Complaint Review: Target

Apparently in this period of time you haven't learned what the term "brevity" means, and if this was condensed in your opinion I would hate to see the full version. By the way I have had over 10 years experience in retail at many levels, and there is one thing that I am well aware of.  There is a difference between doing everything you can for customer satisfaction and the customer always being right.  The customer is not always right. 

Still have no idea exactly what your issue was, but I have a feeling that as stated before it is a case of you hearing them but not listening to them.  I think I agree with you on the Exchange.  If you attempted to return this within the return guidelines and with your receipt, they should have done an even exchange.  But in effect since you bought a "package" of the PS3 and $50 gift card.  The "exchange" should have been handled by returning the PS3 at the $199 and then a new one sold back to you at $199.  Once you got to the return..sorry but you lost me I have no idea what you were expecting.

To some of your latest comments..

The proper thing to do is to apologize and simply exchange the item.  After all the item was less than 30 days old and in New condition.

- This is precisely why the customer is not always right and there is often more to the story.  From your original post you stated..."On the 5th week of owning the system I finally had a break in my schedule to actually play it for once".  So contrary to this statement, it was not less than 30 day old according to your purchase date.  I am not saying that it wasn't still within the return period, but it was not like you said less than 30 days old.   There is ZERO ways that a store is going to know if you used it on day 1 or day 91.  If you use this logic are you saying that if you didn't get to use it for 6 months that you should have 90 days from the date you first used it to exchange it?

There are plenty of legal routes to resolve problems with retail merchants and that is the 3rd option I choose.
 
- Okay please explain in the 15 or so months since your original post..what specific "legal routes" that don't involve suing someone did you choose?  Since you didn't mention the outcome are we to figure that you still have the PS3 or that you actually did send it in for warranty service?

What was your final decision on this matter? Did you sent it to Sony for warranty repair?

It isn't necessary to write another novel when answering the question.

To all the "geniuses" below that don't understand retail..
 
Let me explain something to you.
 
I know many of you dont understand what a Playstation 3 is as most of you probably were born in an era where tictactoe was considered new and entertaining. A Sony Playstation 3 is a gaming entertainment system. It is heavy and sensitive electronic item, that comes in a large box. The prices for these systems can range from 200-500 dollars depending on which model you decide to purchase.
 
Good, now that we know what a Sony Playstation 3 is lets learn a few things about retail and how it works. As being a retail business owner myself for years I feel Im more than experienced enough to explain how this process works for you who seemingly do not understand.
 
The process works like this.
 
1.The Store purchases inventory from a manufacturer for set merchant price.
2. The Store receives this inventory and places these items for sale for the current market resale value of the item.
3. When that item is sold the cost of the item less the cost they purchased that item from the manufacturer, less the costs of associated fees = profit.
4. If an item is damaged, defective, or blemished from that inventory or is returned to the store, the store has the option of returning the item to the manufacturer for credit, or writing the item off on their insurance, or simply reselling the item at a discounted price that may be close to what they original paid for it to recoup their inventory purchasing losses but still enough to make a small profit.
 
Good! Now that we understand a bit about retail lets now explain the scenario In this story.
 

An item was purchased for full retail value when New
The New item was not  properly functioning
The item was within the required return/exchange period.
 
Now lets explore some of the Genius responses provided by some of the helpful people below.
 
1.Why not just send it back to Sony?
 
Well lets weigh that option out. What is more cost effective to do. Pay $24.99 to box and ship this heavy item and ship it to the manufacturer and pay a $50.00 warranty fee on top of it? Or Just driving down the road and back to the store OR save $74.99 and return this defective item back to the store from which it was purchased?
 
 
 
    2. Contact Sony for warranty service. The end.
 
        Well, incase you did not know Sonys warranty Service for the Playstation 3 costs $50.00 + Shipping fees. This is a video entertainment system not a walkman.
 
 
     3. Being defective is not their problem. That's why you have a warranty on the item.
 
       Actually purchasing a new item that turns out to be defective IS their problem. As their retail store being the point of sale for this purchase the responsibility rest with the merchant as this is a product they sold. Please follow up on Consumer Laws and educate yourself before providing this type of wrongful information to anyone again in the future. Additionally Warrantys are great but would you pay full price for a damaged/improperly functioning item? Would you be the type to purchase a  New vehicle at full value with a broken motor, then use a warranty to repair it with no guarantee that it will be fixed properly? Or would you avoid the situation altogether and just purchase a vehicle that is working properly to begin with? Please do try to use better logic/judgment when giving someone advice.
 
