Photography with the Left Eye

This is a very difficult economy. The worst most of us have seen in our lives. Even good companies that do the totally right thing are going out of business. This is a very bad time to do the wrong thing. And one way for a retail establishment to drive its customers away is with bad service.

Orchard Supply Hardward (site here, but it’s pretty bad) used to have really good customer service, especially for a chain. They had people who had worked in the business, and could help with a project. They had a liberal return policy, which kept people coming back to buy more stuff.

Now they have lost most of the people who have a clue, and have a stiky return policy. They swipe your drivers license (which raises all sorts of privacy issues), and then mumble about people stealing stuff and then returning it for cash. This does not take an MBA to figure out. Accept any return with a receipt. Don’t accept returns, or make the hurdle high, if the customer does not have a receipt.

I haven’t bought anything there since I encountered this policy. The bigger box store, Home Depot, with its liberal return policy, and the little box in the neighborhood store, Truitt and White, get my business now.

Sarah