Members Funkee1 Posted December 31, 2007 Members Share Posted December 31, 2007 Please don't anyone try this!!There is a possibility that this guy was telling the truth, but if this starts happening at Wal- Marts everywhere, they'll catch on, and folks will start getting arrested. Trust me, their LP people are really on the ball, and, like CSI: Miami (and the Who) they won't get fooled again! This guy came into our store today, and had an empty ipod box, and a receipt. His story was that his daughter opened the box Christmas morning, and there was no Ipod in it. He thought we might have given him the box from our display unit. The problem is, we didplay sealed boxes for the Ipod classic. We don't have an open one! The Asst. Manager was pissed (not in front of the customer though...) but said "Either we accuse this guy of being a liar and theif, and let him sue us, or we let him get away with a $250 Ipod. " so they gave him another one. Now, you and I know he probably went to another Wal- mart with the same sob story, and the same empty box, and got another Ipod, and until he gets caught, will keep doing it and selling the Ipods on Craigslist. Not that I'm accusing him of being a liar and thief.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Brother Mango Posted December 31, 2007 Members Share Posted December 31, 2007 That's one reason why dealing with the public is so difficult, and I hated jobs like that. We don't know if the guy was telling the truth, or not. Maybe it wasn't Wal-Mart that removed the iPod, but maybe it was Apple that missed putting the iPod in the box. Maybe the guy is running a scam. In the end, it's not worth getting bent out of shape. More difficult to deal with are the customers who make truly unreasonable demands; i.e., "I left X in a taxi and would like for you to send me another one." With a request like that, we already know that the person isn't going to be rational and cooperative. Having a job dealing with the public ... that'll expose a person to things they probably ought not encounter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members davis1 Posted December 31, 2007 Members Share Posted December 31, 2007 that's so simple it makes perfect sense! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dwalmz Posted December 31, 2007 Members Share Posted December 31, 2007 Don't all the iPod packaging prominently display the product inside? Yeah, he was full of sh**!! I would have called him on it and threatened to show him a video of the transaction to see what he would do! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Svi Posted December 31, 2007 Members Share Posted December 31, 2007 There was a news segment on NBC last week about a family opening up their XBOX 360...and all that was inside was a phone book. Talk about being scammed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members misterhinkydink Posted December 31, 2007 Members Share Posted December 31, 2007 About ten years ago I went to that Target on Coors NW to buy a Panasonic cordless phone. They were kept in a locked glass case so I called over an employee to help me. As I recall there were at least four in the case and all but one looked like it had been opened so I took that's the one I bought. I got it home, unpacked it and {censored}ing A someone had repacked it with an old ATT phone. And they really did a good job of packing it, too. Everything looked normal. I immediately called the store and they said bring it back for exchange. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PaulyWally Posted December 31, 2007 Members Share Posted December 31, 2007 Now, you and I know he probably went to another Wal- mart with the same sob story I used to see {censored} like that all the time when I worked in retail. Granted, you can't stop them on the first shot... but you can call the other stores in the area and tell them what happened, and give them a description of the guy. That way... he'll get busted at the next store he goes to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Funkee1 Posted December 31, 2007 Author Members Share Posted December 31, 2007 I used to see {censored} like that all the time when I worked in retail. Granted, you can't stop them on the first shot... but you can call the other stores in the area and tell them what happened, and give them a description of the guy. That way... he'll get busted at the next store he goes to. Yeah, and that's pretty much what we did. Our LP manager is really big on video surveilance and e-mail. You know all the stores have the video of this guy now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Captain Fathead Posted December 31, 2007 Members Share Posted December 31, 2007 Did you guys keep the receipt, or at least write something on it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dark Slide Posted December 31, 2007 Members Share Posted December 31, 2007 You're sure it's a scam? Seems to be popping up all of a sudden... http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,318907,00.html http://www.myfoxdc.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail;jsessionid=B83B71207F58B7AB213E73F53F56FCBF?contentId=5335536&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=1.1.1&sflg=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members misterhinkydink Posted December 31, 2007 Members Share Posted December 31, 2007 Yeah, and that's pretty much what we did. Our LP manager is really big on video surveilance and e-mail. You know all the stores have the video of this guy now! I wonder if iTunes can identify a player by S/N? Both players using the same iTunes account and/or IP address? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Brother Mango Posted December 31, 2007 Members Share Posted December 31, 2007 I think there's a danger in feeling so certain that the guy was running a scam. Too often we're insensitive to each other because we're looking for the con, scam, or "real" motive. And it often happens in areas that impact us only in the most roundabout way. If the guy wasn't running a game, his daughter suffered a bit of a delay in her Christmas present. If this was a con, maybe he knows it'll only work oone time. So, he's off listening to his free/stolen iPod. Ok. If it's a serious problem, develop a policy for preventing these situations and managing them when the prevention fails. If he tries the scam again, maybe he'll be caught. Personally, I've gotten so irritated when I've dealt with customer service people and they put me through the wringer for a legit issue. But we first had to deal with their personal, thinly-veiled suspicion that I'm trying to get over. Even when their company has an appropriate policy, they take a personal stake in filtering out