Do you keep receipts for common items?

[Jack D.]

Do you keep receipts for common items like screw drivers, a lawn sprinkler etc? Items under $20 that you would not expect to fail? Like what can go wrong with a manual can opener?

What I'm leading up to is a Miracle Gro lawn and garden feeder that I bought at Home Depot ($11) this spring. I've used it daily for about 4 weeks and it is now leaking and will not shut off. I took it apart and there's a small inaccessible internal washer that has come unseated that seems to be the source of the problem. It's proudly Made in the USA and Scott's has a 100% satisfaction guarantee or your money back printed right on the reservoir so you would think they'd want you to be happy with your purchase. But apparently not.

Keep in mind that this is a tool used to apply their product and I know that if my main product needed an applicator I would want my customer to have a working one so s/he could feel good and buy lots more of my high profit goo and apply it all over the place!

My issue is this, if I return it to Scott's it will cost me $10 in postage and they will send me a new one or, I can buy a new one for a dollar more and reward them with another sale. So I wrote to them asking for just the internal part to fix my sprayer and they pretty much fell all over themselves telling me how much they value my business and above all else want me to be satisfied but I would still need to provide an original receipt and UPC code from the package to collect my part. I have no receipt and no package for an item that is so simple nothing should be able to go wrong with it. I have 15 year old Macs that still function and water runs through this with 3 moving parts and it breaks after 4 weeks!

I know this is one of those 'I'm spending too much time working this, just pucker up and buy a new one' issues but it's the principal of the thing and not the money. What kind of scam do they think I could possibly be pulling by trying to get a replacement part for a $10 item? Remember, I didn't ask for a whole new sprayer, just the defective internal part. Are there millions of people requesting these parts and Scott's would go broke if they did a nice thing for everybody and sent us all new washers??? I don't understand why they wouldn't just put that $ .49 part in a box and whisk it off to their customer with their compliments and a sorry you got a dud note. That's what I would (and have) do(ne) when I had a customer with a problem.

[Fritz]

Utter bs from a company of that size.
I was just looking for a thyristor for my old Braun mixer. Those morons hadn't a clue.
But I contacted the OEM part maker and they sent me a strip of 25.
Kensington has been good too. And the maker of the sliders for our kitchen cabs sent a full set with just a phone call.

"I don't understand why they wouldn't just put that $ .49 part in a box and whisk it off to their customer with their compliments and a sorry you got a dud note. "

They should. That's insane. I'd try and go after Homeys. They should be more responsive I would think, as they have to face the customer every day.

[space-time]

I think someone praised Gilmour a while ago for their customer service, maybe Gilmour makes a similar product that you could buy instead, and hope for better luck next time if it beaks

I tried once to keep receipts and UPC for those CFL that are suppose to last 7 years and they break 1-2 years later, but guess what, I never found the time to sit down and mail those letters

[cbelt3]

Home Despot didn't just let you swap it out for a good one ? They're usually pretty good. They'll kick it back to Scott's.

[M A V I C]

cbelt3 wrote:
Home Despot didn't just let you swap it out for a good one ? They're usually pretty good. They'll kick it back to Scott's.

Yeah, that's what I did not too long ago. HD didn't even the receipt nor the UPS. It was a husky brand product.

[GGD]

space-time wrote:
I think someone praised Gilmour a while ago for their customer service, maybe Gilmour makes a similar product that you could buy instead, and hope for better luck next time if it beaks

I was thinking of that thread too, found t here.

http://forums.macresource.com/read.php?1,972518

I agree with others that say try Home Depot, I've seen people in front of me at the return line trying to return all sorts of stuff with no receipts. They seem to be able to look things up based on credit card info.

[C(-)ris]

M A V I C wrote:
[quote=cbelt3]
Home Despot didn't just let you swap it out for a good one ? They're usually pretty good. They'll kick it back to Scott's.

Yeah, that's what I did not too long ago. HD didn't even the receipt nor the UPS. It was a husky brand product.
Husky is their store brand and guaranteed for life. So yea, no need for a reciept. Just like Craftsman tools at Sears.

Scotts is a third party that sells to all sorts of people with all sorts of different warranties. Some items are sold at outlets with no warranty from Scotts. Therefore they need a proof of purchase to make sure you didn't purchase it from a discounter or outlet.

[abevilac]

well on a different note...I purchased a fry pan 6 yrs ago from a "gourmet shop" that has since gone out of business. It was a large nonstick Swiss Diamond pan that cost $110 back then, but the handle of this very heavy pan was loose, so I went to their website and saw that they have lifetime guarantee. I emailed them not expecting to hear back. I received an email 1 day later asking me to send photos. I sent 2 pix and one short video showing how loose the handle was and then 4 days later I received a brand new pan and I didn't even have to send the old one back! Quite by accident, I found the actual receipt for the pan a week later but it was never needed. The company is based in Switzerland.

[space-time]

abevilac wrote:
well on a different note...I purchased a fry pan 6 yrs ago from a "gourmet shop" that has since gone out of business. It was a large nonstick Swiss Diamond pan that cost $110 back then, but the handle of this very heavy pan was loose, so I went to their website and saw that they have lifetime guarantee. I emailed them not expecting to hear back. I received an email 1 day later asking me to send photos. I sent 2 pix and one short video showing how loose the handle was and then 4 days later I received a brand new pan and I didn't even have to send the old one back! Quite by accident, I found the actual receipt for the pan a week later but it was never needed. The company is based in Switzerland.

LOL, send me some pics and another short video and I will paypal you $5. Then I'll get them to send me a brand new pan.

just kidding of course, but I can see how their very generous warranty policy can be abused

[DRR]

C(-)ris wrote:
Scotts is a third party that sells to all sorts of people with all sorts of different warranties. Some items are sold at outlets with no warranty from Scotts. Therefore they need a proof of purchase to make sure you didn't purchase it from a discounter or outlet.

FWIW I've returned defective products to Home Depot before with no documentation of sale, and they've done it. Success may vary by store but I've been quite happy with service from HD.

Once bought a refrig on clearance from HD and scheduled a delivery. The day came and went, and no delivery. I went in to the store the next day fuming and talked to the manager. He rescheduled delivery for the next day, gave me 10% off the purchase price, ate the delivery fee, and when I asked "what about the food that's gone bad waiting for the fridge?" He said, "how's another $300 sound?"

And since I know people will ask - I was moving from a rental into a new house that day, and to transport my food I had borrowed a couple of large coolers to ice the food on move day, while I waited for the HD fridge. That's why I didn't have another option, so when the ice melted the food started to spoil. HD manager didn't even question it, he knew they had screwed up and was going to do what it took so I left happy.