STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

beachgirl · Kenneth Cole

Banana Republic Returns

f413 · Kenneth Cole

You should be able to use the credit at Gap/old navy.

Banana Republic's quality is not all it's cracked up to be. I bought a jersey knit cardigan on sale(yes it was on the sheer side, but that shouldn't matter) and after bringing it home and trying it on with different things the seam in the cuff ripped (and I am super anal and gentle with my clothes). I returned it with no problem fortunately, but I could only imagine if I had paid full price and didn't have my receipt i would have been so steamed. During that same trip I bought two other things that upon returning home (i.e. sans flourescent lights) I found one item had a loose thread and the other was already pilling.

Five years ago I bought a purse from the gap for full price $38 and two weeks later it fell apart and I was only refunded the current price, which was about $16. I was so pissed that ever since I compulsively stash every receipt and I wont throw them away for six months.

And another random beef with banana is, you know how they send you a $10 coupon for every $200 you spend? Well I got a note with my bill saying your $10 coupon is enclosed and it wasn't in there I didn't bother calling CS 'cause I thought they would probably just assume I was trying to scam them or something.

-- Edited by f413 at 15:58, 2005-05-21

carmenb513 · Coach

quote:
Originally posted by: f413
"You should be able to use the credit at Gap/old navy. Banana Republic's quality is not all it's cracked up to be. I bought a jersey knit cardigan on sale(yes it was on the sheer side, but that shouldn't matter) and after bringing it home and trying it on with different things the seam in the cuff ripped (and I am super anal and gentle with my clothes). I returned it with no problem fortunately, but I could only imagine if I had paid full price and didn't have my receipt i would have been so steamed. During that same trip I bought two other things that upon returning home (i.e. sans flourescent lights) I found one item had a loose thread and the other was already pilling. Five years ago I bought a purse from the gap for full price $38 and two weeks later it fell apart and I was only refunded the current price, which was about $16. I was so pissed that ever since I compulsively stash every receipt and I wont through them away for six months. "

I'm compulsive about my receipts also.After working in retail I realize that it is not the SA's responsibility to know what I'd paid for an item.If I really want exactly what I paid I have to keep hoards of receipts in my wallet or day runner. It's a pain because I even find myself holding on to receipts from Target, Walmart, etc.. I mean really am I going to return a pack of Always to Wally World? On the other hand that pisses me off about the mailing of the refund.I returned some stuff to banana only to have to wait for them to mail me a check (which BTW really only takes about a week).I felt like saying to the SA "well when I picked out things I wanted to buy I didn't just walk out of the store and say, I'll mail you a check!)I try to remeber to use my debit card at places like that.

jacL · Coach

Always save your receipts!

jaymiek · Coach

I agree- save receipts and don't take off the tags until you decide to wear the item. I bought a sheer cardi from BR not too long ago, wore it once and discovered there were 2 holes from where the sensor tag had been. Luckily I still had my receipts and the tags, extra buttons, and thread were still laying around. I explained my situation to the SA at the store and he gave me a no hassle return. Another time I bought a cami for $13 at Gap and never wore it, so I left the tags on and like 4 months later I went to return it w/ no receipt and the SA said it's good I kept the tags on because the cami actually cost $3 now. Just remember to save your receipts, I know it's a pain to keep track of them but I think it saves a lot of hassle.

f413 · Kenneth Cole

quote:
Originally posted by: jaymiek
Another time I bought a cami for $13 at Gap and never wore it, so I left the tags on and like 4 months later I went to return it w/ no receipt and the SA said it's good I kept the tags on because the cami actually cost $3 now. Just remember to save your receipts, I know it's a pain to keep track of them but I think it saves a lot of hassle."

