Don't you love it when you trust and they take you to the cleaners? I bought some scabos travertine for my last bathroom floor and the pink stuff they brought me was ugly. Didn't look at all like the sample I bought. I installed it anyway, but I'll never do that again. My DH now wants to inspect every piece in every pallet....for the new house.
I think I would call the manager even though they love him and tell him you and your tile guy were told that the tile could be returned, you relied on that representation and you will be bringing it back. And then..ask him how you're going to be reimbursed. If you're buying more tile, maybe a store credit??? Tell him you're thinking about buying furniture there and you really want to get this resolved because you can't buy furniture with this hanging out there.
If you bought it on a credit card, you could take it back and then challenge the charge.
Good luck!!
I've had one of those weeks too.....

kris~ Thanks for the good advice.

I paid for it with my bank visa, so it's not the same as a CC. It's already been taken out of my account. :o( Maybe I'll start using a CC for purchases like this. That's a good thought for the future (cheaters.... LOL).

I'm sorry you're having "one of those weeks" too. I knew mine was going too smooth. Seriously.....

I would be really ticked off too. I never know what to do in these situations. On the one hand, if they don't take back special orders you can see their point but you went into the sale under the impression you could return what you didn't want. It's not like you just assumed, you asked!

I think I'd call the salesman back and let him know you got the message and that their must be some misunderstanding b/c he assure dyou it was returnable when you bought it and you've never been informed otherwise. If he can't make something change then go higher up.

Prioritize.

#1. Finish the job.
#2. Get the refund.
#3. Let the business owner know he has a scoundrel working for him. It's entirely possible the owner is a scoundrel as well, but at least you did your part to try to help him and future customers.

I agree w/ the others, take it straight to the top and contact the owner. He/she will likely have a tendency to side w/ the salesman unless he/she is open minded and you never know, this bozo sales dude might not be thought of as kindly by the boss as he is the others. Also agree that mentioining possible future purchases (furniture) could help. If they open up to that, i would retaliate by sayin "asta levista baby" after your credit is returned to you! Give 'em a feel for their own medicine and take your business elsewhere. You should be considered a high end customer and they are idiots not realizing the prospective amount of business you already have as well as would be giving them in the future. It should be the same treatment large purchases or small, it just seems things aren't always geared that way these days.

So sorry, Totallyblessed! I just wanted to let you know I know a few people that have used debit cards and won chargebacks just as if they were a credit card. Just FYI. Good luck to you! Oh, and I'd go straight to the store manager or owner. He/she is the one that has more at stake by losing a great customer like you.

"One, he offered to sell me the master tile from another source for less"
Hmm, maybe he did just that and pocketed the difference - and THAT is why it can't be returned?
Get your receipt first, then go to the manager.

Hi everyone,

Well, I'm happy to report this (ripoff) problem has been resolved!

DH called the flooring manager today and spoke with him. We own a business also, and dh is a good negotiator, so I "let" him call. LOL!

He explained the situation. The man immediately said they could not accept "special order" tile back. Blah, blah, blah. DH had a long conversation with the manager, and even mentioned that his salesman had offered me the tile from another source for less. Of course the manager didn't believe us and thought he meant because they have more than one supplier to stock their store. DH didn't argue, but of course that's NOT what the salesman said when he whispered to me over the desk and said I'd have to trust him since I'd be paying him. Ick.... still makes my skin crawl.

Anyhoo, the manager was not going to take the tile back. DH told him we had more to order today, but needed to resolve this first, and said "did you notice the total sale on our tile was almost $17,000.?! And the manager said he did. Then DH pulled out the big guns (many of you suggested it... wish I would have logged on and read this first to get dh straight to it... LOL). He said "well, we're building an 11,000 square foot house, and my wife had thought to furnish much of our home from your large showroom, but obviously we won't be shopping in your store again.

That got him! Suddenly he had a call to make and wanted to do something to help us out. First we were basically liars and his salesman was they best they had, and I was mistaken and wrong, and suddenly when they see dollar signs they're going to work with us.

Made me really disappointed that it took that, but at this point I didn't want to give in to the slimy salesman. He obviously does things like this to other people. I can't believe that I am the first!!

The manager called dh back after some time, and said they'll take it back for 20% restocking fee and $60.00 shipping fee. They "found one of their vendors who would take it back". Hmmm. Supposedly they couldn't take it back under any condition. Wonder why the rules changed?! :o~ LOL!

So we decided to just go with their pathetic offer. We don't want this tile sitting in our garage. It is not my favorite tile, so I would not want to save it for another project like a future guest house or whatever (believe me, dh tried to talk me into that... LOL).

OUr wonderful tile guy loaded all of the extra up with his helpers and took it over to their store, and picked up the remaining tile we need for our hallway tiling. He had a nice discussion with the manager about how his clients really liked their furniture store and intended to go back for some large purchases..... until today! The manager felt bad and apologized for the misunderstanding. They do have a sign posted that there are no returns on special orders. But tile man stuck up for me and said that of course when his client was in there shopping, she was not looking at little bitty signs on the desk but looking around at tile and designing her spaces. And that when their salesman suggested an extra 10% tile to my tile order, because of course we could return whatever we didn't use, it became "their problem". The manager agreed.

