topic Re: The Rise of "Serial Returners" 😧 in Community Chat

The Rise of "Serial Returners" 😧

handygal2 — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 12:35:49 GMT

This article from Business Insider, though long, is worth reading. It will make you shake your head in disbelief:

From entire lawn sets to used toilets, these are the most ridiculous returns employees from Costco, Walmart, and Target say they've ever gotten.

Aine Caine, November 5, 2018

~Some customers like to take advantage of stores' return policies by making rather unusual returns.

~Business Insider spoke to employees at Costco, Walmart, Target, and Home Depot about the oddest returns they've ever witnessed.

~Employees described encountering shoppers who returned things like dirty toilets and mostly consumed pies.

Some shoppers like to take advantage of major retailers' return policies.

But then there are customers who take that impulse to a whole new level. The rise of "serial returners" is costing the industry a fortune and causing major logistical headaches.

To get a sense of what this looks like at the store level, Business Insider spoke to employees at Walmart, Target, Costco, and Home Depot about the strangest, grossest, and most surprising returns they've seen on the job.

Some of their responses were out there.

"We can't say no to any members, so don't bring anything back that's 10 years old, such as a fake Christmas tree we got back that was sold in 2007," a California-based Costco employee previously told Business Insider. "We want to help, but that sets a bad example for everyone to bring anything back."

Meanwhile, a Target team member based in California told Business Insider that they admired their colleagues working in returns, describing it as "a very tough position."

Here are some of the most ridiculous returns that retail workers said they'd seen.

SHOPPERS SOMETIMES OPT TO RETURN HUGE OR COSTLY PURCHASES

Buyer's remorse has been known to strike people who've just purchased high-ticket items.

"Someone ordered an entire lawn set online and brought it in on a U-Haul to return it," a Target team member told Business Insider. "We had to use around 10 carts to bring it in."

Two other Target employees said they had suspicions about the timing of certain shoppers' expensive returns.

One Target team member of five years told Business Insider about a guest who took advantage of the store's 90-day return policy by "returning roughly $400 worth of Christmas decorations in late February."

And a different Target team member said they had seen "multiple returns of thousands of dollars' worth of home merchandise made after the guests have staged their homes," adding, "It is so unethical."

OTHER CUSTOMERS ATTEMPT TO BAMBOOZLE WORKERS WITH DOWNRIGHT FRAUDULENT RETURNS

Not all returns are made in good faith.

The National Retail Federation estimated that Americans returned $351 billion worth of goods last year, or 10% of all sales. Of those returns, it estimated that $22.8 billion worth qualified as fraudulent, equal to about 6.5% of total returns.

A Home Depot employee told Business Insider about one customer who attempted to return a power tool in its case.

"They re-taped the box, kept the tool, and returned the tool case filled with cans of spaghetti and ravioli to weigh it down," the employee said. "It was neatly packed and re-zipped to make us think it was the original purchase."

A Target team member told Business Insider that stores have a $200 limit on returns made without a receipt and that customers who return items without a receipt receive store credit in lieu of money.

The team member described witnessing a shopper attempt to exchange a razor without a receipt.

"She had hit her $200 limit, meaning that she couldn't return it," the team member said. "She left 20 minutes later. A different woman came in with the exact same razor — in the same Walmart bag even — to return it with her license. Not surprisingly, she had also hit her limit."

But other shoppers successfully exploit return policies.

A different Target team member told Business Insider that one man returned several sets of bedsheets, claiming that his wife had bought too many.

"They were $150 apiece," the Target team member said. "He had a limit on his ID. He didn't have the receipt. We exchanged it for a $450 camera. He bought those sheets from a secondhand store."

MOSTLY DEVOURED FOOD ISN'T AN UNHEARD-OF RETURN IN THE RETAIL BUSINESS ...

Costco is known for its generous return policy. According to employees, members can even get away with returning mostly eaten food.

A Costco employee of 12 years told Business Insider that they wanted customers to "stop bringing half-eaten food and saying it was bad."

They added that they'd seen shoppers return bones picked clean and explain that the "meat was no good" but that "they had to feed their family something."

