Service & Engagement Can I speak to a manager?: A front end thread

[gsa4lyfe]

Having an issue with a newer GS TM lately. I am at a highest AP threat level store, and we get a ton of return scammers. This newsish TM has taken ur upon themselves to deny a guest a cash refund for a return unless the original payment method was in cash. No cash refund for debit cards. When a guest doesn’t have their card with them or asks if they can have cash, the TM tells them no, you can either get it back on the card or get a gift card, even if the cash option is staring them in the face. We were not instructed by AP to do this, I give cash refunds on a daily basis. Tried talking to my GSTL, but nothing has happened. Anyone else had a guest service TM who was overly paranoid or did stuff like this?

If I suspect something is a scam then I’ll be more crafty about it and try not to give the person cash. It’s not like we are running out of cash, either, I’ve literally never had to request bills at guest service

This is what we do at my store because what if that person picked the receipt off the ground? If they don’t have the debit card on them they get a gift card. Only exception I make is if the amount is $20 or less which is just a personal number. Targets policy is tender for tender. You get back what you paid

 

[Frontlanegirl]

Having an issue with a newer GS TM lately. I am at a highest AP threat level store, and we get a ton of return scammers. This newsish TM has taken ur upon themselves to deny a guest a cash refund for a return unless the original payment method was in cash. No cash refund for debit cards. When a guest doesn’t have their card with them or asks if they can have cash, the TM tells them no, you can either get it back on the card or get a gift card, even if the cash option is staring them in the face. We were not instructed by AP to do this, I give cash refunds on a daily basis. Tried talking to my GSTL, but nothing has happened. Anyone else had a guest service TM who was overly paranoid or did stuff like this?

If I suspect something is a scam then I’ll be more crafty about it and try not to give the person cash. It’s not like we are running out of cash, either, I’ve literally never had to request bills at guest service

Best practice is to refund the guest the way they paid. That being said, I will give cash if it is below a certain dollar amount, usually below $30. If they want cash back for a higher amount then I need to see that they have the card.

 

[Dog]

This is what we do at my store because what if that person picked the receipt off the ground? If they don’t have the debit card on them they get a gift card. Only exception I make is if the amount is $20 or less which is just a personal number. Targets policy is tender for tender. You get back what you paid

I attempted to do this at the beginning of my service desk days but was actually spoken to by a GSA because of it because we are still a “yes desk.” Many people pitched a fit that I wasn’t offering them cash back, saying oh I don’t have my wallet with me or this is my husband’s card etc. this isn’t fair I paid for this I don’t deserve to be treated like a scammer etc. and asked to speak to a manager so many times that they just said no more, give people cash back if that’s what they want. I want to reduce the amount of return scams that we have but I just wish leadership would back me up on it and I wish other service desk team members would have some consistency. We have already set a precedent that people can get cash back whenever they want so I guess we just need to “re-train” the guests if possible?? Idk! I really appreciate all of your input though, need to have a conversation with my GSTL

 

[GoodyNN]

My store requires US govt issued ID for order pick-up and for all age-restricted purchases. No Canadian, Mexican, consular, etc. Must be a state ID, drivers license or US passport.

We hold items until the close of the next business day, except for the Christmas holiday. Then there are no holds for anyone or any length of time. Except for those couple TLs who think they're above policies....

This is interesting.

Interesting good? Interesting bad?

 

[Tessa120]

@GoodyNN Why so restrictive? Tourists do travel to the US and may want to simply pick up needed stuff instead of wasting vacation hours on shopping.

I have a friend on military overseas tour, Canadian military, assigned to Florida for 4 years, they needed furniture for their residence on the day of arrival and shipping their old furniture was too much weight. Legally, between the passports and the military IDs they don't need US identification documents.

Seems pretty crazy that the list of IDs allowed is more restrictive than the list of IDs accepted by notary publics for legal purposes.

 

[GoodyNN]

Tourists would likely have a passport, which we do accept.

 

[Tessa120]

My store requires US govt issued ID for order pick-up and for all age-restricted purchases. No Canadian, Mexican, consular, etc. Must be a state ID, drivers license or US passport.

Tourists would likely have a passport, which we do accept.

Your first post, you said no Mexican or Canadian identification documents, that passports must be US passports. Your own words exclude non-US passports. So....why so restrictive with foreign IDs?

 

[Amanda Cantwell]

Having an issue with a newer GS TM lately. I am at a highest AP threat level store, and we get a ton of return scammers. This newsish TM has taken ur upon themselves to deny a guest a cash refund for a return unless the original payment method was in cash. No cash refund for debit cards. When a guest doesn’t have their card with them or asks if they can have cash, the TM tells them no, you can either get it back on the card or get a gift card, even if the cash option is staring them in the face. We were not instructed by AP to do this, I give cash refunds on a daily basis. Tried talking to my GSTL, but nothing has happened. Anyone else had a guest service TM who was overly paranoid or did stuff like this?

