Rude Manager for Little Tikes Pool Return

I posted the follow-up on another section of the post but here is what
I have so far. Toys R Us Guest Relations sent me the following email.
Thank you for taking the time to share your comments with us. We
value all your feedback, positive and negative, as it helps us to
understand how our guests feel and gives us an opportunity to evaluate
any possible issues. Hearing from you has helped us to do just that.
Your comments are important to us, and we have forwarded them to our
Corporate Office where they will be reviewed for consideration. I
sincerely apologize that you feel our return policy is unsatisfactory.
Unfortunately we are unable to offer you further assistance regarding
this issue. Once the item has been opened you have to deal with the
manufacture. Again, we appreciate your feedback, and look forward to
hopefully serving you again in the future!

Sincerely,

The Guest Relations Team


I like to see the return policy say that...Harleycat found it under
help/index but if you just click on the return policy it does not have
specifics.

Consumer Affairs has posted our complaint as they feel it is valid and
the BBB is still researching.

Since Toys R Us offers no customer service (my opinion), we have taken
pictures of the leaks to email to Little Tykes, they will review our
case and decide in 3-4 business days if we get an exchange. We also
have our cc compnay looking into it. The saddest part is I liked
shopping at TRU for specialty items (my daughters princess kitchen,
etc.)and all we wanted was a working product within 30 days of
purchase (yes by the 4th but we all work with different timelines).
We will still use the pool if granted a new one but will probably not
buy from Toys R US (But service is not) or Little Tykes due to their
policies.

We had a similar experience in the Clifton Park, NY store. I purchased
one of the easy set pools and had the store manager accompany me and
my sis to our car with the item. He explained in detail about how to
set it up(ie:flat surface, no rocks, etc) he left out the town permit
requirements and additional fancing requirements. Towards the end of
his 10 minute tutorial, he mentioned the item only had a 14 day
warranty. After we used the pool the first time, the water leaked out
and we just thought we needed to put the plugs back in. NOPE, pool
still leaked and never has worked properly. My reason for wanting to
return it however was not initially from it not working, it was
because there was no explanation given to consumers that a town permit
was required before set up could even be done. The fine if you are
caught without a permit......$1500. We contacted the store manager
RUSS, who all of a sudden had no idea what we were talking about and
lied saying he never said the product had a 14 day return policy. He
now says he talked only about some game equipment that had to be
unopened and returned in 45 days. WHAT????? Does that make no sense
what so ever to anyone other than me. Why would he have ever mentioned
anything about a gaming unit policy when we were buying a pool . Gimme
a break! So what I forgot to mention is he is now saying we are not
able to return it because the item is only allowed to be returned if
it has been unopened. Hum......funny the store manager seemed to have
forgotten all about that very important detail at the time of our
purchase. Toys r us is involved in scams IMO. They should have
postings in the area where you purchase the pool explaining the town
requires both a fence and a permit be obtained BEFORE setup is legal.
They should also post their return policy ABOVE the pools. What help
is it to a consumer that this is posted at the return counter. That is
where you go when you want to return the product not before. I suspect
Toys r us knows this and has no problem carrying on scams with their
customers. I found numerous complaints from consumers which leads me
to believe that there are is a lot of blatant incompetency that exists
in these stores.



Signed Heather
Clifton Park, NY

Bending policies depends on the retailer;there are some very
stingy,uptight retailers that would fire even their managers for doing
something against store rules,no matter what the excuse is.There are
also some retailer who don't mind going the extra mile. While it's
great to find a store that does, you can't expect every store to bend
the rules.

I think it is a good idea for retail managers to put themselves in the
position of the customer. I try to make my decisions by asking myself
if the request of the customer is reasonable or not. Personally I do
not think it is unreasonable for her to expect that in less than 30
days of her purchase she should have a functional product.


Yes, they do appear to have a policy regarding returns from Little
Tykes, no they probably would not be able to recoup the cost of the
product if they allowed the return. I say too bad - I would chalk it
up to being the cost of doing business. Probably worth it to keep a
customer coming back, especially in a situation where the customers
request is simply to have a working product - which is what she paid
for.

Finally, comments about hime needing to look for another job soon, or
how WalMart returns everything probably did not help your cause much.
I am also MUCH more likely to find a way to "bend the policy" to
assist someone who treats me well and isn't antagonistic.

This boils down to me if indeed they changed the policy after your
purchase was made.