And a different employee of the warehouse chain described seeing members bring back "all-eaten pies or baked goods" and claim that they hadn't liked the food.

... AND THE SAME GOES FOR OLD, SMELLY CLOTHING

A Walmart associate told Business Insider that they saw a shopper return "a pair of underwear that was already worn."

A team member at Target described a similar incident in which a person returned "a shirt that had been worn, washed, and reeked of cigarettes."

"We didn't even carry the brand that it was," the team member added. The store accepted the return, then tossed it in the trash.

SHOPPERS OCCASIONALLY RETURN ITEMS THEY BOUGHT LONG AGO...

A Costco employee in California said they frequently saw members "abusing our incredible return system."

The employee added that the most ridiculous returns they had witnessed included "smelly socks, 20-year-old refrigerators, and stained mattresses."

"We've seen it all," the employee told Business Insider.

A different Costco employee described how a woman returned two dirty five-year-old toilets to their warehouse.

"She said she didn't need them anymore," the employee said. "She didn't even clean them. I'm embarrassed that we ended up taking them back, but we did make her take them outside and clean them before we did."

Other Costco employees told Business Insider about customers who returned "a 10-year-old vacuum," "10-year-old mattresses," and "dead roses."

A California-based Costco employee told Business Insider that it's always annoying when people try to return "things that are 10 years old and 'just stopped working.'"

These kinds of returns don't just happen at Costco, though — a Target team member told Business Insider that they once encountered a person attempting to return an old, open box of condoms.

... OR PURCHASED AT DIFFERENT STORES.

Retail workers sometimes encounter shoppers who try to return items they clearly purchased elsewhere.

And sometimes those shoppers succeed.

A Walmart associate from Tennessee described seeing a customer return a product from Kmart.

"It was accepted with the Kmart sticker on it," the associate told Business Insider.

A different Walmart associate said they saw someone try to get a refund on "a gallon of out-of-date milk from Kroger."

Two Target team members described seeing shoppers attempt to return Walmart-branded clothing.

"I don't work in customer service often, but I did have someone try to return a non-Target item," a third Target employee told Business Insider. "She kept insisting she bought it here."

Re: The Rise of "Serial Returners" 😧

ValuSkr — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 12:48:56 GMT

I was in the returns line at Lowes behind a man who was returning lumber, hardware, and all the unused bits and pieces from a home DIY project he'd finished. It took a long time and I was antsy but the clerk processing the return was a saint. This isn't as egregious an example as those in the article, but I wonder sometimes if this sort of thing should be allowed. I suppose so - I may even do it myself one day.

Re: The Rise of "Serial Returners" 😧

OKPrincess — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 12:54:59 GMT

All I can say is I wouldn’t last working in the returns department .

These stories are outrageous. No wonder so many stores go under.

Take clean chicken bones back to the store and claim the meat was bad?? Really??

Re: The Rise of "Serial Returners" 😧

handygal2 — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 14:41:21 GMT

@ValuSkr wrote:
I was in the returns line at Lowes behind a man who was returning lumber, hardware, and all the unused bits and pieces from a home DIY project he'd finished. It took a long time and I was antsy but the clerk processing the return was a saint. This isn't as egregious an example as those in the article, but I wonder sometimes if this sort of thing should be allowed. I suppose so - I may even do it myself one day.

@ValuSkr: I think these stores subscribe to the policy that "the customer is always right," but have allowed it to be taken to the extreme. This philosophy is good for business, and works when it's not abused. But in the end-- when abused-- it costs us all in higher prices to compensate for the stores' losses.

Re: The Rise of "Serial Returners" 😧

dex — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 12:58:35 GMT

I see people returning large TVs and couches after a big football game to Costco quite often.I also see people return power washers after their spring cleaning is done.I think Costco is getting expensive and this is the reason....too lenient returns.I have to exchange clothing that doesn’t fit but I haven’t worn or removed tags and I am blown away by the stuff people return.I see people bring in what looks like a whole shopping cart full of food items to refund.I hope Costco doesn’t put those back on the shelf as some of those people do not look clean.

