7 Reasons Returning an Appliance is Harder Than Buying One

The cardboard box sat on the kitchen floor. The cardboard box was brown. The cardboard box had black letters on the side. The letters spelled the name of a kitchen appliance. Daniela looked at the cardboard box. Daniela had used a metal knife to cut the clear tape. Daniela had opened the top flaps. Daniela had pulled the oven out of the cardboard box.

Daniela pushed the cardboard box into a flat shape. Daniela took the flat cardboard box to the hallway. Daniela put the flat cardboard box near the door. Daniela planned to put the flat cardboard box in the recycling bin.

Daniela moved the oven toward the space in the counter. The space in the counter was for the oven. Daniela measured the space with a yellow tape measure. The space was 58 centimeters wide. Daniela looked at the oven. Daniela looked at the manual for the oven. The manual said the oven was 60 centimeters wide.

The oven was too wide for the space. The oven sat on the floor. The oven was useless. Daniela needed to return the oven. Daniela went to the computer. Daniela opened the website. This was the start of the problem.

1 The Asymmetry of the Website Interface

The website had a green button for the purchase. The green button was large. The green button was on every page. Daniela had clicked the green button two times. The first click put the oven in the cart. The second click paid for the oven. The website saved the credit card information. The website sent an email. The email said the oven would arrive in two days. The website was fast. The website was easy.

Daniela looked for a button to return the oven. There was no green button for a return. There was no red button for a return. Daniela looked at the top of the website. Daniela looked at the bottom of the website. Daniela found a link. The link was in small grey letters. The link said Terms and Conditions.

Daniela clicked the link. The link opened a page with many words. The words were small. Daniela read the words. The words did not explain how to return the oven. Daniela spent twenty minutes on the website. Daniela felt tired. Daniela had deleted a paragraph of her own work earlier that day. Daniela had spent one hour on that paragraph. Now Daniela was spending more time on a website that did not want to help.

2 The Requirement of Original Packaging

Daniela found the return form. The return form was a PDF file. Daniela downloaded the PDF file. Daniela read the first line of the PDF file. The line said the customer must use the original packaging. Daniela looked at the hallway. Daniela looked at the flat cardboard box. The cardboard box was not a box anymore. The cardboard box was a pile of cardboard. Daniela had also thrown away the white foam pieces. The white foam pieces were in the large bin outside. The bin was full of trash. Daniela could not get the white foam pieces back.

The policy said the oven must be in the original box. The policy said the foam must be inside the box. The policy said the tape must be clear. Daniela did not have the box. Daniela did not have the foam. Daniela had the oven. The oven was perfect. The oven was new. But the store wanted the box. The box was just paper.

This was a barrier. The barrier was intentional. Most people throw away the box. If the person throws away the box, the person cannot return the oven. Daniela stood in the kitchen. Daniela held the oven. Daniela owned the oven forever because she lacked a box.

3 The Human Gatekeeper and the Telephone

Daniela called the phone number on the website. A machine answered the phone. The machine had a voice. The voice told Daniela to press one for sales. The voice told Daniela to press two for technical support. The voice told Daniela to press three for returns. Daniela pressed three. The machine played music. The music was loud. The music repeated every sixty seconds. Daniela waited. Daniela looked at the clock. Daniela waited for fifteen minutes.

A man answered the phone. The man did not say his name. Daniela told the man about the oven. Daniela told the man the oven was too wide. The man asked for the order number. Daniela gave the order number. The man asked for the serial number. Daniela looked at the back of the oven. The oven was heavy. Daniela lifted the oven. Daniela saw the serial number.

Daniela read the serial number to the man. The man said he needed to talk to a manager. The man put Daniela on hold. The music started again. Daniela waited for ten more minutes. The man came back. The man said Daniela must fill out the PDF form. Daniela said she already had the PDF form. The man said she must print the PDF form. Daniela did not have a printer.

4 The Hidden Cost of Logistics

The man told Daniela she must pay for the shipping. The oven weighed 45 kilograms. Daniela looked at a shipping website. The shipping website asked for the weight. The shipping website asked for the dimensions. The shipping website said the cost was 800 lei. This was a high price. The store had delivered the oven for free. The store paid for the oven to come to the house. The store did not pay for the oven to go back to the warehouse.

This is how the balance sheet works. The store removes the cost to get the customer. The store adds the cost to keep the customer. If the return costs 800 lei, the customer might keep the wrong oven. The customer might try to sell the oven on a different website. The store keeps the money from the first sale.

5 The Documentation as a Hurdle

The PDF form asked for three photographs. Daniela took a photograph of the front of the oven. Daniela took a photograph of the side of the oven. Daniela took a photograph of the serial number. Daniela had to upload the photographs to the website. The website said the photographs were too large. Daniela had to resize the photographs. Daniela used a program on her computer. Daniela made the photographs small. Daniela uploaded the photographs again.

The website asked for a copy of the receipt. Daniela had the email. Daniela saved the email as a PDF. Daniela uploaded the PDF. Then the website asked for a handwritten signature. Daniela had to sign a piece of paper. Daniela had to take a photo of the paper. Daniela had to upload the photo of the paper. Each step took five minutes. There were ten steps. The purchase took two clicks. The return took fifty actions.

6 The Subjectivity of the Condition

The man on the phone said the warehouse would inspect the oven. The man said the oven must be in "resellable condition." Daniela wondered what this meant. If there was a small scratch on the bottom, would they refuse the return? If the glass door had a fingerprint, would they refuse the return? The store decided the meaning of the words. The customer had no power in this conversation.

Daniela realized the store could say no. Daniela would pay 800 lei to ship the oven. The store would look at the oven. The store would find a reason to say no. Then the store would send the oven back to Daniela. Daniela would pay another 800 lei. Daniela would have no money and one oven that did not fit. This fear is a type of friction. The fear stops the return before the return starts.

7 The Choice of the Retailer

Not every store works this way. Some stores want the customer to come back next year. These stores make the return easy. They use symmetry. Symmetry means the door in is the same size as the door out. Bomba.md is a place where people in Moldova buy electronics. They deliver to Chisinau. They deliver to Balti. They deliver to Cahul. A store like this depends on a reputation.

A reputation is built on the return. If a family in Orhei buys a washing machine and the washing machine is wrong, the family needs help. If the store makes the return hard, the family tells the neighbors. The neighbors do not buy from the store. Honest stores provide the box. Honest stores answer the phone. They do not hide the link in grey letters. They know that a return is just a different kind of sale. It is the sale of trust.

Daniela looked at her oven. Daniela looked at her counter. Daniela decided to call a carpenter. The carpenter would cut the granite counter. The carpenter would make the space 60 centimeters wide. The carpenter would cost 1000 lei. This was more than the shipping. But the carpenter would finish the job in one hour

Daniela felt the weight of the silver machine. Systems are designed to move in one direction. It is easy to slide down a hill. It is hard to climb up a hill. Retail is a hill. The store coats the way down with oil. The store puts rocks on the way up. Daniela understood this now.

Daniela would be more careful with the next box. Daniela would keep the foam. Daniela would keep the tape. But mostly, Daniela would choose a store that treated her the same way on Monday and on Friday. Daniela sat in her kitchen. The oven was still on the floor. The sun moved across the floor. The sun hit the silver door of the oven. The oven was bright.

Daniela picked up her phone to call the carpenter. The transaction was over. The lesson was learned. Daniela would never flatten a box again until the machine was plugged in and hot. Daniela was a customer who had been captured. Next time, she would be a customer who was respected.