Who does this ****?
- Thread starter Jimmy_B
- Start date
fflintstone
Well-known member
It has happened to me a lot recently, on a few different items. I didnt notice a roasted chicken from the deli was opened and it had part of the breast eaten.
I had a $10 HF die grinder missing parts.
something at home depot was missing something.
something else I cant remember.
Then when you return it you wonder if they think you did it.
I had a $10 HF die grinder missing parts.
something at home depot was missing something.
something else I cant remember.
Then when you return it you wonder if they think you did it.
Rixter58
Well-known member
For the most part, it isn't the BBS's that eat the returns, it's the vendors.
Several times I've found the small packets of screws/nuts/washers have had one poked through and taken.
Can't be bothered to buy three or four when they only needed one.
For that very reason I will not buy a opened package of fasteners even if the quantity matches what is stated on the package. it is a sad state of affairs when a topic on various forums is about people switching out the contents of a package & replacing it with inferior goods.
ilovevocs
Well-known member
4 ball joints from autozone for my superduty, got home, opened them up, all four were used joints someone returned.
I used to work at a higher end retail store (outdoor mall), and things got so bad there we changed the dressing room carpet to carpet tiles. Why you ask? Because apparently the bathroom across the street (less than 30 yards), was just too far to walk. For us it was easier just to replace the carpet tile than call somebody in to steam clean all the time. Oh, and we didn't exactly stock toilet paper in the dressing rooms, so they had to use something...
One of my all time funny jokes is to go into a dressing room and hear someone in the adjoining one, knock on the wall and ask if they would share the toilet paper as the room I'm in is out. Will really empty a dressing room! It's nice to be old!
Falcon67
Well-known member
We just bought a nice $140 fixture for the dining room. When I got it home and unpacked it, I had a suspicion that it might have already been opened. Packed well, but not exactly like I'd expect. Did a content inventory and the little nut that holds the cover to the ceiling was missing. Lowes had no problem with the return/replace and the clerk made a point to mark it as missing hardware. Somebody either snuck one in or returned without comment.
toolmiser
Well-known member
I bought a replacement water filter for my fridge at Home Depot about 6 months ago. I was getting ready to install it when I noticed it wasn't new. I called the store and they had me talk to the manager. I said what if someone had something bad in their water supply and now I am feeding it to my family. She said it was common. I suggested either they or the manufacturer put a tamper proof tape on it to alert people. I am sure nothing has changed, but I will definately look before I purchase the next time.
ZRX61
Well-known member
Yup, bought an electric razor. Got it home only to find that not only was it a broken used one.. it didn't even match the box it was in...
78C-10
Banned
trainman1385
Well-known member
I bought a miter saw a few years back at lowes and when I got home, found it had been used and that it was missing some of the additional features I had purchase dit for. I suspect someone bought the cheaper model and then realized that they actually needed/wanted the better model so the bought the better model and returned the chepaer model in the newer better model box. I called Lowes within an hour of buying the saw and they were very indignant with me. I had to drive back nearly and hour each way to get a replacement and they gave me a lot of grief. That was the last time I bought something at Lowes
Junkman
Well-known member
When I ran a pet shop, I would have people return dog food saying that the dog didn't like it and want a full refund. Problem is that the dog liked the food well enough to eat 90% of the bag. I would just weigh the bag, and give them credit for the 10% that they returned. If they balked, I would point to the label on the side of the bag that said to send the unused portion back to the manufacturer for the refund. No one ever challenged me on this once I pointed this out. Another problem was the people that would find a mouse in the bottom of the bag, and insist that it came from the manufacturing plant that way, and want a refund. Told them that the mouse didn't eat much, and the rest of the food was fine. Problem customers are in all walks of life, and they only get away with it if you let them. Glad that I am retired now, because it has just gotten worse with this next generation of kids...
Many years ago, I remember an apparently healthy woman passed away suddenly. The autopsy revealed she had formaldehyde in her system. At the end of the investigation, it was found that she had purchased a dress at a major department store that had been returned. The original purchaser had bought it to use for the viewing of a deceased relative at the funeral home. After the ceremony the dress was removed and returned to the store with high traces of embalming fluid on it. It was then put back on the rack for resale!!
How do you compensate the family for that??
How do you compensate the family for that??
JakeKohl
Well-known member
Many years ago, I remember an apparently healthy woman passed away suddenly. The autopsy revealed she had formaldehyde in her system. At the end of the investigation, it was found that she had purchased a dress at a major department store that had been returned. The original purchaser had bought it to use for the viewing of a deceased relative at the funeral home. After the ceremony the dress was removed and returned to the store with high traces of embalming fluid on it. It was then put back on the rack for resale!!
