What Really Grinds my Gears.

[PufferXtreme]

I have worked at an lfs, seen it all. I have been there for 4 months! I have tested for pH that read at the bottom of the chart and at the top, I have seen Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate at the tip of the scale. One customer wanted a refund on a tang and he had 100 ppm nitrate. Customers ask all the time which fish will clean my glass, which fish will eat the crap on the bottom so I don't have to clean it. Let's face it, the average fishkeeper shouldn't own pets, shouldn't have kids. These people want to keep fish in a tank and just throw food in when they feel like it, and that's about it. Just like keeping a dog in a closet and dumping food in there, then shutting the door.

Now you sound like a real LFS employee Ewurm. It's soul destroying sometimes
But the good customers more than make up for it!

 

[TheBloodyIrish]

One of the many reasons to come to Canada. I don't know about the States but in Canada stores reserve the right to refuse service to people.

Actually Canada doesn't reserve the COMPLETE right to refuse service. There is a clause. They can refuse service as long it is not for certain reasons. The U.S. is set up the same way.

The only different is the cultural aspect. Most Canadians don't wanna bother going to civil court over service refusal, while Americans are more likely to do so. So American companies are a little testy about service refusal.

I am surprised your boss allow you to refuse service too. Most of the ones I worked for are anal about it and would fire you outright for it.

 

[vexter]

Future-Shop has something they call their 'Values' In short the employee has a responsibility firstly to the customer, secondly to the employers (managers) and finally to the shareholders. When someone wants to 'rent' (That is buy a device use it for what they want then return it) means they aren't a customer. They also are causing the company to lose money because now they get all their money back and Future-Shop has to sell the device at a lower cost because it would be considered 'open-box'.
Also I am fairly positive that a company that is in the private sector in Canada usually they have a notice that says something along the lines of 'we have the right to refuse anyone service' I think they usually put it in nicer wording.
But you also mentioned -

..There is a clause. They can refuse service as long it is not for certain reasons.

So I can refuse service to just some guy for no certain reason but a drunk guy causing trouble in the store giving me certain reasons I can't?
I am fairly positive that in Canada companies that are not government owned (crown corporations) reserve their right to not sell goods or their services to whomever they choose.

edit:
I was just going through Future-Shops online store policy and it says under section 5 part c:

(c) reject, correct, cancel or terminate any order, including accepted orders for any reason

http://www.futureshop.ca/informationcentre/EN/useagreement.asp?logon=&langid=EN
I am sure the stores also have similar agreements.

 

[TheBloodyIrish]

So I can refuse service to just some guy for no certain reason but a drunk guy causing trouble in the store giving me certain reasons I can't?
I am fairly positive that in Canada companies that are not government owned (crown corporations) reserve their right to not sell goods or their services to whomever they choose.

A drunk guy causing trouble is technically breaking the law anyway. The thing I am saying praise Canada to be a business utopia. It is not, there are some laws that keep the businesses in their place.

One of which is:

Denial of good, service, facility or accommodation
5. It is a discriminatory practice in the provision of goods, services, facilities or accommodation customarily available to the general public
(a) to deny, or to deny access to, any such good, service, facility or accommodation to any individual, or
(b) to differentiate adversely in relation to any individual, on a prohibited ground of discrimination. [1976-77, c.33, s.5.]

Technically the woman in the first post, if the guy had refused to service him, she could take her to court saying it is his responsiblity to teach the costumers and that he is discriminating against her on the ground that he did not think she was emotionally-capable or some other crap. Sure the businesses may win the case, but they lose more money over the issue.

So it is not clearcut as you think. I know a guy who was running a small computer store, hardly even worth noticing, and he got shut down for that. he said that "... I refused to accomodate my costumer and educate her while refusing the sale of the product and some legal mumbo jumbo like that crap" or something like that.

Anyway most Canadians don't go through this process. They just bear it and leave, it is hardly worth fighting if they can just go down to another store with the same policy. Beside most of the returnees are the ones that are just "renting" and keeping their mouths shut. So if someone made that mistake in that store, they will just go down to another Future Shop or Best Buy (which owns Future Shop and have the same policy) and "do it right." So in the long run, it doesn't really matter. Most people don't take good care of the stuff they returned and they have to keep it anyway.

Americans on the other hand are more willing to fight against it. So it is more of a cultural aspect than legal, since they both have the same practice regarding product sales. The problem is that ignorant Americans are too willing to fight and don't pick their battles. Companies down there got so scared of refusing service becuase of the messed up legal system. That is what happened to the specialist. His manager probably got a policy against refusal of service.

 

[TheBloodyIrish]

Damn... I ran out of edit time. Forgot to add in this bit:

You were right to refuse service to "renters" and escort a drunk guy out of the store. To say that to refuse service for no reason is not.

I find the returnee generating loss for the company is a complete bunk though. I know a couple of the local managers for Future Shop and Best Buy in Edmonton and their source of revenue is letting people be stupid and destroy the goods they sold, when the costumer return they can't accept it. About 95% of the returnees end up having to pay for the whole thing anyway.