 
4. If the PS3 was bad and you wanted to EXCHANGE, it would be returned at the $199 because they will deduct the gift card of $50 you received when you bought the PS3
 
   Heres the deal. A gift card was not used to purchase this item. The item was paid for the full retail value in cash. The gift card was part of a promotional offer that was given to those that purchased the item outright. It was applied to an accessory for the product. As this accessory was not opened or used it would by retail means have retained its value.
 
EXCHANGING a defective item is simply that an exchange for the same item at the same price/deal you paid for it.  Receiving broken/defective merchandise in less the condition it was advertised to be sold is not exactly a simple exchange in this case when trying to return the item. Its an act of trying to receive the item you paid for (One in the proper advertised working condition). If you paid $250 for a New item that was sold to be in the proper working condition, and you find out it is actually damaged/defective. That does not mean that the item is now $200 and you accept a $50.00 penalty for receiving faulty merchandise.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
5. Oh and once you state anything that would infer that you are going to sue them or take other "legal" means what do you expect them to do?   Did you expect them to continue talking to you?  It was at that point he probably figured he wasn't going to get anywhere so he just walked away.
 
This will be a bit longer of a reply:
 
 The manager walked away because he was immature and did not know how to resolve an issue where the customer wasnt so gullible (which is why the manager became upset because his logic was challenged). His focus was to pressure the customer into assuming that they had no consumer rights and were to accept an unfavorable solution to a problem created by the store.
 
Is a customer to be held responsible for being sold defective/damaged goods? If Billy working in the Target warehouse drops your item off the shelf and it breaks and is sold to you, are you responsible for that? Please think further into these situations when giving advice.
 
You as a consumer are NOT responsible for merchandise that is defective. That is between the store and the retailer. You should never accept less than what you paid for an item that is not in the advertised condition it is sold in.
 
The behavior of this manager and his actions were unbefitting and out of line for anyone in a managerial position as he was argumentive and overly aggressive and I was casual and courteous during the entire situation. I think that part may have slipped passed you. Again I own a retail store and I personally deal with these issues myself many times. You absolutely do not hold a customer responsible for your defective inventory/merchandise which is what this manager attempted to do. A store can always recover these losses on their own by methods mentioned above (when you choose to argue with a customer about a defective/damaged item you simply loose that customers business altogether as Target did in with me for life). I put my trusts in this company to purchase an item from them and it turned out to be defective. The proper thing to do is to apologize and simply exchange the item. After all the item was less than 30 days old and in New condition. It would be apparent to anyone in retail that a customer returning an item like this obviously had severe issues with it.
 
Just to note There was no mention of Suing this company. Being told To take someones offer or leave the store is once again a pretty offensive and overly aggressive statement to make to someone that just purchased over $300 worth of merchandise at your store. Its a bullying statement to make the customer feel pressured into being forced to take the managers decision. You do not ever bully a customer like this. As a result I had a long talk with the district manager regarding this employees actions. Keep in mind my report I wrote is just condensed. The actual scenario is a person (myself) standing calmly in a customer service desk with two other employees on looking in shock as a Manager is yelling and screaming because hes not getting his way.
 
As for the gift card A $50 store giftcard is NOT the same as $50cash that I can spend anywhere I so choose. In this case the $50.00 store giftcard wasnt a giftcard but my money I paid for the merchandise. They did not wish to provide a full refund because it would require actual work on their end outside of punching numbers into a cash register. It was their way of trying to pull one over on me to make me feel I was getting a deal when really Id be getting less than what I paid for. The gift card was only offered as an alternative AFTER they tried to charge me to Exchange (remember were talking about receiving a working item for the non working item they sold me) the same exact item that was paid for at the full retail value.
 
Just to note There was no mention of Suing this company. Legal means does not mean to sue. There are plenty of legal routes to resolve problems with retail merchants and that is the 3rd option I choose. Its just a reference to consumer law the same laws that protect us all that this manager apparently did not realize exists (but certainly does now).

Gosh yuo're absolutely correct! I forgot that "NEW" items never need warranties. There's no way that something "NEW" could ever be defective, I mean they are "NEW" after all. Things only show defects AFTER 30 hours of use.

