Man Causes Thousands In Fire Damage After Walmart Refuses Return
After Walmart wouldn't let him make a return, Phillip R. Wright, 41, of Monroe, Louisiana, pictured, left, looking disgruntled and pretty "arsony," set a men's clothing rack inside the store on fire.
He fled in a tan pickup truck and was spotted at another Walmart, where he was apprehended by law enforcement. The Walmarts had been alerted to keep an eye out for the arsonist. The fire was said to have damaged thousands of dollars worth of merchandise and caused significant damage to the store. Dang, who even knew the men's section at Walmart was worth that much.
Jilted customer starts fire in Manatee Wal-Mart [HeraldTribune] (Thanks to Gregory!)
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Dang, who even knew the men's section at Walmart was worth that much.
Nice call. Obviously not too smart if he was spotted at another (the same day?) WalMart.
@dohtem: Maybe to try to return the clothes again. If they said no, he'd ignite another rack then try another Walmart, etc.
Not too bright, I think.
He does look arsony and stinky.
I'm really wondering what he wasn't able to return, WalMart will take back anything!
That's why I used credit card, I not going to spend time fighting with the always sucks ass Wal-Mart (ALWAYS!), I just going to spend 5 minutes of my life and filed a charge back. :D
Maybe he was upset that they did not have any smoking hot deals?
Am I the only one who finds it funny that the main article's headline is "Jilted customer starts fire in Manatee Wal-Mart"?
Yes. Okay.
I propose that it shows that Walmart carries a lot of cheap clothing made of highly flammable material. Just a thought.
Returning something at Wal-mart is something you would find as a punishment in hell. This man was merely trying to complete the imagery.
Recently I tried to return a comforter set that completely fell apart after only 2 washings. I should have saved my receipt, but linens aren't something I'd ever really consider returning.
After calling the store several times with out an answer I finally got a hold of someone in their customer service department only to be told I would need my receipt. I asked if they could get me a duplicate copy based on my credit card information, but they told me they couldn't. I called their corporate office to see if they could help and spoke with a very nice woman who was more than happy to help. She informed me that they could in fact look up my receipt in store if I paid with a credit card and that Wal-Mart's headquarters could also provide me with a copy if needed.
Armed with this information I drove to my local Wal-Mart store to make my return. After talking to several CSRs and 2 Associate managers, I was told that the best they could do would be to offer me store credit at the lowest price it rang up at in their system. It rang up at half of what I paid. I felt this was unacceptable especially considering what their corporate office told me. So I walked out defective product in hand.
The next day I called back their corporate office and with in 5 minutes I had a copy of the receipt in my email Inbox. Once again I drove to Wal-Mart. once I got up to a CSR I was told that the copy of the receipt I had was not valid for returns or exchanges despite the wording "Please honor as original receipt" written in bold across the top. After talking to 2 more associate managers they finally caved and let me return the item and issued a credit to my credit card.
Returning something at Wal-mart is something you would find as a punishment in hell. this man was merely trying to complete the imagery
Take one part Wal-Mart and add one part customer.
Hilarity ensues. Arson-tinged, manslaughtery hilarity.
Stay classy, Wal-Mart customers. Stay classy!
@Trai_Dep: Imagine what would have happened if the guy was asked to produce a receipt.
I'd wager: suitcase nukes.
He looks kind of stabby, too.
@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!):
Thank God, or they'd never catch them. It can be hard to outthink the good ones.
@Tristan Smith: So, you'll never shop at Wal-Mart again and after telling your friends of your experiences, you'll urge them to never to either?
Returning something at Wal-mart is something you would find as a punishment in hell.
Let me fix that for you: "Returning something that has been used multiple times and should instead be returned to the manufacturer at Wal-mart is something you would find as a punishment in hell.
And the Fashion Police around the world have ...
What about all the security looking at the Monitors hooked up to the endless cameras in the store? Oh, silly me - they're checking receipts of honest paying customers trying to leave!
When he gets out on parole, he'll get a job as a Walmart greeter.
