Question

Do most retail stores follow the same store policies regarding remedies for the buyer and seller? Research store policies and go out and interview the customer service managers of two local retail stores and compare the policies followed by the businesses regarding buyer and seller remedies.

Answer 1

The given question requires you to personally interview two local retailers and then compare their policies on the basis of those interviews. Therefore, all I can do is provide you with guidelines on how you may approach these stores and what sort of questions you may ask the customer service managers to gain maximum knowledge about the differences in their store's policies.

The first thing you need to understand is that each business is unique and has its own policies which will differ according to their upper management values, their product offerings and customer type. It would be best to choose retail stores which sell the same variety of products and compare their policies. The best time to approach the managers would be at the time of the day when the store receives minimum number of customers. You would be able to understand this easily if the stores are in your neighborhood. The points you should take into consideration while interacting with the managers are:

1. Range of Products sold by the retailer
2. Nature of Products - are they perishable, fragile, etc
3. Average number of footfalls in their stores in a day
4. Returns policy of the store
   1. Maximum period to return the item
   2. Do they allow full refund on return of an item or merely exchange of a product for another for the amount equivalent to the item purchased
   3. Do they accept returns from their stores situated at a different location
   4. Do they accept returns without a purchase receipt
   5. Do they provide special extension on the maximum number of days to allow return from certain customers such as customers holding their membership cards or loyal customers
   6. Policies regarding treatment of customers by the store employees
   7. Policies the retailer implements to safeguard the interest of its sellers
   8. Policy guidelines set by their sellers
   9. F.O.B Shipping terms

Before you approach the managers prepare a set of 10 - 15 questions that you would like to ask them and it would be advisable to voice record your interview with the manager so that you may quote them while answering this question. Make sure your ask for their permission before you record the interview. Keep the questions open ended rather than very specific questions where the only possible answers are Yes/No.