Defective or Misuse?

All the crazy people come out on the weekend.

There was a girl trying to return an item that was MONTHS old (well past our return policy). She didn't want a replacement; she wanted a refund. According to her, the item was defective. I agreed that there was obviously something wrong with it. But the problem was more than likely due to her misuse of the item. If it had been like that to start with, then she should have returned it earlier.

I told her that because it had been so long, we couldn't take it back. First she protested, then she threatened to sue.....the item was defective, it's our fault, the employee who sold it to her sold her the wrong accessories, etc. The whole "I'm going to sue you!" line was particularly funny because she didn't have a receipt or any proof that she bought it in our store. She probably did get it at our store; she might even have bought it, but with no receipt, there was no way to know.

She, surprisingly enough, knew the name of the employee who "sold" it to her. (I use that term very loosely because I'm not sure that any money changed hands.) When there's a problem with an employee telling a customer the wrong thing, most customers barely remember if it was a male or female employee. They don't remember the name, or even if the employee was short or tall, what color hair…………NOTHING. So the fact that she remembered the name of the former employee who was fired more than three months ago is not only surprising, it's also a little suspicious. (She wanted a REFUND, not a replacement. Yet no receipt..........)

Just to cover myself, I called the regional manager to advise her of the situation. She agreed that at this point, MONTHS later, we have no responsibility for this particular item. So the girl can call the office or try to sue us or whatever……..it's not our fault nor our responsibility. Doesn't sound too customer-oriented, huh? Trust me, my company loves to please the customer, even if the customer is completely unreasonable. But let me give you some examples.

If you buy a car and never change the oil, it will eventually explode (or something like that). If you buy a bird and don't feed it, it will die. If you buy a wood table and throw it in your swimming pool and get it out two months later, then it will probably be rotten. If it's several months after the purchase, how do we know if you maintained the item properly or if it's a defect? We don't. That's what warranties are for, covering appropriate items for appropriate lengths of time. No warranty would cover this type of item for this length of time. Sorry, you're out of luck. Go away.