Goodwill Industries — rude employee and manager / refused to refund
I shop at Goodwill daily as I shop for disabled people who are home-bound. Because of this, I do end up doing a fair number of returns as not all the items are exactly what my client is looking for. I've never had an issue as I always stay within the return 7 day window, always keep the receipt, and always leave the tags in place until a buyer accepts the item.
On June 15th, 2016 at around 9:30 AM I went into the Goodwill in Maple Grove MN on Dunkirk Lane to return several items and look for others. I was waited on by Debra G. I apologized for the number of items I had to return this trip and explained what I do. Debra did not acknowledge that I'd spoken and grabbed my bag and pulled out the first item. She frowned at it and said, this isn't right and called over the on duty manager whose name I did not get. She takes the pair of children's pant and starts admonishing me without any introduction saying they don't put their tags on the clothing tag and they use shorter plastic connectors. I said I don't understand what she was trying to say, I had purchased the item the previous day at the second Maple Grove location. She just repeated what she'd said. Again, I asked what she was trying to tell me. This is how the item came to me, how can I control what was done with the piece before I bought it.
She said, we don't do that here and I'm not taking this back. I asked what was I supposed to do about an error that wasn't mine? She just glared at me. So I said I would take my items back to the store I bought them at and that this was extremely unprofessional and rude. I don't know exactly what she was implying as I would have nothing to gain by somehow finding some misc plastic connector and replacing a shorter one. These were Gap Children jeans I paid $2 for, I'm not sure how this translates to a get rich scheme in her mind but it was incredibly insulting and just plain out of line.
I had been at the other Maple Grove site the day before so I decided to go to the Fridley location instead. There a young woman named Elsie W and her manager did my return and they couldn't have been nicer or more professional. Extremely good customer service! Still, the other interaction has left a bad taste in my mouth and I most certainly will not set foot in the MG-Dunkirk location ever again. I'm hesitant to continue to buy clients items at any Goodwill given this incident and the fear that I'll be stuck with items that don't serve my clients because some person decides it's impossible the company could, horror of horrors, made a mistake marking an item! It was just an awful and embarrassing incident that had no business happening.
I am not out anything monetarily so I'm not asking for anything like that. But I strongly feel I deserve an apology from the company, the manager, and the employee and I believe they should have repercussions for their actions up to and including termination. People that rude and unprofessional have no business working in a customer service role. It was just so uncalled for and wrong on so many levels and belies everything the Goodwill is supposed to stand for.
I don't know if client number translates to Goodwill Customer number but mine is [protected]. You will see I have a solid history of purchasing and returning items with no incident. I do this as a free service to help those in need and to be treated badly simply for doing so is unconscionable. Oddly, the day before at the Maple Grove 80th Circle location, a wonderful woman named Eileen P rang me up and told me I should get a job there as I seemed a great fit and how much she loved her managers and co-workers. Maybe their sister Maple Grove site needs to do a rotation there and learn some manners.
Thank you Westworld, I appreciate the kind response! I know my complaint was long and when I write I sometimes sound overly formal and kind of stuffy but the brass tacks are this, I did nothing wrong. They did not refuse my return because I was a repeat returner. The manager implied I had changed the tags and basically called me a cheat and a thief. I'm neither. My clients can't fire me because I do this voluntarily and without pay. It's a way to give back to this planet. I'm a regular at the Goodwill because of this and have a very good relationship with most of the employees. No one else has ever refused a return and in fact greet me kindly because they know what I do and why I'm doing it. One location even offered me a job!
What was wrong here was someone made an assumption based on something they say is fact that was in no way was. I was at one of the Roseville Goodwills yesterday and bought a shirt with the tag attached the way the other manager that was rude said they 'never attach that way'. I asked them about it, told them what happened and they were appalled. Apologized even though they had no reason to and gave me the district managers number so I could talk to the right person. People like that manager/employee and Wine is Good have no business doing business with real live humans. I run my own business as well. I make a good living and somehow manage to do that while treating people respectfully, providing good customer service, and caring how my customers feel when our business is done about my product AND my service. You don't have to be an ### to make a living but you do have to be one to spend your supposedly scarce and valuable free time trying to convince complete strangers that they're wrong to want people to behave with just a little bit of courtesy and professionalism.
a verified customer
Yeah, stop complaining about people doing their job, ffs. They have no obligation to refund you, even if you're doing a good thing. Your good thing is at the expense of their business. Also, grow a pair. People say no, thats part of life, not bad customer service.
You have being told the truth as rude. I assure you it is not. Better someone be blunt than B.S. you. The fact is, while it is a nice thing she is doing, it is not so nice to complain that a store no longer wants to accept your returns. Most, if not all, stores will limit or stop all together habitual refunders. Not only is it a waste of time, but it is rude to continue to return things. She returns too much. That is why they do not want her business. This is not a new concept. Our retailer has also banned habitual refunders.
PS. I always find it amusing that to some people, like you, being told no somehow becomes bad customer service, and good customer service is when someone gives you what you want. Perhaps your clients should be told how you treat these employees and stores. Perhaps you also should be fired because your customer skills are not up to par either.
Actually, I have 1 full time job and 3 part time jobs. I stay pretty busy. Owning a small sales business of my own, I will tell you that people who buy stuff just to return it are a waste of my time, and usually get banned from my store for repeating the trend. Who are you really helping by wasting a business' time?
You already know you are wrong, otherwise you would not be here complaining that a store refused to accept another of your returns. It is their business. They do not have to be a rental place. The object is to sell the items, not rent them to you. By the way, most every regular retailer will cut you off for being a repeat returner as well. I am sure you already know this too.
Wow Wine is Good, this is how you're useful as a human being? Troll complaint boards and tell people they're wrong? Looking at your comments, that's your full time job. At least I help people. Why don't you go drink some wine and get a real person life?
Stop buying stuff and returning it. They are probably tired of it.