How do you compensate the family for that??
Well...I would have to call BS on that one. I'm pretty sure that A) the dress would smell incredibly strongly of formaldehyde to the point that it would be unwearable B) I don't think you die directly from that kind of formaldehyde exposure and C) if there was that much formaldehyde exposure on the dress of a prepared corpse, nobody would be able to stand getting close to it for the viewing.
mmack66
Well-known member
It is BS. Nothing more than an urban legend.
cyamaha2007
Well-known member
Man i felt so bad. I blew a tire on my trailer in bfe. I had a spare but didnt want to get stuck if i had another blow out. I stopped at the next wallmart at 11pm. I bought a spare trailer tire/rim that was close but not the right size. I made it to my destination no issues and got a real spare from the tire shop and then returned the un used 24hr old spare for a refund. I felt like i cheated them afterwards. How can someone live with themselves after returning a empty box or wrong product?
tater
Well-known member
danski0224
Well-known member
The returns cashiers don't have the time to check every box, nor do they know what is supposed to be in there.
When the returns line is backed up to the entrance, the aholes in line don't want the casier taking the time to look in each box.
When the returns cashier catches something, usually the ahole in line throws a fit and demands to see the manager, then the manager usually caves.
The problem is the aholes in line, not the box store employees.
When the returns line is backed up to the entrance, the aholes in line don't want the casier taking the time to look in each box.
When the returns cashier catches something, usually the ahole in line throws a fit and demands to see the manager, then the manager usually caves.
The problem is the aholes in line, not the box store employees.
tcianci
Well-known member
WE call it being "DEEPOED", you buy something only to find you're not the first owner, or parts are missing. I bought some front end parts for my truck from JC Whitney and one of the boxes contained a USED center link. And even better yet, I once bought a pretty big Campbell Hausfeld upright compressor from Depot. I became suspicious about it being able to deliver the rated CFM because it didn't seem much better than my old 1 HP Craftsman at keeping up with my air tools. I had access to a flowmeter and actually measured the CFM the machine could deliver and it was much lower than rated. I returned the unit to Depot, explaining the defect and then purchased an 80 gallon DeVilbiss from them. 2 days later, I saw my old compressor tagged as "Factory Reconditioned" back on their sales floor. SO, while I find no justification whatsoever for people ripping off stores to the detriment of all of us, sometimes the retailers are scum as well.
weadjust
Well-known member
The wife got a used stick of deodorant from Wal Mart. I got a used exterior door lock set from Lowe's with no keys.
Hmrhead
Well-known member
As I have posted before I work at one of the big box home improvement stores. Two days ago we had a return cashier, during a very busy time, took in a product replacement return, returner replaced the original with a used item. The returner had replaced a $500.00 Grohe faucet with an old, used Kohler. They returned the box with both of the plastic straps still on the box. They either worked hard to slip them off and back on or they have access to a straping machine. No way for her to tell by looking, if she had shaken the box she would have heard all of the loose pieces as Grohe straps everything down, but who is going to shake a box with a $500.00 faucet it?
Junkman
Well-known member
Whenever I have returned a product to any of the box stores, they ask for identification, and the receipt. If they know who ripped them off, then they should flag the name and have a manager handle those returns.
Jeff
Well-known member
I feel that every item returned should be inspected. If it takes longer to wait in line so be it.
I got burnt last year on one of those cheap go-to cell phones from Target. It was used and missing it's accessories and no sim card. I tried to return the phone within the hour. They refused stating that I had used it. The manager wouldn't even come over when called. I ended up taking them to small claims court and won. They never paid the judgement so I put a lien on their building.
I got burnt last year on one of those cheap go-to cell phones from Target. It was used and missing it's accessories and no sim card. I tried to return the phone within the hour. They refused stating that I had used it. The manager wouldn't even come over when called. I ended up taking them to small claims court and won. They never paid the judgement so I put a lien on their building.
fourjeepin
Well-known member
150 ceiling fan from lowes a month ago. Had a $10 old polished brass fan in the box. Buyer beware!
Jrican
Well-known member
Where I work, Last week 2 customers bought snowblowers before the big storm in Nebraska, and returned them the day after the snow was done. Also you would be amazed at how often people bring back mowers & snowblowers because they quit working the first time they used it, and the bottle of oil that comes with them will still be unopened and in the packaging it came with.
