The Story of a Store Looking to Lose Customers

Here's a story of a local store who's doing all it can to go out of business.

A couple weeks ago, my wife shopped at our local health food store. Though things are a bit more expensive there and the large mega-store three blocks away is carrying more and more items that were only once available at the smaller shop, she likes to support local, smaller merchants (as long as the price difference is not too large). While there she bought, among other things, a bag of banana chips for $1.50.

Upon getting home, my wife realized that the chips were the unsweetened banana chips (she tried two of them) and she wanted the sweetened version. No problem, right? She had the receipt and a few days later returned to the store to make a trade.

Nothing doing. The store wouldn't take back the unsweetened chips and replace them with sweetened ones. In fact, the manager said, "Why should we pay for your mistake?" in a snotty tone. So, my wife left with her unsweetened banana chips.

So, do you think we'll ever shop at that place again? Not when the mega-store down the road offers the same products at cheaper prices with a "we'll make it right" return policy and good customer service. In effect, that store lost a customer who would have spent a few hundred dollars a year there for $1.50. Less than that, really -- the chips probably cost them half of that.

It doesn't make any sense why a store would react in this manner, but they are certainly off our list. They won the battle of the banana chips, but lost the war. And if they do this many more times, they won't be around much longer.

Comments

[Wayne]

This is taking saving money too far. The store can't legally put opened food packages back on the counter to resell. Getting ahead financially shouldn't involve expecting others to pay for your mistakes. Generally you have excellent advise. I recommended you to my son who is a year away from college. However, your encounters with local stores are not that helpful in learning to grow financial net worth.

[FMF]

I'm not suggesting they put opened food back on the shelf -- I'm suggesting they take it back and give us what we wanted -- just like the store down the street would do (and has done on many occasions).

This isn't about taking money saving tips too far -- it's about a store not being willing to do what their competitors are doing, and thus losing at least one customer as a result.

[Flexo]

I'd understand if the store wouldn't take back the product. In fact, I don't think it should be expected that any store accept a return of a perishable item. But if the manager (not necessarily a cashier or first level customer service person) gave me an attitude like the one FMF quoted, I'd definitely start shopping elsewhere.

[Kira]

Even if they wouldn't take it back, they still shouldn't have copped an attitude about it. They could have been really polite in refusing to take it back, or done something like more prominently labeling or separating the chips so that it wouldn't happen again. Even if the decision IS about dollars and cents, you don't want to make the customer FEEL like all they are to your store is a giant walking wallet.

[annab]

They don't have an excuse for being snotty, but independent stores or smaller franchises really don't have the margins for waste that the larger stores do. They might do a "just this time" sort of thing, but they can't make a policy of it, because it does cost.

Consider it in the following way: who can afford leaks in the budget: the person earning the smaller wage, or the one earning a bigger one? Small stores have the same concerns. In a bigger store, they have the opportunity to redistribute $$, so a high earner in one area can help float a store that's not doing so well. For an independent/small franchise any loss in revenue in one area has to be corrected by a gain in revenue in that same store -- very little margin for error. Shortfalls in revenue result in staff/payroll cuts, not help from sister stores in another division (like big box stores do.)

That's why smaller stores don't price match or have the same guarantees as the larger ones do: they can't afford it. However, smaller stores tend to reinvest more in their local communities than the big box ones. I forget where I read it, but a big box store will spend about 15% back in the host city, but an independent more than doubles that.

So, no excuse for the attitude, but there's a good reason for the policy.

[FMF]

Annab --

I don't feel that:

1. 75 cents (in cost) is much to keep a customer satisfied.

2. It's not a "waste" if you keep a customer versus lose one.

3. This store has done anything extra for our community. Maybe it has, but it's certainly not that visible to the average person (who lives pretty close to the store, BTW).

Really, it's all about competition to me. And with an attitude and return policy like that (coupled with the high prices), there's no reason to shop there other than selection. And with the larger stores carrying more and more similar products, that advantage is rapidly going away.

[annab]

You're right -- 0.75 isn't a lot for -one- person: that's what I meant by a "just one time" situation. But having a policy that matches what the big stores do adds up very quickly, because now it's done for everyone. That's what I mean by waste -- it's a waste of money if it's not something your store can afford to do.

It's too bad that they lost your business, but they might not have done so if they hadn't been snotty about it? Perhaps the potential loss of shoppers has more to do with poor customer service than matching prices/incentives with other stores.

Unfortunately, small businesses can't always afford to operate like big ones do, but they actually do contribute more to the local economy (or have less of a blow when they do tank) It's like the Wal-Mart factor: lower prices aren't always good. By contributing, I mean that the dollar you give them goes back into the home community (I don't have a supporting link, sorry.)

Where I work, we don't match prices because that extra $$ has a home: salaries, healthcare, rent, etc. We sometimes squeak a person a break, but mostly not, because our goal is to raise capital, not lose it.
Businesses are hyperfocused on how their money gets spent because they are accountable to lots of people/shareholders/etc, so they create policies protect their goals.

