Shopping Discussion

Mad at Zellers

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  • Jan 2nd, 2011 11:09 am
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Aug 4, 2008
30 posts
13 upvotes

Mad at Zellers

So I went out to Zellers last week and purchased an Easy Bake oven as a Christmas present for my niece. On Christmas day she was all excited to make us a cake, this is were things went from good to terrible fast. We proceed to open the box and follow the instructions on how to install the bulb but there is a problem, It was already installed :confused:
On closer inspection one of the two cake mixes were also missing, and the parts did not come in a bag or any other form of packaging. As we look a little closer we discover that in fact what we thought was a new Oven, was in fact a used oven.

Now for all the ppl that are going to say I should have inspected the box better at time of purchase, I say BS. It's their job to inspect the returns before they put it on the shelf. If i go to a large retail store I expect to receive new product not returned un-inspected junk

I also realize that Zellers can't stop ppl from being lowlife scum, but they can and should stop ppl from returning used product. And they should not be putting used food products back on there shelf.

As far as i can see everyone should now consider all of Zellers food products uninspected and possibly tampered with.
Do not trust Zellers staff to inspect returns before putting them back on the shelf.

End rant.
47 replies
Deal Addict
Apr 8, 2010
1307 posts
64 upvotes
Burlington
duckandrun wrote:
I also realize that Zellers can't stop ppl from being lowlife scum, but they can and should stop ppl from returning used product. And they should not be putting used food products back on there shelf.

You can probably thank a fellow RFDer for this.
Deal Fanatic
Jul 4, 2004
9473 posts
2650 upvotes
Someone bought it, baked a cake, the kid realized that housework is BS and the oven goes back. Not only is this bad, imagine what is done when groceries are returned to the store. Right back on the shelves, this is really scary.
Deal Expert
Jan 7, 2002
29711 posts
29133 upvotes
Waterloo, ON
duckandrun wrote: Now for all the ppl that are going to say I should have inspected the box better at time of purchase, I say BS. It's their job to inspect the returns before they put it on the shelf. If i go to a large retail store I expect to receive new product not returned un-inspected junk
You should have either inspected the contents or checked that the box was factory-sealed because these sorts of things do happen. See e.g. this thread about Canadian Tire.

However:
1. You should have been particularly careful considering that this was a gift to a small child who might not have realized that the package may have been opened or worse, instead of being missing, the cake mixes could have been tampered with.
2. That doesn't absolve Zellers either. They should check all returned items more carefully and when in doubt, return them to the manufacturer, not reshelve them.
3. Considering that this item contains food products, perhaps the manufacturer should do a better job of sealing the box, perhaps using tamper-proof tape, so that it's very obvious when the box has been opened.
they can and should stop ppl from returning used product. And they should not be putting used food products back on there shelf.
That may well be their policy for food products. AFAIK Easy Bake ovens are sold in the toy department, not the food section. Perhaps the clerk who processed the return didn't realize that the box contained food products and couldn't be returned. But that certainly doesn't excuse them from checking the contents of all returned items.

A couple of suggestions:
1. Contact the manager at the Zellers where you bought this item. Make it clear that this is a food safety issue and that you're prepared to escalate the matter unless the manager can demonstrate what steps they've taken to prevent this situation from recurring.
2. If you don't get satisfaction with 1. contact either your local media's consumer affairs reporter or Canadian Food Inspection Agency's (CFIA),
If you believe a product presents a health and safety risk, you can report a potential food safety incident to the CFIA:
• by contacting an area recall coordinator
• through the Internet at cfiamaster@inspection.gc.ca
• by telephone at 1-800-442-2342
3. You might also want to contact Hasbro, the Easy Bake manufacturer, to document your experience and suggest that they change their packaging to make it obvious when a box has been opened.
veni, vidi, Visa
Deal Expert
Aug 2, 2001
18946 posts
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duckandrun wrote: I also realize that Zellers can't stop ppl from being lowlife scum, but they can and should stop ppl from returning used product. And they should not be putting used food products back on there shelf.
Stores are at the mercy of the customer; many customers feel they are entitled to whatever they want and when they don't get their way they throw a tantrum like a baby does demanding their money back and even further compensation. It's ridiculous.

You can read through RFD and see many examples of people abusing return policies.

You have no one to blame but your fellow consumer.
As far as i can see everyone should now consider all of Zellers food products uninspected and possibly tampered with.
Do not trust Zellers staff to inspect returns before putting them back on the shelf.

When I worked at Superstore returns would routinely be put back on the shelf. It's the same at Sobey's, etc....

