ReachCustomersOnline.com

Customer Databases and Privacy: Some Shoppers Find Fewer Happy Returns

Posted by TimSlavin at November 8, 2004

"As the holiday shopping season gets into full swing, a number of major retailers — including KB Toys and Sports Authority, according to store personnel — are rolling out electronic systems that weigh the number of returns and exchanges a person has made, the dollar value of the items, and the dates of the transactions to decide whether a consumer should be granted another. The systems are designed to catch shoplifters and those who "wardrobe," wearing clothes and then returning them for a full refund.

But Salerno, 26, a receptionist at a Manhattan financial firm, said she falls under neither category. She returns things often because she buys things often. She said she feels she has done nothing wrong — the clothes were never worn and the tags were still attached — but that she was treated like a criminal."

A Washington Post story posted on MSNBC. It may be a case of tossing the baby out with the bath water, alienating good customers while pushing away the bad.

It's also a cautionary tale about widespread use of customer data, some of it private, to evaluate people for renting, job hiring, and other tasks. With few controls, some of the data is incorrect and people suffer. However, as the article describes, there are some amazing frauds being done using the internet that involve store returns. The customer is caught in the middle.
URLs:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6423422/

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