After going through a pretty much identical feud with best buy 7 or 8 years ago this is exactly it. In my case I brought the district manager into the mix and I had a long 'off the record' chat with him about this very problem.skeet50 wrote: ↑ Thanks for the clarification. There was no reason why the local store could not have handled the return. The manager just decided to pass the buck back to the online entity.
Many retailers have set up their online entities to essentially cannibalize their B&M stores. B&M stores are evaluated on their net sales. Returns go against their sales. In some cases, even returns from the online site goes against the B&M store sales. Many managers don't see this as fair, especially when you have many customers who order items that they plan to return to the B&M store simply to meet the sales threshold for free shipping. The result is that the managers try and discourage online returns. My guess is that is what happened to you - especially since in your case the manager couldn't simply resale the item.
Again, poor service.
He explained that online returns in stores increases their product return %, inventory turnover % and decreases their net sale %. Those are 3 of the metrics the store managers' annual bonuses are based on. It's in their own best personal interest to deny deny deny anything with a high dollar amount hoping you drive to the next store and plead your case with that manager.
The district manager said it happens all the time and as soon as they get the threat from him they'll take it back.