Worst customer service ever at Asda

[motherofcatsandbears]

I bought something to drink from Asda last week for me and my friends. We tried it and didn’t like it - some left in glasses.
I tried to return the (admittedly empty) bottle, not thinking to put the remaining liquid back in the bottle before trying to get a refund on the try me love me policy they claim to stand by.
I ended up speaking to a manager (after having to ask the service desk employee not to call me “my love” as I find it patronising and extremely rude. The manager listened to me and said that if I brought back what was left he would reconsider a refund. I did tell him that I realised I should have poured what was left back in the bottle but it smelled so foul, i couldn’t bear to smell it again.
I returned on Monday and the service desk employee opened the bottle to smell the drink and poured it back in after not finding I’d tampered with it and left a sticky mess all over the bottle.
She went to get a manager (different person from last week) who, before even listening to me, said that she stood by last week’s decision still stood. I asked her why she didn’t even listen to me and she couldn’t answer.
I have emailed Asda head office and I’m waiting to hear back from them.

that poster quoted the wrong policy though. They quoted asda's overall policy
https://asda-stores.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail_grow/a_id/2372

There is also a additional 'try me love me' policy that only applies to certain items where you can return something if you are not 100% happy with it. THAT policy doesn't say anything about the item being in an unused condition etc.
https://groceries.asda.com/event/terms_and_conditions_preview
Indeed, the very name of the policy 'TRY me' makes clear that they don't expect you to make your decision about whether you are '100% happy' with it until you have TRIED it, and therefore by definition the item cannot be in unopened/unused condition!

It's irrelevant whether any of us, or even the asda manager think it's a stupid policy that could be open to abuse, why OP still had the drinks hanging round her house, or even if the cost of going to asda twice and the embarrassment was worth the refund....

asda offer a very specific guarantee, OP was entitled to claim it (as long as the bottle was one with the try me love me promise, if it wasn't then obviously she wasn't entitled but I've assumed the customer service people would have said so in that case!)

Did Op confirm it was an Asda brand drink?

Did op confirm it’s within the they me buy me policy. As not all Asda brand items are in it.

How did you still have the liquid left after the first return attempt? You’re saying it smelled foul… so you left it in the glasses in your house, unwashed? Just sitting there in the glasses whilst you went out the next day to return it?

https://groceries.asda.com/product/pre-mixed-drinks/asda-spiced-rum-and-cola-4-x-250-ml/1000383164641

it does apply to alcohol.

@Wheresthefibre
Given OP specifically referenced the policy then I think we can take it as read that the specific item she was trying to refund advertised itself as one using the try me love me guarantee.

If not then obviously that is mad, but you'd think that would have been the first thing the customer service staff said, i.e., Sorry love this product isn't a try me love me one so that doesn't apply, rather than sorry love you've drunk it all!

@motherofcatsandbears you're at best bonkers at worst a cheeky fucker. Not helped by how you are talking about other posters. You asked if you were being unreasonable- the resounding answer is yes. Also rude.

Fuck me, I've read it all now...petty doesn't even begin to describe your actions.

But, and I know we'll never get an answer to this; I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHERE THE STINKY DRINKIE WAS STORED IN BETWEEN THE VISITS TO ASDA.

Omg i think you might be my SIL 🤣. Did you once eat an entire cookie and ice cream dessert in Frankie and Benny's and then complain the cookie wasn't chewy as described on the menu and insist they bought you another one? (Which they did - idiots!).

I think you’ve approached this in the wrong way.

firstly, their policy is discretionary, it’s not the law. There’s no automatic entitlement to return something cause you don’t like the taste. You’re essentially appealing to their goodwill and trying to tip the balance of probability in your favour. By giving them an empty bottle and declaring you don’t like the item, you come across as a chancer as you’ve used the whole thing. Whereas someone who returned a full bottle would look like they genuinely tried the drink, and didn’t like it. You also then were quite confrontational with the staff, you really do get better results when you aren’t nitpicky and can build rapport with people. I’m not surprised they rejected the return

So you left glasses of a horrible smelling drink lying around for a week? Til you could take a half full bottle to customer service ?
In which world?

So, you buy a bottle of drink. Night comes, mates come round, dish it up, all try and its foul, You leave right there and then and take the empty bottle back to the shop to compain? Didn't your friends say oh its fine, stay and we'll have a cuppa or i'll run to the corner shop? Rather than wasting an hour or so trying to get a refund so you could buy something else?
Or you all left it, you left it all in the glasses which went in the kitchen, no one poured anything away, you finished your lovely night. The following day you look at the half full glasses, leave them there despite the foul smell and take the empty bottle with you? They refuse so you go home, tip the glasses into the bottle and leave it in the fridge until you can get back there Monday?

First dude was right, you were chancing it.
Second person, she said she agreed with first so surely as you brought the drink back, she refunded you? So you're happy? Or she agreed with him and wanted more of the liquid returning so didn't refund you?

Name and shame this drink, FFS!!

How much was this bottle? Was it ££££?

This 😂😂😂

Lol no one agrees with you… they must be trolls!

How did they know the decision was no from last week? Surely you didn’t tell them?! I was unaware of this policy at Asda, but in all seriousness, unless it was a £40 bottle of single malt or similar, I couldn’t be bothered to return it. The petrol would negate the price for me and I’d just never buy it again.

Get a life

But presumably this means with most of it still in the bottle, not an empty bottle? Bringing some liquid back days later seems very suspicious. Who keeps the actual product they don’t like aside at home and takes an empty bottle back?

Yep @ScierraDoll

You’ve got too much time on your hands ‘my love’

Taking back an empty bottle to complain is the equivalent of telling a restaurant you hated a meal despite eating it all.

It’s CF behaviour.

Was it a magnum if it was shared by many friends?

Was it Cherry Lambrini? You can tell us.

Except if the shop specifically has a policy that explicitly states you do have an "automatic entitlement" to a refund if you're less than 100% happy with the product, as it does in this case.

The "try me love me" policy (which OP referred to in her first post) is exactly what you're saying the shop doesn't offer....except it does and specifically advertises products with that guarantee.

If the shop states something as part of their terms and conditions then its not discretionary, they do have to honour it, regardless of if the customer is rude or not. OP wasn't appealing to their good will, she was referring to their own legally binding terms and conditions.

Is this particular scenario a bit weird? Yes

Doesn't change the fact that OP was technically right and the customer service staff wrong.

We need to know what this drink is ffs!!!!

Just tell us and put everybody out of their misery😂

My guess is inside one or more people's kidneys.