So I stroll in to do a return and purchase one of the Vortex Crossfire scopes that are $140 plus a $50 Academy gift card.

First stop was customer service for the returns. The guy in front of me was an unsavory looking sort. He had an Academy bag, which seemed bottomless, full of batting gloves and sunglasses that he was returning. Naturally, no receipt. Some of the batting gloves were $50 and all of the items would fit nicely in a pocket. His return totaled $400.

When it's my turn, I comment to the cashier that I don't have $400 in returns today. Her reply was yeah, I'm sure none of those items were stolen. I said each could have fit easily into a pocket and she said yes, it happens every day.

Off to the gun counter to get the scope. Gun counter guy said gift card info is at the register. Back at the register and they are clueless to the gift card deal. They call to the gun counter and after a while the gun counter guy comes up and we review the item printout from their website which has no information about how to get the gift card via mail. So off he goes and I'm standing off to the side at customer service and a mom comes up with her teen daughter asking for the MOD. She wants to report a guy who was taking pictures of her daughter while they were shopping. The MOD goes to find the guy, never found out how that was resolved as the mom and daughter bought there stuff and left.

While I'm waiting, the guy with the $400 store credit comes to a register with two of his buddies and a cart full of slippers and boxes of shoes. They pay and walk back into the store area with their bags.

I find the gun counter guy and he is on the phone with corporate to figure out the gift card issue. I suggested that they just give me the $50 gift card and after about 10 minutes the person in Katy thinks that's a good idea as they can't find out how to handle their business. So I get the card, thank him and am finally able to leave.

Oh, and the three to four registers open during all this were stacked six to seven deep.

What a debacle coupled with shining examples of the dregs of humanity.

Congratulations on hanging out with your fellow dregs.

Thanks for reminding me why I do 95% of my shopping online now

That and the people that buy something, use it once, and return it.

See a lot of people that do it with beach stuff and river stuff at academy. Just a trashy, dishonest thing for people to do... I am glad my parents taught me better.

Wow. Sounds like it would just be easier to work at an actual job.

And guess who is paying for all of that in the form of higher prices? And some would say it is the corporations that are greedy & dishonest.

mwm said:

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And guess who is paying for all of that in the form of higher prices? And some would say it is the corporations that are greedy & dishonest.

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Bingo.

SnowboardAg said:

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Worked at a grocery store throughout HS. Every few months, a lady would come in with a bag full of groceries and want to return the bag (no receipt). She just wanted in store credit. Finally figured out after 2-3 times that she was buying on sale, returning at full price to buy the next on sale items, repeat and repeat across numerous stores to make supplemental income. The lengths that some people go to.

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I didn't know that you could return groceries.

Shoplifting is a booming business. Most PD's don't waste their time with it, and most stores don't let their employees do anything about it because of liability and pc issues.

I think a big part of the problem is illustrated in your TexAgs handle . . .

Snow Monkey Ambassador said:

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I think a big part of the problem is illustrated in your TexAgs handle . . .

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Yea bc crime in San Antonio is an anomaly. Riiiiight.

SanAntoneAg said:

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410 & Vance Jackson

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This store's clientele isn't much better than Perrin-Beitel

The merchandise these boneheads lift that doesn't get returned for store credit usually ends up at Trader's Village.


(And it's vamanos)

And our prices are all higher because of it. At 10% margin it takes dozens of sales to make up for one stolen or broken item.

Prosecuted thieves should have a finger removed at every conviction. Theft would drop dramatically.

STL_aTm said:

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Snow Monkey Ambassador said:

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I think a big part of the problem is illustrated in your TexAgs handle . . .

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Yea bc crime in San Antonio is an anomaly. Riiiiight.

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Wow, you seem to have discovered my point without realizing you've discovered my point. Nice!

MouthBQ98 said:

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And our prices are all higher because of it. At 10% margin it takes dozens of sales to make up for one stolen or broken item.

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Sounds kind of like health care. Maybe the federal government should step in and take control with a new program. We could call it Obamatheft.

Aggie1205 said:

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Anyone who has ever worked box store retail knows this is very common. I worked for a manufacturer who did a lot of business with home Depot. It's crazy the amount of returns on lawn and garden equipment and power tools.

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I worked at a Lowes for 4 months, 20 years ago.

In the time I was there, I sold 22 chainsaws. 19 of them were returned within 3 days because they "didn't work". Of course they cranked right up for me...

Irish_Man said:

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Stores should just get rid of returns. You buy it, you're stuck with it.

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I could live with that. You could count on one hand (and have fingers left over) the amount of times I have returned items to a store over the last twenty years.