't return bikes."
Me: "Why not?"
Her: "Because we can repair them for you, so we don't give refunds on them."
Me: "What? It isn't listed as an exception on the wall behind you."
Her: "We can't have all of our exceptions listed, that would take up room we use for advertising."
Me: "No one told me about this policy before I bought the bike though."
Her: "We don't have to."
I stood there in shock for a few minutes, shooting her the most angry stare I could manage. I packed up the bike, and left. Later, I called them, asked for her full name (which she wouldn't give me) and told her that I would be filing a lawsuit in small claims court against them. To my wife's first year law school brain the Return Policy on that wall is a contract that allows me to return the bike within 90 days of purchase with valid receipt, and a lawsuit in SCC would almost be a guaranteed win.
Luckily, before filing the suit, I called the district manager. She told me that the "policy" touted by Cheryl did not exist, and urged me to contact the store manager before filing a claim. If the store manager refused to take care of it, she would handle it from the district level. He told me the same thing Cheryl did until I mentioned my chat with his boss, and he amended his stance to say "that the policy was more of a guideline than anything else" to avoid returns for flat tires. This is just as absurd as what Cheryl told me, but regardless, I got my refund - and I purchased a bike from a real bike store.
I just wanted to share my experience with the readers of The Consumerist, so they could be wary of buying an important purchase like a primary mode of transportation from such an unscrupulous company - and to be wary of what lower management tells you. Worst case scenario, contact district staff. Wal-Mart is seems to be often more afraid of pad PR than anything else.
Great work, Keia! Don't take no for an answer just because it's delivered by someone wearing a smock and a name tag. If you firmly and politely escalate your complaint, more often than not, you'll get exactly what you want.
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Comments:
Never buy a bike from wal-mart, crappy made and constructed.
Kudos to the OP. He deserves a safe bike to ride.
On a side note, I LOVE that pic!
glad walmart did the right thing. i really hope the OP wasn't surprised that walmart isn't in the business of selling quality, durable items.
the bike breaking happened to an ex girlfriend of mine, who was using it to commute to school. something on her bike broke the first day and she took it back and exchanged it. the exchange wasn't as bad as what you experienced.
i just hate when people threaten lawsuits, but escalate it anyway. this is an example of how empty of a threat it really is.
The only thing that I don't understand is the immediate reaction to take them to court. Court, even small claims, is time consuming and may cost more out of pocket than the bike did (depending on the jurisdiction). Court should never be a real option until you've worked your way up the entire corporate tree. Usually you'll get it resolved before having to actually involve the legal system.
Adults buy bikes from Wal-Mart? I thought they just sold Huffys that weighed 90 pounds and three gears
@Mr.DuckSauce: I strongly agree. I spent $550CAD on my bike at a local bike shop (which would be a cheap bike to an enthusiast) and I have never regretted my purchase. The disk brakes work much better in the rain and everything just works.
@OP I live near Norman...you might want to check out Al's Bicycles. It might cost more than a wally world bike, but it is worth it.
I've purchased bikes at Walmart, but definitely not the NEXT brand. If you look at the recalls near the customer service desk, most of the bike recalls are NEXT brand. I stick with the Schwins. Plus it helped since I had worked in Toy Dept. and knew the assemblers well.
"Wal-Mart is seems to be often more afraid of pad PR than anything else."
You would think they'd be accustom to it by now.
Store policies are for luring in customers and making the sale - not honoring. At least, that's how it seems to me from a lot of recent items here. And it's not just Wal*Mart that are guilty.
In my opinion, it's worth paying a bit more for something that could injure you badly if it's poorly made. I don't think I would ever buy a sub-$350 or so bike for that reason alone, much less a no-name bike from Wal-mart.
If they are such an unscrupulous company, how did you get your refund? I'm sorry, but in retail you often find under-trained clerks and managers who try to bully customers into not returning things so they can have a ou got a refund, so the system worked. I think you will find these types in all businesses, and in this case, Wal-Mart as a company wasn't the problem. The clerk and manager were.
I am very familar with this particular Walmart and am not suprised at all to hear this. There are two Walmarts in Norman, the "good" Walmart and the east side Walmart.
Walmart is the devil.
