For sure, the CSRs shouldn't be taking all the flak for what the stores and corporation implemented. That's just shooting the messenger.Originally Posted by Unregistered
But, how does the corporation lose money? We've had people posting here, saying the corporation gets credited back by the manufacturer every time, for everythin.
I don't understand the aversion to a repair warranty!?
it's like owning a car...it breaks it goes in the shop for repair. When it's done you get it back. If it's a warranty car, it doesn't cost you anything. If you pay 15-50 grand for a car and it gets repaired, why shouldn't a $300 lawn mower?
Can't live without your mower or trimmer for a few days? Come on get a grip
We are a VERY wasteful nation. Everything is disposed of to the detriment of the environment. I have only ever in my years at CT seen a small handful of items that couldn't be repaired when it was at a repair depot.
Heck i'm an owner and my chainsaw is at a repair depot right now for a minor defect.
Spoken like a true store owner, rather than a consumer.
This twisted analogy to the 'repair only' is remarkably similiar to one from March:
https://www.canadiantiresucks.net/ge....html#post2943
That post explains why this analogy is so flawed, and how consumers can get a refund or at least an exchange at any major retailer, except for Crappy Tire, for unwanted or defective items.
And blaming the consumers for the wastefulnes of the Crappy Tires stores themselves is just ridiculous.
You should maybe take some lessons on customer service from the CT Clerk who's been posting here. He doesn't know much, but he's at least got some good ideas about helping out customers.
So, how do they lose money?
Some CT people have been saying the corporation gets reimbursed.
Then, another CT person (the one with anger-management issues), said they don't, at least not for $20 cedar trees.
So, which is it?
Well, this person sounds like they own or manage a store, despite their elevated hostility levels.
And they seem pretty adamant that the store won't get a refund from their supplier for a plant that dies:
So, clearly the store would lose money in the case in question, where 1 plant out of 20 died.
That might explain why the store on Major Mackenzie was so hard to deal with - they didn't want to lose the $20.
I can just imagine how much grief a customer would get from this irate owner/manager, if the store stood to lose a few dollars. It doesn't matter what's on the receipt, either.
It's far better to buy plants (or anything else) from a store that has good policies, and actually follows them. Someone like Walmart or Home Depot. Costco is best, if you have a membership.
In most cases, no.
In the plant example above, my store wouldn't lose any money on that either, for trees and shrubs anyway (we can claim cost at end of season on lost plants with those). Dead annual or perennial, and I eat the cost on that.
I find that, especially with garden consumers, they're extremely loyal about where they purchase their plants. I'm not going to piss off someone over a 4.99 plant. It died? Here's your refund, or exchange.
No? Does that mean you could if you wanted to?
What's the policy on plants? Trees? Shrubs? Annuals? Perennials?
Is it 30 days? 90 days? 6 months? A year?
Under what circumstances can you refuse a legitimate return? Any old time you want? With some evidence of fraud?
No over $4.99, huh. How about a $20 cedar? A $600 swimming pool? A $1500 tread mill? Exactly what's the cut-off?
On trees and shrubs (like a cedar), there's a 1 year warranty.
On perennials, there's a warranty for that season.
On Annuals, there's technically no warranty, but if someone buys something from me and it's dead the next day, I'm going to replace it for them.
The $20 cedar is an easy return. Receipt, 1 year warranty.. done.
$600 Swimming pool, there's at least a year warranty on all of them to my knowledge thus far. Some are "repair only", but there are ways around that, such as a concealed damage claim (telling the manufacturer the pool came to the store in that condition, which is usually the case), or a code 50 (customer relations claim) or code 55 (all of the above claim, lol). The trouble with the "repair only" warranties that I see a lot of people complaining about here is that it's the manufacturer who sets those warranties. The store, unlike what some managers seem to think, can make their own decisions. When warranties are cooperative, great. When they're not, that's when we have to use the mechanisms that CTC provided to help out the customer. You buy a pool today, pay that kind of money for it, take it home.. go through all the trouble of getting it together and filling it with a pile of water, only to find out there's a leak.. I'm not going to stonewall you with a "repair only warranty" and a 1-800 number to call if you have a problem with that. Here's your refund, or new pool.
I don't have a "cut-off". Personally, I try to make sure every customer leaves happy, my 4.99 was another example of that. The only thing I'm sticky on is the receipt, I require a proof of purchase. That's the only time where I'm stonewalling a customer, and I think it's a reasonable request to have the receipt (I need to when you bought it, what you paid... or in some isolated cases.. if you paid for it at all, there are thieves out there, the good people unfortunately have to pay for the bad people's mistakes). If you have a receipt, and a legitimate problem... there's always a way to have the customer leave happy.
Like I've said before, bring up any situation and I can tell you how it could be handled. I think any other fellow employees or managers or dealers would agree that there are bad apples in the bunch. Some of the manufacturer warranties are nutty, and a lot of the managers aren't capable to see the shade of grey in between the black and white of the page on that warranty form. It's not perfect, but I've worked enough retail to know (My first management gig was Wal-Mart, then Home Depot, and now CT) that within every store's return policy, there's a demon out there that all customers complain about. It's just reality. To claim CT is far and away worse than everyone else is a fabrication. Saying CT is the worst, is the same as saying "this beer is the best in the world". Until you've tasted them all, you can't make that determination.
And in case the answer to your question is muddled, "under what circumstances can you refuse a return", they are the following:
1) No receipt
2) Not within warranty date, or reasonably close to it (i.e only a few weeks over the warranty time.. no big deal, we'll take care of you)
3) A rare one, fraud. Last week a guy was charged with fraud. He owned a roofing business, so he bought a brad nailer. A few of them actually 3 years ago. Turns out, what he was doing was using a receipt for a new nailer he bought recently, to get himself a replacement of the old one that's maybe 4 or 5 years old. I get called up to customer service and this tool had gone through the war and back. Barely, on the drill itself the manufacture date was still on it. I took a look at it, July 2001. Date of purchase? June, 2011. Yeah right, definitely not the same nailer he bought with that receipt. So with this information, I take a look at his return history. He's returned over 12 nailers over the past 2 years for exchanges, all likely using this receipt pattern. Afterwards, I call up a few stores nearby, give them the information.. bam.. he's hit them all too.
Cops start their investigation, not only was he using them for industrial use (which voids the warranty technically, but I don't enforce that rule unless it's outright abuse)... but he was also selling them.
I never mention the "fraud" word to customers, unless I'm absolutely sure they're committing it. Shoving that in their face is just going to piss them off.
Interesting comments.
Different Crappy People have different ideas about when they'll lose money giving a legitimate return to a customer.
It's starting to sounds like depends on how each store runs it's business.
Sure are a lot of ways for the store to lose money, LOL!
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks