I posted a rant about a horrible experience I had with build a bear costumer service here.
To make a long story short, I had an online order I wanted to cancel, called costumer service many times over 10 days to cancel that order, every time being told that there was nothing they could do, I had to wait to receive the order and return it in store. I gave up after 10 days because that’s when the order finally shipped from the warehouse. After I received it I went in store and spent an hour and a half, being bounced from in store costumer service to online costumer service to going back in store. Every time I talk to someone new or even the same people the story changed and they came up with a new reason for why I couldn’t return the product. By the end of this encounter, they said I would get an email with a shipping label I could print to ship the order back. I got the email quickly, and it said that I need to return it in store, which I had already left, no shipping label. I swear if I had a dime for every time I heard or read the words “sorry for the miscommunication,” I’d be richer than build a bear’s sleazy CEO.
It’s obvious to me that the employees were lying their asses off the entire time, and I have no ill will towards them for that. I can guess that company policy is forcing them to lie and make up stories to make it very difficult for costumers to return merchandise, because most people don’t want to blatantly lie to people. I’m not giving up until I get my money back, and for all I know if they accept my return they might get in trouble with upper management, because why did they not try harder to stop this costumer from returning merchandise. Of course I’m making assumptions about the situation, but why else would it be so hard to return merchandise?
This reminded me of my first job when I was a teenager. I was working at a cosmetics store, and a senior employee was doing a costumers makeup, when they finished I was asked to put the used makeup items back on the retail shelf. I thought this disgusting even years before the pandemic, so I brought it up with the manager who would “look into it.” I got fired the next day with no explanation giving, as I was on probation. Again I’m assuming I got fired for the above, but I was always on time and never slacked off in the time I worked there.
My next job, I was in fast food. One day a sandwich fell on the floor. I was told to pick it up and put it back together. I said nothing, did nothing and the costumer happily ate their meal. I held that job down for years before I quite and went to college, but not before I sold my soul to corporate greed.