Teach Employees About Calendars, Toys R Us

If she thinks that November has 31 days then I wonder how she became
manager.


"I just do not understand why she needs to check how many days there
are in November instead of just turn around and ask her coworkers
standing right next to her."

She could even have asked one of the children how many days in
November(provided they are over 7) and they would have known. Still I
don't see why they could have made an exception for one extra day with
an honest customer.

The reason it took her to check the calender for 15 minutes was
probably because she did not know that November came after October or
was at the end of the year. She was probably looking between June and
July and wondering where the November page of the calender was until
finally someone else came along and told her it was after October not
after June.

If she thinks that November has 31 days then I wonder how she became
manager.


"I just do not understand why she needs to check how many days there
are in November instead of just turn around and ask her coworkers
standing right next to her."

She could even have asked one of the children how many days in
November(provided they are over 7) and they would have known. Still I
don't see why they could have made an exception for one extra day with
an honest customer.

The reason it took her to check the calender for 15 minutes was
probably because she did not know that November came after October or
was at the end of the year. She was probably looking between June and
July and wondering where the November page of the calender was until
finally someone else came along and told her it was after October not
after June.

All the rest have 31.
Just a minute, we're not done!
February's the shortest one.
With 28 most of the time,
but in Leap Year twenty-nine.

While there are evidently 69 versions of the rhyme, all it takes is to
know one all of the time. While this is true, I must admit, to
knowing when there is a leap year, they did not commit.

You can validate the rhyme, if in doubt, by taking the Month, and
sounding it out. For example, do you recall a June 31? A September
31st? Once you get to be old and seasoned, the number of days in a
month will be easily reasoned.

I've seen a few people singing the praises of the Thirty Days Hath
September rhyme, but I've always been a bigger fan of the knuckle
trick. If you don't know how the knuckle trick works, it goes like
this: Count the months on your knuckles and the grooves between your
knuckles. When you run out of knuckles on one hand, move to the other.
Leave out your thumb knuckle. Every month that lands on a knuckle is
31 days, every month that lands on a groove between knuckles is 30
days (or 28 for February).

As an added bonus, it takes slightly less than fifteen minutes to
figure out how many days are in November using this method. Progress,
thy name is Erik!

You mean there's only 30 days in November?!!! You learn something new
everyday!! ;)

You claim that you will not be returning to TRU so what difference
does it make to them that you're unhappy with their service? And you
claim to have been making the return on the 90th day - - did you
include the day of purchase in your calculation or did you figure that
the clock started ticking on the day after you made your purchase. So
what if the person you were dealing with didn't know how many days
were in November - - I didn't know either until I looked at my
calendar.

You were able to return "the stuffs" and the fact that you
fired up your computer to complain about this minor situation speaks
volumes about the attitude you displayed when making the return.

Peggy,

I understand your frustration here. I am going to take you at your
word that it took 15 minutes for the employee to get back to you. That
is pretty excessive. Most stores, the computer will automatically tell
you that the purchase is not within the alloted return period, and it
seems that Toys'r'us does not have that. At the very least, a calender
should be provided at the return stations - I'm sure that would save a
lot of time and hassle.

I don't however, feel that the employee was picking a fight with you.
What does she have to gain out of that? I think she is guilty of being
a scatterbrain, at best (and really, we all have our moments.).

A few thoughts:

1) It doesn't matter if she returned it on the last day. If the return
policy 90 days, that includes the 90th day.

2) If the store is "strict" about their return policy (and
the register won't make the computation), they should arm employees
with a calendar the returns counter, and teach the employees how to
use it.

3) The OP stated the wait time was 15 minutes. I'm going to take her
at her word. Yes, I've seen people exaggerate too. It doesn't mean
everyone does.

4) Knowing the number of days in each month is not "common
SENSE", it's common KNOWLEDGE. And apparently not common enough,
or the OP wouldn't have written.

5) Nowhere does the letter suggest that the OP went "looking for
a fight".

15 minutes out of your life. Never know may have saved your life.
Take a chill and realize it isn't personal. She didn't wake up and
say I am going to screw up Peggys day.

Not knowing what happened at the store, I will still comment:
1.) I've worked 19 years in retail. One thing I have learned is that
people waiting on something multiply the time they have to wait by a
factor of 2X or 3X. A 6 minute wait becomes 15. (They also multiply
distances - I drove 50 miles - read 20.)
2.) I'm pretty sure Toys R Us registers would OK the refund or not
when they scanned it. You didn't mention if they did this.
3.) Toys R Us has a 45 day return policy on collectables -
Transformers could be considered this, but I guess they didn't do
this.

I would think it'd be up to the computer to check the 90-day count
automatically, otherwise, you'd literally have employees counting the
days, which (1) could be slow and (2) has room for error.

I hate people who wait til the LAST possibly moment to return an item,
and especially wait til AFTER the return period to return it, THEN get
mad when it gets denied. Maybe everyone should have a calender
embedded in their heads.

If you hadn't waited until the bitter end, there would have been no
question. I don't think it is odd that they double checked to make
sure.

Nobody (including me) cares how much you spent at this or any other
store. Your mother may think you are special, but nobody at Toys R Us
does. It is just a business.

Not everybody has a calendar in their heads(myself being one of them),
and as Toys R Us is one of those places that is strict about return
policies, I am sure the cashier wasn't going to risk getting written
up over your return if it had been more than 90 days.
And, nobody cares how much money you spent in the store. You deserve
no better or worse treatment than me, who spent about $150 in there
this Xmas season.

Peggy L.,

My Mom used to say " If you go looking for a fight...you are
going to find a fight".

Could it be that two folks, one from the customer universe, the other
from the management universe met under these circumstances?

That being said the calculation of days in a month might be in the
head work for some and refer to a calendar work for others.

The 15 minute wait could be explained away as letting the customer
steam or there could have been an interruption unknown to the
customer.

Stop back and let us know what the company says, thanks.

BillR.

Nothing like waiting until the last minute. Why did you wait?