Gymboree rant

[spunkybaby]

I received some Gymboree clothes as a gift and returned them (wrong sizes/seasons) with the gift receipt on Wednesday. The cashier gave me about $50 in merchandise credit. No problem so far. Then I started hunting for matching outfits for the kids. When I checked out at the register, I had bought about $105 worth of clothing, so I used up my merchandise credit and put another $55 on my credit card.

Today, Friday, I went back to Gymboree and returned some of the clothing, about $50 worth. The manager said that I would receive a merchandise credit for the returned items. I argued that the items I was keeping "used up" the merchandise credit and that my returns should be credited back to my credit card. She refused and said that Gymboree's policy is to always return the merchandise credit first and that the items I was keeping would still be charged to my credit card. That means I would have charged $55 to my credit card and then have another $50 of merchandise credit to use up! So then I said that I would return all the items and use the merchandise credit to repurchase only the items I had wanted to keep. She said that anything I returned would be unavailable for purchase for 48 hours and that I would only be able to repurchase the items if I found duplicate items on the store floor.

I ended up returning everything and then purchased four new items that I found on the store floor (one was a duplicate item--a hat--that I had originally wanted to keep). I spent my $50 merchandise credit and charged $12 more to my credit card, and I am NOT going back.

So buyers beware...don't mix and match merchandise credit and other payments at Gymboree because if you try to return anything, you'll just end up with more merchandise credit! Argh!

Mom to a spunky preschooler (3/04) and a new spunky Christmas baby (12/06)

[elizabethkott]

That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. More stupid than all the poopy return hurdles you have to jump through at TRU.
Do they just let anyone with opposable thumbs make decisions in the corporate world these days? Or is that too stringent a requirement?
:)

[kozachka]

Wow, that sucks! Must be a somewhat new policy since I was able to return items paid by a combination of merchandise credit and cc for cash. It was under $20 though. I hate how complicated Gymbo shopping is and am tired of playing their games. These days I only shop there when items are deeply discounted and if there is some other discount (COF or Gymbucks) is taking place, all the better. There are tons of other places where I can shop for DS and not feel duped.

[LarsMal]

I had a similar experience at Banana Republic one time. I can't remember exactly how it went down, but I know they told me I couldn't re-buy my stuff for 48 hours. How stupid!

[Kungjo]

That's a weird policy. I shop at Gymboree all the time. On a previous trip, I bought about $120.00 worth of clothes for my DDs. I paid half with a merchandise credit and then the other half with a credit card. I did end up returning some items a few days later and they just credited it back to my credit card. Maybe I got lucky or maybe you just got a rotten salesperson.

Hope that was an isolated incident because that's a retarded policy. That's certainly a great way to lose your customers. :-(

[spunkybaby]

Your experience definitely sounds like what I would have expected. The cashier actually asked the manager what she should do, and it was the manager who told her that she had to put my returns on merchandise credit. The manager said over and over that it was Gymboree's policy and there was nothing she could do about it. But I do think she was a little stinker...and yes, they have lost a customer because of it!

btw--if anyone cares, this happened to me at the Gymboree in Stoneridge Mall in Pleasanton, CA.

Mom to a spunky preschooler (3/04) and a new spunky Christmas baby (12/06)

[Mommy Of A Little Angel]

That is ridiculous. I would have picked the stuff up and left for another Gymboree. (Alright, well at the time I probably would have done exactly what you did, but thinking about it afterwards, I would have left!) If I were you, I would write to corporate.

The 48-hour policy is unfortunately one that many stores have. I worked at Gap years back and that's what they made us tell customers. What was really annoying was when the customer would ask for a manager, most times the manager would let them do it making the SA look like a jerk.

I'm sorry you had such a crappy experience!

[spunkybaby]

Thanks, everyone, for supporting me in this. I really appreciate it! It helps to know that I'm not crazy and that this really is a stupid policy!

Mom to a spunky preschooler (3/04) and a new spunky Christmas baby (12/06)

[spunkybaby]

Yes, I probably should have just left, but I don't go to the mall that much, and it would have been a hassle to find another Gymboree.

I can kind of understand the 48-hour policy, but it's the return policy for using a mix of merchandise credit and credit cards that I found really irritating. Especially since the manager (who rang up my initial purchase on Wednesday) didn't say anything about that when I made my purchases. If I had known, I would have asked the manager to ring up my purchases twice--once to use up the merchandise credit on the items I was sure about and then to charge the remaining items to my credit card.

Mom to a spunky preschooler (3/04) and a new spunky Christmas baby (12/06)