Only a men's clothing rack? Jeez man, plan next time and fire bomb the whole store. Go big or go home.
I haven't set foot in a Walmart in 6 years.
Feelin' pretty good about that too.
@supercereal: True. I wonder if the reps at the store said this or just denied the return? Corporate seemed happy enough to take it, at any rate.
@MisterE:
"Hey Mark, look over here. That guy just torched the T-shirt rack!"
"I'm armed with a two-way radio. What do you want me to do? You grab him"
"No, you grab him"
...
"You know, it is close to lunch."
"Good call-let's go Subway. I could go for something toasted."
Good ones tend to get caught because they develop an ego of thinking they are so "good". Eventually that allows them to slip up.
@synergy: Yeah I call BS that their entire Men's section could be worth more than a thousand dollars. At retail, even.
@supercereal: I haven't been stuck around a MallWart for quite some time, so I have no idea what their return policy states. IANAL but there must be some application of "implied warranty of merchantability."
The warranty of merchantability is implied, unless expressly disclaimed by name, or the sale is identified with the phrase "as is" or "with all faults." To be "merchantable", the goods must reasonably conform to an ordinary buyer's expectations, i.e., they are what they say they are. For example, a fruit that looks and smells good but has hidden defects would violate the implied warranty of merchantability if its quality does not meet the standards for such fruit "as passes ordinarily in the trade".
If Walmart sold me a comforter that fell apart after two washings, you can bet your ass I'd be bringing it back to *them* rather than calling their Chinese manufacturers directly for relief.
If Walmart was an ethical company, they'd *welcome* the return - how else would an ethical company discover that they are selling bad merchandise if people never brought it back or dealt directly with their suppliers?
@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!): "This describes like 99% of criminals."
Not to mention Walmart shoppers.
@ceriphim:
Haveing worked for ol' Wally in the past, depending on store size, the average wal-mart carries between 4 and 6 million in inventory. Thats cost mind you. If it was a mens, I would say that thousands of dollar figure is a lowball number.
This guy is nuts. Aren't Walmart's fire sale prices good enough for him?
This should be added to the Walmart bingo card that makes its way around the net every so often!
@jayphat: I agree I was the mens apparrel Dept. manager when I was in college... the george mens suit sep. and NFL and NHL trade items have a pretty good impact on the cost as well
@MisterE: Oh, you mean the ones where people still freak out, file lawsuits, and win even if the apprehension was justified, let alone the vitriol heaped upon such security here anyways?
Besides, it's not exactly difficult to start a fire such that you have some time to get out before it's noticed.
@Wireless Joe: ZING!
I glad that walmart is out there, It keeps there customers away from my stores that I visit.
Thousands of dollars in damage eh? I would have thought you would had to burn two Walmarts to the ground to do just one thousand dollars in damage.
Arson, now that's something to laugh about. Having been in a store that caught fire, with the sprinkler system drenching you and trying to find an exit in the chaos. I'd bet my last dollar you wouldn't be all chuckles then trying to save your life.
@From the cubicle of PGibbons:
Bullshit.
The idea that you would take something back after someone has used it for god knows how long and even washed it twice is asinine.
@henwy: Really. HOW often do you wash your linens? It ain't daily, so this guy was probably just tired of the look.
@plj: HAHAHAHA! I can't see for all this smoke off of the cheap plastic crap, but WALMARTS ON FIRE! IT'S SO FUNNY!
I need to know what "item" was being returned for this story to be funny. Like, "the patron was returning lighter fluid and strike anywhere matches" or "the customer was trying to return a fire exstinguisher".
Not always!
I'm trying to think like a criminal for my book and it's harder than I thought. There are so many ways the police have to catch them, that they really have to be exceptional to outthink the cops.
Breaking windows is much more fun.
Especially when your throwing a motorcycle battery through one.
Yes I did.
@HogwartsAlum: Just set your book in an area where the police aren't properly funded. That will make your job MUCH easier!! :)
lol, he went straight to another Wal-Mart? To start another fire or to shop there?