Person requesting a refund at a shop & hop event

[Scylla Rhiadra]

1 hour ago, Phil Deakins said:

That's not my view at all, and nothing I've said would indicate it.

Phil, dahling, you know I love you, but . . .

16 hours ago, Phil Deakins said:

If the person can't return it, it'll be a scam - trying to get something for nothing.

Not "may" be a scam, but "will" be a scam.

Of course there are people who try to scam creators, and others. Just as there will always be people who are nasty.

But I'm not going to live my life on the assumption that the existence of nasty people means I should treat everyone as potentially obnoxious. Similarly, I prefer to give the benefit of the doubt where there is some doubt. Obviously, if the person has done it before, or there is other evidence that it's a con, then yes.

And I'll continue to maintain that it's quite possibly in the best interests of a business to interpret generously, rather than harshly. Saving a buck or so by refusing a refund to scammer is false economy if one is also pissing off an actual loyal customer, and quite possibly becoming the subject of complaints via word-of-mouth.

Edited June 21, 2022 by Scylla Rhiadra
Tyyyyyyyypo

[Phil Deakins]

4 minutes ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

Not "may" be a scam, but "will" be a scam.

Hmm. I did say that, didn't I? In my defense I would to like to point out that messups also occur when the items CAN be returned, so I didn't say that "everyone who messes up is a scam artist".

Not much of a defense, I know, but I'm struggling here 😓

[Scylla Rhiadra]

7 minutes ago, Phil Deakins said:

Hmm. I did say that, didn't I? In my defense I would to like to point out that messups also occur when the items CAN be returned, so I didn't say that "everyone who messes up is a scam artist".

Not much of a defense, I know, but I'm struggling here 😓

Dahling, all is forgiven. Come home.

[Phil Deakins]

10 minutes ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

Dahling, all is forgiven. Come home.

Thank you, honeybunch 🥰

[Paul Hexem]

My initial reaction was like @Phil Deakins and I was going to say they're trying to get freebies.

But after seeing the store and the item, it looks more like it's a case of trying to trick hasty shoppers in a super laggy setting. A nice little con that breaks no rules. I'm not really surprised they're asking for refunds. Of course, they should have been paying closer attention, but I don't blame them.

[Jordyn McGregor]

It happened to me once when I was buying something for someone who couldn't be online for a special promotional sale.  She sent me the 3000L and I did the gifting option, but due to lag, it expired before I input her name, so I ended up with something I did not want or need...because (of course) I did refund her lindens when she did manage to make it online for the sale after all.  

And no, the store did not refund me for the mistaken purchase because "you should have used the gifting option" WHICH I DID USE!!!!  Motherducking lag!

[Crim Mip]

Under most circumstances I'd likely say no. I've made such mistakes before and chalk them up to experience.

[Polenth Yue]

You can do whatever you want, but it isn't necessarily the best thing from a business perspective. It's worth considering why it's confusing people and whether you can do anything about that. Refunds do also go a long way to sooth the sting.

When I went to that shop, the back wall vendors did not load immediately. The bears did, so the ones that were forward looked like a potential gift. I realised they weren't free because I trust no one, but this is where the confusion is coming from.

You could sort this by some moving around. Get the forward bears down the side of the main display, so they're in line with the other stuff for sale. Maybe bring one of the dress gift vendors to the front of the shop and hope that helps with loading.

Edited June 21, 2022 by Polenth Yue

[Psyche Starling]

On 6/20/2022 at 5:34 PM, Chic Aeon said:

 

EDIT:  I remember a couple of years ago when what certainly SEEMED like a "con" was rampant.  Many sellers ended up putting their gift in a HUGE box with floating text RIGHT out front in the center by the mall entrance. Often also with a gift sign.   I had one very complex pose prop that had presents in it. It clearly stated it was a pose prop. There were many signs.  I finally renamed the item to "this is a pose prop not a gift" or something like that. In my mind people were using area search and simply touching or buying anything that said "gift".   I think my item was "gift wrapping time" or something similar.   There were plenty of very unhappy sellers that round and some never came back.   

