A Lowe’s worker saved a customer from an awkward return trip after realizing the store had been duped over a flooring return.
“I was helping a customer load up boxes of this flooring, and I picked one up, and I was like, this is pretty…pretty light, when porcelain is pretty heavy and dense, you know?” user Tonic (@.itztonic) tells viewers on TikTok. “So I decided to open it, and look what’s inside.”
Pointing his camera at the boxes in question, he demonstrates just how light one of them is, before moving around to a side view. Although there do appear to be some items with barcodes in the boxes, the majority of the space is taken up by some sort of wood slabs.
“We got finessed in returns,” he says.
Lowe’s return policy, as stated online, generally allows for most unused items to be returned or exchanged within 90 days with a receipt. Some returns without one require a picture ID, and the website notes that “all returns are subject to system approvals.”
One TikTok commenter claimed that “every box is supposed to be opened during returns,” which Tonic validated, stressing, “supposed to be…”
Clearly, something went wrong in this particular instance, which had other viewers laughing at the mishap and sharing some of their own experiences with fake returns.
“Once had a box filled with cans of green beans,” wrote @briancesena. “Customer service dgaf.”
“I bought garbage bags and opened it it was a potato,” @sslove4e added. ”Customer service died gave me money and free bags.”
@.itztonic “isjus my 3rd day out here iunno 🤷🏻♂️” 🙄 #finesse #return #fyp #itztonic #everybodyeats #itztonicdawg #lowes #work #flooring #smh #whodidthis ♬ original sound – tonic 🇲🇽
Another user joked that “the folks at the return desk will accept anything,” which was backed up by a further commenter who told Tonic, “If it makes you feel better our CSD accepted a door clearly from the 80’s as a return, complete with fist shaped hole and old Dino stamps.”
One viewer claimed that at Home Depot and Menards, they “open the box of returns even if it’s completely sealed to double check and then [tape] it back up with special tape.” And though it seems like a sad state of things that we’ve reached such a level of paranoia… clearly, it’s been earned.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Tonic via TikTok comment and to Lowe’s via email.