If I suspect something is a scam then I’ll be more crafty about it and try not to give the person cash. It’s not like we are running out of cash, either, I’ve literally never had to request bills at guest service

So as I said in another thread I do not present cash as an option for debit refunds. I only give it if they specifically ask. If they are denying a cash refund on a debit purchase when asked to provide cash, that’s an issue. If GSTL doesnt do anything go to ETLGE

 

[OneArmedJesus]

Your first post, you said no Mexican or Canadian identification documents, that passports must be US passports. Your own words exclude non-US passports. So....why so restrictive with foreign IDs?

They said no Mexican or Canadian ID but didnt say Mexican or Canadian Passport, which is different than a Government issued ID

Some stores are like that. A lot of Grocery stores in my area dont accept anything outside of the us. It's harder to prove if it's a legitimate id

 

[OneArmedJesus]

Also it's super asants

 

[Tessa120]

I'm probably getting nitpicky, but the law calls a passport an ID. It is a form of identification, and "ID" is short for "identification". Lists of acceptable forms of IDs for legal purposes lists passports as an acceptable ID, not separate from acceptable IDs.

So, does the store accept foreign IDs in the form of passports, or are the acceptable IDs US issued, including passports being US issued? Huge difference between the two.

 

[OneArmedJesus]

A Mexican or Canadian passport could go through and possibly be used as id

But a Mexican or Canadian issued id (not a passport) wont likely go through. It's easier to deny them bc a lot of people arent trained to spot a real foreign Id.

Again asants. Things are different everywhere and I'm going by a few years of Cashier experience

 

[REDcardJJ]

Our return policy is changing soon.

-All mobile phones must be returned or exchanged within 14 days.
-All Apple products, excluding phones, must be returned within 15 days.
-Personalized items and digital downloads cannot be returned.
-Specialty prepaid and giftcards (restaurant, entertainment, lottery, etc) cannot be returned.

 

[GoodyNN]

Tessa is right, I did originally say US passport. I don't know if I mis-spoke or if the store policy changed. We accept all passports regardless of country of origin. We do not officially accept foreign drivers licenses, though I've been known to just type in the birthdate shown if I'm given one rather than raise a fuss.

As for why so restrictive? I have absolutely no idea. Maybe because nobody can be bothered to teach anyone how to spot a fake ID regardless of the presumed issuing body? It seems like when my store is super restrictive about something, it's because there's been a bunch of fraud. We just finally in the last couple weeks were given the all-clear to accept Enfamil rebate checks again, although I'm sure all of those sales are now going to other stores anyway.

 

[Leo47]

Our return policy is changing soon.

-All mobile phones must be returned or exchanged within 14 days.
-All Apple products, excluding phones, must be returned within 15 days.
-Personalized items and digital downloads cannot be returned.
-Specialty prepaid and giftcards (restaurant, entertainment, lottery, etc) cannot be returned.

Omg you know how many people return like iTunes gift cards because they genuinely don’t work this is gonna be a nightmare

 

[Tessa120]

I can see why with foreign driver's licenses. Canada licenses are so like US licenses that you have to look twice to realize it isn't some other state. But the birth date and expiration date is confusing for people in the US who aren't used to Canada's date format, and explaining that over and over and over to every new GS TM....that wouldn't be a headache, that'd be a migraine. I've never seen a Mexico driver's license, but I have seen licenses from a few of the Caribbean island nations, the ones I've seen weren't designed in a way that would make faking them difficult. I saw one from Great Britain, it was a big sheet of green paper with all sorts of text and (most important) no picture.

 

[Anelmi]

Like @Amanda Cantwell said, I never even give them the option for cash on a debit card return. It's debit card or gift card, their choice. If they push, I'll give cash for $20 or less. Anything higher, show me your debit card. I tell them it's for their protection (because...truth, it is).

 

[REDcardJJ]

you guys really should not be refusing to give cash back to guests who use their debit card. all you're doing is inconveniencing guests. there's no policy that says they need to show you their debit card, and that is totally against our policy of assuming good intentions on the guest's part.

me: "alright your total is 126.62, would you like that back on the debit card ending in 1234 or back in cash today?"

if they don't have their debit card with them, i'm not going to make them take a GiftCard when they obviously have their receipt. that's silly. debit cards also take several days to credit money back into the account, and some people simply just don't have that kind of time. i've been there.

 

[Tessa120]

you guys really should not be refusing to give cash back to guests who use their debit card. all you're doing is inconveniencing guests. there's no policy that says they need to show you their debit card, and that is totally against our policy of assuming good intentions on the guest's part.

me: "alright your total is 126.62, would you like that back on the debit card ending in 1234 or back in cash today?"

if they don't have their debit card with them, i'm not going to make them take a GiftCard when they obviously have their receipt. that's silly. debit cards also take several days to credit money back into the account, and some people simply just don't have that kind of time. i've been there.