Shame on me for being such an idiot. I'll go drink the kool aid now.

   In the original post, the OP expounded on his theory as to why the warranty was unnecessary :

" Although I purchased the extended warranty I did not feel it would be logical to use a warranty on a NEW item as something sold as NEW should not require a warranty to be used when it has less that 30 hours of use on it.  "

   In his infinite wisdom, he has come to the conclusion that NEW items don't require warranties and that "30 hours of use" has some sort of significance in bolstering that fact.

   In short, this poster has long departed the realm of common sense and is well on his way to his personal universe, where arbritrary notions that pop into his head are in some way relevant.  Seriously, this person thinks that "NEW" items should not require warranties!   Imagine the time you would have saved if you just stopped reading at that point.

but it being defective is not their problem. That's why you have a warranty on the item. Your warrantly covers you from manufacturer defects. Target did not intentionally sell you a defective PS3, I challenge you to prove that they did. There's no such thing as a "defective merchandise return" there's just a merchandise return. I linked you their policy, and from what you describe they are following it exactly.

As fo the rest, you do not believe that their policy is fair but its their policy. Companies are free to set whatever return policies they wish or have no return policy at all. My point is that they are following the return policy that they published. According to that, if you want a refund you will get 199.99 + a 50$ gift card for your purchase. That's the policy the company has and you can take the deal, or take nothing.

What I don't understand is why you haven't contacted sony (or whomever you hold your warranty through) about this? You clearly want the ps3, you can prove that its defective, it should be open and shut to get it replaced through the manufacturer.

..Brevity is a good thing.  If you went to Target with your same approach of this novel I can see why nothing was done, because it is impossible to actually understand what you are trying to say.

If the PS3 was bad and you wanted to EXCHANGE, it would be returned at the $199 because they will deduct the gift card of $50 you received when you bought the PS3.   This is standard with any merchant when you receive something for "free".  They will deduct it's value if you happen to return the item.

So with the exchange having them "return" it at $199 was correct.  But what was not clear, is that in "selling" you the new one were they going to charge you $199(making it a true even exchange) or attempt to charge you another $50.  You never specifically said if during this attempted "exchange" that they did or did not say you needed to pay another $50?  

If they did then yes that would be a valid complaint.  But as I said if you talked to them like you wrote here it could also be a case where you saw their lips moving but were not "hearing" what they were telling you.

Now let's say you want to return it.  The same thing applies.

If you return it you will receive $199 because of the $50 Gift Card that you got.  If you want to return the game that you bought with that card, just like anything else bought on a Gift Card the money will be returned to that Gift Card because that was the original form of payment. 

As for them giving you the $50 for the Gift Card.  Them giving you a $50 Gift Card for purchasing the PS3 is no different than if you had gone in and handed them a $50 bill.   Where just like with any other merchant, you do not get cash back for gift card balances.

..Brevity is a good thing.  If you went to Target with your same approach of this novel I can see why nothing was done, because it is impossible to actually understand what you are trying to say.

If the PS3 was bad and you wanted to EXCHANGE, it would be returned at the $199 because they will deduct the gift card of $50 you received when you bought the PS3.   This is standard with any merchant when you receive something for "free".  They will deduct it's value if you happen to return the item.

So with the exchange having them "return" it at $199 was correct.  But what was not clear, is that in "selling" you the new one were they going to charge you $199(making it a true even exchange) or attempt to charge you another $50.  You never specifically said if during this attempted "exchange" that they did or did not say you needed to pay another $50?  

If they did then yes that would be a valid complaint.  But as I said if you talked to them like you wrote here it could also be a case where you saw their lips moving but were not "hearing" what they were telling you.

Now let's say you want to return it.  The same thing applies.
If you return it you will receive $199 because of the $50 Gift Card that you got.  If you want to return the game that you bought with that card, just like anything else bought on a Gift Card the money will be returned to that Gift Card because that was the original form of payment. 

As for them giving you the $50 for the Gift Card.  Them giving you a $50 Gift Card for purchasing the PS3 is no different than if you had gone in and handed them a $50 bill.   Where just like with any other merchant, you do not get cash back for gift card balances.