scammers. It turns something simple into an odyssey that's unnecessarily protracted & painful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Funkee1 Posted December 31, 2007 Author Members Share Posted December 31, 2007 I think there's a danger in feeling so certain that the guy was running a scam. Too often we're insensitive to each other because we're looking for the con, scam, or "real" motive. And it often happens in areas that impact us only in the most roundabout way.If the guy wasn't running a game, his daughter suffered a bit of a delay in her Christmas present. If this was a con, maybe he knows it'll only work oone time. So, he's off listening to his free/stolen iPod. Ok. If it's a serious problem, develop a policy for preventing these situations and managing them when the prevention fails.If he tries the scam again, maybe he'll be caught.Personally, I've gotten so irritated when I've dealt with customer service people and they put me through the wringer for a legit issue. But we first had to deal with their personal, thinly-veiled suspicion that I'm trying to get over. Even when their company has an appropriate policy, they take a personal stake in filtering out scammers. It turns something simple into an odyssey that's unnecessarily protracted & painful.....and you're right. I do this well. I never present any suspicion to the customer, and maintain a smile.But it does wear on me!!!Tangent, but slightly related: I had a convo with one of the Customer service ladies about a particular brand of LCD TV we sell. She thought they must be pieces of junk cause we get so many returns.I told her that isn't true. Most of our returns are either operator error, or People changing their minds and wanting a bigger TV. If we could teach them how to measure beforethey buy, we'd have a lot fewer returns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BeeTL Posted December 31, 2007 Members Share Posted December 31, 2007 It's just as likely (if not more) that the scam was perpetrated by a WalMart employee who removed the iPod and replaced the box. Funkee1? (Methinks he doth protest too much...) :poke: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Funkee1 Posted December 31, 2007 Author Members Share Posted December 31, 2007 :poke:I already have an Ipod, and don't own a shrink- wrap machine. Remember, He says the box was still shrink- wrapped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dwalmz Posted December 31, 2007 Members Share Posted December 31, 2007 Again, isn't the iPod packaging designed to display the actual product? My Shuffle and my son's Nano were in boxes with transparent faces showing the product, IIRC. Most MP3 players boxing is the same to the best of my knowledge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members toolbar Posted December 31, 2007 Members Share Posted December 31, 2007 back in october, i bought a sandisk 1gb mp3 player from buy.com. when i opened the box, the only thing that was in it was the software disk. when i emailed buy.com, i was thinking 'they'll think this is a scam.' it took several emails and a couple of weeks, but buy.com finally refunded my cash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members collinwho Posted December 31, 2007 Members Share Posted December 31, 2007 Again, isn't the iPod packaging designed to display the actual product? My Shuffle and my son's Nano were in boxes with transparent faces showing the product, IIRC. Most MP3 players boxing is the same to the best of my knowledge. I don't know about the current packaging, but none of my iPods were visible through the packaging. The first (about 4 years ago) came in a big square box that was completely unnecessary to hold such a small object. The 2nd and 3rd (about a year ago a month apart . . . #2 was stolen) both came in black boxes with a picture of the iPod on the outside, but the unit itself wasn't visible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Phantasm Posted December 31, 2007 Members Share Posted December 31, 2007 Again, isn't the iPod packaging designed to display the actual product? My Shuffle and my son's Nano were in boxes with transparent faces showing the product, IIRC. Most MP3 players boxing is the same to the best of my knowledge. The classic and the touch are not in see-through boxes, IIRC. I can verify that the touch does not have a see through box, as my box is on the desk right here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lokidecat Posted December 31, 2007 Members Share Posted December 31, 2007 I already have an Ipod, and don't own a shrink- wrap machine. Remember, He says the box was still shrink- wrapped. I work for FedEx Kinko's. We will shrink wrap just about anything for $.75 usually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rowka Posted December 31, 2007 Members Share Posted December 31, 2007 Wouldn't the box feel unusually light? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Narcosynthesis Posted December 31, 2007 Members Share Posted December 31, 2007 The guy could be scamming you. Could be a mistake in the factory Could be a scam by someone else (taking the ipod, resealing the box and returning it as still sealed) No way you can tell, all you can really do is follow company policy, and hope that if there is a scam, it gets caught before it goes too far. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dwalmz Posted December 31, 2007 Members Share Posted December 31, 2007 The classic and the touch are not in see-through boxes, IIRC. I can verify that the touch does not have a see through box, as my box is on the desk right here.maybe it's just the shuffles and nanos then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Funkee1 Posted January 1, 2008 Author Members Share Posted January 1, 2008 +1. The classic comes in a big, black box with a picture of eiother Macy Gray, or John Lennon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jasper383 Posted January 1, 2008 Members Share Posted January 1, 2008 ....and you're right. I do this well. I never present any suspicion to the customer, and maintain a smile.But it does wear on me!!!Tangent, but slightly related: I had a convo with one of the Customer service ladies about a particular brand of LCD TV we sell. She thought they must be pieces of junk cause we get so many returns.I told her that isn't true. Most of our returns are either operator error, or People changing their minds and wanting a bigger TV. If we could teach them how to measure beforethey buy, we'd have a lot fewer returns. You'll see a lot of big screen TV returns right after the Super Bowl, as well. People will "rent" them from you for the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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