Woolies Latest Acts Of Stupidity

CHANGE OF MIND RETURNS POLICY

When I went to our local Woollies yesterday to buy some prawns, I returned 2 packs of biscuits which were the wrong flavour and I asked the junior employee at the customer dis-service counter to just refund them as I needed to buy other items as well as the correct biscuits.

She said that they did not do change of mind refunds and pointed to a sign on the counter.

I replied that it was not a change of mind but the wrong product so she finally found someone who was actually able to do a refund.

When I checked Woollies website recently, it stated that they were still doing change of mind refunds but the website has been changed.

https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/discover/about-us/returns-policy

However, this undated Woollies PDF still shows the old policy.

http://wowlink.woolworths.com.au/cmgt/wcm/connect/2f3e9d80433d3aa98b8d9ba521a80a40/Returns_Policy_Supermarkets+_Customer.pdf?MOD=AJPERES

Woollies are too stupid or too sneaky to print the no change of mind refunds policy on their POS receipts/tax invoices, unlike Coles who clearly print it in the middle of every receipt/tax invoice.

EVERYDAY REWARDS 10% OFF.

When I went through the self service checkout yesterday, I was offered my monthly Everyday Rewards 10% off my shop so I actually ended up being 70 cents better off on the price of the biscuits.

As for the 10% discount, according to Woollies, you have to be a Woollies Mobile customer which I certainly am not.

https://mobile.woolworths.com.au/offers/10-off-your-shop

They obviously have no idea as to how their system actually works.

PRICING SHONKY.

When I bought some Jumbo King Prawns on 22.12.2020, Woollies had a sign showing the price as Special $29/kg and a 5kg carton with a sign showing the price as $145 a carton, normally $190 a carton, so normally $38/kg.

Yeaterday they had the same prawns with a sign showing the price as $32/kg and no mention of Special.

Never let the truth get in the way of a good shonky.

MARK DOWNS.

On 30.12.2020, our local Woollies had packs of refrigerated beef ragu lasagna dated Use By 31.12.2020 which had not been marked down despite some other varities that had Use By 01.01.2021 having been marked down.

I asked an employee if he could mark them down but he claimed he couldn’t and no one else could.

I replied “So you will just throw them all in the garbage tonight” to which he treid to claim they they could still sell them the next day.

A few days ago, they had a huge quantity of Primo honey hams in presentation boxes which were all Use By the next day and had been marked down from $24/kg to $12/kg, so unless they slashed the price, they would have all ended up in the garbage the next day.

Too stupid and too greedy to reduce prices more heavily and more quickly to avoid total losses.

The store manager previously told me that the “computer” provides a list of what gets marked down, when, and the price.

It confirms the old saying about computers “Garbage In, Garbage Out”.

When I went to our local Coles yesterday, they had marked down all the Garlo’s pies on the top shelf which were Use By 04.01.2020 but had missed the pack of Garlo’s mini sausage rolls and packs of Garlo’s mini pies which were on a lower shelf and were also Use By 04.01.2020.

I asked a staff member who went to fetch a handheld gadget and returned with another staff member. They took the packs away and returned with them marked down

The previous time when they missed a pack of the sausage rolls that were Use By that day, a person tried to mark it down but the system refused as it had already reached its use by date.

I guess that Coles are smarter than Woollies.

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I had a similar experience at Woolworths with free range chicken: there were 6 or so packets, all with the same due (next day) date, with wildly varying markdowns - from 60% to 20% less than original price. I queried the disparity, and was told that ‘the computer’ adjusts the pricing “according to the number of available items
”
So instead of purchasing all of them (for freezing), I only bought the 2 packets with the biggest discount!
I have noticed, with Coles, that they now only do 40-50% markdowns on the (actual) due date: the best is 20% until then. Woolies (tended to) offer higher markdowns one day before the due date, and wouldn’t sell anything on a product’s actual expiry date.
I thought this was a retail “rule”, but Coles doesn’t follow it
??

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Coles actually do a second markdown in the afternoon of any remaining meat department items which have not sold on the actual date, reducing them by as much as 90% of the original price.

They also do a further markdown of dairy, deli and ready meal items already marked by 30% to up to 90% or greater of the original price on the day before the Use By date and put them in the milk aisle.

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Good to know - thanks!

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A small shop I go to has, on the bottom of their receipt “Return Policy: We do not offer refunds or returns.” I might have to mention Faulty Goods etc. Bit of sympathy for them as they appear to be a group of women who have started a speciality food store - Maggie Beer sauces, spices, teas & some fresh deli produce. Always more staff than customers. Which probably says they’ll be broke soon, or they are doing it for love.

Selecting the wrong flavour when shopping and then realising this when you got home falls into the change of mind. It is like buying a shirt and then realising when you got it home it was the wrong size or didn’t like the colour in the sunlight
these are also change in minds.