I work for a company that supplies manufactured goods to big box type stores. What happens a lot is they either have a certain percentage of product they can receive credit for from the manufacture as defective/warrenty or they just send it back by the pallet load to us, with an incorrect packing list, with obsolete product, and ask for X amount of credit. Then we will have finance breathing down our necks asking if they can close out the RMA before we even get it back! Hell we have gotten completely incorrect products back that we don't make!!
fringeofinsanity
Well-known member
Yup, seen this many times. That's why I always check before I buy. I even started checking things like deodorant, vitamins, shampoo, and toothpaste all because I got home and opened(what was a "sealed" package) and found it to be half gone or used. Some of these bottles have the heat shrink plastic wrap that if done right, you can still open without taking it off. You'd be surprised to see how many times I have had to put something back on the shelf you think is sealed only to find some dirtbag used some of it. My ole lady thinks I'm nuts, but even with a thorough attempt to check I still get duped now and then.
Strangest conversation I think I ever had was taking back a 97 cent tube of toothpaste someone used half of then put it back in the box and dabbed glue on the end flap to take it back I just had to return out of principle next time I shopped there, I mean...REALLY?
Strangest conversation I think I ever had was taking back a 97 cent tube of toothpaste someone used half of then put it back in the box and dabbed glue on the end flap to take it back
I just had to return out of principle next time I shopped there, I mean...REALLY?Many years ago I picked up a VCR for someone at Costco, they decided they did not want it & the box had never been opened, at the time I was annoyed that they wanted to open it, now I understand it.
spotco2
Well-known member
I bought a microwave from Wal Mart several years ago. Got it home and found a nasty bed pillow and a couple of bricks inside the box. I was not amused and it was a PITA to get the manager at Wal Mart to believe that was what was really in the box when I bought it.
People ****.
People ****.
mrodgers
Well-known member
Thanks for this and not blaming my knuckle dragging flat billed hat wearing wife
This is exactly what happens.My wife did say she likes the new lost prevention guy. Previous guy was as worthless as management. The new guy told her, anything she sees that is questionable, call him and he'll come take care of it.
Bought a bathroom fan upgrade kit (new fan/motor in old housing). Opened it up and it's missing a couple of parts. Go back to HD. Nobody answers the call to bring a new one up so I go and grab it. Decided to take a look and sure enough...missing a part. Go back and grab 4 of the 6-7 on the shelf. They all looked like they have been opened and re-taped. Numbers 2-4 all had something missing. Opened #5 and same thing. Ask if I could just mix and match to get a complete set and she said yes.
The strange thing was that it wasn't the actual fan (the retrofit is a scroll fan vs blade fan) wasn't the missing/old part. They were missing small bits and accessories. Don't know what she did with the mess of boxes..or if they pulled the rest of the stock.
The strange thing was that it wasn't the actual fan (the retrofit is a scroll fan vs blade fan) wasn't the missing/old part. They were missing small bits and accessories. Don't know what she did with the mess of boxes..or if they pulled the rest of the stock.
Big box stores like HD and Lowes have their own "damaged goods" sales to mom & pops who then resell stuff on CL or Ebay. I found some stuff on CL and went to pickup . . . the guy had "small business" in 30' x 50' building all full of HD bought returned items. He goes through stuff and adds a handle, puts in missing parts, etc. then sells on CL/Ebay. He even had air compressors that he rebuilt to fix reed valve, etc. HD doesn't want to mess with this stuff. Thus profit margin must be enough to cover all this, but as others have said the general public is paying more to cover these losses.
I got a nail gun from Home Depot a while back and when I got it open at home, realized that someone had written their name on it in permanent marker already. HD was going to take it back without a fuss, but then the manager just asked if I would keep it if they gave me a discount on the original purchase price. I said sure, it doesn't look beat up or anything.
Of course once I was actually using it, there seems to be an issue with the "safety" mechanism so you have to bump the nose of the gun sometimes two times to get it to allow you to fire the nail. Oh well, I don't use that one much anyways, but it shows you the care that does not go into returns.
Of course once I was actually using it, there seems to be an issue with the "safety" mechanism so you have to bump the nose of the gun sometimes two times to get it to allow you to fire the nail. Oh well, I don't use that one much anyways, but it shows you the care that does not go into returns.
