We’ve spent our last Christmas shopping at Toys ‘R Us.
Beth came home this year and, holding a receipt in her hand, declared, “I’m never shopping at Toys R Us again.” She went on (I’m transcribing in the first person):
1) That partial refund debacle. I had a Toys R Us credit card and would earn points for every dollar spent.
When I used those points to make a purchase, if I had to return something, they would only give me the value of the dollars I spent, not the full value (including the value of the points).
I wouldn’t let the store pull that crap on me. I stood there saying, “Let me talk to the manager.” And when he showed up, I said, “It’s illegal to do this. That’s my money. You need to refund me for the total purchase. If you want to turn the points into a store credit, that’s OK, but it’s my money.” They did this to me twice (and I did get a full refund both times).
I later found out there was a class-action suit about this and I got a few pennies back. I think they don’t do this any more but it was the first straw.
2) Returns. Toys R Us wasn’t taking returns without a receipt – including returns of their private-label brand – clearly marked Toys R Us. Finally, a few months ago, they changed their computer systems over (like Target) to be able to reverse look-up purchases based on the credit card you hand them. But the fact they wouldn’t take their own private label stuff back? I mean, c’mon! That was the second straw.
3) Online purchases. I made an online purchase from toysrus.com and, even WITH the receipt, they would only give me an in-store credit stating, “Online is a separate entity from retail.” I said, “Not to the customer it isn’t!”
I said, “Either you make this right for me or you’ll lose me as a customer. I’m done with your ‘policies.’ Your policies are not customer-centric.” They STILL wouldn’t give me my money back!
Beth’s Brilliant Get-Her-Money-Back Trick
Not about to put up with that bullshit (my words, not hers), my brilliant wife devised this plan.
She had already bought something else at the store that day. She returned it. And re-purchased it with the online store credit she reluctantly received.
So there, Toys R Us.
Good luck selling to someone else. We’re done with you.
Love,
:: Joe and Beth Hage ::
P.S. Yes, I know the title says “my wife” instead of “we.” That’s because Joey doesn’t do the shopping. Think of it as a division of labor. It works for us.
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