With a few moments to spare before the next thing I need to do, I wanted to take a moment and jot down some thoughts.
RETURNS - EXCHANGES:
There will be a meeting with employees on September 11th for managers to discuss the changing policies regarding returns/exchanges beginning September 14th. After reading the ever growing discontent on social media from those customers who try to make returns and exchanges that are met with random, and varying reasons why they cannot...the company wants everyone on the same page. Good Luck with that. Even with the most generous returns/exchange policy in the history of the company for years, there was always those stores whose managers/staff made up their own return policy.
I have shared the paperwork that came out with the new policy information on it here on the blog. It seems pretty straightforward.
And with the deadline to change quickly approaching, it is making many customers clear out under the sink and the back of the cabinets where time forgot, to grab the new items out in stores. When you are bringing in the dust-filled partially used bottles from under Nana's sink, I was not surprised to hear many stores are Just Saying NO!! Regardless of it being days before the change.
Some stores are waiting until after the 11th to talk more about returns with customers. I think the complications are coming from the exchanging of Candles...price for price...price paid and returning that amount making the customer add in the difference to the current sale price, or non sale price in store.
I have read people had exchanged candles when they were not on sale in the store but they bought them at SAS or good sales with coupons, and the cashier gave them the difference back from regular pricing. Um, no. The new candle should have had the pricing adjusted down to what the customer paid. Not give them a new candle and ten dollars! Some wanted the customer to pay the difference because the candles were not on sale in stores the day of the return.
It is all messy to say the least.
Stores depend on sales. Returns drop those sales and bonuses so of course, no one is happy to see those Walmart bags of stuff coming back...even though that is the companies policy. DM's will say nope,(they bonus) managers will say Nope ( they bonus too) ...and the cashier is left to contend with the upset customer at the register calling customer service. Not good.
When I shopped the smalls sale yesterday I was talking with the sweetest girl at the register about the process and my thoughts on making purchases with it now causing so much indecision. I want the company to know that some customers could be feeling that way....and I am a long time customer who knows some about this brand.
I wear a mask so I cannot smell anything in store. Nothing. Gosh I miss
smelling everything. If there is a new fragrance collection out, I
will spray the tester on myself and then smell it out of the mall. I
can't do that with a candle.
I have no interest in buying things with out smelling them or trying them in the rare chance that I won't love it and will have to deal with nonsense to exchange or return it. It was said with any return or exchange, I would need to give my ID with or without a receipt. (I've said it before - I have every receipt from BBW since my first purchase...so having that sales slip will never be a problem - but any exchange or return???) That is not what I read on that paperwork. I read NO receipt will need ID.
There is a great sale today on Candles for $12.95 and I will pass on it because the new scents to me that I don't already know of could be messy if I wanted to switch them out. That is not saying my store would make it messy for me - no, because most know me for 10+ years...It is a thought that I don't want it messy for anyone until this policy is understood across the board....myself as a customer, and workers at the stores I shop at.
I have not been making huge hauls and aside from owning half of the store already with products that turn bad too quickly ( I see you Body Creams )... I see many dollars lost already...And I don't want that when I could spend that money on things I love.
PURCHASE WITH PURCHASE BOXES:
In thinking about the returns/exchange policy I wondered if we will still hear associates mention during the Purchase with Purchase sales that if there is anything in the box/bag/tote that you don't like you can bring back that item. That one sentence seemed to make a difference to many who were on the fence at checkout about a fragrance in the box. I have heard that mentioned numerous times for the buy 3 get 3 free sale when people were hesitant to buy so much or unsure of scents to add,....and there were a few times I saw people returning the entire main scent of the box to pick another. I wonder how that affects the stores bottom line when the purpose of the box at a great price is to sell that scent.
MOS:
Since most stores are done with inventory now and have had their MOS (marked out of stock) employee sale - the internet was filled with photos of bags of merchandise each employee shared that they were able to grab for the $5 a small/medium size bag (whichever size your store allowed). Employees can go through all of the saved discontinued items that were retrieved from past sales, and returned items and fill a bag...paying that small token amount. One of the best perks of having to deal with all of us...I would say.
Because there was so much MOS items this time around (because of the return policy changing and more returns were being made), many employees had the chance to get more than one bag. And what were some of the items did we see in those photos? Candles...three wicks...and bunches of body care. Those who follow social pages know what fragrances were left over from holiday, and SAS that they couldn't even give away that were set for MOS including plenty of single wick tester candles that some stores refused to put out for SAS. And what was some of the body care and candles employees and managers shared from their bags......RETURNS. Bunches of great scents in body care...and past season returned candles that DID NOT make it to the smash bag. All of the items they complained about daily receiving as a return, they filled up the bags with and posted on social media.
CANDLE SALE:
Since I mentioned the $12.95 Candle sale....
With the 25% off coupon should you still have it...that makes the candles more reasonable to buy many of the fall scents currently out.
For those who always get access to the testing candles on sales like today, they are always afforded better pricing on the HOLIDAY candles that we saw on social media that are out in stores now...at that great pricing. While the rest of us need to wait until at least October 10th and October 26th for some of the collections to release wide...for a much higher price point which is always the case.
There are a few new Thanksgiving candles coming....but I don't know what the exchange deal is going to be should you want to buy now with the thoughts of an exchange later.
Like for Candle Day --- what kinds of craziness is going to happen for those who load up on candles that day....only to want to exchange them for the next, new collections that were held back at regular pricing to stock the stores after the shelves are emptied.
Bath and Body Works...if you are going to finalize things for exchanges and returns....think about the big picture of returns from days like Candle Day and make it clear and enforced for all.
Oh, AND POST IT ON THE BACK WALL BEHIND CASH WRAP FOR REFERRAL. A policy is only as good as the representatives of your brand who enforce it properly.