This week I am in grumpy shopper mode. I’ve been moaning all week. Why? Because my local supermarket took my nice new slippers away.
OK, they didn’t come round and steal them in the night.
I walked in and handed them over voluntarily. But then I’d only had them for 6 days and one had completely come apart at the seams.
Still, I went in with a full bag, left with an empty one and now I have no slippers.
Yet, the supermarket couldn’t have been nicer!
I had no receipt but in a matter of seconds I’d been given a refund card for the full purchase price (I’d bought them on a 25% off day), so I was £5 up straight away. My credit card wasn’t checked, no data was recorded, my loyalty points weren’t referenced and the stock got put aside without any of my careful explanation being noted – meaning nothing will be done to ensure the problem is tackled.
I was back out the door in under two minutes.
So why am I moaning?
My feet are cold. I have no slippers….
I didn’t want a refund card, even though I made a profit in the process (and the supermarket lost all margin) - it’ll just get used on groceries. I simply wanted another pair of slippers.
But I didn’t get that option. Nor did the store layout make it possible for me to find new slippers before approaching the customer services desk. And I couldn’t be bothered to then go in and queue up to rebuy the slippers at the till for more than I originally paid – that just felt silly.
So I’m still being a grumpy old bag four days later.
Yet I suspect that the supermarket thinks it did everything right.
A very generous no quibbles, no time limit returns policy and a process resolved in seconds. All boxes definitely ticked. Surely I must be delighted?
No! For most customers, real satisfaction is about keeps, not returns. I left with my primary need unfulfilled. My feet are still cold.
They lost money and they lost my good will by doing everything their policy says is right – how many times a day is that happening across the country?
Perhaps its time to talk to Clear Returns about Smart Exchange to ensure more customers leave with full, not empty shopping bags!
