an open letter

Dear Toys R Us,

You don't know me from Adam, but anyone who does can tell you that I am a pretty frugal girl.  I keep track of every receipt for nearly every purchase I make.  I monitor sales ads and track prices often returning items for price adjustments if the item I purchased has been reduced.  I clip coupons and shop around to get the best prices.  My point is that I make every effort to NOT be careless with my own (or my friends/relatives') hard earned money.

A few weeks ago you made a fool of me.  You essentially caused me to waste our friends' money.

A few weeks ago, just a week or so after Christmas, my family and I had the pleasure of trying to return two items marked "Toys R Us exclusive" on the very front of the box.  If time is money, we just spent a bunch of it for nothing.  I vehemently wish we had not wasted our time.  The response we received was, "I'm afraid I can give you no credit for these. Would you like them back?"

Despite the fact that both items were sold exclusively (your word, not mine) at your store, we can get no money back or even store credit to return them there because we're too stubborn to ask our friends/relatives for the receipt. This was a gift that they no doubt thought to be an excellent toy for our children.  Unfortunately they are toys that we already have a similar version of at home. I would think that since you "love kids" so much this fact would matter to you, but nope. I'm wrong!  You don't care that we don't want the gift. You don't care that we don't even mind getting store credit instead of cash back. You only care about making the sale and your sales rep even had the gall to ask if we wanted to keep the gifts! Are you kidding me?! I'm appalled!  Not only will you not give us any sort of merchandise credit for two gifts that we do not want or need, but you want to keep them AND the money that was paid for them as well. Seriously?

I have NEVER seen a store with a more pitiful return policy than yours. I don't know why it took you multiple pages to say what can be summed up in a simple sentence: If you don't have a receipt, you cannot return it.  That's the bottom line. Toys R Us stores will not exchange or refund purchases made if you do not have a receipt.

For a company who claims, "We approach our business operations with responsibility and integrity, understanding the trust parents place in us to do the right thing and act as a reliable partner as they navigate the various stages of parenthood," I expect more.  Because I now know that your customers cannot return anything without a receipt, I will no longer shop at your store. Because I know that you not only want our money but also to keep the products to re-sell as well, I will urge my family and friends to do the same.  Shame on you, Toys R Us. Shame on you!