Wow, that was a fortunate experience. When I returned my broken purse I had the tags and it didn't help. How did they know that you didn't just buy it the day before and remove the sale sticker?

jaymiek · Coach

quote:
Originally posted by: f413
"Wow, that was a fortunate experience. When I returned my broken purse I had the tags and it didn't help. How did they know that you didn't just buy it the day before and remove the sale sticker?"

well, I guess I was lucky. Their return/exchange policy states that you can exchange or get store credit for any item anytime as long as the tags are still intact. If you don't leave the tags on then they will refund you the current selling price of that item.

carmenb513 · Coach

quote:
Originally posted by: f413
"Wow, that was a fortunate experience. When I returned my broken purse I had the tags and it didn't help. How did they know that you didn't just buy it the day before and remove the sale sticker?"

If you still have the tags and no receipt it will scan at the lowest saling price.The register still knows that it has had markdowns.The receipt is the ONLY proof that you didn't buy it a day before at the lower price.

jaymiek · Coach

well, I didn't have the receipt since it was from 4 months ago but the tag still had the sticker for 12.99, which is the price I bought the item at. That's how the sa knew that it wasn't $3. she said as long as I kept the tags on that I could get the item exchanged for the 12.99 I bought it at.

Hermione · Kate Spade

hey beachgirl - it sounds overall like a crummy experience but i have to step in here on behalf of banana.

1 - yes, it sucks that your merchandise was poor quality, and so you had every right to return it, which you did. if your beef here was with their quality, well, in this case i would say that you are justified. it seems however, that your problem is more with they way they handled the return, which i see no fault with.

alot of stores won't accept returns without receipts period, and it is pretty standard practice that you would NOT receive cash or credit back without a receipt. i can't think of a store that will give you anything other than store credit without a receipt actually. all of this is posted at the register and is also on the back of the receipt that they give to you when you buy the items in the first place, so it's not like they're hiding this info from you.

and why would they give you the full price of the item? without your original receipt, there is no way for them to know how much you paid for it. you could have bought the item on sale the week before and then come in to try to scam them for the $. (i'm sure you wouldn't do this, but you can be sure that many people do.)

i know the situation sucks, and believe me i get so mad at myself for throwing receipts away sometimes!!! i have screwed myself more than once. but this policy is pretty straightforward and i don't think it sucks at all.

also, some stores won't even take something back after you've worn it (whether the damage is their fault or yours, clearly in this case it was theirs) so it's good they do that.

lesson here: keep your receipts! if you had it, they would have refunded full purchase price in the way that you paid it!

quote:
Originally posted by: beachgirl
"They make it so hard to return items! I had a necklace I bought there that I absolutely loved, wore only 3 times, and it ended up literally falling apart into pieces. I also had two shirts that developed holes whee the sensor tags were on the side. I was so upset. When I went to return them, they tried looking up the order by the card I paid with, couldn't find it, tried another card, couldn't find it, etc. Then, I agreed to accept store credit, but that's a complete pain because they won't give it to you right away, they have to mail it to you, which takes at least a month. Also, rather than return the items for the price I paid for them, they would only give me credit for the amount they were currently selling for, which was 1/2 of what I paid. It hadn't even been very long since I purchsed the items, but their turnaround is so fast. I won't be shopping there anymore. I have a store credit I'm stuck with now, but I might try selling it on ebay or maybe giving it to my sister. Everything I buy there lately wears out fast, or falls apart! Not something I would expect from a $60 item!"

beachgirl · Kenneth Cole

My biggest gripe was with the quality of their merchandise, I ended up having to return 2 shirts AND a necklace that completely fell apart, it was crazy!

My second gripe is that their policy is to mail a check for store credit, I don't know of any other store that does that.

And what really topped it off is how long it took them to process the return. I was literally standing up there while the guy fidgeted with the computer, looked everything up, and who knows what else for at least a half hour! It was insane, and it just felt like he was trying to make it as difficult as he possibly could.

Lesson learned on keeping my receipts though, that was completely my fault, and I'm not really too upset about that, because it's my mistake.

I definitely won't be shopping there again though, their quality lately is just terrible, and it's not like they're cheap!

-- Edited by beachgirl at 14:59, 2005-05-25