Dillard’s customer brought in a pair of moderately expensive dress shoes, expressing a desire to return them because they just weren’t quite right. As the manager processed the order she checked inside the box to be sure that the shoes in the box were the shoes that matched the box – past experience dictated that follow-up on returns. The shoes were the correct ones for the box, but there was another issue. The shoes had masking tape on the bottom – masking tape that was dirty. When the manager returned to the customer she said, “You forgot to remove the masking tape from your shoes.” The customer responded, “I only wore them once. That’s all I needed them for.”
From Neiman Marcus to Saks to Dillard’s, managers have to stay one step ahead of customers, or lessees, who buy, or lease for free, dresses and now shoes for one use with premeditated intent to return the merchandise. Stores now place tags strategically so that the dresses cannot be worn without cutting them off and there are no returns if the tags are cut off on formal wear.
Ace Hardware and Home Depot have customers who “buy” a special tool, try to use it once, and then return it. The hardware/home improvement stores are left with opened packaging and used goods by buy-it-temporarily customers.
List some consequences for this behavior by customers.