Blame it on poor usability or just not reading the frickin' manual, but it turns out that 95 percent of all returned gadgets actually work despite what customers may say or think. That's right -- of the $13.8 billion worth of
returned products in 2007, only 5 percent were because gadgets were truly broken. According to Accenture, 68 percent of all returns work but aren't meeting customer expectations -- or they are simply too confusing to use. The other 26 percent are returned due to straight-up
buyer's remorse (AKA significant other budgetary freak-outs). Accenture executive Terry Steger believes that the complexity of gadgets is to blame here, and not the fickle nature of American consumers who tend to give up on product setup within a few minutes. We believe this is all actually due to the implicit nature of -- ooh, look at that shiny thing over there!
posted Jun 3rd 2008 9:43AM
I call bullshit.
When you work with technology you get exposed to alot of refurb items and I can tell you that many devices can pass testing fine and then fail in actual usage.
Memory and hard drives are notorious offenders but I have seen this with much more complex devices.
Devices that have intermittent issues are almost impossible to quantify as they typically elude diagnosis.
There are obviously a ton of useless end users but %95 is complete bullshit.
agreed
Have you thought about the average consumer? If they can't figure it out without reading the manual, it's 'broken'. This kinda falls in line with when you read how many people with HD sets aren't receiving HD content. Just total consumer ignorance.
Awhile back, I worked at CompUSA and BestBuy. I can tell you that without a doubt, at LEAST 95% of what came back had nothing wrong with it. Highest return rates had to be on memory, video cards, and essentially anything internal to a computer. "Wrong speed memory" does not equal broken.
in my experience, many people just buy it to try it out. as soon as they find "it's not for them", they will just return it with some random reason. My friend bought a PSP, played it for one day and disliked it. so he returned it, blaming on bad battery life and got a DS instead.
You're totally right, We have been victims of something faulty but good luck making it happen when the tech needs to see it.
Let's not forget the Xbox 360 either
Obviously you've never worked at a major consumer electronics retailer. This figure sounds pretty accurate to me.
You have to remember that most people are idiots who buy desktops and whatnot at retail( and return retail), not somewhat tech-savvy people buying system components from Newegg.
Here are some more notable examples from my 2 years in hell:
-Laptop returned because 120GB hard drive only had 100GB, refused to believe the explanation about recovery partition and file tables.
-Digital camera returned because it only held 7 pictures on the included memory card. "It shoudl work without having to buy anything else!"
-Monochrome Laser printer returned because it didn't print in color
-And quite a few PC returns because it ran slow out of the box (Bloatware).
-Also an interesting note, Mac returns were almost double PC returns because people got talked into them by the in-house Apple rep, and then couldn't be bothered to learn something new.
At least 100% of those items that I have purchased that had been re-boxed because they "came back with nothing wrong" with them, failed within three days of bringing them home.
Well, in building computers it was about 90% of computer parts that were RMAs were just fine. I call it pretty close to right on the money. I call your BS, BS, with you and your non-data.
Yep, and the elitist attitude the engadget editors have isnt helping. First off, what manual? Devices dont ship with manuals anymore. They come with;
1. A government mandated useless 'safety' mini-manual.
2. Some warranty flyers.
3. Some random coupons and other garbage.
4. A pdf somewhere on the CD of a badly translated 'manual' that lists basic functions like "on button is here"
When the industry is serious about usability and training, then we'll start seeing users who can help themselves. In the meantime its all returns to the race to the bottom.
haha i bet that 5% were all xbox 360s
The majority of americans make a terrible impact on the planet`s environment and ECONOMY and this statistic is just another example..
@info:
"At least 100%..."?
You mean it could have been 110% of the items you bought?
@substance90:
You are giving off body heat while typing responses. Please stop contributing to global warming.
Everyone is making some good points. I'd just like to add that 95% seems a bit skeptical to me. I guess I refuse to believe people are that stupid or thoughtless.
I can't really say much about other people, but I know that for me personally, 90% of the time I return something it is actually defective and I exchange it for the same exact item.
I have occasionally made the mistake of getting the wrong item, and I exchanged it for the correct one. I don't think exchanges like that should really be counted. Most of the time I haven't even opened the item either.
Many times a return happens for cosmetic reasons. Sometimes the unit doesn't look good with other appliances and sometimes there's a scratch in the plastic of the undercarriage. I sh!t you not. I've had someone return a radio because the plastic on the BOTTOM had a wee scratch in it. Let's not even get into the stolen goods returned in perfect working order.
