Corporate Bull****

Dublinstiofán

Ok so i won an iPod all well and good delighted. Only slight problem is that i was sent a pink one. So i went on a mission today to see if there was any reasonable retailer that i could pop into to change the colour so i don't have to look at a pink iPod for the next couple of years.


Popped into a few places, wont mention who they were but i got the same corporate bull**** pretty much everywhere
i went. (The people i asked were very nice all the same, explaining they couldn't do anything without a receipt)

I know i haven't a leg to stand on without a receipt or any way of getting one but i just cant believe the day is gone that
shops wouldn't do anything possible (even something as small and insignificant as this) just to keep regular customers
coming back. I shop in these shops regularly and i felt a bit let down that a small favour like this was out of bounds today.

Got me thinking to my old workplace.I worked in an Off License part-time for the last 6 years myself and people always
get drink over the christmas period that they don't drink or even want. So any regular customer (or some even not so regular)
that comes in we would switch the drink for something that they do drink so long as the barcode scans. It keeps the customer
coming back. And a lot of the time the customer will take the credit we are giving them and spend another €50 or €100 on extra
purchases above the value of the credit just to show appreciation because as far as i can see it rarely happens anymore.


Be interesting to get peoples' opinion on this. Great we have lovely well trained people in the shops and good customer service in most places. But with the day gone where one could get the odd favour or two. Whats stopping us all buying everything online from now on ? (It's usually cheaper anyway). Whats the point in going somewhere local to buy something and giving them the business if it doesn't go the other way if you need a favour. Say if you lost the receipt or indeed need an exchange without it!

Oh and if you happen to sell iPods for a living and can change the colour of mine, i'd appreciate it! :D

aidan_walsh

Did you win the iPod from any of the places you visited? If not, why would they swap it?

Dublinstiofán

No i didn't, it was online.

And i can understand where your coming from with 'Why would they swap it' and the best i can come up with is to keep/increase my custom in the future and help somebody out.

aidan_walsh

the best i can come up with is to keep my custom in the future and help somebody out.

And in fairness, thats pretty weak. It would be very, very, very nice of them if they did, but they have no obligation to so much as look at it for you.

Its a bit much to be complaining about corporate bull****, isn't it?

Dublinstiofán

I dont think it is. I work in a small chain and we swap drink for everybody and anybody that walks in the door as a favour and get a nice bit of extra business out of it.

All im suggesting is that these big companies operating in Ireland will do **** all to please the average customer. And i think thats wrong, and i also dont think its wrong that i'm complaining about it. It was a simple ****ing thing to do in fairness. A matter of taking one ipod from a glass case and replacing it with another one.

JohnC.

For all they know there could be something not too obvious wrong with it. I believe some of the cheap chinese knock-offs you can get from Hong Kong on eBay can be convincing too and you could be swapping one for a real item.

Dublinstiofán

The ipod is sealed and is clearly an official Apple product.

Dublinstiofán

Anyway my point isn't about iPod. I take the fact that i would have needed to be 'lucky' to a certain extent to get an exchange without a receipt today. I can accept that. However this is my issue with the whole thing and the point i'm making.

What happened to the day there was a little leeway with the retailer. If you lost the receipt you could get a credit note or even get a replacement without the receipt on 'your word' if you know what i mean! Why should we buy locally if these retailers are not willing to help us once a year if we need an exchange or a credit note having lost the receipt?

dudara

Because too many retailers have been burned by people trying to pull a fast one. The retailer takes the exchange etc in good faith only to find that the wholesaler/manufacturer won't take the goods back for whatever reason.

It's unfair to tar all the shops you visited based on your experience in retail.

Dublinstiofán

I can understand that Dudara but i'm still of the same opinion. I have experience as a rep for a very large corporate company and we had a bit of give and take. Every case is different and we were empowered to judge returns on a case by case basis. So i may have more experience than you think in the field.

What i'm really asking is why should i support these companies? They do nothing for me anymore that i couldn't get from an online shop?

noodler

What a thread.

The sense of entitlement some people have is absolutely crazy.

k123456

Dublinstiofan, you are being naieve :

"The ipod is sealed and is clearly an official Apple product."

That proves nothing , are you aware of counterfiet goods and how many identical knock offs are in existance


Let me ask you a question; if you worked in an electronics shop ;
a stranger walks in , asks to exchange an ipod, would you exchange it ?

Dublinstiofán

noodler wrote: »

What a thread.

The sense of entitlement some people have is absolutely crazy.

No your damn wrong there. All i would expect is the same treatment as everybody else. No high horse here i'm about as down to earth as you get and don't expect special treatment in any walks of life.

However, I worked in Virgin Megastores in America and we were thought how to really serve the customer. Having learned that i have always done everything in my power to help any customer or person no matter where i am or what i'm doing.

I only posted this as i got a little pissed off today with one establishment in particular and one establishment only. This is only because i spend on average €200 a month in this place and i have never asked for anything in return, until today. And they looked at me like i had about 10 heads when i suggested the favour today.

