[rlmorel]

I have never had a problem with returns.

I believe if someone is returning things too often, there is an underlying reason that needs to be taken into account.

People who abuse a generous return policy ruin it for everyone else.

We had a great store named “Lechemere” back in the Seventies and Eighties that had an amazingly generous return policy. You could return anything, anytime, no questions asked.

Loved it. Great customer service.

But people around the late Eighties began to intentionally abuse it. They would buy a huge television to watch a sporting event at a party and return it afterwards.

I even had a good friend who bragged about getting a top of the line SLR camera and lens, taking it on vacation, and returning it when the vacation was done.

That really floored me, and I lost respect for that person.

But that is what people do. Give em an inch, they will take a mile.

[BBell]

I worked at walmart for almost 3 years. They had to stop taking pools back because too many people would buy them just to use when it was hot and return them. When a long weekend was over we always had people returning inflatable beds. After a "big game" we would have people returning big screen TVs. You can bet if a storm was coming we always sold out all of our generators, only to have them returned when then the storm passed. People would buy bikes for a weekend , ride them all over and bring them back with absolutely nothing wrong with the bike.

The food returns? Another story. The one I thought was funny(not really) was when someone returned two slices of a pizza because they said it was bad.

The funniest one was when someone returned a walker. I looked at the return receipt and the person had written one word on it;"deceased". If I think about it I could come it with a lot more.

[mowowie]

I worked Sporting Goods at Lechmere Dedham, Ma from 1985 -1988 starting at my senior year of HS..
Greatest non-professional job i ever had.....and greatest store ever.

I miss that place.....still have friends to this day that i met there...and the after work parties were GREAT!

[Mrs. B.S. Roberts]

I used to work in the camera department of Lechmere when I
was fresh out of college. Great job to have while hunting for a career position. Lechmere was a great store to shop in; they were great to their employees too. That was a fun summer! Thanks for sparking the memory.

[21twelve]

It is told as a true story about Nordstroms in Seattle. The old lady comes in to return some tires. The guy at the counter tells her “I’m sorry, but we don’t sell tires her ma’am”

“Well, my husband recently passed away, and we buy ALL of our things at Nordstroms, so I’m SURE he bought the tires here.”

The manager heard this and told the gal they would take the tires back.

(In retelling it, I’m not sure of the logistics of this older lady getting 4 tires to Nordstroms. I’m guessing it is a fake story - but they do/did(?) have liberal return policy. As does REI sports equipment.

I asked a guy at REI about that. “I don’t think it happens a whole bunch. I suppose some folks buy boots to take a weekend hike and return them. On the other hand, how are you going to tell if your boots will work for you if you don’t hike in them?” They sell the used stuff at their “Garage Sale” that they hold once or twice a year.