It stinks, because as a shopper, you want a good deal, but there's only so much that a store can/will give. But like I said, the rudeness was unnecessary: there's a way to tell a person "no" without being off-putting.

[ted]

This reminds me of the Sienfeld episode where Kramer takes one bit of an apple and decides it doesn't taste good and tries to return it. Gotta love the K man

[Dasha]

Taking back an opened $1.50 bag of chips? That's got to be a joke. What a waste of time and energy. No matter how much of a nuisance it was however the management and employees should have been courteous and attentive. Having lived abroad in EU and Asia, I'd say we have the best customer service. Returns are met with paperwork, hassle and often restocking fees there, and a situation like this would be laughed at.

[dw]

Well, it is a little on the extreeme side to take back a non-defective product because of your own mistake...

I agree that the attitude should not have been there, but the stuff that retailers put up with from free loaders (not you or your wife, don't take offense, please) is pretty amazing. He obviously exercized poor judgement, but you should gently suggest that your wife think a little about accountability on stuff like that. The first mistake was not the retailers...

This is insane. No store should encourage that. Next time take some time to think on what you are getting is what you want. I don't know how you got the courage to post that even.

[FMF]

I don't know how you got the courage to leave that comment with your name on it.

Oh, wait. You didn't have any courage.

[Rob D.]

The first thing they should teach grocery store employees is to see a $100,000 price tag on the head of each customer that walks in.

Grocery shoppers are very brand loyal to stores and over the course of 10 years (520 weeks) at $193 per week, that's what each will spend ($100,360).

Most store managers look for opportunities to lock in that $100k. Looks like your guy blew a golden opportunity to potentially bring in a few hundred thousand more with great word of mouth. That .75 cents easily turned into a negative $200k swing.

[GHoosdum]

Now I am craving banana chips. Thanks a lot! ;)

I agree 100% that customer service is increasingly becoming the defining factor of what makes a store good or bad to shop at. For example, Best Buy's return policy on opened games is "no returns" - guess where I don't buy games? Conversely, our local grocery store has a policy that if you tell the cashier the price on the shelf was different than the item rang up, they automatically change to the price you said, no questions asked and with no arguments. That's good customer service. It's not really about whether or not they allowed the return on a bag of banana chips, it's about providing a level of customer service that makes the customer want to come back.

Rob D - that $100,000 price tag example is a great one, thanks for posting that!

[beloml]

If she had opened the bag, then why in the world would she expect the store to take it back?

[FMF]

Beloml --

You asked:

"If she had opened the bag, then why in the world would she expect the store to take it back?"

The answer:

Because that's what the mega-store (the competitor to this store) down the street would have done. And if this small store doesn't want to offer that as part of their customer service policy, we'll shop elsewhere.

If the chips hadn't been opened, I'd agree they should have taken them back, but opened? Nope, not since there was nothing wrong with them, your wife had just made a mistake.

Here it's just a $1.50 bag of chips, but what about this example...I go out to a nice restaurant and order the $20 lobster dinner. There's nothing wrong with it, but I hadn't really read the menu and it wasn't prepared the way I wanted it. Should they be obligated to give me a $20 steak dinner instead?

[Kim]

Sorry, adding my personal info to the comment above.

[FMF]

Kim --

Would it make a difference if you knew the restaurant right down the street would make it right no matter what? Would you then expect this restaurant to do so as well (especially if you usually paid MORE to go to this restaurant)?

The issue is really what other stores are willing to do. And since we've had similar instances when we've needed to return food, we know that there are stores in our area that have a "if you don't like it for any reason and we'll give you your money back" promise. So if this store isn't willing to do this, they are out of touch with their competition (who usually beats them on pricing, etc.) and are going to lose customers. Throw in a snotty attitude, and we're outta there for good.

One last piece of data -- and I know this because I record all of our purchases in Quicken. Very, very, very seldom (maybe once in a 100 trips) do we return something and then, on the same visit, buy less than that value in new purchases. Usually, we buy much more.

For instance, we recently returned some kid's shoes to walmart and got an $8 refund. We then proceeded to shop and spent $160 on other merchandise at Walmart. (And will continue to shop there.) Think it was a good deal for them to take the shoes back? Sure. Would they have done it if it was a food product? You bet.

[J Martin]

I can understand both sides in this. I understand the stores policy. They're not a big box store. They can't afford to have the same policies as a Wal-Mart, Costco, etc. That's the risk you take when shopping at a smaller store. With that said, I also understand FMF's side. I think had the manager politely stated that they just can't afford to make the switch, and handled the situation with tact and diplomacy, this would have been a very different thread.

[FMF]

J Martin --

You're probably right. If the manager had said, "I'm sorry you got the wrong chips, but we're a small store and can't afford to take back an item that was properly marked -- I hope you understand," or something similar, we probably would have been ok with it.