Adam was shocked when he tried to return a router and a switch to FutureShop and they accused him of being a scammer. All because of a little dust on the items. Well, that little dust turned into quite a dustup when a huffy assistant manager at the Canadian Best Buy subsidiary got involved. “Fine, I will play along with your little game,” she ended up saying to Adam once the actual manager overrode her and made her stop getting in the way of the return. What the heck?

Greetings from Canada! I am writing to you to inform your readers about a horrible return experience I had from FutureShop (Canadian subsidy of Best Buy). My family has just moved and began renovations to the basement. One major addition to the basement is several in-the-wall Ethernet jacks. To connect them together, my technologically literate friend told me I required an Ethernet router and switch. So I went to to buy a D-link DGS-1008D 8-port Switch and D-link EBR-2310 Broadband router. I proceeded to install them and to my dismay, there was no connection to the internet. My friend blamed my lack of technical proficiency and suggested that I return both items and instead buy a 16-port switch as it is simpler to install and maintain.

That night I went to the same FutureShop to return the 2 items. The lady at the customer service desk took a quick look at the items and said she cannot possibly accept them. Her reasoning was it far too dusty for them to accept. Since my basement is currently under renovation, I gave her the benefit of a doubt and decided that I will clean it up and return it tomorrow.

The next afternoon, I went back to the same FutureShop and another employee helped me attempt to make a return. She was very pleasant and was almost done refunding me my money when the same lady from last night came to the desk and asked to void the transaction. I asked why, and she responded that it was in no condition to be returned. I asked her to inspect the items (now sparkling clean) and she concluded that I must have cleaned it. So I asked again, what is wrong with the item that it cannot be returned? She responded I must have switched them. Getting rather agitated, I asked that she check the serials from the items to see that they match the serials from the box. Even after checking to see that they matched, she refused to accept the items. I was getting frustrated and said, “Just to get the fact straight, are you accusing me of attempting to scam FutureShop?”. I cannot blame her from trying to protect the store from real return scams, however, she responded that she isn’t but she can’t trust me. Seeing that this is getting me nowhere, I asked to speak to a manager. She replied that she was the manager. However, the actual manager (unlike the lady, he had the manager tag on him) walked over and asked if something was wrong. I explained my situation and asked him to inspect the item if he found it too dusty or in not in an acceptable condition. He replied that there was nothing wrong with the item. The lady was obviously flustered and responded “Fine, I will play along with your little game”. While the statement is highly offense and immature, I tried my best to be patient and thanked her for the refund. The rest of the transaction went without incident I left the store with my money.

I write the letter not in hopes of getting compensation or getting the employee fired, however, I hope this letter will be a lesson that being patient, polite and firm is by far a better way of resolving a dispute than making a scene.

Good on you Adam for keeping your cool. Just stick to the facts and don’t let other people’s personal neuroses deter you from your goal and many a customer service conundrum will go smoother.

For more tactics along these longs, check out our post, “How To Mind Control Customer Service Reps.”

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.