@Esquire99: Small claims costs ~16-25 for a filing fee, and your time to go to court. The Filing fee is added to the claimed value if you win. Most big companies would rather just agree to pay you before the court date then bother sending an officer to the court for the day.
No out of pocket cost unless you a) lose, b) count time off.
The problem with Wal-Mart bikes is assembling a bike is not like assembling a grill or furniture. For example, some parts are reverse-threaded (lefty tighty, righty loosey). I had three Wal-mart bikes break in two weeks because their assembly was tapping the reverse-threaded parts on with a hammer when they "wouldn't tighten". (Difference is, my returns were painless).
The brake problem the OP mentioned is another poor assembly job-brakes should contact the rim, NEVER the tire. Some of the accessories probably would fit with the proper adapters, but I would not hesitate to return that bike either.
My last Wal-Mart bike got stolen from my storage locker in the basement of my apartment building. I just laughed when I saw how much trouble they went to... and the fact that I wasn't using it anymore because the brakes didn't work. I hope they went down a nice steep hill into a busy intersection during their getaway.
@Mr.DuckSauce: Definitely. I bought a ladies mountain bike from them in 2007. The bottle holder snapped after a month (super brittle). The paint is peeling terribly and the brake lines constantly rust. I use WD-40 every month and store it under a deck. Oh, and the 10-speed hasn't worked for a year.
On top of all that, the ladies bike is a HUGE pain to load on my bike rack due to it's shape. Cheap Chinese/Indian garbage.
I bought a phone on walmart.com a few months ago. I found a better deal before it came so I needed to return it. I didnt get to a store for a few weeks. The customer service desk said that the return was beyond it's policy (of 30 days, I think). He showed me the policy, didnt seem arguable.
Outside I realized the date on the receipt was the date I purchased the phone, not the date I received it. Got back to the same customer service guy. He said it doesn't matter. I asked for a manager -- he said he's the manager. So I said would you please run this through the return scanner so we both can see if you're right. You know the rest of the story -- $$$ for me.
Ask to run the bar code to see if they are bullshitting or not.
I have been planning on buying a bike. I looked at some models at Target but feared they were of the same quality as Walmart. I may just have to bite the bullet and invest in something expensive.
@Esquire99: It seems like you haven't actually filed a suit in small claims court. If so, you probably would know that the filing fees are very low and it may not even necessary to show up for the court date. The company I sued provided me with a settlement so I didn't even have to show up to court.
Of course, everyone should contact corporate HQ before filing a suit so they can at least attempt to solve the problem.
Doesn't "shoddily constructed," "dangerous piece of garbage" describe basically everything at Walmart?
Agreed, the NEXT bikes are notoriously cheap. I don't even bother riding mine because I feel like it is purposefully constructed to waste as much of my energy as possible. There are so many waste friction points, and the whole thing feels ready-to-fall-apart all the time.
I got one used from some used bike store place for about $50, and even then, I feel like I got ripped off.
It's a made in Cheapo bike. Clearly they need to spend some more time working on it before they can knock-off a TREK or something.
@Esquire99:
I once took my old apartment complex to small claims court over a $500 deposit they refused to give back. The price wasn't bad, but it took a bunch of paperwork and evidence which only consumed what little time I had.
YES. Go to a bike shop. They'll make sure you get the proper size bike (there is more to bike size than just the wheel size). You'll probably pay $200 for something that's worth riding, but it'll be something that's worth riding.
You won't get a great bike for $200, but you'll get something that's good enough for the casual rider and will last longer than the Walmart bike.
@bohemian: A low end GT or Specialized bike will run you about $250-$300, but you won't be replacing it next year. If you intend to use it more than a few months, it's well worth the investment in something decent.
I bought a Huffy once and had no trouble. It only got messed I wonder, though, if going to an actual bike shop and being "sized" for a bike might help me ride one. I have trouble with it because it kills my knees. Maybe it's because I was on the wrong bike, not because biking hurts me.
Funny, skating doesn't bother them unless I fall on them.
It only got messed up when I had a wreck on it, I meant to say. My post ate my sentence.
@GC: Wasn't there some well known U.S. bike company that got put out of business trying to meet Wal-mart's insane price demands?
