I just had an experience at Richard’s Variety Store on Monroe Drive that I can only describe as surreal. I’ve had some horrible retail experiences in my life, but never have I had a store owner call the police to have me forcibly removed from their property because I was trying to return a $7.00 defective book light.
Let me preface this by saying I’m a mid-40’s mom and Girl Scout Leader, small business owner, PTA chair, and look about as threatening as a librarian. This “situation” escalated from the ridiculous to the bizarre very quickly, and I am amazed that the owner, Ming Yang, hasn’t been sued for deliberate deceptive business practices.
In her store, the motto is “the customer is always wrong,” if not a liar and a thief.
Thursday I purchased a few fun gift items, including the $7.00 clip-on LED book lamp for my daughter to take to choir camp over the Labor Day weekend so she wouldn't disturb her cabin-mates at night; she loves to read. The bill was about $44.00. When my daughter came home from school and we began to pack for her trip, I opened the light package and clicked the button, but it wouldn't turn on. No big deal, I thought, I’ll return it tomorrow. I went to Target and bought a different one and popped it in her bag.
I took it back to Richard’s Midtown today and handed it to the cashier (same gentleman as the day before) and asked for a refund because it was defective. I had the original bag and receipt, and had only had it in my possession about 18 hours. He stared at it for about 30 seconds, silently, until I finally asked him if there was a problem.
He said he had to call somebody “in the back” to look at it. A nice young lady came up and took it from him and said she’d be back soon. I asked the cashier what the problem was, why I couldn’t just get a refund and be on my way as I was going to be late to an appointment with my auto mechanic, but he didn’t answer. I asked again and he said “a technician is going to fix it.”
Technician? I explained that I didn’t have time to wait for a repair, why couldn’t he just process my refund so I could leave? Their posted return policy states that you may return an item for a refund in its original packaging with a receipt for 7 days. I didn’t understand why this $7.00 lamp was an exception. He just said “it doesn’t work that way.” I told him I already replaced it and just wanted my refund. Again – silence. Finally he said, “Look, the policy says all returns are at the manager’s discretion.”
I called my husband to call the mechanic and tell them I was delayed. Finally, after about 10 minutes the nice young lady returned and said “Ming said to give her another one.” But at this point, I didn’t want another one. Clearly, this is an inferior product and I didn’t trust that the next one wouldn’t be defective or would break quickly. Again, why can’t I just simply get a $7.00 refund as their policy states?
At this point he called “to the back” and Ms. Yang appeared and asked me “what is the problem?” I explained that I wanted to return a defective light and didn’t understand why this process was so difficult. She gave me a disparaging look and said “you can’t leave lamp on 24 hours or battery die.”
This was odd, who said anything about leaving the light on 24 hours? I said, “I’m sorry, I guess I wasn’t clear. I bought this yesterday afternoon – about 18 hours ago – and it was broken when I took it out of the package. It was for my daughter to use at night at camp.”
She smirked and repeated “you can’t leave lamp on 24 hour or battery die.” Now I got it, she thought I was lying about this $7.00 lamp. She was insinuating that I was responsible for the defective item because, in her imagination, I left it on for 24 hours.
I asked her if she was accusing me of lying about this lamp, and she didn’t respond. Just stared at me. I asked her if it seemed logical that a customer would make a trek to her store to pull some kind of scam on her over a $7.00 lamp and she replied: “This LED light, not defective. Maybe bad battery.”
Okay, but why should I take home the broken lamp and replace the battery myself if it was dead when I bought it? I pointed to the posted return policy and asked her again to just issue my refund so I could go on my way, but she said “No refund because it not returned in perfect working condition.”
I started to feel like Alice down the rabbit hole: I was returning the lamp because it was defective but I couldn’t return it because it was defective. It would’ve been kind of funny, except for what happened next. She told me she had enough and I had to leave her store. I explained that I wanted to leave, I was late for an appointment, all I wanted was a simple refund. At that point she picked up the phone and said “I call police now, this private property and you trespassing.”
I quickly called my husband and explained the situation to him, then also called the police myself because I wanted a record of what was happening to me. Never in my 35+ years as a retail consumer have I had a store owner call the police because I was trying to return a defective item. I never raised my voice, never gestured wildly, never caused anything resembling a “scene.” I listened, flabbergasted, as she gave the police my description – as if I were a dangerous criminal: “Ya, she about 40, wearing chocolate colored top and blue jean . . .. brown sandal . . . average size . . . “
I walked toward the front of the store, near the doors, and waited for the police. Meanwhile, Ms. Yang and the cashier hunted for a screwdriver in a drawer under the register so she could fix the lamp, I guess to show the police it wasn’t really broken? Or to prove somehow that I broke it? Who knows, it was so insane at that point I couldn’t guess her rationale for getting so crazed over a simple $7.00 return.
I honestly feel sorry for their employees. I cannot imagine having to explain to customers that their (already stringent) return policy was actually nonexistent.
A young officer soon came in and I felt sorry for him, too. Even though I was shaken and upset, I kept thinking about the waste of his time and our taxpayer dollars. He asked what happened and I told him that I just wanted to return a broken lamp was refused a refund, and explained that I wouldn’t leave until I had my money back. Ms. Yang then told him I was causing a disturbance, yelling “Defective! Defective!” all over her store and refused to leave.
The officer was sympathetic, but explained to me that my case was a civil matter, but if Ms. Yang wanted me off her premises, and pressed the point, indeed he would have to arrest me for criminal trespassing. He said I could sue her for the $7.00 and suggested I just leave and “never shop here again.”