All you can do is try your best to see if the product was opened, it's really what you should do before any purchase.
Deal Expert
Jan 7, 2002
29711 posts
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Waterloo, ON
TrevorK wrote: Stores are at the mercy of the customer... You have no one to blame but your fellow consumer.
I disagree. The store should be responsible for checking that a returned item is complete and in brand-new condition. That wasn't the case here. In addition I believe (but am not sure) that opened, never mind used, merchandise can't be sold as new. That's why FS/BB et al have "open box" bins and sell that stuff at a discount.

Moreover with food items the returned items should either be discarded or, if there's any suspicion that the food was spoiled or tampered with before purchase, returned to the manufacturer or CFIA for analysis. That wasn't the case here either.
When I worked at Superstore returns would routinely be put back on the shelf. It's the same at Sobey's, etc... All you can do is try your best to see if the product was opened, it's really what you should do before any purchase.
It's not supposed to be that way with fresh food like vegetables or meat, or even with packaged foods if there's any possibility of tampering or deterioration (e.g. food that must be kept refrigerated or frozen at all times.) Grocery stores should, and in my experience always have, give the customer their money back as a goodwill gesture and then discard such food.

If you've seen Superstores or Sobeys personnel put such food items back on the shelf then you owe it to yourself and others in your community to report the stores involved. Someone could get seriously sick or even die from such practices.
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Newbie
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Aug 4, 2008
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Thanks for the replies guys. The box did look normal as in not re-taped, but I think that Zellers should have ppl trained to notice this type of practice. Also the manufacturer should have tamper proof seals on any toy.
I felt like the worst uncle in the world when i had to tell her she couldnt use her oven and make us a cake :(
Deal Fanatic
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Feb 2, 2006
6219 posts
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+10000 for all the return policy abusers. I'm sure somebody bought the easy bake thinking its a microwave and they were going to rush home and post a hot deal on their microwave replacement for $30. Then it turns out they cant cook a meatloaf in it and decided to return. Instead of saying they were not satisfied with the product they said it was unopened to make the return easier.

I wish stores would make these return policies more clear. As we get more and more low quality items these return policies are more important. Today you can buy a product that is absolute crap, and doesn't do anything properly, and these return policies are very important. Especially with store brand items.

As for store employees, they are completely checked out. I returned two DVDs to walmart last night, still sealed, and the girl asked me if anything was wrong with them. :facepalm:
Newbie
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Aug 4, 2008
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Well I just sent an email to Hasbro letting them know how disapointed i was with there lack of a safety seal on a kids food product. Lets see how that goes.
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Jun 27, 2004
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> Now for all the ppl that are going to say I should have inspected the box better at time of purchase, [...snip...]. It's their job to inspect the returns before they put it on the shelf.

Yes, and yes.



> As for store employees, they are completely checked out. I returned two DVDs to walmart last night, still sealed, and the girl asked me if anything was wrong with them.

Reflexive question. What they really want to know is why you are returning the item(s).
Member
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Dec 23, 2010
454 posts
31 upvotes
if you are not satisfied with the purchase,
can't you simply return it for a refund?
Deal Expert
Jan 7, 2002
29711 posts
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Waterloo, ON
jason9945 wrote: +10000 for all the return policy abusers.
No doubt the same ones who complain on RFD when the merchant wants their name and address before they'll process the return.

I returned two DVDs to walmart last night, still sealed, and the girl asked me if anything was wrong with them. :facepalm:
Oh, I remember her. In her previous career at McDonald's, after I'd just ordered a cup of coffee, she asked me, "Do you want fries with that?"
veni, vidi, Visa
Member
Nov 27, 2006
441 posts
92 upvotes
Zellers will return it and give you a new one most likely. I bought a blue ticketed train table there about 2 years ago and it only came with 2 out of 4 legs. There was nothing wrong with the box and obviously I would not have bought it if I knew it had 2 legs
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Aug 2, 2001
18946 posts
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bylo wrote: I disagree. The store should be responsible for checking that a returned item is complete and in brand-new condition. That wasn't the case here. In addition I believe (but am not sure) that opened, never mind used, merchandise can't be sold as new. That's why FS/BB et al have "open box" bins and sell that stuff at a discount.
Unfortunately, in a perfect world that would be fine and dandy. But we don't live in a perfect world where the employees do everything they are told. The employees will give it a quick once over, and if it passes whatever standards they have they put it back onto the shelf.

Because you cannot change the human element (find people that work harder, listen to the rules, etc...) it won't change from the stores end.
It's not supposed to be that way with fresh food like vegetables or meat, or even with packaged foods if there's any possibility of tampering or deterioration (e.g. food that must be kept refrigerated or frozen at all times.) Grocery stores should, and in my experience always have, give the customer their money back as a goodwill gesture and then discard such food.

If you've seen Superstores or Sobeys personnel put such food items back on the shelf then you owe it to yourself and others in your community to report the stores involved. Someone could get seriously sick or even die from such practices.