Oh and once you state anything that would infer that you are going to sue them or take other "legal" means what do you expect them to do?   Did you expect them to continue talking to you?  It was at that point he probably figured he wasn't going to get anywhere so he just walked away.  The "legal" threat is usually "end game" for this reason.  I guess he could have stayed and could have matched your "legal means" with his "legal means" when he called the police to have you escorted out of the store.  Actually I bet you would have liked to add that to your report.

If I were you I'd send the bloody thing to Sony for repair. Why? My PS2 broke down only a couple months after buying. I sent it in under warranty to Sony direct, not some authorized affiliate, and got it back less than a month later. They even extended me another month on the warranty as compensation. And it's worked without issues for almost 10 years since. Sometimes, for some things, you're better off repairing the devil you already know than getting another possible problem in return.

Hello Ashley,

Thank you for reading my report. I want you to understand that the main issue is that Target sold me a defective item to begin with. Advertising the sale of a new and properly working item and selling a customer a defective item to which they paid full price (a lemon) and not honoring the exchange of the defective item sold is a violation of my, yours, and everyone elses consumer protection rights. Its misleading to sell a defective item as NEW and not take responsibility for it when I customer wishes to exchange said defective item.
 
http://www.target.com/HelpContent?

help=/sites/html/TargetOnline/help/returns_and_refunds/targets_return_policy/targets_return
 
That link is helpful but this Return Policy does not address my issue of Returning Defective Merchandise for Exchange That is what this case is about. Its also additionally why their Guest Service Team did not have a direct response or solution for this case.
 
They owe you the value of the PS3 minus the 50$ giftcard, this is exactly per their posted and published return policy. If you return the game you get your 50$ giftcard. You aren't out any money. You will have 200$ in cash and a 50$ gift card which adds up to your 250$ purchase.
 
Thats completely where you are wrong. I paid $249.99 for the system as it was purchased at full price. Along with a Warranty for the System for 29.99 which put my total purchase at $278.00.
 
The Gift card was a promotional offer and applied towards a game for the system. The offer had nothing to do with the purchase of the system no discounts or gift cards were applied towards my original cash purchase.
 
If I return the game to them I am basically returning the promotional offer so I receive nothing additional for the original purchase. They will simply restock the game and make a profit off of it. What I lose out on is $49.99 as they will simply only offer me the system for the value of $199.99 and a gift card for $49.99 (With the assumption that I will place that towards the purchase of a new properly working system since they will not honor the full value of $249.99 which is what I paid for the system).
 
Lets keep in mind that the system they sold me was defective and did not work to begin with. Target is not doing me any favor by having me return a promotional item to apply towards an exchange to receive a properly working system as they should have originally sold me. Would you want to pay $49.99 to receive a working item (something the store should have had originally sold you) and lose out on the promotional offer (the only reason you made your purchase at the store?).
 
The reason I went to return the unopened game was so that they could reverse the transactions. If the game is returned it will be a gift card for the said value of the $50 that is the promotional offer. If they have their Promotional Gift card card back that should allow me to receive the FULL CASH VALUE of $249.99 that I purchased the system for. Its not a matter of simply returning a game its a matter of returning their promotional offer back to them. Yet another issue their return policy does not address.
 
The point is Targets gift card scam allows them to attract buyers and have them make purchases but locks them into a sale if they wish to return an item sold to them that is found out to be defective.
 
I shouldnt have to go out my way to Sell a game to get $50.00 because their store refuses to honor a clean purchase return.
 
This all could have been avoided if they were not greedy and did the simple exchange for a working system to begin with.
 
 
Additionally if you believe any store employee has the right to tell you either take what they offer you or leave than it makes sense you would not see the grounds were action can be taken against them.

Its the best you're going to get. They are following their published return policy, I'm not sure what legal means you think you will get.

" Discounts and Promotions: The refunded value for each item returned will be reduced to reflect the value of any free gift or discount. "

This is straight from their return policy. http://www.target.com/HelpContent?help=/sites/html/TargetOnline/help/returns_and_refunds/targets_return_policy/targets_return_policy.html

They owe you the value of the PS3 minus the 50$ giftcard, this is exactly per their posted and published return policy. If you return the game you get your 50$ giftcard. You aren't out any money. You will have 200$ in cash and a 50$ gift card which adds up to your 250$ purchase. Either spend the 50$ in the store on things you need, or sell the thing to a friend.