Point is the bull**** we put up with here is unbelievable at times (Not referring to iPod exchange, that was a little ridiculous on my part) and if your willing to accept it thats up to you but i'm not.

JohnC.

So is it

Dublinstiofán wrote: »

Popped into a few places...

I shop in these shops regularly

or

Dublinstiofán wrote: »

I only posted this as i got a little pissed off today with one establishment in particular and one establishment only

All i would expect is the same treatment as everybody else.

And that's what you got, but you complain about not getting special treatment.

How many non-receipt electronics swaps of items not bought in the shop did you do in Virgin Megastores? There's a difference between good customer service and something unreasonable like the iPod example.

Dublinstiofán

k123456 wrote: »

Dublinstiofan, you are being naieve :
Let me ask you a question; if you worked in an electronics shop ;
a stranger walks in , asks to exchange an ipod, would you exchange it ?

The product was won from a reputable company which wouldn't deal in dodgy or counterfeit goods, fact.

I did work in an electronics shop. Policy was to ask the manager as i couldn't authorise those type of decisions. 9 out of 10 customers left the shop getting exactly what they wanted. And the customer base was amazing. Even though the store was the size of Eason's the same customer faces would be in there four or five times a week.

Dublinstiofán

Kahless wrote: »

There's a difference between good customer service and something unreasonable like the iPod example.

I can honestly say that regardless of whether a receipt was produced or not as long as the customer was genuine they got exactly what they wanted in Virgin Megastores in the US.

Dublinstiofán

I popped into several Apple authorised agents today. The one i was pissed off with was the one which i drop a bomb in every month.

And i realize i got the same treatment as everybody else today. Thats fine thats not the issue.

But i don't see why i should support them anymore if they wont help me when i dropping €1200 to €1400 in this particular outlet a year. I was hoping somebody would convince me.

JohnC.

Online retailers won't do that swap either, so perhaps you should give up using them too.

JohnC.

Dublinstiofán wrote: »

I can honestly say that regardless of whether a receipt was produced or not as long as the customer was genuine they got exactly what they wanted in Virgin Megastores in the US.

And now they no longer exist. Perhaps these other companies would prefer not to follow Virgin Megastores fate.

desertcircus

In fairness, there's a big difference between exchanging a six-pack of Heineken and an iPod. There's very little point in producing fake Heineken for the purposes of counterfeit sales; where would you sell it? who would buy from you again? how fast would you get a reputation as a scam artist? For those reasons, taking back a few beers or a bottle of wine isn't a risk - you're more or less certain that the goods are fine and you'll be able to sell them on. iPods are completely different - they're small, and seriously expensive. Flog ten fake iPods over eBay and you've made a comfortable month's salary with little effort, and it's hard for disgruntled customers to get their hands on you.

For that reason, a guy in an off-licence is looking at a microscopic chance of losing a tenner, balanced against getting continued custom for a product people usually buy plenty of. A guy behind the desk in an electronics shop is looking at a fairly serious chance of costing his boss 200 quid, balanced against a customer who either comes in once in a blue moon or compares prices religiously (either way, store loyalty is a much smaller factor). What's more, the guy in the electronics shop (or his manager) probably knows that the other shops aren't going to do this either, and that most customers would simply accept being told that it couldn't be done.

It's all about comparative risk: offlicence has small risk from taking it and large risk from not taking it. Electronics shop has large risk from taking it, and small risk from not taking it.

Dublinstiofán

Kahless wrote: »

Online retailers won't do that swap either, so perhaps you should give up using them too.

I know but they are cheaper. Why should i pay more for what i can have for less. If there is no bonus from buying over the counter why wouldn't i have it delivered to my door?

Dublinstiofán

Kahless wrote: »

And now they no longer exist. Perhaps these other companies would prefer not to follow Virgin Megastores fate.

Thats fair enough. Although i still prefer the attitude towards the customer in there. They actually were made number one.

dudara

The customer deserves good service. The customer does not automatically deserve to have every whim pampered to.

Dublinstiofán, I really think you need to step back and separate your personal feelings of p*ssed-off-ness against the service you received today. The service you received today was probably fine. You just didn't manage to persuade anyone to do something that they shouldn't do.

All Apple devices are tracked by serial number. If a shop took in your iPod, it wouldn't have a serial number in their stock consigment - therefore there is nothing that they could do with it. And this is assuming that you're a genuine punter with a genuine iPod.

Dublinstiofán

desertcircus wrote: »

In fairness, there's a big difference between exchanging a six-pack of Heineken and an iPod. There's very little point in producing fake Heineken for the purposes of counterfeit sales; where would you sell it? who would buy from you again? how fast would you get a reputation as a scam artist? For those reasons, taking back a few beers or a bottle of wine isn't a risk - you're more or less certain that the goods are fine and you'll be able to sell them on. iPods are completely different - they're small, and seriously expensive. Flog ten fake iPods over eBay and you've made a comfortable month's salary with little effort, and it's hard for disgruntled customers to get their hands on you.

