COMPLAINT

The store manager (Mike) contacted me. We had a long conversation and
he is a very polite, nice man. I apologized to him because I didn't
know that the guy at the toll-free number was going to contact me with
corporate and I told him that I didn't want to get anyone in trouble
with policies. He said no one was in trouble so not to worry about
that. We have resolved this to our mutual satisfaction and even
though the MSI wasn't in stock and he didn't find another at one of
the other locations, we did decide on an HP model that was still on
sale. When I was first there, I didn't want to take an HP because of
a previous experience with one but after talking with Mike, I decided
to give HP another try. He said that he used an HP (3 years) and had
been very happy with it so I suppose HP worked out the problem that I
had with mine. I took it home last night and I'm very happy with it.
It does have the 3rd usb drive but I believe the display is a bit
smaller. The touchpad is very smooth and the cursor isn't twitchy at
all. Very fluid movement and I didn't have to adjust it much at all
from factory default.
My lesson from this is that I will question clerks about all policies
and specifically have them clarify any statements made on their
documentation. I do believe that if the term "exchange" is to be only
for the same item, it should state "exchange for the same item." Also
in respose to one of the comments made below, the policy that they can
refuse to accept a return, I believe, protects them in rejecting items
that show obvious or purposeful abuse of an item. My item was packed
exactly as received except for the split label when I opened it....
right down to the exact same twist-tie used around the cord.

As for the raincheck (not exactly a foreign idea), I understand
policies and in large cities like Dallas or New York they have more of
a purpose than in others. This is a small city and more times than
not, you can go into the smaller retailers like OD, OM, or places
like our United Supermarkets, sometimes even the WalMarts, and people
know you, sometimes by name. Big Corporate policies don't necessarily
help retailers in areas like ours.

I am with you on the Exchange portion. It should stipulate what you
can and can not return, exchange ect. However, I do not think you
should be given a sales price for the other laptop. You had the
option to buy it when it was on sale, you chose not to. The store
does not offer a "Rain Check" and it would be unfair of the OD to give
you the sales price just because you didn't buy something when you had
the opportunity. Most sales follow time constraints. Its why its
called a Sale instead of the Every Day Low Price.

I think I agree with the OP. The word "exchange" covers a lot of
ground; if there's a limitation as to its use, why not say so in the
posted return policy?

"the touchpad has a texture to it (it isn't smooth and I didn't notice
that), anyway, it makes my finger hurt and I certainly don't want a
callus on my finger from using the touchpad!"

So buy a wireless mouse for your laptop. The sensor plugs right into a
USB port. That way you don't have to mess around with a touchpad.

"I asked if they could raincheck it at the sales price so that when
they get one in, I could get the sales price. She said no."

How can the store issue you a raincheck if they have no process for
doing so?

Anyhow, being told no does not equal rudeness. Have fun shopping at
OfficeMax, which seems to have similar policies regarding rainchecks.

Once again an OP was told no (more than once) but couldn't accept it.
Now they shouldn't make an exception for you anyway but now that
you've told them you won't shop there anymore, why would they?

.

As a frequent shopper at Office Max, I can say that they don't do
rainchecks either, at least, my local one doesn't.

This was what I found on the OD website under returns:

"All returns and exchanges must be in original condition and include
all accessories. Office Depot reserves the right to deny any return or
exchange and may request identification as a condition of your return
or exchange."

Hmmm. They reserve the right to deny any return or exchange. That
means they can decide not to process a return, if they choose. I
found the same thing at Best Buy just now though too, which leads me
to believe it is a pretty standard phrase, same as "We reserve the
right to refuse service to anyone for any reason."

I also think it's silly for them to offer 100% satisfaction, there is
NO way any business can offer this and they are just asking for
trouble.

"Technology products may be returned or exchanged within 14 days of
purchase with Original Receipt, in original packaging and with UPC
code intact. If product box is opened, we will offer an exchange
only."

Hmmm, ok, while I personally would assume they meant an exchange for
the same product only (Especially where they say "We will offer an
exchange only"), I can see where people might assume a store-credit
type transaction for a different product. I definitely think they
should define what they mean by exchange, or just say same product
exchange only for simplicity's sake. I can see where this, at least,
is slightly more subjective than say "Warning: Coffee may be hot!"

Looks like what they really need to do to avoid this kind of situation
is revise the wording of their policies.

1. The texture of the touchpad is not a defect. It's
a personal preference that you did not test out
thoroughly before purchase.
2. The box probably stated how many USB ports. This is
a big selling point with computers. Again,
something you could have easily checked out
before purchase.
3. The jumpiness of the cursor might have been
something that tech support could help with.
4. You've gone to an awful lot of time and trouble
for 50 bucks. Yes, it's a good amount of money,
but at the end of the day, 50 bucks is a pretty
cheap lesson to learn. How much is an hour of
your time worth, anyway?
5. I know that hindsight is 20/20, but the time for
you to have begun your research was when your
main laptop was stolen. Then, you could
have been prepared when your backup fried.

The OP's complaint is that she doesn't like a policy at Office Deport.
Oh well.

It's a holiday weekend. Give the manager a chance to call you to work
something out. He doesn't have to, but my bet is that if you were
actually nice to him he will. If your attitude is the same as it
comes across here then I'm sure that you won't be missed as a
customer.

Climbing all the way to the top of the ladder to try to force OD to
change their policy on Rainchecks is time consuming.

I dont understand why people need to keep going higher when they are
told no. And I always laugh when people say "they cant follow their
100% customer satifaction pledge". If that were the case I could goto
the car lot and buy a car for $1.00 because I wouldnt be satified with
less.

There doesnt seem to be anything wrong with the laptop except buyer
remorse.

I looked at a few sources, and couldn't find this definition. What I
did find, from the American Heritage Dictionary:

"To turn in for replacement: exchange defective merchandise at a
store."

Note the key word in this sentence: "defective"

In my opinion, this is the reason that OD has a 14-day policy for
returning computers - in case they are defective. This prevents the
buyer from having to immediately pursue warranty coverage, which can
take a bit of time and effort.

Think about it - OD can't allow people to "test drive" computers and
then return them because they don't like the color or texture of the
case. The returned computers can't be sold as new. The time to
figure whether you really want a particular computer is before you pay
for it.