Leslie M.
Poor return policy with loyalty program
Purchased some shoes recently and "earned" a $10 coupon. This is a targeted loyalty program designed to drive repeat business and get the customer back in the store. Well, it worked, as I went back in to use this and purchased some shoes for my grandson. I thought they would work but could not be certain since he was not with me. I did use the $10 on the purchase. Much to my dismay, upon the return, Shoe Carnival would not reinstate the $10 certificate while refunding the sale. When questioned about this, the reply(hiding around small print) was that it was not my money and basically you just lose it, or if you buy something else at the time, you can still have that $10. Since I did not need to use it at this time, then I asked to have the points put back in my Shoe Carnival account. But alas, the customer just got screwed out of $10 since they say policy forbids this. There is no way, according to customer service to reinstate the points. What a crummy and cheap way to treat your customers. This is a lousy $10, but the principle is still poignant. If you want to reap return patronage through offering a loyalty incentive, then an organization cannot "take back" the incentive if a product is returned. How hard is it to reinstate points? Obviously, i will not be shopping Shoe Carnival in the future. This is a pitiful example of quality customer service.