Horrible retail experience and question for those in retail

[Newyearkiss]

I took something back to a well-known high street store yesterday, and the young girl behind the counter had to call her manager over. There was a slight query on my return and her manager was totally hostile, to the point that I actually walked out of the shop shaking after (eventually) getting a refund. I don’t know if she was running on the adrenaline of the sales and was taking a ‘no-nonsense from customers’ approach (it was heaving in there and had a jumble sale in January type vibe), but I don’t think anyone has ever made me feel so awful. I was mortified as well in front of this young girl. The manager was just so abrasive and aggressive. I’m normally quite able to hold my own but she totally blindsided me.

I was actually thinking I might put in a complaint although I signed my name on the returns receipt. Does anyone know what happens to those bits of paper at the end of each day? I would prefer this woman not to be able to access my name and potentially trace me online.

Impossible to say without more information.

Some stores (H&M) are notorious for having rude staff.

If there was a query about the return that would explain why a manager was involved?

I really don't think the manager would be interested in tracing you online I mean how rude were you to her ? You're just a customer why do you think she would want to trace you. In terms of return receipts like pp said all sent to head office. Usually returns are straightforward if you return the item in a resellable condition with the receipt inside the return timeframe. It sounds like this maybe didn't happen.

I think that’s a you issue, I don’t find retail staff rude.

I'd complain. If the manager was this openly hostile in front of the young assistant, then there's every chance they treat the inexperienced assistants bad too. My DD works in retail and some of the managers are so obnoxious in their treatment of the junior staff.

She'll have dealt with hundreds/more of customers in the last month if it's a big store and is unlikely to remember you unless it was particularly difficult matter. Not sure what all stores do, but all paperwork gets bagged up and sent off in different bags to head office. Ours is a big store and two will be present while doing this, if one made a note of someone's details it'd be on camera (which security watch) and also should be reported by their colleague.

There has to be more to the story. Returns must be high after Christmas and returns are easy to process.

Do you have to provide those things or is it just shop policy? This is what annoys me. I have this argument on occasion.

OP, complain. She a face of the company, she shouldn't be making customers feel the way she did to you. They owe you an apology.

If they had to call the manager that suggests it was less than clearcut that you were entitled to a return. I would think they are exhausted from volume of post Christmas issues and needing to differentiate between genuine and didgy customers. Any refunds and returns go against the store profit and affect any bonus payments, their jobs are on the line and decisions may be audited(hence the receipt).

That’s interesting, I had a very similar experience in that shop, same area! Manager was livid with me for trying to return a cotton scarf that had frayed really badly upon the first couple of wears- saying it was part of the design and I was too stupid to realise it was a ‘boho look’ (it wasn’t, it was just poorly made) she was honestly so angry about it, point blank refused to do anything. I asked for her name and she went apoplectic. Told me to get out. Bonkers.

When I was in retail management, returns slips would be kept with the cashing up paperwork in a locked cupboard and destroyed after four weeks, but I really think it depends on the store and their individual policy - no two shops are the same.

What was the issue that left you shaking?

Also meant to add the tag must still be on the item as well. The number of people who try to return clothes that have clearly been worn is mind boggling.

I order a lot of things online and never have problems or queries if I need to return. My top tips are return the item promptly in the original packing with the tag attached, with the receipt and original payment card.i would return things very quickly ( a day or two) if it could be deemed occasion wear as you hear so much about people wearing items and returning them (horrible and unfair).

The other thing to be aware of is the rough percentage of items you are returning. This means I buy lots of items from one shop, including items I know will fit which means a lower percentage of returns.

Sounds like a regular encounter in Zara. They must make it a criteria in the application process that they’re unpleasant.

You can complain to the store but, to be honest, it's so hard to recruit and keep management staff (in our shop they had huge responsibility and were only paid very little more than the shop floor staff, so nobody wanted to do it) that it's likely you'd just get an apology over the phone and nothing else would happen. There's no money for 'additional training', nobody wants their few managers to leave so the complaints aren't passed on (or are maybe just mentioned in passing), so it's largely pointless.

