5 day refund policy at local NAPA

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I wish Home Depot would tighten their return policy. We take back all sorts of [censored] that we shouldn't. Stuff that people have tossed into their workshop and fogotten for 6 months and long since misplaced the receipt, dead plants (which I think is total B.S.), and mowers and trimmers that they're too inept to make run correctly. We took back a Troybilt lawnmower that hadn't even cut a blade of grass yet, because the purchaser couldn't get it to start. Just out of curiosity, I pulled the dipstick to see if they had installed the included bottle of oil. Oh yes, they did...and then some. It was full all the way to the top of the dipstick tube. I had a guy come in tuesday that wanted to return a trimmer that he'd been using for a year, claming that it had been hard to start and nearly impossible to keep running since it was new. Um...pardon the stupid question, but why struggle with something for a YEAR before bringing it back? The real story was probably more like it had just started acting up that week and he felt he deserved a new one. There's no telling what he'd done to it.

I imagine the reason NAPA did this is because of the useless [censored] people are bringing back for a refund. Destroyed packaging, dusty, dirty and basically unsellable items that will have to be written off was probably costing them millions a year. The line has to be drawn somewhere, and with the economy driving people to return anything they can get their hands on, something had to give. I have no problem with it, because it only takes me a few minutes to determine if what I purchased is correct and can be used for the purpose for which I bought it. If it's wrong, or defective, I don't throw it on a shelf and wait 5 days to do something with it. Perhaps policies like this will teach people how expensive it can be to procrastinate.
 
Originally Posted By: MNgopher
Not the nicest of return policies, that much I agree with. Being mad they won't take them back outside of their policy is your problem.


I see the problem as the short duration of the return policy & a 25% restocking fee when there is no real cost involved from my view point. Is the restocking fee applicable 5 minutes after purchase or only after the 5 days? I assume 5 minutes after the purchase. If so, unfortunately, I won't be going back either. I guess it is Carquest from now on. What caused this to be implemented? What happened behind the scenes?
 
This was the first time I had been to this particular NAPA store and only went there because I saw some inexpensive prices on the net. However they did not have much of what was on the net. In reality their computer should have known my car came with semi metallic pads and you should only then use semi metallic pads or above.

They do have a small refund sign near the ceiling, but I did not see it when I went in.

I assumed the normal 30 day return policy.
 
Originally Posted By: ksJoe
I bought some brake pads at Orielly's before I needed them, then figured out they were the wrong size. They sat around in our shed for maybe 6-8 years. Then we moved. I was going to throw them away, but I noticed they had a sticker that said they had a core charge....

I didn't feel right asking for a refund, but figured I might as well get the core charge back. So I walked into the Orielly's by our new house, and asked if there was a time limit on turning brake pads in for the core charge. The guy looked at me funny and said they haven't had a core charge on brake pads in years. He looked at them and said "uhhh these look new". So I told him what happened... He looked up when I bought them in the computer and gave me a full refund.

In that case, O'Reilly is impressive for keeping records and taking returns.

The store manage at a nearby Advance Auto Parts told me they only keep records for two years, so if I want to keep a lifetime warranty I'd better keep the receipt. Of course, the receipt is printed with a thermal printer, and fades over time - if you leave it in the sun it will fade in days.

O'Reilly near me prints receipts on regular paper forms with dot matrix printers, these shouldn't fade like the thermal printer receipts.
 
Hootbro you got it right...If you dont like the policy shop a different place....Remember a store does not by law have to offer at policy for refunds at all...
 
Originally Posted By: benjamming

I see the problem as the short duration of the return policy & a 25% restocking fee when there is no real cost involved from my view point. ..................


First of all, in the OP's statement, he screwed up by not wanting the parts "he" requested. NAPA did not give him the wrong part.

Second, NAPA expended labor cost to supply him that part and then expended labor cost taking that part back in. Now since NAPA has lost the cost of the original sale to no fault of their own, they have to recover some cost and that is why a "restocking fee" is necessary.

Also, when the OP originally purchased the pads, an automatic resupply order is sent to a distribution center and they now have a replacement set arriving for inventory stocking. Now with the OP's return they are carrying extra stock. In the business world, extra inventory can be costly depending on the time of year when the business is taxed on inventory on hand. While one set a brake pads might not be much, you have to quantify it many times over with all the other "I changed my mind" customers. It adds up. So while it may "seem" like a inconsequential cost to the returning purchaser, it is not to the selling business.
 
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I see both sides of the argument. In the case of the OP, I feel Napa did nothing wrong. Since he ended up buying the part somewhere else, I am especially displeased....he should have at least given napa the courtesy of trying to sell him semi-metallics. He might have even avoided the restocking fee had he pruchased the alternative pads there...


Now I will say that customer satisfaction can mean a lot. In the case of item returns, keeping the customer satisfied might cost you some money on occasion, but it will also spur return business. Take Costco for example...they will take back almost any item for any reason. That said, the check out lines are always much much longer than the return lines, and for every [censored] return someone makes, there will be at least 3 legitimate ones. Sometimes its necessary to deal with the [censored] to make your legit customers happy, as at the end of the day they pay your bills.

In this regard, I feel Napa failed...as this guy most likely won't be back there, and a couple people reading this thread might avoid them as well. Had they just taken the return (we are talking $30 here), this all could have been avoided.
I personally avoid Napa as I feel their peripheral services are lacking (warranty, price matching, ease of checkout, etc). Napa is good if you need a hard to find part, other than that I'll pass.
 