Our tile man also advised the manager that he refers about a million dollars in tile sales to that area of that state each year, and it would be a shame if he had to say "except for XXXXX store. They'll rip you off, so avoid them! The manager about choked on that comment and was super apologetic!

A few of the tiles were broken when he returned them today. I actually received broken tiles in my order, so when the manager said "oh, you've got a few broken tiles in here" my tile man said "yes, and that's how we received them. They are yours now". And the manager just gave up and accepted them. Brother!!

I still don't think they realize they have a weasel working for them. I won't be the one to point it out. But maybe when about 10 other attractive female customers report that he's offering them lower prices if they buy thru him, they'll realize he is not a good representative for their company. Sorry if they didn't want to hear it today.

So all's well. I would have preferred ALL my money back since the salesman said that, but sometimes you just give a little to "get" what you need. And I needed that tile out of my garage. :o)

Thanks for your great advice. I'm relieved this is over.

On to the next saga...... LOL!

I'm glad you got your money back - or at least most of it. Are you thinking about really buying furniture from them? I would if it was the best choice but I'd be so careful about the purchase details.

I hate to say it but you may find that the salesman's behaviour is condoned by the store. I've seen situations where the store pretends to be upset or not supportive of the salesman when soemthing doesn't go right but really it's the store that is telling them to do those things. I know someone who was put in that situation a lot at a job he had.

ajpl~ No, I'll be going elsewhere for my furniture after all of this. DH is concerned (well, so am I actually) that we'll end up with another salesperson like this one. They absolutely stood behind their man. What ever happened to policy's like dear Nordstrom holds.... "customer is always right". There just aren't enough businesses like that anymore.

I think you have a good point. The manager acted just like the saleman. Ick! I'll be looking elsewhere!

Great for you, totally. They wont be getting any referalls from you as well. Word of mouth advertising works both ways, positive and negative as in sure you wont have any positives should anyone ask about their "services".

I won't disparage their reputation or anything like that. I won't say a word unless I'm asked about my tile. And then I just won't be able to say that I had a great experience in that store, on several counts. :o( Too bad for them. OUr subs work on higher end homes. Lots of potential referrals for that store.

In fact, our drywall finishers had been gone for a week and began finishing the upper rooms this past Monday. They were blown away by our floors, and kept saying how gorgeous they turned out. But they were here when I had to find my own tractor to unload the "unload by hand" tile, and they actually found the neighbor with the tractor. So they already know the salesman was a bit of a fibber! They won't be rushing over to that store, one state away to get that sort of "service".

Poor guy has no idea how much "commission" his questionable behavior has cost him. And the store will be losing out as well. It's just too bad all around. I'm not one to hold a grudge, but it might take a few days to get the bad taste out of my mouth when I look at my tile. :o(

What I would do is find a site where you can give feedback and do so. I can't tell you how many stores contacted me after bad experiences trying to make it right. They do not want to lose your business and if you comment about it, who knows others might, then they will see you are not the only one.

Glad it all worked out.

so glad it worked out for you.

thanks roseluvr and brutuses. :o)

I bought another $500 in tile today, for dd#1's floor bath. We changed what we are going with in there after selecting cabinetry colors today with cabinet makers. And no, I did not purchase with my original store today!

Tomorrow I'll be purchasing the tile for dd#2's bath (somehow my tile installer never "saw" that bath, and sure enough, there are no measurements in his estimate for us..... I never noticed and he thought he saw all the baths.... LOL).

Anyhoo, as you can guess, I won't be purchasing dd#2's tile from that shady salesman and his crazy store either. I'll take my few thousand dollars for her bath and shop at my local, pricier store. All to avoid their poor service.

I'm not about to go thru that again. I know it wasn't a big deal in the big scheme of things, but a pain none-the-less. I surely don't plan to subject myself to dealing with them again! :o) LOL! Isn't it too bad? What's that saying, "cut off your nose to spite your face"? Or is it "bite the hand that feeds you"?? Hmmmm.

Here are a few sites.. not sure if they will work for the tile store or not. If anything, the 1st two might. You can also see if a phone book site like big yellow allows you to write a comment.

Consumer Affairs
Rip Off Report

Reseller Ratings
Price Grabber

I'm not about to go thru that again. I know it wasn't a big deal in the big scheme of things, but a pain none-the-less. I surely don't plan to subject myself to dealing with them again! :o) LOL! Isn't it too bad? What's that saying, "cut off your nose to spite your face"? Or is it "bite the hand that feeds you"?? Hmmmm.

I remember a time when the customer was always right. Businesses feared losing customers. Funny, with the web and being able to post about stores online, businesses don't get it.

I can't count the number of rude sales people I've run across. I can go food shopping, will push my cart, only to be cut off by an employee in a rush. When I worked retail 10+ years ago (Caldor), we'd be fired if we were caught doing that. They don't even say excuse me, they expect you to get out of their way.