Is there no more customer service and basic understanding in shops anymore?

[cbryce2]

Bought a top from Zara with three other items and they were put in one of the Zara recyclable bags.
Got home had a closer look and changed my mind about all item and so decided to return them.
Got to the store with all items in the bag as was given to me but due to the nature of one the materials( the top)was all scrunched up as it was in the bag with the other items.
The manager comes round and tells me they can't refund the clothes because it's not in a saleable condition?
I pointed out this has nothing to do with me but it's rather the nature of the material but he throws a customer service card to my face, walks away and calls Security.
This was a Sunday so I called up customer service on Monday and they tell me to take the item back to the rude shop for assessment.
Is it just me or this is not right? Feel terribly disappointed by Zara!

If the clothes are faulty they should be refunded. If you have just changed your mind, there is, afaik, no legal responsibility to do so.

Bear in mind that retail staff have to follow instructions from on high, have targets that are supposed to be met, and are supposed to take money, not give it back. For the princely sum of our minimum wage, staff have to put up with "not good enough..." from management and customers, they can't win. If you push the issue, you might get a credit note but the staff will get a bollocking.

Suggest decisions are made in the store in future or check that refunds can be given before you buy.

I agree with you OP.
If It states on the receipt that the shop will refund you within a certain time period then they should. Returning items in a saleable condition means that they haven't been worn and they're not damaged by you the customer.
Wrinkles in fabric is not your fault and anyway, they will have a steam iron in the store for taking the wrinkles out of clothes when they unbox them

YANBU

I bet that due to it being scrunched up he thought you had worn it out on the Saturday and were now trying to refund it. Unfortunately as previous response says if the tops are not faulty you have no right to a refund for them.

YABU.

There was nothing wrong with the top and therefore you have no right to a refund.

The majority of customers are dicks, quite honestly, so retail staff have a very low opinion of the majority of customers until proven otherwise. When a customer is genuinely nice it's actually a shock.

Get on their social media OP...post it all over there. Call head office too.

This is strange! I have never had any problem getting a refund or exchange.

Many shop receipts state on the back that if you change your mind and wish to return within 28 days then you can get a refund or exchange if you have your receipt and if clothes are unworn and resaleable. So you are entitled to a refund and indeed the item is scrunched due to their packing combined with the nature of the material. I'd try another store for a refund as you already know what will happen at this one.

I'd have given it an iron and taken it back to another store.

Btw, being able to return an item because you have changed your mind is part of the contract in this case. It's advertised in store and on the receipts. There is a right to return because of this.

Tkmax tried to refuse a refund on a coat with a faulty zip. They claimed it was because it had hair on it
She kept trying the zip lying the coat flat, but it was impossible to engage the zip when you were wearing. I had to stand and argue for 15 minutes before they would refund. The stitching was also coming undone every time they did it up. This was not even one of their cheap coats.

The majority of customers are dicks, quite honestly, so retail staff have a very low opinion of the majority of customers until proven otherwise. When a customer is genuinely nice it's actually a shock

Speak for yourself! That does not represent all the hard working staff who do a great job and do not treat their customers like dicks just waiting to prove them wrong.

Yep agree customer service is a disappearing service and not because of the hard working staff in the shops etc but because head office dictate this as they are so afraid of admitting any sort of liability even the word 'sorry' which is often all the customer wants to hear.

I find that many customers treat people that work in customer service / retail as if they are subhuman. I see this almost every time I go shopping. It is bizarre, as in other circumstances they would treat the person with respect, but the second that person is behind a till, it's fine to be rude to them

Maybe the guy in the OP was having a bad day, we all have those. Try to have a bit of empathy and don't dwell on it.

Zara are well known for their shocking customer service. I buy a lot of clothes for my children from Zara online and often receive faulty, holey and incorrectly labelled clothing. When I ring their customer services they make it as difficult as they can to return things, to the point that now, unless it's a high price item (which it rarely is because it's Zara and their prices are one of the reasons I'm attracted to the brand), then I chalk it down to experience. There are lots of buying and selling groups on Facebook where I can pass on the incorrectly labelled stuff and the faulty/damaged/holey stuff I either repair or use as garden/nursery clothes. Really frustrating but I would never buy anything from Zara without absolutely intending to keep it thanks to what I know about their customer services.

So you bought 4 items and decided to return them all?

And one was scrunched up?

And he/she called security?

Why would they call security when they are well within their rights to refuse?

I feel there is more to this.

So how much gobbing off did you do for them to call security on you?

That said, love Zara though I do, I agree their CS is shocking. Took me 3 months last year (and many emails and calls) to get refunded for items online which had never even arrived.

Yes. He sounds rude but i can only assume you were shouting for them to call security.

Speak for yourself! That does not represent all the hard working staff who do a great job and do not treat their customers like dicks just waiting to prove them wrong.

I'm exceptionally hard working and I frequently win awards for my excellent customer service. I have never been a dick to a customer, even when they've made me cry.

It still doesn't stop retail staff, in my experience, having a low opinion of customers in general because the majority of them are dicks.

I'd have given it an iron and taken it back to another store

I'd have ripped a seam and taken it back again. The fuckers have to accept it then.

I'd have ripped a seam and taken it back again. The fuckers have to accept it then.

And my point is proven

Just no fucking respect for people just doing their jobs. Everyone thinks they're entitled to everything.

The OP may not have 'gobbed off' at all. I saw a very sedate and genteel looking woman (smartly dressed, polite, middle aged) be escorted from Zara for trying to return an item. They had given her 2 left shoes in a box

She just quietly said 'I'm obviously not going to leave until you have refunded me' and they called the security guard over

They were trying to claim she'd bought 2 pairs and was trying to return the left ones - totally fucking nuts. It was clear the manager was just a smirking bitch.

Everyone in the queue for the tills (5 of us) hung what we were going to purchase on the queue line thingy and walked out.

Zara has shit customer service anyway... not to mention they steal other people's artwork and claim it as their own!

I don't buy again from places where I have had bad service. Best way to deal with it. Email and tell them that too.

lol Zara, it is effectively imitation designer clothing pretending to be upmarket. You get what you pay for including copied artwork, sweatshops and untrained staff.

If you use the card he gave you and complain, you'll get vouchers for Zara, and he'll probably get a word from management. If you go on their Facebook page you'll look like a loony.

I'm obviously not going to leave until you have refunded me isn't exactly polite either