Richards Variety Store Reviews
I just had an experience at Richard’s Variety Store on Monroe Drive that I can only describe as surreal. I’ve had some horrible retail experiences in my life, but never have I had a store owner call the police to have me forcibly removed from their property because I was trying to return a $7.00 defective book light.
Let me preface this by saying I’m a mid-40’s mom and Girl Scout Leader, small business owner, PTA chair, and look about as threatening as a librarian. This “situation” escalated from the ridiculous to the bizarre very quickly, and I am amazed that the owner, Ming Yang, hasn’t been sued for deliberate deceptive business practices.
In her store, the motto is “the customer is always wrong,” if not a liar and a thief.
Thursday I purchased a few fun gift items, including the $7.00 clip-on LED book lamp for my daughter to take to choir camp over the Labor Day weekend so she wouldn't disturb her cabin-mates at night; she loves to read. The bill was about $44.00. When my daughter came home from school and we began to pack for her trip, I opened the light package and clicked the button, but it wouldn't turn on. No big deal, I thought, I’ll return it tomorrow. I went to Target and bought a different one and popped it in her bag.
I took it back to Richard’s Midtown today and handed it to the cashier (same gentleman as the day before) and asked for a refund because it was defective. I had the original bag and receipt, and had only had it in my possession about 18 hours. He stared at it for about 30 seconds, silently, until I finally asked him if there was a problem.
He said he had to call somebody “in the back” to look at it. A nice young lady came up and took it from him and said she’d be back soon. I asked the cashier what the problem was, why I couldn’t just get a refund and be on my way as I was going to be late to an appointment with my auto mechanic, but he didn’t answer. I asked again and he said “a technician is going to fix it.”
Technician? I explained that I didn’t have time to wait for a repair, why couldn’t he just process my refund so I could leave? Their posted return policy states that you may return an item for a refund in its original packaging with a receipt for 7 days. I didn’t understand why this $7.00 lamp was an exception. He just said “it doesn’t work that way.” I told him I already replaced it and just wanted my refund. Again – silence. Finally he said, “Look, the policy says all returns are at the manager’s discretion.”
I called my husband to call the mechanic and tell them I was delayed. Finally, after about 10 minutes the nice young lady returned and said “Ming said to give her another one.” But at this point, I didn’t want another one. Clearly, this is an inferior product and I didn’t trust that the next one wouldn’t be defective or would break quickly. Again, why can’t I just simply get a $7.00 refund as their policy states?
At this point he called “to the back” and Ms. Yang appeared and asked me “what is the problem?” I explained that I wanted to return a defective light and didn’t understand why this process was so difficult. She gave me a disparaging look and said “you can’t leave lamp on 24 hours or battery die.”
This was odd, who said anything about leaving the light on 24 hours? I said, “I’m sorry, I guess I wasn’t clear. I bought this yesterday afternoon – about 18 hours ago – and it was broken when I took it out of the package. It was for my daughter to use at night at camp.”
She smirked and repeated “you can’t leave lamp on 24 hour or battery die.” Now I got it, she thought I was lying about this $7.00 lamp. She was insinuating that I was responsible for the defective item because, in her imagination, I left it on for 24 hours.
I asked her if she was accusing me of lying about this lamp, and she didn’t respond. Just stared at me. I asked her if it seemed logical that a customer would make a trek to her store to pull some kind of scam on her over a $7.00 lamp and she replied: “This LED light, not defective. Maybe bad battery.”
Okay, but why should I take home the broken lamp and replace the battery myself if it was dead when I bought it? I pointed to the posted return policy and asked her again to just issue my refund so I could go on my way, but she said “No refund because it not returned in perfect working condition.”
I started to feel like Alice down the rabbit hole: I was returning the lamp because it was defective but I couldn’t return it because it was defective. It would’ve been kind of funny, except for what happened next. She told me she had enough and I had to leave her store. I explained that I wanted to leave, I was late for an appointment, all I wanted was a simple refund. At that point she picked up the phone and said “I call police now, this private property and you trespassing.”
I quickly called my husband and explained the situation to him, then also called the police myself because I wanted a record of what was happening to me. Never in my 35+ years as a retail consumer have I had a store owner call the police because I was trying to return a defective item. I never raised my voice, never gestured wildly, never caused anything resembling a “scene.” I listened, flabbergasted, as she gave the police my description – as if I were a dangerous criminal: “Ya, she about 40, wearing chocolate colored top and blue jean . . .. brown sandal . . . average size . . . “
I walked toward the front of the store, near the doors, and waited for the police. Meanwhile, Ms. Yang and the cashier hunted for a screwdriver in a drawer under the register so she could fix the lamp, I guess to show the police it wasn’t really broken? Or to prove somehow that I broke it? Who knows, it was so insane at that point I couldn’t guess her rationale for getting so crazed over a simple $7.00 return.
I honestly feel sorry for their employees. I cannot imagine having to explain to customers that their (already stringent) return policy was actually nonexistent.
A young officer soon came in and I felt sorry for him, too. Even though I was shaken and upset, I kept thinking about the waste of his time and our taxpayer dollars. He asked what happened and I told him that I just wanted to return a broken lamp was refused a refund, and explained that I wouldn’t leave until I had my money back. Ms. Yang then told him I was causing a disturbance, yelling “Defective! Defective!” all over her store and refused to leave.
The officer was sympathetic, but explained to me that my case was a civil matter, but if Ms. Yang wanted me off her premises, and pressed the point, indeed he would have to arrest me for criminal trespassing. He said I could sue her for the $7.00 and suggested I just leave and “never shop here again.”