What do The Children's Place, Office Max, and Pier 1 Imports all have in common?

Their return policies are ridiculous, restrictive, and misleading.  That's right, I'm naming names.  In the past month I have had 4 really bad customer service experiences.  Now 4 bad experiences is a bit much in any economy, but aren't we supposed to be in a recession?  Aren't companies supposed to be desperate to receive my spending dollar?  Well, that's just the problem, once they have received your dollar they will do anything, including misleading the customer, to keep it.  I'll break this down by company and you'll see what I mean.

First the Children's Place.  Ahhhh  The Children's Place.  I went round and round with them and still came out the loser.  It all started back in December when my dad sent my daughter some beautiful Christmas gifts purchased from the Children's Place.  At 11 my daughter can be a nightmare to fit: very tall, very slender, but with a hint of puberty...basically she can no longer buy clothes at The Children's Place which is a store geared to, well, children, not teens.  My dad graciously sent me the original cash register receipt since he hadn't included a gift receipt.  The Children's Place refused to let me return the clothes.  Oh they were more than willing to let me have an in-store credit, but they wouldn't give me money back they would only credit my dad's credit card.  OOOkay...Fast forward to my daughter's birthday.  My dad, not realizing that my daughter will never again fit into The Children's Place clothing once again outfits her beautifully and includes a gift receipt.  Once again the company refuses to take back the clothes.  This is a size limited store.  This isn't Macy's where one could reasonably argue that we could find something in the store that would fit.  This is a store that carries pants that are too short for my daughter.  What am I supposed to do with an in-store credit?  I only have one child!  It wasn't my father's intention for my daughter to provide birthday gifts for her cousins, it was his intention to patron what he thought was a reputable store that would easily return for cash any items he purchased because he included a receipt.  Nope, they would not give back one cent.  The receipt you get from Children's Place does state that they will basically never ever give you money if the item is a gift so please read it carefully and my suggestion?  Never ever buy a gift at Children's Place.  Not only will the recipient never be able to return it, but if the recipient lives far away (my dad lives in Florida and Ohio) they couldn't possibly return the merchandise to you in a timely enough manner foryou to get your money back either.

Now for you Office Max: what is with your policy of not taking back software?  How could one possibly know for sure that software is going to work on your computer without loading it on the computer first?  Sure the box said it was compatible with Windows 7, but apparently the box lied.  Now you won't take it back?  It's a Read-Only CD!  I can't possibly have altered the disk!  We both know that you, as a company, can write off that software, return it to the manufacturer, or re-sell it as "opened."  Office Max won't take a financial hit, but they sure don't mind passing one on to their customers.

And finally, Pier 1 Imports, I am maddest at you!  I have been such a long, faithful customer!  I was there when the first Pier 1 opened in my little town in Ohio.  My first apartment was a veritable feast of papasan chairs, director's chairs, and colorful "ethnic" linens.  So when I wanted to freshen up my bedroom a bit with new throw pillows, to whom did I look first?  That's right, Pier 1.  First I bought some neutral camel colored pillows.  They just looked too boring so I went back the next day and picked out some gorgeous sage green pillows.  This is where the problem began: when I went to return the camel pillows the clerk asked if I would be doing anymore shopping that day at Pier 1.  I said yes.  She then said she'd hold my return until I was ready to checkout and then do everything at once.  Great!  Off I go to find more colorful pillows.  I get the sage pillows.  The clerk does whatever it is that she does and tells me I owe a few dollars, I pay, I go home.  I'm still happy.  I put the sage pillows on my bed - they look gorgeous with my bedding.  Unfortunately they look awful with my bedroom walls which are sage too, but a different sage.  Oh well, I guess I'll put the throw pillows on hold until I decide if I want to paint my walls.  Back I go to Pier 1 to return the pillows.  "I'm sorry," says the clerk, "but I can only give you in-store credit for these pillows."  "Why?" I ask, "I have the receipt right here.  I just bought them yesterday!  I am the original purchaser!"  Do you know what she says???  "Well, you obviously returned some other merchandise and the clerk did an exchange so you only have an exchange receipt and we can only give you in-store credit on an exchange receipt."  Are you kidding me???  You mean to tell me that because the clerk made a decision to do an exchange (I never said I wanted to exchange anything) that now I am screwed out of $35???  What if I had done this with a dining set?  What if hundreds to thousands of dollars were at stake?  So you know what Pier 1?  I found exactly the throw pillows I wanted at Bed, Bath, and Beyond.  I don't care if take that in-store credit to my grave, I'm not shopping at your store because I can't be sure that I'll ever get my money back.  I feel sad too, because I loved Pier 1.  But that was just sneaky.

Now for a special mention.  Remember I said that I'd had 4 bad experiences so one store will be getting special mention because even though things turned out okay for me, they only turned out that way because I learned my lesson from the Pier 1 experience and knew what to say: I bought Steve a Nook from Barnes & Noble for our anniversary.  The Nook didn't work properly, it wouldn't hold a charge.  I went to return said Nook and buy a new one.  I made it clear to the clerk that I wanted to return the Nook and then buy a new one, not do an exchange.  She said she couldn't do that, she had to do an exchange.  I asked for the manager.  The manager wanted to know why I was adamant that they not do an exchange so I asked her "if I do an exchange and this Nook doesn't work then I am stuck with $300 of in-store credit, right?  You won't credit my credit card, you'll give me in-store credit, right?"  The manager agreed that is what would happen.  "Fine," I said, "then just return this Nook and I don't want to buy a new one unless you will not do an exchange."  Finally the manager agreed, the new Nook was fine, Steve loves it, and all is well.  But had I not learned from the Pier 1 fiasco about the sneaky exchange policy, I would never have been able to return that Nook and get my money back if the second one didn't work.

All of these companies should feel ashamed of themselves.  The basic transaction between customer and store is one of risk.  I buy from you.  I may find it cheaper somewhere else in a few months.  I may decide I don't like it well after the return time has expired.  It may break in a few months.  Risk.  You sell it to me, I may change my mind, not like it, it doesn't work, it doesn't fit, whatever, then it is your responsibility to take it back and give me back my money as long as I have the receipt, I'm within 30 days,  and the merchandise is in the same condition as when it left the store.  Training your employees to quietly exchange things so people can never get their money back is dirty business.