Your are a cruel, cruel man. : P
I am just curious what is LEGO store policy regard return and damage box. Do the store clerks get first dip at everything? I personally find that policy to be a bit unfair to customers but then again, that is a perk of working there. The reason I said this is because the one terrible experience I have at LEGO store, where one of the clerk accuse me of damaging a box and promptly take it to the back of the store and told me they don't sell damage merchandise here which make be think she just want to keep the set to get discount for herself. That said, it was the only time I have bad experience at LEGO store (though it did turn me off going there for a long while). All of the time I have gone to the store, it has been awesome experience, everyone there is kind and they often gave me freebie and always go out of their way to help. The last time I went even without purchase, the clerk hand me the flower cart freebie because they were out of stocks on so many set.
First and foremost that is really shitty that the clerk treated you that way. Not cool. I feel that at any customer service job even if you do suspect the customer damaged an item on purpose you should never say that to their face, just replace it with an U damaged item. The whole idea of customer service is to serve the customer to the best of your ability. I'm not insinuating you did but that was super unprofessional on her part and I'm sorry you were treated like that.
Now, with returns, it depends on several factors. If it's a new set, or in high demand, like Minecraff or Slave 1, those go back on the shelf immediately. Someone returned two Minecraft sets they got online a week after they came out in November, and I wanted them SO BAD for my birthday but my manager refused to let me and I had to wait until January 1st. (Boo hoo, I know, just giving an example.)
Another factor is the age of the set. Unless there's a Sale Bin on the floor to chuck it in, it just gets stuck in the back so that we don't have to make labels and shelf space for a single set that doesn't belong to a current theme, only to undo it once it sells.
Last, of course, is manager discretion. If someone brings back a Millennium Falcon, for example, if one of us wants it maybe we'll get it or maybe it'll go back on the floor to be sold for full price. That goes for all the points I just listed, though, we always have to ask before setting something aside for ourselves.
As for damaging out boxes? Sometimes on exclusives if it's a busted box, Lego offers extra VIP points depending on the cost of the set. Employees, though, are not allowed to get those extra points specifically because they don't want dispicible workers junking up boxes left and right to get extra credit. As for regular sets, like if we banged up the Green Lantern set, that would get maybe a 10% off sticker, but that discount doesn't stack with our employee discount so there's literally no benefit for us to do that.
Oh, speaking of Lego stores, I have a quick question:
So my unopened (by me at least) Pet Shop had very loose tape on the box that is so loose that the flap has opened by itself while sitting on top of my shelf. It was purchased from the store in this condition. I'm assuming this means it's been opened at one point. I plan to start building the set tomorrow, but should I be on the lookout for missing pieces/bags? Or do Lego stores tend to make sure that all the bags and everything are accounted for before selling sets that appear to have been opened?
I don't know about other stores, but I'm fairly sure it's company policy to never put opened sets back on the shelf unless they're clearly labeled as damaged. And even then, yes, we do make sure the set is complete before putting it on the floor. If it's missing parts, it's not meant to be sold, period. If you buy a NEW set and it's missing parts, of course Lego will replace them for free.
WordAssassin, it is not about the money. It is the principal.
YES. Exactly.