Also why they would feel the need to post this rule immediately after
your purchase if this was always their policy.

BBB does help consumers some time. I don't think that is your best
option.

I don't think stores or managers are always rude because they tell you
NO

That said if you really think they changed the rules on you after the
purchase use one or two methods below to get this resolved.

#1 if you bought the item by credit card (some cards have warranty
extensions on things you buy. Worth a try if you get no where with
Toys R Us to contact the card issuers and see if they can cover the
defective item.

#2 go to the South Dakota Attorney General's Office site
http://www.state.sd.us/attorney/not_found.asp?404;http://www.state.sd.
us/attorney/applications/search/pieday/pieday/ParentsMatter/ParentsMat
ter/office/default.asp

There you can alert the office of the deception in your opinion and
make a report to be investigated.

Her snotty attitude says plenty.

All Little Tykes products are guarenteed by Little Tykes Company. If
you had an issue with the pool calling their toll free number would
have gotten you either a new pool or the replacement part you needed.


But someone wrote that you were given this option and denied it...WHY?
They would have shipped the new pool to you and you could have had it
within 7 days. Instead you are now without a pool...so which option do
you think would have been the better one now?

I attempted to call the 800 Customer Service number. I have found the
company return policy online.
We will gladly accept returns within 90 days of the purchase date on
most items sold at any Toys"R"Us store in the United States and Puerto
Rico, with the exception of video games/accessories/systems, computer
software, VHS, DVD, music electronics, radio control cars, trading
cards, collectibles and consumer electronics. See below when
accompanied by a receipt.

To make the process easier and faster, please follow these easy steps:


1. Bring your dated purchase receipt. Receipts will help us process
your return quickly and fairly. For your convenience, we also offer
gift receipts for any item purchased, at any time. We will not accept
returns or exchanges without an original receipt.

2. Please keep all packaging and accessories. To help us quickly
process your return, please bring all original packaging, accessories
and instruction manuals back to the store, along with the product you
are returning. We will check the contents of all returned packages to
ensure that you receive the correct item in exchange for the product
you wish to return.

3. Please return items within the appropriate time period. For most
products sold at Toys"R"Us stores, we will be happy to exchange items
within 90 days of the purchase date or offer you a refund based on
your method of payment when accompanied by a dated receipt.

We will accept returns within 45 days of the purchase date on the
following products: video games/accessories/systems, computer
software, VHS, DVD, music electronics, radio control items, trading
cards, collectibles and consumer electronics.


Payment made by: Refund in the form of:
Cash Cash
Credit Card Credit to the card with the same account number
Debit card Cash
Check - written more than 7 days ago Cash
Check - written within last 7 days "R" Us Merchandise Credit Card
"R" Us Merchandise Credit or Gift Card "R" Us Merchandise Credit Card




Return Guidelines for Video Games/Accessories/Systems/Computer
Software/VHS/DVD/Music Electronics/Radio Control Items/Trading
Cards/Collectibles/Consumer Electronics
We will accept returns within 45 days of the purchase date on the
following products: video games/accessories/systems, computer
software, VHS, DVD, music electronics, radio control items, trading
cards, collectibles and consumer electronics. The original dated
receipt is required for a refund or exchange, and the item must be
returned in its unopened and factory sealed package. If the item has
been opened, it can only be exchanged for an identical item when
accompanied by a dated receipt. Refunds and exchanges will not be
given without a dated receipt.

If you have further questions about our return policy, please speak to
a member of the management team in our stores or call 1-800-869-7787.
We will be happy to assist you.

They informed me that it may not say in the return policy but their
policy is no returns.

I also offered both the manager yesterday and the one today that we
would exchange for a different pool and even take the difference in a
TRU gift certificate if we could exchange the pool.

What the OP fails to tell us in this letter is that Lil Tykes offered
her several options. One was to return the pool for a replacement but
she doesn't want to do that because it will take too long and the
other was for a voucher for another pool. She won't accept that
because the voucher is only good at TRU.

Just because the policy wasn't posted doesn't mean there wasn't one.
It sounds like you don't like the policy, but how does that make the
manager rude?

It sounds like you were very rude in your remarks after getting an
answer you didn't like. I am not surprised he hung up on you, after
the threatening tone and snarky comment about his employment.

How was Steve "EXTREMELY" rude? You don't elaborate.

It sounds as though you had an "unacceptable" behavior with them as
well. I'm sure you'll get your apology when you give them yours.