some people just don't get it

The gift shop I work for runs a halloween store every year.  A regular costume shop.  And all of our employees know that as a seasonal store, we are not allowed to accept flat returns, but we can allow exchanges, as long as it's equal or higher value... bla bla bla.  The same shit at almost ever costume shop anywhere around here.

 

I had a woman come in today at the end of my shift wanting to return almost $90 worth of items she'd bought a few days before.  When I told her that we didn't allow returns, she looked at me like I was dumb and tried telling me that the three people who'd been working on saturday when she bought it told her she could return it before the 24th.  Those three people were my manager and two coworkers who've worked halloween at least two years in a row.  They KNOW the rules.  There's no way she was told this.  Plus, there are signs about every 5-10 feet stating clearly that ALL SALES ARE FINAL.  On bright yellow paper in big, bold lettering.  Kinda hard to miss.  The girl started in with the guilt trip of "Oh, well, they told me that and I spent over eighty dollars and if I"d known I couldn't return the stuff I wouldn't have bought it."  Bla, bla, fucking bla.  Try one I haven't heard a million times, it doesn't change our policy.  I informed her very politely that there was no way the ones who'd been working that night had told her that we would accept a return, especially not this close to halloween.  She kept arguing with me, then tried, "Can't you do it just once?  It's a lot of money..."  Yeah, cuz after the way you've been arguing with me, I'm gonna feel sorry for you.  After I told her no again, I informed her that if I accepted her return, I'd have to accept returns from everyone else as well.  Also, accepting her return could cost me my job for going against company policy.  She looked at me, rolled her eyes, and sniped, "Do it anyway."

 

Any helpfulness she might have gotten from me went up in smoke.  I informed her again, still politely but much more firmly, that no, we do NOT accept returns, I will NOT accept her return, it is policy and I can not do anything about it.  After a full fifteen minutes of arguing this with her, which made me end my shift about ten minutes late, she grabbed her bag off the counter, glared at me, yelled, "This store is so fucked up!" and left.  I took my vest off, looked at the girls working with me and went, "Yep, that's my cue, I'm goin home."

 

My guess, there was an early halloween party and she wasn't going to another one, so she thought she could get her money back.  The costume had obviously been taken out of the bag and it looked like it'd been worn.  The boots she was returning also looked like they'd been worn.  Even if we did accept returns, we wouldn't have accepted hers because of those two things.

 

Why is it so hard for people to understand the phrase "All Sales Are Final"?  It's stated simply, obviously, and posted all over the store.  Do not come in and think that whining at me, attempting to guilt trip me, and then yelling at me that our employees are stupid and don't know what they're talking about is going to make me feel any more helpful toward you in the least.  Whining is annoying.  Guilt trips don't work on me, if you'd met my mother, you'd understand.  She is the QUEEN of guilt trips.  And insulting my coworkers?  I'm friends with almost every one of them.  Don't insult my friends.  It's not smart.