I just have to share this

should we extend that logic of 'checking' - presumably to see if it is of 'merchantable quality' - just a guess :o)

how do you check say, a box of chocolates?

how do you check say, a CD-RW that claims it can be written to over one million times?

You can see if it is scratched - but that would tell you so little about it's merchantable quality (it wont be scratched anyway) it would render any checking virtually pointless

Are you trying to say something?

I did! Totally excellent!

Thanks for the chuckle.

FoFP

jobsworth!

The trouble is, staff in any shop are trained that 'faulty product replacement', when you talk to them about doing something different with the same result their simple minds can't work out how to do it without upsetting their stock levels or damaging good stock.

If only it were that good. In actual fact, the staff in stores are now trained that 'faulty product = get punter to deal direct with manufacturer rather than us' instead! PCWorld are becoming famous for it, but others in the DSG group are fast catching up on the rails and where they lead others will follow

They need to be careful - You contract is 'only' with the company you purchased it from (not the manufacturer) - the moment you start dealing direct is the moment your contract goes outta window - which is prolly why they encourage it

Well, I can see why the clash between policy and "common sense" is frustrating, but quite possibly the manager didn't have the leeway to offer the "common sense" solution, or even to agree to it if the customer suggested it. Swapping out parts from a composite item can cause all sorts of headaches *for corporate*, even if there's no actual fraud involved, and so staff are instructed not to do it, full stop, rather than allowing them discretion on individual sales. Yeah, jobsworth, maybe, but would you want to risk a serious black mark on your record because you'd deliberately done what your employer told you not to?

Now, if it was me, I'd've stopped right after she said that a full item could be refunded, *taken the hint*, bought a replacement set, checked that all the serials and references matched, and come back for a refund with the glasses duly swapped. Corporate gets the proper feedback about faults in the batch, manager doesn't get written up, and I get a replacement glass.

That's common sense, isn't it? ;)

Jani

However you chop it up - they started with a lamp set with a broken glass - and ended up with the same - only difference

She wanted to fill out lots of forms - make me remove all the light fittings - makes me fit them all again - returns 'used/damaged' lamps

staff could be instructed to set fire to every third customer (and i'm confident she would do it) - but not to me

I'll have to remind - she was manageress (not a till waller) and as such has total discretionary powers - that's the definition of a manager - to 'manage' (act in the best interest of the company)

No! - and here's why - If i posted this to Argos they would be horrified! - without giving myself extra browny points here - had someone less errrm ('arsey' shall we say) been in the same position - they could actually have become distraught (70 year old fella who is easier to intimidate) - having spent the whole morning wiring in lights to the mains, only to be told (through no fault of their own) they have to take them all down again (don't kid yourself, there was no *hint*) - bring them all back (could've lived 30 miles away) - get a refund - buy another set - travel all the way back home (3 x 2 x 30 miles = 180 miles) - and refit the whole lot again

You have to agree that this is simply unacceptable and i *know* - that Mr Argos himself would never treat his customers that way - and had he served me - he would've swapped the glass - and probably apologised profusely - then played politics with the boxes afterwards

I can guarantee that this woman learned fast - next time she will swap it

A Sainbury story. I bought a few items and the total came to £7 (or thereabouts). I gave the cashier (who was NOT a blond teenager from Essex) a £10 note. She accidentally typed £20 into the till so it said she needed to give me £13 change. She realised immediately that she had made a mistake. She explained her mistake and asked if I had another £10 that I could give her so that she could give it back to me in £13 change. I didn't so she had to think for a while and work it out. I assume that modern tills have a hypnotic zombiefying effect.

What do you mean the "whole lot"? Surely if only one glass globe was broken, you'd have been expected to take down only one of the fittings (the one the globe of which was broken), not all of them.

Still unreasonable, of course, but why exaggerate?

So what happened? Did you borrow your tenner back off her, so that you could then give it to her, so that she could give it back as part of the £13, and then you could return the borrowed tenner to her?

It was a boxed *set*. The demand was that the entire set should be returned for replacement.

You'd be amazed the number of times I ordered a McDonalds "without the crap" as I now put it, and been given a McDonalds with the crap scraped off ...

Another little trick of theirs was to take the order. Pour the drink, and then have me wait the 5 minutes until the order was ready. At which point they try and give me the lot, only to be surprised when I hand the drink back and say "I'd like a fresh one please" ....

Perhaps he wants to buy some cigarettes?

Oops, sorry, so it was.

Not all managers have "total discretionary powers", by any means, especially when they're part of a big corporation. The extent to which they can override policy is often extremely limited, and if they exceed those limits, they're in serious trouble.

Then your beef is with the returns policy itself - namely, that composite items have to be returned in toto even if only one component is faulty - and I see no reason why you shouldn't raise *that* issue with Argos, rather than patting yourself on the back for being nasty to a retail worker. Have you written to Argos head office, explaining why you think the policy is flawed, and asking if they would consider amending it?

"Mr Argos"? Heh. Of course a small independent retailer would probably have reacted differently, because he *does* have the freedom to set his own policies and track his own stock. If that's the kind of service you want, then you have to make do without the advantages that the bigger company offers, in terms of choice, availability, and so on.

If the policy she is contracted to follow says she can't swap out individual items, no, she won't. How does she know that the customer isn't a regional manager doing spot-checks? I doubt if she would even openly suggest that the customer buys another complete set of something and returns *that*, because again, she would probably be in trouble for doing so.

If the customer themselves figures it out, that's another matter. And yes, you were given a hint, because she conceded that she would send back *any* set of lights which had a faulty item; it's not rocket science to work out the logical next step.

Jani

My daughter ordered a veggieburger in the States and was given a bun with just lettuce in it.

You should have gotten her to order a Hot Dog. That could have been interesting.

FoFP