As the ACCC states: ‘Retailers don’t have to give you a refund or exchange if you simply change your mind. Always check the store’s returns policy.’

The Woolworths change of mind policy was amended mid-2020 when they started getting goods returned by hoarders
those buying up on toilet paper etc trying to make a quick buck by on-selling them at inflated prices. Woolworths new Change in Mind policy is legal and conforms to the information provided on the ACCC website.

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No. It does not.

As it turned out, the 4 packs I bought for my wife yesterday were also the wrong flavour so I took them back today.

The person at the dis-service counter said to go and get the right ones and she would exchange them.

When I returned, she was gone but had told another person who knew the 4 packs I had were for an exchange.

Then the stupidity started when she scanned the 4 returned packs and the 4 exchange packs and claimed I had to pay another $1.40.

The 4 packs I bought yesterday scanned at $3.50 each but I received 10% off the total bill.

So the grubs at Woollies tried to refund the 4 packs at the discounted price I paid yesterday whilst attempting to charge me the full price today.

Thje employee tried to claim that it was a return but I pointed out it was an exchange for the same product with a different flavour.

As it had become obvious to her that I was going to brighten up their day, she said she would see what she could do.

After checking my dockets when I got home, all she had actually done was to give me my original receipt back with the 4 replacement packs of biscuits.

As my old grandad used to say, “All they teach them is how to cheat and thieve”.

P.S.

I recalled my previous experience with this particular Woollies employee.

When I bought the prawns on 22.12.2020, the person went to put them in a flimsy plastic bag so I asked her if they had the proper prawn bags as Coles have had for years.

She said that they had prawn bags but she thought that they were only for cooked prawns as that is what is printed on them.

Yesterday, I had to again ask for a prawn bag and the person grabbed 1 of abour 10 sealed cartons of them off the bottom shelf of a work bench and opened it.

Whilst Woollies employees don’t understand that the bags work for both cooked and raw prawns, they obviously expect that their regular customers are even dumber with the message on the back of the prawn bag.

“PEEL BEFORE CONSUMING”.

Only at Wooworths.

“Every struggle is like mud - there are always some lotus seeds waiting to sprout.”

While you may not agree, it is Change of Mind. It is change of mind as the retailer (in this case Woolworths) did not select the wrong flavour when shopping. The shopper did. There was nothing wrong with the product. If one gets home and makes a mistake, it isn’t the retailer’s fault. Even though you may have selected the wrong flavour instore, and you think you haven’t changed your mind in relation to the purchased flavour (as you bought the wrong one), it falls into the definition of change of mind.

It is similar to this case example where a shopper bought the wrong sized shoes (rather than flavour) and this is change of mind and comes under the store’s change in mind policy. In this example the shopper didn’t change their mind in relation to the shoe size, but selected the wrong size when ordering online. This example shows that making the wrong purchase decision or selection at the time of a purchase falls under the definition of a change in mind.

Woolworths are right to refuse a refund under their current, advertised Change of Mind Policy.

If for example the biscuits were labelled as Chicken Flavour but when you got home you found that they had been wrongly packed and were BBQ flavour, then this isn’t a change of mind but a faulty product (as it is different to what the label says). In such case, the purchase resolution would come under the ACL.

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You obviously did not read Woollies returns policy which I included in my original post.

https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/discover/about-us/returns-policy

" Exchanges

We will happily provide an exchange where you have changed your mind about a product purchased from Woolworths provided that the product:

  • is returned to us with a receipt within 30 days of purchase;
  • is in its original condition, including with packaging; and
  • has not been used and, if a perishable product, is not expired or within 2 days of expiry."

There it is straight from the horse’s mouth (or the other end).

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6 posts were split to a new topic: Your best Shopping Tips

This returns policy - since Covid - is very annoying. I accidentally bought the wrong type of tinned cat food for my daughter’s cat (she’s fuzzy and prefers fish) but I wasn’t allow to exchange/get a refund of the two tins. How stupid is that? I can understand for perishables but tinned items?

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The Staff responsible for actioning these requests have failed to deliver on Woollies own current exchange policy that I posted a link to above.

You should give these fools a serve if and when you next visit, as well as contacting their head office.

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I’ve actually just sent them a message via Facebook. I’ll reply with any response I get.

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I received the same spiel as above.

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Did you have a receipt and was it within the 30 day period?

If it was no to one or the other (or both), then the exchange policy doesn’t apply.

Yes to both, though I was asking for a refund, as that is what was usually accepted in the past. I would have my digital receipt. Might try again with all this information. Though it’s past 30 days now.

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They won’t give a refund with their new change of mind policy (which was changed through action of Covid ‘hoarders’ spoiling it for all). They should allow exhange to another cat food varieties or potentially (but less likely) against non-cat food items.

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Just point out to them that it is over 30 days due solely to their incompetence or dishonesty.

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