Then I would suggest you "go undercover" and work at various grocery stores to see their practices. It will definitely open your eyes as to how things are treated; it did with me.
Deal Fanatic
Apr 30, 2003
7800 posts
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Toronto
Just the other day i was in Zellers checking out the toys section.

I noticed two Star wars action figures that was odd. I noticed right away since i am a star wars fan and know the packaged figures were not star wars but some other cheap figurine.

Upon picking them up to inspect it, someone had opened the packages and replaced them with some clearance item store figurines and taped up the sides and returned them. So for $2.00 they got these $9.99 figures. Zellers will be out $20 as no one wold buy these figures.

I dont know why Zellers would take back these returns and put them back on the shelves.
Deal Expert
Jan 7, 2002
29711 posts
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Waterloo, ON
TrevorK wrote: But we don't live in a perfect world... The employees will give it a quick once over... you cannot change the human element...
Tell us something we don't all know. That's why I acknowledged that although the store is technically responsible for checking returns, (a) the manufacturer should develop better packaging to make it obvious that the contents have been opened/tampered and (b) consumers should always double-check what they buy, especially food items.

Then I would suggest you "go undercover" and work at various grocery stores to see their practices. It will definitely open your eyes as to how things are treated; it did with me.
The same can be said about what goes on in restaurant kitchens, food processing plants, hospitals, bureaucracies, etc. The only way to reduce the incidence of such practices is through education and, if that doesn't work, by reporting (whistleblowing) when you see such practices. Don't just turn a blind eye or shrug a shoulder or post an anecdote about it on an Internet forum.
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Sep 13, 2005
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Crap happens! Just returned it back to Zellers for an exchange. I would tell the manager what happened though as it's a serious issue since kids food toy like that shouldn't be sold when it's been opened.

As to crap at groceries stores is true too. I am jaded now since years ago I bought a tub of yogurt and when I got home to eat it the damn jug was half opened and 1/4 gone!!!! Since I was young and stupid as a teenager I didn't realize how dangerous it was and didn't bring it back to sobeys to tell them what happened. I thought that $2 jug of yogurt wasn't worth my trouble to exchange. Ever since that time I open up all plastic container tops to make sure the seal is intact and I check all food I buy now. Better safe than sorry. Doesn't help I saw a Chinese lady at T&T couple months ago open a lot of jars of sauces so the sicko can smell it and taste it!!! WTF!!!!
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Jul 23, 2005
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sorry, when i worked as a CSR for returns and what not, I thoroughly check through everything to ensure nothing like this gets pulled through... i've caught a lot of thieves cheating.. it's a very fun job calling them out and embarassing them in a nice way, but at the end of the day, some of my colleague don't care as much and let everything go..
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Aug 4, 2010
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setell wrote:As to crap at groceries stores is true too. I am jaded now since years ago I bought a tub of yogurt and when I got home to eat it the damn jug was half opened and 1/4 gone!!!! Since I was young and stupid as a teenager I didn't realize how dangerous it was and didn't bring it back to sobeys to tell them what happened. I thought that $2 jug of yogurt wasn't worth my trouble to exchange. Ever since that time I open up all plastic container tops to make sure the seal is intact and I check all food I buy now. Better safe than sorry. Doesn't help I saw a Chinese lady at T&T couple months ago open a lot of jars of sauces so the sicko can smell it and taste it!!! WTF!!!!

I do exactly the same. It's worth the extra few seconds of time to check the seal on all food before buying. The experience of returning food items has been unpleasant with me in the past, and so I inspect EVERYTHING before buying. I did slip up several weeks ago when I bought a few jars of applesauce at GT, where one of the seals was "tampered" with and it developed a thin rim of scum at the top of the bottle. On an item that is a $1 it's not worth my effort to drive to GT (at the cost of probably a $1 + parking, which would be an extra $1) to bother getting an exchange. In the end it saves you time, effort and your sanity to check all food before purchasing. It's one of those items you just don't want to return, either for lack of time or the lack of return on your return!

Chuck
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Jan 7, 2002
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Chuckled wrote: I did slip up several weeks ago when I bought a few jars of applesauce at GT, where one of the seals was "tampered" with and it developed a thin rim of scum at the top of the bottle.
That's not necessarily a sign of tampering or spoiled food. Sometimes a bit of the product ends up on the outside of the jar. It spoils and looks like what you describe. As long as the lid makes a popping sound when opened the contents are sealed. You can then remove the scum from the rim of the jar using a damp cloth and/or fingernail.

Nevertheless, if in doubt it's best to not consume the contents and return the jar to the store.

Hint: I'll bet that if you call the manufacturer's 1-800, assuming it's on the jar, to ask about the ring of scum you found on their product and express your concern about the safety of consuming the contents, they'll tell you to discard it and offer to send you a coupon for a freebie jar or two (or more.)
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