It’s Friday, so why not post something nice about a large, national retailer?

Consumerist reader Joshua is so impressed with the service he’s received from his local Bed Bath & Beyond that he figured people should know that it’s possible to have a positive retail experience.

A while back, Joshua and his wife were looking to by one of those souped-up Ninja blenders, but weren’t sure where they should buy one.

“I saw this item at another ‘big-box membership only store’ at a significant savings ($119.99 vs. $159.99),” he writes. “The wife really wanted the full system and I really am not a fan of the big-box stores but when you are talking about 25% savings it seemed worth it.”

That’s when it occurred to him that everything is negotiable these days and it never hurts to ask a store for a discount.

So they went to Bed Bath & Beyond, where the Ninja was available for sale, and spoke to a manager. Joshua pulled up the website of that members only big box store n his phone and showed it to the manager.

“I then asked if they were able to match listed prices and was pleasantly told YES,” he tells Consumerist.

[Ed. Note: BB&B has an official price-matching policy, even though it doesn’t make a big deal about it in its ads.]

“So we got the blender on steroids and went blissfully on massacring strawberries and bananas for the next two
months,” says Joshua. “Then yesterday morning as i was making a fruit smoothie there was a strange clunk and the blender motor kept spinning but somehow the blades in the thing stopped.”

He seemed to recall that the Ninja has a decent warranty but it involves packing the blender up, shipping it out and paying $20.00 for return shipment.

“My wife called the store to see if they could do anything or offer a better option,” he says. “The associate stated that as long as we had the receipt they would either perform a swap of the item or give a refund. And by an amazing
act of forethought, we had taped the receipt in the box.

“So wep acked up the debilitated Ninja and after dinner went to BB&B and were greeted without any fuss or double speak,” says Joshua. “Upon seeing the receipt we were told to go and get whatever we want.”

And unlike a growing number of other stores, Joshua was happy to see that was no need to sign some sworn affidavit, no checking of his or his wife’s driver’s licenses, or any of the other hassle we’ve all come to expect with returns, refunds and repairs.

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