Next refund,staff were rude or was I rude? aibu?

[poolboo]

So today I head into town.
I was returning 1 thing I ordered online from next.
So stood in a long queue and got to the front after 10 mins.
The lady said if you just pop your return in the cardboard box next to the fitting room and we will process it in 30 mins.
She didn't ask for my account number or give me a receipt.
I was a bit wary as I didn't have any proof I had returned it and I was worried that anyone got just take it out of this box and I had no receipt to say I had taken it in.

Anyway she told me that was the return process (even tho I had returned things at the till previously)
She said it would be processed in 30 mins and I would get a email.

3 hours later and still no email or confirmation she had processed refund.
I was about to leave shopping centre so I popped back and explained I hadn't received my refund yet and it was well over 30 mins.

She said they had been busy and if I had put it in the box it would get done by end of today.
So I asked if I got it from the box could she just refund me whilst I was here and give me a receipt so I have proof.

She rolled her eyes and said "your making this very complicated"
"This is our returns procedure "

Anyway she did it whilst I was there.

Aibu?
I would have left the shopping centre with no refund and hope that nobody removed my parcel (I know unlikely ) but you never know.

@MaMaD1990

YANBU - I'd of responded to her with a sweet smile and an "oh dear, can I speak to your manager assuming they're more intelligent that you?".

Ffs. How is she unintelligent if she’s doing what she’s been told to do? That’s so incredibly rude of you, shop staff are not beneath you, they’re just trying to their job.

I’ve made returns in next recently, the most recent was done at the till no problem but the one prior to that I was asked to place the return into their special box. I was a bit unsure too but they assured me this was how they did directory returns at the moment. They must have processed it straight away as I had a text message confirming before I even got to the car.
I don’t blame you for being wary and I agree that if a customer is not happy leaving their items in a place that anyone can access then they should just quickly do their return there and then

I've returned to Next and was made to do this and also felt it was a bit rubbish!

How do you prove you returned them though if the refund doesn’t go through for any reason.

Surly you would be told your stupid for leaving it in a box with no proof of return, so you wouldn’t have been able to win! I would have kicked up a fuss too!

@Gymsmile21 that was my worry too.
How would I prove it.
I think it's a silly system.
I wouldn't mind if you pushed into a box (like a post box that's secure )but not a random cardboard box.

"YANBU - I'd of responded to her with a sweet smile and an "oh dear, can I speak to your manager assuming they're more intelligent that you?""

Have*

@MaMaD1990

YANBU - I'd of responded to her with a sweet smile and an "oh dear, can I speak to your manager assuming they're more intelligent that you?".

No need to be a dick. She’s probably just done what her manager has told her to do.

I agree it’s a weird procedure though!

Rolling her eyes and telling you YOU were the problem is so bloody rude I’d be complaining just for that.

@MaMaD1990

YANBU - I'd of responded to her with a sweet smile and an "oh dear, can I speak to your manager assuming they're more intelligent that you?".

If you are going to accuse others of being unintelligent, it is a good idea to check your own intelligence first. The correct word to use is 'have', not 'of'.

@millymoo1202

I returned a dress the other that I’d ordered online and it was done at till and I got a receipt. Think it was her that made it complicated not you!

yip 🌸

I wouldn’t be happy with this either, sounds like a cost cutting exercise to me, maybe Next either need to employ more staff or send a free returns label .

If you are going to accuse others of being unintelligent, it is a good idea to check your own intelligence first. The correct word to use is 'have', not 'of'

This!

That must be new since covid. I wouldn't be happy with that at all. Anyone could walk back out with the packages with no proof you returned them.

I would want a receipt before leaving the store.

YANBU, I wouldn’t hand anything back without a receipt. It’s fine if they want to process it later but they still need to provide a receipt.

This is the way next we're processing returns when they were doing click and collect- the staff were rude enough then and I can only assume they're treated badly themselves at work to be so rude to customers. I would actually trust this system, but that's because I'm used to it now.