There are normally lots of good used commuter bikes on craigslist. Buy a 10 year old name brand bike and never worry about it breaking. Buying a cheap new bike is asking for trouble.
@mythago: The store manager is an employee, who did not follow company policy. If I act like a jerk at work, am I the jerk or is the company. If the the company corrects my actions, and delivers on its policy, is the company the jerk, or me? My point is the company did right in the end, and the manager was over-ridden. Walmart employs over 1.3 million people in the US, some of them are sure to be jerks. In this instance, I am placing the blame on the manager and clerk, not Walmart. I also do not find them to be unscrupulous in this instance. They have a lot of issues, but in this case, the company did the right thing, and over rode the manager.
@Mr.DuckSauce: Yea. Buying a $100 bike is just asking for trouble. I just built up a bike, and the frame along cost 250. Even that is a pretty low price, but i got lucky on ebay.
@Esquire99: He THREATENED small claims court--probably with the means and intent to carry it out if Walmart didn't resolve the situation fairly and in accordance with their published policy. I think he handled the situation exactly as he needed to in order to get the refund he was entitled to.
@Randa the Panda: Agreed on both...I want a poster of the pic for my office wall, with some sort of appropriate anti-Walmart snark text on it. :)
I used to assembly Wal-mart bikes, so I'm getting a real kick out of these replies. . .
Seriously though, If you buy one $500 bike, it will outlast 5 $100 Wal-Mart bikes, and you will enjoy it a lot more. Those bikes are so hazardous I don't even understand how they are legal. I would do my best to put them together as well as possible, but the metal on ever part of them is so soft it just bends. Tightening bolts was a balancing act between snapping bolts, or not having it tight enough to hold the part on.
@ecwis: @silver-bolt:
I have indeed filed a small claim, and as I stated, the fee can vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Some places can be quite expensive, $100+ in filing fees. You're right that you get to recoup them if you win, but it still generally more time consuming than simply continuing up the chain of command to get it solved.
@bohemian: The better bike is only more expensive in the short run. You'll work harder on the cheap bike and have to buy more of them. A good bike will last you decades.
Yea seriously, like other people's comments, if you want some to last, don't go to Wal-Mart. I really can't stand people thinking Wal-Mart is the place to go. You want something you might depend on, go to a specialized store, they take care of you.....If i buy from Wal-mart it is a 5 gal jug of Mobile 1 (high mileage), can't get anywhere else.....or something that is bought for a one-time use...
@Hoss:
Just because the computer will allow it doesn't mean its right - I worked at a grocery store and customers often would ask us to "try" expired coupons. Problem is, some coupons use the same barcode over and over, and just change the date. The computer doesn't check the date, just knows that barcode 123 means $1.00 off.
Maybe it's because I was on the wrong bike, not because biking hurts me.
There's a good chance you're right. My mother is a cycling instructor in Washington; I recently ordered a bike (from a company in Colorado -- still a few months before it ships), and although they're building it to the measurements I sent them (inseam, height, weight, arm length and such), she specifically advised that at the first sign of any trouble with my knees I should take it to a local shop to get the fitting adjusted.
@johnva: My $70 Target bike has served me well for about a decade now. Sure, it's probably more work to pedal to work than a good bike, but that's just extra exercise AND nobody is going to steal it.
This just in: You get what you pay for - in this case, a piece of Chinese shit disguised as a bike.
I don't know why anyone would buy any sporting goods at Walmart or any Mart store. My 10 year old son skateboards and even he knows that the Walmart Skateboards are junk. My 12 year old rides BMX and won't let me shop anywhere except a real bike store. They say WalMart only sells junk, and since I won't let them buy junk food, why should they have to ride on junk bikes and skateboards.
I don't get why people continue to purchase bikes from the TOY stores and expect them to last for adults. If you want to ride a bike, even for short commutes, place your safety first and get a real bike from your local bike shop. Sure, you'll spend a little more for the basic bike, but your life will surely thank you for it.
Bravo for escalating things and getting an answer, and for being civilized. There's nothing worse than a company that tries to trick its customer - except for many a customer who is belligerent and insulting. Bravo for keeping a cool head about this and using your noggin.