Returns aren't a Treat

Dear Russell Stover Candies:

My wife was recently in your store and considered a nearly ten-dollar bag of something that included chocolate, pecans, and caramel. She thought I might like them, but wasn’t sure. She asked the clerk, “Can I return these if my husband doesn’t want this variety?” The clerk specifically said, “Sure, no problem.”

When she returned to the store the next day with her receipt and the unopened bag (since I decided I didn’t need a big bag of candy) and requested a refund, the clerk gave her a line about how “we can only give you store credit.”

When my wife pointed out that the previous day’s clerk (who was sheepishly standing behind the one she was now talking to) had implied that a refund would be “no problem,” the new clerk said, “Well, we don’t normally allow returns for cash, but I’ll make an exception in this case.”

What exactly is the return policy on unopened, receipt-provided items? I suppose the selling clerk was technically correct in saying, “Sure, no problem,” but since she failed to add “for store credit only,” we—like most consumers—assumed "return" would equal a no-questions-asked refund.

Please, get your staff straightened out on this matter, post your policy, and stop guilt-tripping customers who are making day-by-day, moment-by-moment decisions on whether to ever come back in your store again!

Your new stores are as attractive as anything in the retailing business. It’s time to make sure your staff lives up to the quality that the buildings themselves project.

I am sharing this letter on my consumer-affairs blog and will post your response, as well.

The eValue-ator

Dear [eValue-ator]:

We apologize for the poor service you and your wife received when visiting our retail store. The return policy for our Russell Stover Retail stores, as printed on our receipt is:

Russell Stover Candies proudly guarantees the quality of our products. If you’re not completely satisfied with your purchase, you may return it along with the original sales receipt to receive in-store credit in the amount of the original purchase price. Returns without the original sales receipt will be issued in-store credit in the amount of the lowest current sale price. See posted policy in store for further details.

We understand the policy, which should have been posted at the register, was not in sight and it should have been. When we remodeled the store, we failed to re-post the sign. We are correcting this matter to avoid misunderstandings in the future. We understand the problem with your experience was that our employee mistakenly gave the impression that the candy could be returned for credit if you were not satisfied. We are sorry for this misinformation and we are working with the employees to make sure they are communicating our policy correctly to customers in the future.

We appreciate the time you took to let us know of your experience, and we are sending a check to cover your expense. We hope you continue to be one of our valued customers and please feel free to contact us with any further comments or concerns.

Sincerely,
Russell Stover Candies Customer Care Team

Acknowledging that their staff misled a buyer is a start. But they don't even attempt to justify their "store credit only [even with a receipt, unopened merchandise, and the next day]" return policy, which is extremely rare among retailers.

Also, I'm not sure why sending a check is necessary (and I'm not sure what amount it's going to be), since we actually did get the refund from the clerk, as I stated.

These are nice stores, and it's a company with a proud history. I hope they succeed. Give them a try.

But make sure you know what you want! I think their "store credit only even on receipt-accompanied, unopened, quickly returned merchandise" policy represents short-term thinking that I believe will, in the end, cost them more customer loyalty than it adds to the bottom line.