Bugeyed Earl
Well-known member
This is not exactly along the same line, but not too dissimilar: I went to Lowes to buy a Samsung above-range microwave, and brought it up to the cashier to ring out. When I turned the box up on end so the cashier could scan the barcode, I heard a nasty rattle from inside. We opened the box and found that the front door glass was completely destroyed. Went back to the shelf and grabbed the last one, and heard the same sound from inside 
The person at the customer service counter called the store in Ft. Lauderdale, and they had two in stock, so I drove over to get one. They had to get a forklift to get them down since they were all the way at the top of the pallet rack, right under a leak in the ceiling as it turned out. The first box was all warped and stained from the water, so I opted for the second one. I turned the box over and heard the now-familiar crash of broken glass
We opened the waterlogged box just for the heck of it, and the back of the microwave was caked with rust! The store manager apologized profusely, and gave me the top of the line model for the same price as the one I wanted
The person at the customer service counter called the store in Ft. Lauderdale, and they had two in stock, so I drove over to get one. They had to get a forklift to get them down since they were all the way at the top of the pallet rack, right under a leak in the ceiling as it turned out. The first box was all warped and stained from the water, so I opted for the second one. I turned the box over and heard the now-familiar crash of broken glass
We opened the waterlogged box just for the heck of it, and the back of the microwave was caked with rust! The store manager apologized profusely, and gave me the top of the line model for the same price as the one I wanted
jfleisher
Well-known member
Way back in prehistoric times, I worked in the service department at a big box computer store, I won't mention their name but it rhymes with Bikro Center. Anyway, this was way before LCD monitors, and a professor from the local college bought a huge (for that time, anyway) 21" Sony trinitron monitor. He took it home, unpacked it, set it up, put it back in the box and brought it back as defective. Someone other than me looked at it, and said, yep, it's bad, and gave him another one. He brought that one back a short time later with the same issue. The sales staff started opening up all of the monitor boxes to try to find him a "good" one. About this time I got involved and asked the sales rep what the problem. He tells me that all the Sony monitors have these lines in the screen, and they can't find a good one. I explain that the lines they are seeing are the shadow from the tension wire for the aperture grille, which all Trinitron monitors have, it's a feature, not a defect.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinitron
http://photo.net/digital-darkroom-forum/003voY
The professor did not believe me, since none of his prior monitors had the lines, of course, they weren't Sony trinitrons.
The stores general manager gave him a discount for his "defective" monitor, argh.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinitron
http://photo.net/digital-darkroom-forum/003voY
The professor did not believe me, since none of his prior monitors had the lines, of course, they weren't Sony trinitrons.
The stores general manager gave him a discount for his "defective" monitor, argh.
info2x
Well-known member
danski0224
Well-known member
Thanks for this and not blaming my knuckle dragging flat billed hat wearing wife
My wife did say she likes the new lost prevention guy. Previous guy was as worthless as management. The new guy told her, anything she sees that is questionable, call him and he'll come take care of it.
No problem, but in fairness, I haven't met your wife.
The problem stems from "good customer service".
Back in the day, this stuff was far less common. Maybe it is partially because (some of) the public had more responsibility for their actions.
Now, the public knows that retailers will treat you with kid gloves to prerserve their customer service image and they take advantage of it. When a retail shopping ahole doesn't get his/her way, they throw a fit in the store like a 2 year old and/or spread their hate online damaging the reputation of the retailer.
It doesn't work the other way either. Remember that 2 waitresses were recently fired for posting what "customers" (aholes) put on their receipts. Those "customers" should have been banned for life and ridiculed before the wait staff was terminated.
The people at the bottom end of the retail worker wage pool really have no control and are stuck making the best of a bad situation. If that hourly employee works with management that almost always caves to the "customer", then there is no point in saying "no" to one of those aholes because the manager will make you look like a fool when the ahole gets his/her way anyways.
"Customers" bring back used, damaged, substituted (return water for paint), stolen and parts missing stuff all the time. The store doesn't want to RTV it (Return to Vendor) because full credit isn't always given, resulting in a markdown. The store just can't toss the item without accounting for the inventory value (wholesale or retail price- depends on the store and their accounting practices). The returns cashier won't always catch sneaky customers that return a box with missing parts or the 2' piece of pipe that was returned and the "customer" got their full price back.
The person restocking the items may not have time to inspect each item either. Or, the department is at the markdown value limit and more stuff can't be tossed until next month/quarter. Either way, it goes back on the shelf. If it was good enough to take back, I sure in the hell ain't marking it down- that markdown stuff is scrutinized and I have to log into my user name to do it. If the retailer truly wanted fresh appearing product on the shelves instead of looking like a rummage sale, no "less than perfect" returned merchandise would enter the department returned items bins/carts for restock.
Those special aholes that rummage through an unopened box and then take an unopened one don't help either. I understand the need to inspect it, but take the one you opened, jerk.
In any event, we all pay for it in the form of higher prices, more outsourcing to preserve margins or the hit on profit on Wall Street.
The people that have never held a retail job do not know how bad it really is.
Who does this ****?
People that need beat, they are nothing more than lying thieving bastards.
Did I mention that I'm not fond of liars or thieves ?
People that need beat, they are nothing more than lying thieving bastards.
Did I mention that I'm not fond of liars or thieves ?