Newspaper Tests Store Return Procedures

Circuit City offered the easiest product return, according to a survey of five electronics retailers performed by the Wall Street Journal. Apple scored in the middle of the group, although the reporter who visited two Apple stores had some gripes about the lines and employees. The newspaper also tested Best Buy, Target and Wal-Mart, returning HDMI cables or earphones at the outlets. At the SoHo (NYC) Apple store, the reporters said, “Our clerk gabbed with colleagues while handling the return,” and had to be interrupted for questions. At the Fifth Avenue (NYC) store there were 30+ persons in line, “with purchasers and returners lumped together.” But the line moved quickly, and the reporter was eventually pulled from the line by an employee with a portable computer. “The entire process took 10 stress-free minutes.” Target scored lowest, because the reporter encountered a 20+ line that wasn’t moving, then came back the next day and was initially denied a refund . [Story not on-line.]