Especially when dealing with WalMart. My nephew's girlfriend bought him a PSP for Christmas. When they opened it it wouldn't work so they took it back. They refused to exchange it or give them their money back. Herein lies the problem. The serial number on the box and receipt do not match the player in the box. Either Sony mixed things up at packaging, someone at WalMart mixed or switched it or someone had previously exchanged it and switched players. The return dept. is suppose to check this when something is returned and evidently they didn't do their job. Marie watched them pull the box from the glass case and even bought an extended warranty for it. Calls to the store meet with hang ups, lies, and accusations of them doing the switching. Well you can't switch what you don't have. Calls and emails to corporate seemed like it was going to help but so far no luck. Manager at the store claims they back him up. Lady at corporate says to call her again if no success. It's just a run-a-round. We were telling a person who has worked there and he too says they are suppose to check to make sure these things match. He also says there is no reason not to exchange it because WalMart does not lose anything when they do. It goes back to the manufacturer who takes the loss. So they are out a player and their money.
If you purchase a product at WalMart make them open the box and check that serial numbers match before you purchase it. The inconvenience should drive them crazy, lol. We are continuing the calls, spreading the word and my sister Rhonda is putting it in the public forum.
This is awful!!!! I am not sure what PSP is, all I can think of is Paint Shop Pro and I am sure this is not what you are referring to. I will definitely remember this warning.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry to hear this. It's bad enough when mistakes are made management-side but even worse when a company joins with the store and it just makes what could have been resolved an even bigger problem. What a headache!
ReplyDeleteBeth the psp is a gaming system. What's really disgusting in the worker took it out of the glass case and put it in the box. And now district manager says is policy. So they are out a couple hundred dollars.
ReplyDeleteThis makes me so upset. I hope you all get some action on this. We have had problems with WallyWorld and have to be so careful to check everything ourselves. If a box has been re-taped don't buy it! Seems they put returns back on the shelf. Sorry your nephew is going through this.
ReplyDeleteThank you Terry for explaining this to me. I think they should complain to the very top!!
ReplyDeleteOMG that's horrible! I would have never thought something like that could happen. I'll make sure to have them open whatever I buy in electronics next time. I hope she gets her money back and an apology!
ReplyDeleteI never once thought of checking the box against the contents when buying expensive items. If the box was sealed, I'd guess it was Sony who screwed up, although they have an very good rep. If the box was not sealed in any way, it must have been Wal-Mart. I am so sorry to hear this - you are the innocent victim of the fact that so many people with whom merchants must deal are dishonest. It would seem to be a good advertising ploy to give you the refund, but it is also true that Wal-Mart is itself victimized by thousands of attempted (or successful) scams every day. I worked in a discount store for a while - one which had an 'accept all returns' policy and which is also no longer in business. It gave me a good insight into the general dishonesty of the public. Sadly, businesses have to protect themselves. Unfortunately, the staff in many companies is also riddled with dishonesty, so an employee may have made this switch, not necessarily the one who took a return. I hope someone gives you your refund or exchange, and I know how angry this must make you. It is so shocking to be accused of dishonesty (even implicitly as in this case) when you wouldn't dream of doing something wrong. Just let me say, don't switch your business to Sears - they are crooks as a matter of company policy! You are doing a service to warn your readers of this possibility (which never before entered my head)- I think some of us will check in the store, in future. What a sour note for your holiday.
ReplyDeleteThis is absolutely horrible. Someone should slip Wal-Mart a hint that if they make their customers unhappy in the physical world, they might each tell 6 friends. If they make customers unhappy and these same customers have access to the Internet, they can each tell 6,000 friends!!! I still believe that customer service is not a department, it's an attitude!
ReplyDeleteWalmart's Return Policy states: Customer satisfaction guaranteed by repair, refund or exchange. Also, we follow any manufacturer’s warranties. <-- Not so true after all eh? Got that from these links: http://walmartstores.com/7658.aspx and http://www.walmart.com/returns#37441
Terry, when Steve and I shop at WallyWorld (which is less and less these days for various reasons) we NEVER take to the checkout any packages which don't have an absolutely pristine seal and NO evidence of having been previously opened.
ReplyDeleteWe've kinda figured out that defective merchandise which should've been returned to the manufacturer is instead returned to the sales floor for some unwary customer to deal with. Frankly, I wonder how many people, reluctant to go through the hassle of a return and possible accusations that THEY were in the wrong, simply keep the defective items and chalk the experience up to an expensive lesson.
I'm sorry you had to go through such an unhappy experience.