Topic: Something good to say

[Cowboy]

Well, believe it or not, this post is only here for the sole purpose of talking well about an AAFES employee.

I bought an item from the electronics area.  I got home, got it all hooked up and looking good, applied power and it worked like sweaty arse smells.  I'm thinking I'm screwed.  You see, my Star Card is not current because I lost my job while following my wife's PCS orders.  I have a job and have been paying on the Star Card steadily for a good while now.  But, because it was delinquent, all returns that I make must be applied to my Star Card balance.  Oh, and they verify this by Social Security Number, which I'm pretty sure is a highly illegal act.  Correct me if I'm mistaken. 

Anyhow, back to the good stuff.  I go in and talk to the manager.  I walk out smiling.  I was to bring the item in the next day (I didn't bring it then because I thought it would be dead weight) and I could exchange it with another one.  I was flabbergasted when I heard that.  It was the purest sound of customer service ever.  "Bring it in and we will replace it for you."  I didn't even have to argue.  It truly was an amazing day.  And on that day AAFES scored a few points in my book.  They were lost by the next day, but at least they were there for a while.

I have an X-box game (still wrapped) I'm waiting to give to a needy soldier that I won't return to AAFES because AAFES can just piss on a rope with their policies.  Screw them and their socialist agenda.  AAFES and left wing nuts go together.

[CYA]

I was with you til the socialist-speak. What exactly makes you think that? AAFES is a retail business that has many MANY small vendors who wouldn't have much business without us. What part of that is socialist? I would think AAFES is just about the LEAST socialist part of the government!

[Cowboy]

What vendors would be talking about?  If it's the ones that sell stuff outside of the BX/PX, then I can't agree due to the fees that are charged.  I have known several that have had to pack up shop because the fees got too high.  If you're talking about off brand items inside, then AAFES missed the mark on that too.  The reliability of a lot of items that AAFES sells is sub-par IMHO, especially for the price.

However, the socialist side I was referring to is in the way they handle returns.  CONUS I have never had a complaint about it.  It's typically a no questions asked, here's a replacement; your money; or if you don't have a receipt, "here's your gift card".  But OCONUS they treat you like a slug that just got hit with some salt water.  Is there any reason what-so-ever for a legitimate retail store to ask for your social security number when you walk in receipt in hand?  Is there any legitimate retail store that would accept an item back the day after it was bought while it was still in its original packaging, receipt in hand?  The correct answer is no.  There is no other major retailer in the US that would even dare to ask a customer for a social security number.  There's also no other legitimate retailer that would use government resources for it's private recoupement of monies owed either, but that's already in another topic.

[Disgruntled]

More Fascist than socialist...

And Cowboy is right. AAFES is the only place I know that you cannot return certain items even if they haven't been opened and you do have the receipt.

[CYA]

The small vendors I speak of are the actual companies the buyers set contracts with to supply BXs and the Exchange Catalog. Check out the Special Orders program...many of those vendors are small, some of whom literally work out of their garage.

As for the SSN requirements, we serve the government. Everything is done by SSN, what's new about that? AAFES has congressional requirements that can't be gotten around, and as for items that can't be returned, A) that is noted on the receipt at the time of purchase and it's ALL over the website and
B) that has mostly to do with the vendors' return policies.

With a little research you can find these things out.

[Disgruntled]

A legal point about the use of Social Security numbers--when they first starting issuing them, the agreement was that they would NOT ever be used as ID. They were only to keep track of the contributions/payments of Social Security.

The military used to issue service numbers that were separate from the Social Security numbers.