Re: The Rise of "Serial Returners" 😧

Maloyo — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 13:00:18 GMT

Not surprised at all. I moonlighted in retail for one year in 1986 and I saw stuff that I wouldn't have believed before then. I remember in training they told us about serial returners and how to determine whether or not they were legit. One example was the old lady who bought a bunch of stuff every Thursday after her hairdressing appointment, only to return in a few days later, but who ultimately spent $5K yearly in the store (a lot, then) so they'd put up with it vs. women who buy dresses for X occasion, wear it, then return it. We weren't supposed to take it if it showed signs of being worn (not just tried on).

There were lot of people who would buy stuff from one location and return it to another, in one case a guy who bought a lot of upscale items that only one of the stores carried. He'd always return them to a more middle-class store (yeah, he developed a store-wide reputation).

You also got out-right cheaters as described above.

A similar, but different story: about 12-13 years ago, I sat in a cubicle adjacent to a guy who called one day to get a replacement for a trench coat he'd bought 15 years earlier (he said this from the start). He said that the coat had a life-time warrenty and that it needed replacement because something had torn (I don't remember what it was, but it was legitimate and was not damaged). The store seemed to give him a hard time, but he patiently insisted and I think they ultimately replaced it. BTW, this wasn't a coat from Burberry or some uber-expensive place.

He was 100% correct in asking for the replacement, but I can't say that after 15 years I would have bothered. I would have felt I got my money's worth but this is also probably why I'll eat dog food when I retire, LOL!

Re: The Rise of "Serial Returners" 😧

Oostende — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 13:00:22 GMT

What can it be other than a lack of integrity? And how can that be fixed?

I have read before that the most valuable commodity we have is trust. I pay you and you deliver a good or service to me.

When trust breaks down, things get rotten in a hurry. The system only works when both parties trust the other to follow through. At the heart of that system of trust is the integrity of the participants.

Re: The Rise of "Serial Returners" 😧

queendiva — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 13:21:29 GMT

Last week. CS at Macy's to pick up the single housewares gift item I ordered online . This process is usually quick, convenient and easy. One woman ahead of me. No problem, right? Wrong! She returned one small appliance and over $1000.00 worth of clothing! Most of the clothing appeared to have been bought for herself. Tags still on all. Also kids clothes. She said her grandchild grew too fast. CS worker said those items were past the 90 day return. She argued about it (lamely). She turned to look behind at me at one point, giving me a sheepish grin. I returned it with my own glaring stink eye. Her return took like 15 minutes as the line grew longer behind me. Unbelievable!

Re: The Rise of "Serial Returners" 😧

Sooner — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 13:27:27 GMT

It's because we are so afraid to "judge" or call people out in this country that we have no rules, no laws. Everyone gets to do what they want without it being called out as theft or fraud.

Shoplifting is a national hobby now instead of a crime. Don't blame the retailers. Our society put the in the position of not confronting liars and cheats. They might sue.

Re: The Rise of "Serial Returners" 😧

riley1 — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 13:40:45 GMT

Talked to a cashier from WM recently and she said a lot of returns happen between May-September. Tourists will buy beach chairs, fishing gear, coolers, etc. and when their vacations end, they return everything. I remember going on vacation and loading my car up with everything we would need. Not so today.

Then their are exchange students who buy bicycles for the time they are here to get around and when they are ready to leave they return the bikes. I believe the cashier said they are longer taking the bikes back.

The more the stores let this happen, the more people will try and get away with and we will pay the price for it.

Re: The Rise of "Serial Returners" 😧

Feliciti — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 13:49:11 GMT

I'm surprised any store will take returns on holiday decor items after the holiday. I've seen signs up recently at at least one store that they will not accept those returns. But besides just being dishonest, I don't understand the gall of these people. Even if I weren't honest, I'd be so stressed trying to make a return like that that it wouldn't be worth it to me.

Re: The Rise of "Serial Returners" 😧

NicksmomESQ — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 13:54:09 GMT

I don’t have the time or patience to steal goods & services from anybody.When people do these kinds of things they affect the rest of us.Because businesses have to profit at the end of the day.That means they have to raise prices.

