Bad Service at Hallmark

By Greg

I purchased a precious moments figurine from the Hallmark store at Square One in Mississauga for my wife. She ended up not liking my selection so I went to the Hallmark store at Oakville Place to return since I lived in Oakville. They politely informed me that they could not accept my return since they were a franchise store and did not carry Precious Moment figurines. I was a bit annoyed but accepted their explanation since they did direct me to another “corporate” store at Burlington Mall where I could return the item. Since I work in Burlington I brought the figurine back. The cashier immediately told me that “we can’t take that” if it is not in our system. At this point she had not even scanned the item to check it. She then walked off to see her manager. The cashier and the manager returned and scanned the item which did show up on their system. The manager relunctantly agreed to take it back at the disbelief of the cashier. The cashier then tried to refund my money but 
the barcode on the receipt was not being accepted by her cash register. She then informs me that she can’t take it back if the barcode won’t scan. At this point the manager took over and cashed me out. Before refunding my money, they both had to open the package and then went over the figurine carefully to ensure that it was not broken while I waited. Not only was I frustrated but I was made to feel like a thief.

I recommend not shopping at Hallmark (especially at Burlington Mall). Carleton Cards has much better service in my opinion and will be getting all of my future business.

7 Responses to “Bad Service at Hallmark”


  1. 0

    joseff says...

    I know from working in a retail store that any return that comes in needs to be opened and inspected carefully. You wouldn’t like to get an unopened product home and find it used or damaged in any way.
    I agree with you that Carleton Cards in a nicer place to shop and the runaround you got trying to return was pretty awful. Some places are more eager to exchange. I guess we all need to make sure of the return/exchange policies before buying anything anywhere. I personally hate shopping in a store that offer exchanges only.

  2. 0

    Stahr says...

    Checking the return to make sure it is in store bought condition is a Loss Prevention issue. We have to do so. It’s not to make anyone feel like a “thief”. It’s to ensure the product is able to be re-sold. You have no idea what people try to return…. I’ve seen people try to return their OLD and USED pots and pans in the box of newly purchased ones.

    The other issues you had were quite understandable. Working in retail has taught me to be vigilant about return policies…I always make sure I know what they are before I purchase anything.

  3. 0

    K says...

    I used to work at Hallmark, and yes, Francise and Corporate stores have their own policy, and stuff bought from Francise stores cannot be returned at Corporate stores. Its unfortunate, but that’s how it works….
    Sorry you had a bad experience though. The Sales Associate should have been careful communicating and explaining the situation, and not simply say “sorry, cant accept…”
    Overall, Hallmark is a decent card shop, hope you get a better customer service if you decide to shop again. All stores are different, I suppose.

  4. 0

    Slayer says...

    While your return was valid, you’re being unreasonable on some of the issues.

    The first store was definitely correct in the fact that you have to return at the same store it was bought. Only corporate stores can defer from that rule. Don’t forget that while it is a hallmark store, most owners are small business owners. They need to be supported just like any other small business. Carlton is completely different because that’s not how thy operate. Why do you think CC can sell cards 5/$1 and hallmark can’t? Halmark returns seasonal cards. CC doesn’t from what ive been told. Different systems.

    The girl at corporate simply informed you of the rules before you started. She could have said it nicer, yes. The bar code thing was uncalled for since it should be able to be typed in. No hallmarks here have barcodes.

    As for checking the item thoroughly, hell yeah. I get customers that drop things and tell me “they opened the box and it was like that”. I call their bluff and thankfully leave quietly. If they dont check and find out later it’s damaged, they’re out of money.

    I’m glad you were able to get your refund. We don’t even have a corporate store in my area so you were lucky.

  5. 0

    DA says...

    Did you see the report on the news with the i-pads that some one bought and the removed the items replace them with clay and returned to the store the store did not look inside and put them back on the shelf for re sale now the person who got that one was lucky that the store gave him is money back when they looked and found more of the same on the shelf so if you have a hard time when you do return some thing think of the next person who might get that item

  6. 0

    you are a butthead says...

    This story is from your point of view. How do we know you weren’t rude to the salesperson when you returned the figurine? The store you finally got it returned at were doing there job making sure you returned something that might have been broken while in your possession. You went through so much trouble of returning something to somewhere you didn’t buy it at. If you wanted to return the thing so badly, why the heck didn’t you return it back to the original store you bought it at? Plus, you definitely don’t know what your wife’s taste in gifts. May I suggest the next time you think of giving her something, you might consider just giving her your credit cards and all your money out of your wallet so she can buy what her heart truly desires.

  7. 0

    Madame Morticia says...

    Boy, are you ever an idiot.

    What kind of a$$hole buys junk like a “Precious Moments” figurine in the first place? I Googled those things, they’re fugly crap. If my husband gave me a “Precious Moments” figurine, I’d smash it in his presence, then rip him to pieces for having been foolish enough to have squandered any money on such garbage to begin with.

    So, you bought the figurine at one store; then tried to return it to two OTHER stores, but were denied? And now, you’re all up in arms about the situation? Your story proves YOU ARE the idiot, on so many levels. Buying the crappy figurine in the first place, finding out your wife didn’t even WANT the thing, trying to return the worthless item at TWO different retailers, and failing to comprehend retail return policies. What makes me laugh the most is the image of you being so impotent at each place you tried to get rid of the figurine, that you weren’t able to obtain ANY satisfaction whatsoever nor resolution to your complaints. I can’t envision a more emasculating scenario than the one you’ve caused me to picture in my head - of you, “Precious Moments” figurine in-hand in a shop stuffed full of cute greeting cards & teddy bears, unable to obtain resolution & becoming so frustrated by the situation you felt you had to post your lame story on the internet in a feeble attempt to somehow “get back” at your tormentors who refused to take back the figurine off your hands. I’m surprised you didn’t try to return the figurine to your local grocery store while you were at it!

    All that running around, getting all worked up, and for what? A crappy figurine that would probably have either gotten smashed to bits, or sat around in your house collecting dust for years, until someone had the good sense to finally throw it in the garbage.

    Thanks for sharing your story and sharing how ineffectual you are. Made for a good dose of mirth. I suggest you make it your business to educate yourself in the basics of comprehending retail return policies, for your future needs. Take an assertiveness training course, while you’re at it, as well.

    The mere fact that you bought a figurine like that in the first place indicated to the store from the outset that they could get away with treating you however they felt like, because anyone who buys junk like that is obviously an impotent idiot.

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