When is a Sale actually FINAL? As in ALL sales are Final?

[TripleRThrift]

OK, in the thrift industry, I've generally always seen an "All Sales are Final" Policy. I mean in the second hand industry, you can't always do an exchange... so what is your store's policy and how do you be firm with a customer while remaining polite and servicing their needs?

At what point is the sale final?

When the customer gets their receipt and the transaction is complete, or do they have to leave the store with the merchandise.

Being a small business, and also a thrift store, people often times neglect to thoroughly inspect the used items and after discovering a scratch or signs of use after paying for the item, they want their money back... What do you do in this instance?

I guess it drives me crazy that people forget that a thrift store isn't Wal Mart, and even with the best used items, there are bound to be some signs of wear - that's usually why they are cheaper than new!

Right?

[jasmine]

At my thrift, we have a strict final sale policy.  We have lots of clearly stated signs, in English and Spanish, so we don't run into too many problems with people trying to return items. At least once a week though, someone will realize immediately after buying something that it is slightly imperfect or they see something else they want more.  It seem silly to stick to the policy if they haven't even walked out the door, so I usually allow the exchange, but give them a friendly lecture on checking items before they get to the register!

[rich]

I have tried something that I know is unorthodox in our thrift store industry.  I guess this idea came from do unto others as you would have them do unto you.  It always bothered me the BIG NO REFUND signs  in thrift stores it seemed to give a negative image.   Not to mention the way I felt when I accidentally bought something that I thought was in good condition but either had a hole in it or didn't work.   I knew the policy and would do my best but would inevitable miss something.  I want people to be happy with their purchase and enjoy coming in our store.    If they buy something that does not work or is damaged I don't want them to have it.  Our policy printed on the receipt is we do store exchange with in 3 days (no cash).  The item must still have our tags on it.    Most of our customers are repeat so I give them 30 days to spend their new credit and in most cases this works well.  There are some that will push for a cash refund but I friendly remind what the receipt says and that I feel we are being  fair.
   The customer shouldn't suffer because we failed to do our job correctly.  I usually use the item as a training opportunity for employees to show them what we do not want on our floor.   What does it really cost us a little time to rag or throw away some thing that we should have done the first time and our customer gets what they paid for.  Customers really appreciate it and are surprised that we do it. It is part of our policy of treating our customers better than they would be at Wal Mart.   I feel any thing we may give up is gained by customer satisfaction.  Happy customers come back and tell other people so do dissatisfied ones.    Honestly it is rare that somebody brings something back maybe 4 x a  month.  
    We averaging $9.00 a square foot a month in our Thrift Store here in North Carolina and are able to return about 50% of that back to the  Rescue Mission.  I have only been doing this for 3 years and am not sure how that compares with other stores?    

[Good Buddy]

The customer shouldn't suffer because we failed to do our job correctly.

Rich you are a true professional and I applaud your comments and attitude.

[silent_rebounder]

I understand how frustrating that is for you. It is really difficult to be in the service business, even if we always remind ourselves that customers are our priority, sometimes it is irritating when they become so unreasonable. How about posting a sign near the counter that says "please inspect your goods before paying" or a reminder that they are in a thrift store? Hope it helps.



_________________
Carbide Tooling