This is a little different but yet similar situation.When my son was little I used to take him to Chucke E. Cheese’s. I use to go with 2 friends & their kids.One of the women & I were close friends as our son’s were & still are bff’s.The other woman “Sue” we were friendly with because our kids were friends.

My girlfriend & I noticed that “Sue” was always arriving late with her kids.This way the two of us that were on time got stuck paying for her kids pizza & soda . Note: food had to be pre ordered & paid for at the counter upon arrival. ”Sue” would always say she would pay us back but never did.

One day my girlfriend & I had enough.We only bought food for our kids.When Sue arrived with her 2 kids we told her she would have to get her kids their own pizza & soda. Oh “Sue” had money she was just cheap.She then got up & bought her kids food. She then pulled Chucke E. Cheeses’s soda cups & salad plates out of her tote bag. She proceeded to the self serve soda display & get soda for herself & her kids.She then proceeded to the salad bar & filled the plates with salad before she returned to the table!! We were mortified!!

Talk about nerve.This woman didn’t think she did anything wrong .She said several months prior she had bought unlimited refills in soda & salad. We tried to tell her that it wasn’t meant to be a lifetime privilege . It was for that day only.She didn’t get it!! That was the last time we went to Chucke E. Cheeses’s with her.

A few weeks later we took our kids to the movies. My girlfriend & I bought our kids kid packs of soda & popcorn.

”Sue” pulled a large mega size popcorn bag & soda cup out of her tote & proceeded to get free refills!! Same situation as the restaurant.If you bought the mega size you would get free refills, for the day not forever!!

After that we told our kids that they can have play dates with “Sue’s” kids but no more outings!!

Some people have nerve!!

Re: The Rise of "Serial Returners" 😧

SahmIam — Tue, 06 Nov 2018 13:20:52 GMT

In the end, people do this because they can. There have always and will always be those who are sh!$ and use/play the system. They are ignorant and proud of their behavior; they lack character and unfortunately raise their children to act in the same way. They can be rich, poor and everywhere in between (lack of character does not discriminate). Knowing this, the STORE has the obligation to set limits and when they don't, well, these stories happen.

Stores don't want to get sued, don't want to be accused of discrimination, don't want bad press. So they take it and those who are honest pay the price (literally).

I've seen this since the early 80's. I can tell you that not all stores played the game and in the case of the one I worked at, wasn't sued. My favorite story:

I worked in a department that sold designer clothing (Anne Klein, Donna Karan, Adrienne Vittadini, Ellen Tracy and a new guy...Armani). A woman came to me with one of our boxes and said it was a Christmas gift and wanted to return it. I opened it up and it was an Olga Corbet sweat suit (remember her?). This brand was sold at one store: Sears. I informed the customer I could not take it back as it was not our merchandise. She got angry. She got loud. She demanded to speak to a manager. I paged the manager and waited.

Our department manager was a lovely, petite woman from Ireland. Her accent was beautiful. I never heard her yell, swear...in fact, never saw her angry. She came to the counter dressed in the latest Laura Ashley, I told her the situation and she turned to the woman to hear her version.

"But it's in YOUR box so you MUST sell this. I want the money not this outfit" the woman stated. Colleen listened and then said to the woman with a smile on her face and in a soft, Irish lilt:

"You have 3 choices ma'am. You can keep this outfit as we don't sell the brand. You can take it to Sears where they do sell this brand and attempt to return it. Or, you can eat sh!$ and die." And ended it with a huge smile. The woman looked at her, at me, thought a moment and said "I'll take it back to Sears. Thank you for your time". And off she went.

I looked at Colleen because I could NOT believe I heard what I thought I heard. I grabbed her arm and said "did you REALLY tell her to eat sh!$ and die?! I mean...HOW could you say that and not make anyone angry?!"

Colleen smiled and said "when you have an Irish accent, everything you say sounds so nice in the US. They really don't hear what you're saying, just the accent". With that she left in her Laura Ashley dress.

