TikToker Ashley Spicy Mama (@healthybutno) asked for advice after a recent trip to Sam’s Club went sour.
“The audacity of some people literally just blows my mind,” Ashley says as she kicks off the video.
She explains that prior to going to the store, she gave Sam’s Club a call.
“I was like, ‘Hey, I got two boxes of diapers that I got from a baby shower. I don’t have a receipt for them. Can I exchange them [for] the right size ’cause they’re not the right size?” she recalls asking over the phone.
The Sam’s Club employee on the phone said, according to Ashley, “’Absolutely, people do this all the time—no problem bringing them in.’”
However, when she got to Sam’s Club to exchange the diapers, she says it was not as easy as the worker over the phone had ensured it would be.
“I got to the counter… and the lady was like, ‘No, you can’t do that. You need to have a receipt,’” she recounts.
Ashley says she then explained to the cashier the situation. “’I don’t have a receipt ’cause I got it for a baby shower. But I just need a different size. So can I exchange it for the correct size or get a store credit so that I can buy more diapers?’” she says she asked.
Yet, the cashier would not budge.
“She was like, ‘No, you can’t do that. That’s not our policy,’” Ashley says the cashier told her.
Sam’s Club’s return policy
Sam’s Club’s return policy reads, “We prefer your original receipt or printed order, but if that’s not available, we’ll do our best to process your return without it.”
The policy encourages shoppers to have their receipts when making returns and exchanges.
Yet, because the employee on the phone had told Ashley that her exchange was possible, she doubled down.
“I literally just called yesterday, and they told me I could,” she explains in her video.
The cashier provided an alternative. The worker asked Ashley if she knows who gave her the diapers, suggesting that “maybe then we could look it up on your account.”
Ashley says she let the worker know she doesn’t know who gave her the diapers. The cashier doesn’t buy it.
“She literally looks at me and is like, ‘I can tell you’re lying to me because you don’t know who this is. And if you really had a baby shower, you would have known who gave you these diapers,’” Ashley claims the worker responded.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry! Do you know every single person that gave you every single gift?” she vents to the camera.
Eventually, a manager was called to the scene and reluctantly gave Ashley the exchange, she continues.
In the caption of her video, Ashley writes, “Seriously, what is wrong with people? It takes nothing to be nice.”
Her video has 15,000 views and hundreds of comments. Many felt the cashier’s refusal to accept the exchange was unnecessary and spoke to a broader issue of returns and exchanges becoming increasingly harder at stores.
“Unacceptable. I would’ve asked for a refund on my membership too,” a viewer commented.
Another added, “Stores are getting so ridiculous about exchanging their own store brand of diapers for a different size. When my nephew was a baby, everyone did it no problem, but with my kids, it’s an ordeal.”
Retailers tightening return policies
According to Yahoo.com, “Retailers are making concerted efforts to discourage returns, with 35% of consumers saying they only allow exchanges or offer store credit, meaning they no longer offer refunds to the original payment method.”
Many encouraged her to call corporate about the ordeal.
“That’s wild and not normal for Sam’s Club. I’d definitely call corporate. I needed a different size and they had no problem returning diapers for me,” another viewer added.
“I do know who gave me gifts, but besides the point, call corporate. Not that they are much better, but call corporate,” a viewer commented.
Ashley responded, “Yeah, I think I am going to call them. I had a sprinkle with coworkers and a shower where everyone just put diapers on a table. So I literally have no idea where they came from.”
@healthybutno Seriously, what is wrong with people? It takes nothing to be nice. #grocery #groceryhaul #diaper #diaperchange #poorcustomerservice #samsclub #rude #mom #momlife #sahm #sahmlife ♬ original sound – Ashley Spicy Mama
The Daily Dot reached out to Ashley Spicy Mama via TikTok comment and to Sam’s Club via contact email.
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