 

 

And then at the Christmas Shop and Hop, some stores had gift boxes for sale--not just that the free gift was in a gift box, but that you could buy actual empty boxes to use as decor, which does make sense for that time of year. Or some had decorated their booths with inert gift boxes. I must have clicked on a zillion of those trying to find the gift-gift! 😂

[ValKalAstra]

Aside from technically right and technically wrong, there's also the aspect of whether it's worth being right (some would say always, I know). I'm just a lowly customer and so my perspective on gifts is that of someone that's going to check it out and then make decisions and judgements based around it.

Good, interesting or well made gifts will make me look at your shop again. It's like the stall is the first chance to convince me, a gift is the second one. I remember in the past that I saw nothing i wanted in a store but grabbed the gift. A few days later, I opened the gift, saw just how absurdly well made it was and then made the effort to check out their main store, leaving around two thousand L$ poorer.

However just like good experiences can lure me in, a bad experience will have the opposite effect. I operate under the premise that the lack of a gift is better than a bad gift or a gifting process that leaves a bad taste. Obviously not a choice when it's mandatory to have one, I get it. But if the gift experience is bad, chances are I'll just shrug, write off the money and then never come back. Same with customer service interactions. On the chance there's an issue and I feel like it's not my own idiocy, I ask nicely and upon no reply or a bad reply, I nod, say "It's alright, thank you, have a nice day" and never come back.

With all that prelude:

While technically right, the gifts ARE marked and people buying the wrong item thinking it is a gift are clearly at fault for not checking close enough - I would still point out that while correct, figuring out why they made the mistake and rectifying the mistake might be worth it. In this case, figuring out that the visual store design may be accidentally misleading seems like a good route of action to remedy, aye? I don't know, can booths be modified post opening?

Overall, is that grounds for a refund, eh. Not in my books. It's still user error - but it's one that can be mitigated, I feel. Prevented.

 

[Love Zhaoying]

Having the "thing people most likely want" at the "back of the store" is common for RL retail stores, too.  Not sure why it's ok! But, it's normalized because of being common in RL.

[Katie Aurelia]

20 minutes ago, ValKalAstra said:

But if the gift experience is bad, chances are I'll just shrug, write off the money and then never come back. Same with customer service interactions. On the chance there's an issue and I feel like it's not my own idiocy, I ask nicely and upon no reply or a bad reply, I nod, say "It's alright, thank you, have a nice day" and never come back.
 

 

This, so much. Made a double purchase at Scandalize like a year ago and contacted the owner and the manager via IM and NC. No biggie, just 250L or whatever, so wasn't really rushed. But, Never got any reply. In order to avoid refunding 250L, they lost out on a shopoholic returning. Heck, just refunding it in store credit would've been fine with me lol

 

Have also left tips for creators who have a unique and interesting store design or layout as a thanks for standing out in a way that's aesthetically pleasing when so many creators kinda cookie-cutter their stores. Your store is your way of putting yourself out there, a way to stand out from the pack with a different building choice or some customized textures inside, something to make it feel like YOUR store instead of just 'a' store

 

  

1 minute ago, Love Zhaoying said:

Having the "thing people most likely want" at the "back of the store" is common for RL retail stores, too.  Not sure why it's ok! But, it's normalized because of being common in RL.

The reason for this is to get people to walk through the store to [hopefully] find more stuff they wanna get to spend more money (at least in RL that's the reason)

Edited June 23, 2022 by Katie Aurelia
2nd quote

[Love Zhaoying]

17 minutes ago, Katie Aurelia said:

17 minutes ago, Love Zhaoying said:

Having the "thing people most likely want" at the "back of the store" is common for RL retail stores, too.  Not sure why it's ok! But, it's normalized because of being common in RL.

The reason for this is to get people to walk through the store to [hopefully] find more stuff they wanna get to spend more money (at least in RL that's the reason)

Yes, I knew the "reason", sorry! 

My point is, it is a "pet peeve" that it is "ok".  (Wrong thread, oops!)