So, you CAN tell a customer no. You simply HAVE to say "NO". Until stores start doing that, this problem will cost us all and just keep getting worse.

Re: The Rise of "Serial Returners" 😧

jonbon — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 15:55:20 GMT

@handygal2 wrote:
@ValuSkr wrote:
I was in the returns line at Lowes behind a man who was returning lumber, hardware, and all the unused bits and pieces from a home DIY project he'd finished. It took a long time and I was antsy but the clerk processing the return was a saint. This isn't as egregious an example as those in the article, but I wonder sometimes if this sort of thing should be allowed. I suppose so - I may even do it myself one day.
@ValuSkr: I think these stores subscribe to the policy that "the customer is always right," but have allowed it to be taken to the extreme. This philosophy is good for business, and works when it's not abused. But in the end-- when abused-- it costs us all in higher prices to compensate for the stores' losses.

I'm not sure if I'm understanding this correctly, but I have returned items after completing craft projects. If I've overpurchased and have extra unopened, unused, resellable materials, I don't see a problem returning them. Yes, it may be a pain to get behind someone like the person described above, but was he returning things that he shouldn't have been able to return?

Re: The Rise of "Serial Returners" 😧

Tinkrbl44 — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 16:02:05 GMT

Wow .... I'm shocked ... and speechless.

Re: The Rise of "Serial Returners" 😧

Lipstickdiva — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 16:02:18 GMT

I have no doubt this happens because I've seen it and I know people who have done it.

I sat next to a woman a few years ago on New Years Eve who told everyone at the table that she was going to take back what she was wearing that evening because it was too dressy and she'd probably never wear it again.

I know a guy who buys bigger ticket items on deep clearance from Walmart. WM allows you to make returns up to a certain dollar amount without a receipt, for store creit. He would return those items and somehow the clearance price isn't in the system so he would get full price for the items. Once he accumulated enough in store credit, he'd buy what he really wanted. Once he reached his return limit, he had his 17 YO son doing it and then some of his son's friends. Then he tried to get my DH to do it and DH told him no.

I'm quite sure the shopping channels get ripped off on returns all the time, especially during the period of the extended return policy.

Re: The Rise of "Serial Returners" 😧

software — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 16:24:37 GMT

All of these stories are borderline theft.

I always keep my receipts for a short period of time but I did return some clothing, never worn, without a receipt. Takes an act of congress but I did get my money back.

I have a few health issues and there are days I cannot dress & undress to try on cothing in the store, most of the time I buy off the rack, take it home to try on. I have a habit of keeping receipts & even the original bag but that one time, I had misplaced the receipt.

But I have seen the ones who abuse the system

I don't have that much energy

Re: The Rise of "Serial Returners" 😧

VanSleepy — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 16:44:55 GMT

I bought a 4-slice toaster once, and inside the box was a 2-slice toaster complete with bread crumbs. Obviously someone stuck their old toaster in the box and returned it. I was so embarrassed when I returned it because I'm sure they thought I was the scammer!

Re: The Rise of "Serial Returners" 😧

Its Me LuLuBelle2 — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 17:04:10 GMT

About 16-17 years ago I bought a London Fog raincoat at TJ Maxx. As I recall I paid $75-80 for it. Within a week of buying it I wore it on a rainy day. The coat was an absolute crumpled mess of wrinkles. The next day I armed myself with 6 months worth of TJ Maxx credit card statements (to show that I was a good customer who bought plenty and NEVER returned anything) and the receipt for the raincoat. I told the CS gal right upfront that the coat was worn once. She said she couldn't accept it - which I expected. I asked to see the store manager. When she came up to customer service and saw what I was trying to return, before I even explained anything, she told the CS gal to refund my card. Turns out it was the 3rd same exact coat being returned in a two week period for the same issue. She said they'd pull remaining inventory. I was grateful they took it back.

Re: The Rise of "Serial Returners" 😧

LUV 2 SHOP — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 17:15:00 GMT

While all the antecdotes listed below are “one ups”, I fail to see the point of this topic. Another gripe topic that has no redeeming value.