Credit Out While You Can

(Once a store credit is issued to a customer, that’s all they can have. If a check hasn’t cleared, a store credit is issued instead of cash when doing a return. They are given the choice of taking the store credit or returning with their merchandise in two weeks when the check has cleared.)

Customer: “I was told I could return in two weeks and trade this credit for cash.” 

(She gives me the receipt and store credit, which leaves me baffled, so I have her explain further.)

Customer: “I paid with a check and the person said they’d give me the store credit and I could come back with it in two weeks to exchange for cash.”

Me: “This isn’t how we do this. Do you remember who helped you?”

Customer: “She was about 5’2″ with curly blond hair and glasses.”

(I don’t recognize this description as anyone that works here, so I check the receipt to see who helped her, only to find out it was me. I’m 5’6″ with straight brown hair and no glasses.)

Me: *stupidly* “Wait, this was me. I wouldn’t tell you this.”

(This instantly makes the customer angry. She wants to speak to the supervisor, which turns out to be me. This makes her even angrier. She wants the highest manager on duty, so I call the store manager. The store manager comes, has everything explained to her and says to the customer:)

Store Manager: “I’m sorry. If anyone knows the return policies it’s this woman–” *points to me* “–and there’s nothing I can do.”

(This doesn’t please the customer. She argues and gets angrier the longer I am there, so I am sent away to give someone a break. After a while, the customer leaves the service desk and goes into the store. The cashier lanes get backed up so I hop on to help out. The customer comes to my lane with the same item she returned two weeks ago and pays with her store credit and a giant smile on her face. When she finishes in my lane, she gets in line at the service desk. The lanes are caught up, so I go to help the now backed-up service desk. The customer comes to me to return the item she just bought from me at the cashier lanes. I do the return and hand the customer a new store credit.)

Customer: “I want cash!”

Me: “You paid with a store credit; all I can issue you for this return is a store credit.”

(The customer gets angry and insists on having the store manager come again and I get sent away again, but I’m not far enough to be unable to hear what goes on. The customer gets irate to the point that the manager says she’s going to have security escort her out.)

Customer: “That is not good enough. I will only leave if the police escort me out.”

Manager: “My husband is a cop and they have much better things to do than to escort you out of the store, so I’m going to get security.”

Customer: “Give me your phone.”

Manager: “What?”

Customer: “Give me your phone; I’ll call the police myself.”

(The manager passed the customer the phone and told her to dial 9 to get an outside line. The customer called the police on herself. The police showed up, and the customer explained her situation in one last hope that she could get her cash back, but the police explained that they couldn’t do anything about it, but since she was causing a scene they were going to have to escort her out.)