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Of course NAPA did nothing wrong, the sign was posted. However, I disagree with the sign. I wonder if this is true for all NAPA stores though.

Hootbro,

You sound like a bean counter. You can't analyze everything to the last fraction of a cent & miss how much it costs to get new customers & keep old customers. I do understand that returns cost money & this should be (is) figured into the price of parts - bean counters are happy. This is where it pays to have knowledgable counter sales folks which is more often than not overlooked IMHO. Part of their job is to reduce returns for silly reasons as above.
 
Napa and Carquest do not want to deal with consumers! They want to sell parts to shops and view retail customers as a nusiance.
 
Originally Posted By: benjamming


Hootbro,

You sound like a bean counter. You can't analyze everything to the last fraction of a cent & miss how much it costs to get new customers & keep old customers. I do understand that returns cost money & this should be (is) figured into the price of parts - bean counters are happy. This is where it pays to have knowledgable counter sales folks which is more often than not overlooked IMHO. Part of their job is to reduce returns for silly reasons as above.


Whatever, not my problem people that never have run a business want to stay ignorant of how they are run and what is needed to stay profitable.

NAPA is a single "niche" business in that they deal in auto repair parts. People here want to cite other big business's like Costco, Home Depot and Wal-Mart for them having a "liberal" return policy. That is apples and oranges as their cost are spread out over many other products with different profit margins that allow the occasional buyer screw up or buyer remorse.
 
Hootbro,

I agree that comparing big box stores is not a real accurate comparison. However, the rest of the auto parts stores have more than a 5-day return policy w/o a restocking fee. This includes AutoZone, Advance Auto Parts, O'Reilly, Carquest, & Federated. I guess they are all ignorant & should follow Napa. Napa has not required this silly return & restocking charge for many decades now - what changed to require it now? Of course, this all assumes the above policies are true at most of the NAPA stores which I haven't verified.
 
Originally Posted By: benjamming
Hootbro,

I agree that comparing big box stores is not a real accurate comparison. However, the rest of the auto parts stores have more than a 5-day return policy w/o a restocking fee. This includes AutoZone, Advance Auto Parts, O'Reilly, Carquest, & Federated. I guess they are all ignorant & should follow Napa. Napa has not required this silly return & restocking charge for many decades now - what changed to require it now? Of course, this all assumes the above policies are true at most of the NAPA stores which I haven't verified.


Another point missed in this discussion was if the NAPA store in question was a corporate or franchised store? If the later, then return policies could be unique to that store. Not up on NAPA's franchise agreements, so I do not know if a franchise store has to follow the same policy as a corporate owned store in regards to returns.
 
Originally Posted By: dishdude
Napa and Carquest do not want to deal with consumers! They want to sell parts to shops and view retail customers as a nusiance.


To lump all Napa's and Carquest's into this statement is flat out not true. Are there some that this is the case and they operate on bankers (or auto mechanics :)) hours? Sure. For every one of those you point to, I'll point you to the Napas and some carquests that run evening hours till 8 or 9 and extended weekend hours to get the retail customers.
 
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Originally Posted By: Hootbro
Originally Posted By: benjamming
Hootbro,

I agree that comparing big box stores is not a real accurate comparison. However, the rest of the auto parts stores have more than a 5-day return policy w/o a restocking fee. This includes AutoZone, Advance Auto Parts, O'Reilly, Carquest, & Federated. I guess they are all ignorant & should follow Napa. Napa has not required this silly return & restocking charge for many decades now - what changed to require it now? Of course, this all assumes the above policies are true at most of the NAPA stores which I haven't verified.


Another point missed in this discussion was if the NAPA store in question was a corporate or franchised store? If the later, then return policies could be unique to that store. Not up on NAPA's franchise agreements, so I do not know if a franchise store has to follow the same policy as a corporate owned store in regards to returns.


In the case of the local Napa's, I can vouch for the fact that the return period is not 5 days - usually it is 30 days. Not surprised if it varies by store though - the 4 closest Napa's to me are all owned by different franchises (and their pricing is different too!)
 
I'm all for a tight return policy- you bought it, you keep it. I'm not a bean counter. I just don't like having to suffer higher prices or longer waits in line because some people think a store should be a library or a pawn shop. If they didn't want it, they shouldn't have bought it.

(Think about it- how many people are at these stores whose only job it is to stand at the return counter and give people their money back. Their pay doesn't come from nowhere, and it doesn't come from the clowns waiting in that line- they got their money back! It comes from the rest of us slobs who stupidly only buy stuff we want.)

(Obviously, not for warranty kinds of things- if something is broken, the customer should have plenty of time to bring it back.)
 
swalve,

I agree that people take advantage of liberal return policies. However, a 5-day return policy is just stupid. I'll buy stuff planning on working on it that next weekend but it winds up being the following weekend. If they want to implement a restocking fee as well when the competition sells the part for less even with a liberal return policy, they are going to hurt.

I've never been to an auto parts store where a clerk's sole job is to handle returns. Remember, we aren't talking big box stores - Wal-Mart, etc.
 
Autozone is 90days with receipt, without you get a store credit, if you're really nice the counterperson will override and let you get cash back.
 
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