I work customer service for a furniture store. This is a small store, family-owned, and our only location. A customer comes in and looks around and decides to purchase a couch from our floor. This is a couch that is on sale due to discontinuation.
Because it is discontinued and “last chance,” there is a no-exchange-or-return policy attached. Because of this, the salesperson is asking her questions and trying to make sure that the couch will fit into her apartment building and even offers to put it on hold for her to go back and measure and call in to complete the purchase if needed.
The customer refuses.
Customer: “I know that it is just fine and is what I want.”
We go through the process, I write up the invoice and go over policies and charges one more time, and then she signs the invoice and we schedule delivery for the next day.
The next day comes, and our guys go out to deliver it and run into a couple of problems. First, there’s no freight elevator in her building — she lives on the second floor — and the halls are too narrow for them to get it easily up the stairs. They manage to get it into her apartment and where she wants it and one of the drivers notices her dog immediately jump onto the couch. She signs the necessary paperwork and they leave. A couple of hours later, I get a call:
Customer: “Hi, I had a couch delivered today and it doesn’t fit. I want to return it.”
I pull up the order to double-confirm, although I know that she’s not going to like my answer.
Me: “It looks like you purchased one of our last-chance items. Unfortunately, we can’t return that.”
Customer: “Well, I don’t want it! It’s stained and it doesn’t fit in my apartment!”
Me: “Stained? What kind of stains are there?”
We always check the furniture before it leaves and if there had been a stain, she would have likely gotten a further discount on the initial purchase.
Customer: “Your delivery guys must have done something! It’s stained and it doesn’t fit. I want them to come back and get it and I want a refund!”
Me: “Hold, please.”
I flag down the delivery guy who is heading towards the back of the store.
Me: “Hey, do you remember this delivery?”
I show him the invoice.
Me: “She says it’s stained and doesn’t fit.”
Driver: “Yeah. It fit, but it was tight to get it up there. There weren’t any stains on it, though; we had it in plastic until it was in her apartment. I bet her dog did something.”
Me: “Great.”
I pick the phone back up and start talking to the customer again.
Me: “Thank you for holding. Unfortunately, because this couch is listed under our last-chance option, it can’t be returned. I double-checked your invoice and that was listed and explained when we went over it.”
Customer: “No, it’s stained and doesn’t fit. You need to come and get it.”
Me: “Ma’am, I’m sorry, but store policy is that furniture listed as last-chance or discontinued can’t be returned or exchanged.”
Customer: “It doesn’t fit!”
Me: “Your salesperson asked you those questions yesterday and you assured us that it would.”
Customer: “You need to have your guys come and get it. I want to return it!”
Me: “I’m sorry, but this furniture can’t be returned.”
Customer: “What’s your name?”
Me: “[My Name].”
Customer: “Email address?”
I give the work email address.
Customer: “Goodbye.” *Click*
Within about twenty minutes, there was an upset email sent to her salesperson with me CC’d in it. It explained in detail how the couch didn’t fit and was stained and how it needed to be returned.
She went on to explain that if we didn’t allow her to return the couch, she was going to email corporate — the store manager’s husband — and tell them how we were horrible employees. The salesperson and I discussed it and he decided he would call her to see if he could get her to understand the policy. He never made the phone call; within five minutes of her email to us, I got a call from the manager’s husband telling me that we needed to process this return.
I tried to explain the situation, but he didn’t want to hear it; neither did the manager. So, I called the customer back and managed to schedule a time for our guys to retrieve the couch the next day.
When they got back, we looked it over. There were a few scratches — mostly on the underside — from when they were trying to get it into her apartment and there were most definitely yellowish stains in a couple of places. There was also dog hair UNDER the cushions. I tried to explain to the manager that the stain was likely dog pee and that we shouldn’t refund the money or have retrieved it, but she refused to listen to me, basically telling me to shut up when I kept trying to point out that the stains hadn’t been there before and neither had the dog fur.
She refused to listen and just paid a cleaner to come and get rid of the stain and then marked it down a little more. When the customer came to pick up her check, she had her dog with her and looked entirely too pleased with herself.
