Posted on 02/09/2018 11:48:57 AM PST by Leaning Right
L.L. Bean's outdoor gear — including its signature Bean Boots prized by campers and hipsters alike — is no longer guaranteed for life.
In a letter to customers Friday morning, the company said it has updated its return policy to give customers one year to return purchases, with a receipt. The previous lifetime guarantee, which enabled customers to return products years — or even decades — after purchase, has long been a selling point for the company.
(Excerpt) Read more at npr.org ...
Back when Sam Walton was still alive, WalMart had a similar return policy.
I waited in line at the customer service desk at our Walmart behind a guy who brought in a pair of sneakers that looked like they came out of a dumpster, torn, ragged, stained and absolutely ruined. I would have been embarrassed to hold them much less have the guts to return them for a REFUND............WHICH THEY GAVE HIM!............
The beginning of the end was a couple of years ago when there were a bunch of articles promoting their return policy. They made it sound like an infinite guarantee. Their PR people are responsible.
Some jerks took advantage of their generous return policy, returning things which weren’t even theirs.
Yet another in a long list of examples of “Why we can’t have nice things.”
Kind of a dumb policy. Life time is way too long for clothes and shoes. Of course, people will return the stuff if there is a life time warranty. I would imagine that if your engine dies in your car during the warranty, you would have the dealership replace it. No? I think you better think long and hard before you answer.
REI had a similar policy when I worked for them in 1990. Stinky hippies would bring in worn out socks and get new ones.
Management was wise to not let me anywhere near customer service.
There was a legendary story about a guy who returned a thermos to Walmart in the 1990’s. They gave him a refund, no questions asked.
Their D&D system tried to send it back to Thermos Corp. for credit. Thermos Corp informed them that they had not manufactured that model thermos since 1953.
You're not kidding!
A reflection that the country’s morals and ethics are in decline....we’re losing our country.
My brothers girlfriend worked at a LL Bean for several years. Most returns were in good faith, clearly a defective item. But then there was just egregiously old heavily used/abused/worn stuff people had no shame returning, completely violating the spirit of the policy. They had gotten more than their money’s worth out of the item and were just being jerks abusing the original intent.
They had a great store in my area in the Sixties-Eighties, then they went out of business. It was a high end store specializing in electronics and consumer goods.
Their return policy was a no questions asked policy. I used to buy there all the time, because if you had any issue, you just brought the thing back, and they would give you a refund or exchange, no hassle.
I found out there were people who would purchase a large format TV to watch some sporting event, and return it the next week.
I had an acquaintance who purchased a high end SLR camera and lens to take with him on vacation, and he returned it when he got back for a refund.
I was appalled. I couldn’t believe the guy would do that.
Turns out a lot of people did stuff like that to them. And that is why you cannot depend on people to do good. You have to not plan on it, because they have a name for it if you do plan on the good in people to do what is right:
Liberalism.
Has the quality of their products deteriorated in recent years?
A distant relative of my wife’s side of the family would go to Walmart and purchase fishing rods and reels, use them all summer and return them in the fall....................
“...people who would purchase L.L. Bean items for pennies at thrift stores...”
I look for L.L. Bean jeans at Goodwill. Strictly for work pants - gardening, fixing my truck, etc. - they’re usually good for a couple of more years.
The Bean Boots are still made in Maine but most of their merchandise is foreign now.
I’ve seen the same crap going on. Lots of democrats out there.
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