For that reason, a guy in an off-licence is looking at a microscopic chance of losing a tenner, balanced against getting continued custom for a product people usually buy plenty of. A guy behind the desk in an electronics shop is looking at a fairly serious chance of costing his boss 200 quid, balanced against a customer who either comes in once in a blue moon or compares prices religiously (either way, store loyalty is a much smaller factor). What's more, the guy in the electronics shop (or his manager) probably knows that the other shops aren't going to do this either, and that most customers would simply accept being told that it couldn't be done.

It's all about comparative risk: offlicence has small risk from taking it and large risk from not taking it. Electronics shop has large risk from taking it, and small risk from not taking it.

In relation to your first point. I'm not talking about giving credit for 6 cans of Heineken. We dealt in fine wines and quite often a customer would return with a box of expensive spirits after the christmas period. One customer could return with a bottle of Dom Perignon and a bottle of 12yo Jameson and all of a sudden we are talking about the value of an 8GB iPod Nano with just two bottles. (Obviously the certificate with the Dom would be checked) (Which i expect they would have checked with the iPod)

Hence the off license may not have such a small comparative risk as you may think. I can understand where the staff are coming from no problem. Why take a risk when you don't have to. But, its not so long ago a REGULAR CUSTOMER could have made that switch (provided they were genuine) without any trouble at all. The shop is going to sell a brand new ipod nano which is very much in demand at the moment regardless of what colour it is.

I think what should have happened today is that i should have been referred to a manager to assess the risk in me giving back a product i didn't have a receipt for. And the manager being empowered to make an educated decision on same one way or another (exactly the same as america). Instead of being effectively brushed off.

TherapyBoy

Dublinstiofán wrote: »

...Why should we buy locally if these retailers are not willing to help us...

Dublinstiofán wrote: »

Why should i pay more for what i can have for less. If there is no bonus from buying over the counter why wouldn't i have it delivered to my door?

I think the bonus for buying over the counter would have been that you could have exchanged it without any problems. Ask whoever you won the iPod from if they will exchange it for a different colour, or just keep it. It'd give you a story to tell if anyone asked.

desertcircus

Even with high-quality alcohol, the risk level is much lower - it's bulky and difficult to sell over the internet, so the chances of it being counterfeit are lower than with the Nano. As well as that, there's the issue of being a regular customer - an off licence has much more future custom to potentially lose than an electronics shop.

And the shop can't tell easily whether your Nano is real or not - a few years ago it came out that fake GHDs were on the shelves in (I think) Boots. That's how hard it is to tell the real thing - even shops were being taken in at the bulk-buying stage.

Dublinstiofán

dudara wrote: »

The customer deserves good service. The customer does not automatically deserve to have every whim pampered to.

Dublinstiofán, I really think you need to step back and separate your personal feelings of p*ssed-off-ness against the service you received today. The service you received today was probably fine. You just didn't manage to persuade anyone to do something that they shouldn't do.

All Apple devices are tracked by serial number. If a shop took in your iPod, it wouldn't have a serial number in their stock consigment - therefore there is nothing that they could do with it. And this is assuming that you're a genuine punter with a genuine iPod.

Thats a fair point. I'm not livid or anything and i didn't really attack the treatment. I just think that if i'm dropping over a grand in a shop every year i shouldn't have been brushed off today without even been heard out.

If i was in there today to make a sizeable purchase to the value of €600 can you honestly tell me that the treatment i received would have been different? I can almost guarantee you that the iPod i walked in with would have been a different colour one the way out if it meant loosing a sale of €600 over it.

smellslikeshoes

Any business that would take a swap for an ipod that they didn't sell wouldn't stay in business for very long. Your best bet would be to try and find someone who wants to swap for a pink ipod or try sell it and get another, failing that you could just get over the fact that it is pink :pac:.

Dublinstiofán

desertcircus wrote: »

And the shop can't tell easily whether your Nano is real or not - a few years ago it came out that fake GHDs were on the shelves in (I think) Boots. That's how hard it is to tell the real thing - even shops were being taken in at the bulk-buying stage.

I remember the GHD fiasco alright. However this is hardly the same. I wasn't in this particular establishment to sell them 100 ipods rather to change the colour of one.

And personally i am a big fan of Apple products and have never seen any iPod, iPhone and definitely no ipod nano (as they are so small i have never even seen anybody try to copy them) whose counterfeit packaging and device didn't look 100 miles off what its supposed to.

Dublinstiofán

smellslikeshoes wrote: »

failing that you could just get over the fact that it is pink :pac:.

Its looking like thats whats going to happen. I will update this thread if i do manage to get a swap for it though.

Thanks for all your input. Maybe a slight overreaction by myself. I've cooled down now!

Shelflife

Dublinstiofán the problem is quiet simply too many retailers have been burnt too many times by scams, you would be suprised how many different scams are attempted on us every month.

it dries up any leeway that we have to accomadate what would seem to be a reasonable request from a customer.

its not just your usual skangers either, well dressed and middle class are now resorting to pulling fast ones.

dont blame the retailers, blame those "customers" that have gone before you.