In most shops everything is held together with spit and string. All the 'training' that customers seem to think retail staff get is generally at most an afternoon watching a video.

But then I was in food retail, and it might be very different in other types of shop.

Completely agree.

Is this a perfectly reasonable, assertive manager checking that a very common fraud hasn't been committed (such as wearing an outfit to a NYE party then returning it), meeting an over-sensitive, over-analytical shopper, or a manager being truly aggressive and offensive?

I worked in retail for years. Complaints are part of the job and it’s accepted that you will never please everyone. Nobody in retail cares enough about them to go to the bother of trying to track you down online. What would they even do if they found you?

If you think logically nobody needs access to the return slip to know your name, they could have read it at the time of you doing the return. Continue with the logic, why on earth would anyone want to look you up online and what do you think they would do? In all likelihood the manager has not given you another thought, I don’t want to sound rude but you are not that important.

I do think the detail you have missed out here is probably key to the managers behaviour though. I’m not saying that they should have acted as they did, but I do suspect this wasn’t a simple transaction from your part either. Sometimes people have shit days at work and act in ways they really shouldn’t. You would be really unlucky to have come across a psychopathic manager who wanted to trace you online with bad intent though. That’s quite unrealistic

I'm really sorry you had this distressing experience. It might help if you remember that returns scams are one of the commonest scams and staff on the desk have to deal almost non-stop with people who are lying through their teeth. Imagine what it would do to you and your faith in human nature if you were exposed to that all day long. The retail staff didn't know you personally; they couldn't have known you were one of the good ones. They'd probably reached the end of their tether, not with you specifically, but just with people generally. So try not to take it personally.

The store won't use your name and address details. They just need to capture them for the return, it's a normal retail protocol and they will be very careful about protecting that data under DPA2018, to only use the data for the intent captured, ie to have the details of the person who returned goods, not to stalk you online!

quite frankly just let it go. Everyone is tired and stressed in retail, it doesn't excuse anything, but it does explain things - are you sure they did anything actually worth complaining about? I returned an item yesterday, it was intact with label and receipt and they did the refund without a flicker of concern.

ime it's when people try to return goods that are not in a resaleable condition that causes a problem and that's because the sales assistant will get into hot water for giving a refund when the goods cannot be resold. So I tend to be on the side of the retailer when a customer puts them in an awkward position.

staff are also mindful of how much shoplifting goes on nowadays so if a customer goes in with goods and no receipt or proof of purchase, it will cause a problem.

You let me when you said you think she is going to use your name to trace you online and then… do what? Stalk you?

You sound unwell. No one who works in a shop cares that much about you.

Why was there a query? I have to say every return I've ever attempted has been completely straightforward, no questions asked, so why did they need to question it? They don't make life difficult for themselves for fun.

That said, I wouldn't try and do it the first weekend in January!

Bear in mind OP, that her demeanor wouldn't have been personal to you. How could it be? You are a stranger to her.
She was likely in a foul mood before she was asked to deal with your return.

I'm not excusing her but trying to help you to detach from the situation and quell your anxiety.

There's obviously more to this to storey than you are telling us.
There was a reason why the sales assistant called the manager and why the manager had an interaction with you.
I appreciate that the question is about the sale's return ticket but the background to the storey will indicate how irate the manager was and whether she would be likely to have any interest in tracking the OP down. It must have be a fairly fractious encounter if the OP thinks that this is possible!

A thought- could you contact say the Head Office, as it is a complaint about a manager of the store? I had a complaint about a gym about 20 years ago where the manager was a not so nice version of Gordon Brittas, and did that.

I doubt she’d have the paperwork still but what do you really think she’s going to do? Customers in retail moan all the time. I doubt you’ll be the first to complain about her. However there probably isn’t any point. Manager will deny it, assistant will back her up, so your complaint will come to nothing anyway.