Yes, you are right, it takes 3 business days, and money may be needed sooner.

However a return with a receipt with the purchase made via debit card and there being no debit card present is an opening to all kinds of fraud, and not all of it is defrauding Target. The real guest who made the original purchase could suffer financial consequences if the person with the receipt getting cash is lying about being the purchaser. That last possibility, the protection of our guests, should be reason enough to verify the debit card. How's it going to look if Target hands over $250 to Suzie when she returns Aunt Mary's new tablet claiming it's hers and GS doesn't verify she's the cardholder? Aunt Mary is out $250, out the tablet, and can't dispute the charge since she did receive the item before it was stolen.

 

[Anelmi]

To be clear, 99% of my guests never ask for cash back. Cash is the last option my store wants us to offer. First being debit card, next being gift card. And yes, they have the receipt. So? They paid with the debit card not cash. Thus, it should go back on the debit card. And most people have a bevy of cards in their wallet so not having their debit card with them is not normally a thing.

 

[GoodyNN]

Yes, you are right, it takes 3 business days, and money may be needed sooner.

However a return with a receipt with the purchase made via debit card and there being no debit card present is an opening to all kinds of fraud, and not all of it is defrauding Target. The real guest who made the original purchase could suffer financial consequences if the person with the receipt getting cash is lying about being the purchaser. That last possibility, the protection of our guests, should be reason enough to verify the debit card. How's it going to look if Target hands over $250 to Suzie when she returns Aunt Mary's new tablet claiming it's hers and GS doesn't verify she's the cardholder? Aunt Mary is out $250, out the tablet, and can't dispute the charge since she did receive the item before it was stolen.

Or the legit guest later needs to return an item that the scammer already "returned" using a receipt pulled from trash or off the ground. This one has happened several times at my store. And I acknowledge this is still a potential problem if you give a gift card because the person in front of you doesn't have the debit card.

I'm with Anelmi on this one. Tender for tender is the policy. If you don't have your debit card, you get a gift card. I won't offer cash as an option and very few people ask for it. .

 

[REDcardJJ]

Tender for tender is the policy. If you don't have your debit card, you get a gift card. I won't offer cash as an option and very few people ask for it.

Cash is the same thing as debit. That's why there's a cash button.

 

[Frontlanegirl]

you guys really should not be refusing to give cash back to guests who use their debit card. all you're doing is inconveniencing guests. there's no policy that says they need to show you their debit card, and that is totally against our policy of assuming good intentions on the guest's part.

me: "alright your total is 126.62, would you like that back on the debit card ending in 1234 or back in cash today?"

if they don't have their debit card with them, i'm not going to make them take a GiftCard when they obviously have their receipt. that's silly. debit cards also take several days to credit money back into the account, and some people simply just don't have that kind of time. i've been there.

Actually, the policy is to refund them the way they made their purchase. We have scammers who are notorious for using receipts and wanting cash back on a debit card.
We have been instructed by upper management to check that the guest has their card if it is above a certain dollar amount. It is an inconvenience to a legit guest when they come to do a return with card look up to find out that the item has been "returned" by a scammer. When I have someone asking for cash back, we do it on a case by case basis based on the amount of the purchase. If it is a high dollar amount we need to see their card. We have never had a problem and the guest understands it is for their protection.


Original Purchase Refund Options
Cash Cash Credit to REDcard™ Target GiftCard
Check Merchandise return card will be used for checks that haven't cleared.
Cash if return is made 10 days after date of purchase.
Debit Card Credit to debit card
PayPal Cash issued for in-store returns. Target eGiftCard issued for mail-in returns.
REDcard: Target Credit Card™ or Target™ Mastercard®
Credit to REDcard™ Target GiftCard
Target Debit Card™Target Debit Card™
Target GiftCard Target GiftCard
Target Merchandise Voucher Merchandise return card
Third-party Credit Card: American Express®, Visa®, Mastercard®, Discover®
Credit to third-party credit card Target GiftCard
Third-party Gift Card: American Express Gift Card, Simon's Gift Card
Reloaded onto gift card Cash Target GiftCard

 

[Amanda Cantwell]

Like @Amanda Cantwell said, I never even give them the option for cash on a debit card return. It's debit card or gift card, their choice. If they push, I'll give cash for $20 or less. Anything higher, show me your debit card. I tell them it's for their protection (because...truth, it is).

I do not do this.

Interactions with me go like this
$20 back on the card ending in 1234
I don’t have the card
Ok! I can put it on a GC for you?
*if they say yes, GC. otherwise...*
Can I have the cash?
Sure!

 

[RedcardReba]

The system tells you. If cash is on your screen, the store policy is spelled out. If you are denying cash when the system allows it, then you are violating store policy.