You weren't rude at all, the shop assistant was.

Next spent a huge amount of money on a unique bar code system.

When you order something online that bar code on your clothing tag is your unique Next account bar code, no one else has it. That way someone finding an item cannot just return it for a credit note, it will be refunded back to your Next account. This is why you no longer have to confirm your account number with them.

I ordered and returned some items during lockdown they were just handed through a window. No receipt given.

@OnTheBenchOfDoom

Next spent a huge amount of money on a unique bar code system.

When you order something online that bar code on your clothing tag is your unique Next account bar code, no one else has it. That way someone finding an item cannot just return it for a credit note, it will be refunded back to your Next account. This is why you no longer have to confirm your account number with them.

I ordered and returned some items during lockdown they were just handed through a window. No receipt given.

None of which makes a blind bit of difference if a random hoiks your package out of the box and takes it home with them before it's been scanned.

Asda have a drop off box for returns but it is secure and you type in order number and get receipt.

I would not be happy doing it the way this Next has.

YANBU - I'd of responded to her with a sweet smile and an "oh dear, can I speak to your manager assuming they're more intelligent that you?"

Goodness! Would you really?

@MaMaD1990

YANBU - I'd of responded to her with a sweet smile and an "oh dear, can I speak to your manager assuming they're more intelligent that you?".

If you'd said that to me I'd HAVE made you wait even longer

No need to be a dick

@cupsofcoffee

There's no way I would just leave my returns in a box like that! YANBU - she could have processed it through the till - it only takes a few minutes to put a refund through.

HOWEVER if it's anything like when I was in retail, the refund will go against her name and will impact her KPI and sales figures. If she has to process too many she could end up getting a bollocking.

And yes, that is how some shops work and it's shit.

That's mental! Why should someone returning something bought online that doesn't fit or doesn't suit them have any impact whatsoever on the PIs or figures of someone working in the shop?

They can't do anything about it, ffs.

@Gymsmile21

How do you prove you returned them though if the refund doesn’t go through for any reason.

Surly you would be told your stupid for leaving it in a box with no proof of return, so you wouldn’t have been able to win! I would have kicked up a fuss too!

They do this at mine. My DH retuned several items for me and one was missing from the refund. I called them and she immediately refunded it for me; no questions asked. I then found the item in the boot of the car so had to ring them again . They were perfectly happy to take my word for it though when I thought something had been missed

If they've gone to all the trouble of having this barcode system, why don't they just scan the the item immediately now customers are back in store?

I'd guess it's because the queue was long and they want to get it down as quickly as possible, but it just took more time. They need to treat their returns customers as well as people making a purchase or the returns customers won't bother coming back.

They wouldn't even bother looking properly for a click and collect item I'd been informed by email and text was ready for collection. (They found one item but told me another wasn't there) Apparently I would receive another email and text when it really was there. I never did, only a reminder to collect the item before it was sent back - due to work commitments I never was able to collect. I was all nice and smiley about it at the time but I wish I'd insisted on them looking properly.

That's mental! Why should someone returning something bought online that doesn't fit or doesn't suit them have any impact whatsoever on the PIs or figures of someone working in the shop?

Yep, it's ridiculous and it's one of the major reasons I left retail. It led to pressure from management and HO, lots of upset employees and an awful atmosphere in the store.

YANBU, I'd have expected a ticket or something like when I've returned h&m parcels at a Co-OP collection point.

@OnTheBenchOfDoom

Next spent a huge amount of money on a unique bar code system.

When you order something online that bar code on your clothing tag is your unique Next account bar code, no one else has it. That way someone finding an item cannot just return it for a credit note, it will be refunded back to your Next account. This is why you no longer have to confirm your account number with them.

I ordered and returned some items during lockdown they were just handed through a window. No receipt given.

But none of that stops someone stealing the item out of the box, removing the tags and selling it on eBay.