Oh, I just remembered that I did add to this statistic once. I was at Guitar Center looking for a guitar amp (I primarily played bass or acoustic before that point). Anyways, the sales people are really pushy and such and I was unsure exactly how big I wanted to go. The sales guys are really pushy and any amp I asked questions about it seemed like they just said it would do whatever I expected, which I didn't really believe (commission...). I didn't really want to just buy something without trying one out with the band (it's hard to really tell inside Guitar Center because it's pretty loud in there). The conversation went something like this:
"Nah, I can't buy it right now because I need to research it more."
"We've got a satisfaction guarantee. If you don't like it, just bring it in and get something else."
"Well, that just doesn't seem right. I'm sure it'd probably be a pain anyways."
"Nope, I personally guarantee it, just flag me down and I'll do the exchange."
"Yeah, but if you're not here I'll have to go through some big hoo haw and they'll probably not want to do it."
"Even if I'm not here, you should be able to exchange it no problem. Ask the manager if you don't believe me."
"Well, I'm sure there's some sort of re-stocking fee or something."
"Nope."
"Exchange fee?"
"Nope."
"Well... Alright."
A few weeks later I returned it for something bigger. I still feel a little guilty about that, but hey, they talked me into it.
But maybe Guitar Center doesn't count because they don't RTV anything nor discount open-boxes.
@ ginnal
True, when I sent my ipod in to be fixed due to software issues, (via best buy) they wiped the memory "bench tested" it and sent it back to me and said it was a user error and i didnt tab my songs correctly, and didn't have the latest software, a total crock. lo and behold i synced it up to my i tunes (after following the technician's advice) and it still puts five and six different songs to a cd by a different artist, and when clicked on revert to where the song should go and freeze. all I have to say is thanks alot Assurant, lying sacks of shit.
P.S. dont buy best buy replacement plans they will make an ass out of you
@Kamokazi: I know that we "tech savvy users" tend to accept your arguments, but I can totally understand why normal users are pissed off..
-Laptop returned because 120GB hard drive only had 100GB, refused to believe the explanation about recovery partition and file tables.
What the normal user hears: "Well, I know we advertise that this thing has 120GB, but you know, when we say GB, we don't really mean GB, but 1 million bytes, which is not the same, and that's perfectly fine, and you are and idiot, sir!"
-Digital camera returned because it only held 7 pictures on the included memory card. "It shoudl work without having to buy anything else!"
Well, if it's useless, why was the memory card added at all? You probably announced that it comes with a 32GB memory card, but why should the normal user know how many pictures can be stored on this card? It sould be announced as "comes with a memory card that allows you to store 7 pictures" instead of "32GB memory card included!" (you're just wasting the money of the consumer, since it has to be replaced, anyway)
-And quite a few PC returns because it ran slow out of the box (Bloatware).
Well, if the PC isn't fast enough for this software, then why does it come preinstalled? (especially since there's usually zero extra value added by these stupid bloatware applications).
Kamokazi, your "most people are idiots" statement is a bit insulting. Many people are UNINFORMED about technology, it doesn't necessarily make them idiots.
hmmm... I am not so surprised by this.
In Canadia many of the stores promote there bring it back policies. Many of the sales clerks say "try it out bring it back if you are unsatisfied." I think this is mostly because you really can't tell with the test models. I would say Best Buy is an example.
However I have never had to lie or create an excuse to bring something back. "I want to return this" is usually enough. The staff will ask if it is broken you just tell them "No".
I would like to know who determines that there is nothing wrong with the returned equipment. "It turns on," is not a proper way of determining if it is OK. I simply don't believe the 95% number. The number would be high but not that high.
It's been dugg http://digg.com/people/95_Of_Returned_Gadgets_Work_Americans_Don_t_Read_Manuals
RTFM n00bs
but in all seriousness i can picture this story being true, at least no percentage wise, the reasons i can see being completely true
Out of interest, why don't people read the manual? First thing I do when I get a new gadget (after unboxing it and admiring it), is to read the manual, no matter how cursory it is or whether most of it is the electrical regulation compliance and safety information. There's always a small nugget of information that could save hours of frustration.
Anyone care to enlighten me about this attitude? Perhaps this is one for the psychologists to investigate!
@r3loaded.
Only girls read manuals.
before even plugging it in, i read every word in the manual for a sony alarm clock and even commented on a post on amazon to a guy who said that you can't adjust the time.
i enjoyed reading it, but i think most people can care less and expect it to just work out of the box.
@Richy: Guys read manuals too. There's just usually a trip to the bathroom involved.
@ r3loaded
Ah yes, I've been thinking about that too, and the reason people don't read manuals has to be pride. We all know people don't like being told what to do, so why would being instructed by a piece of paper be any different? For technologically illiterate people reading the manual undermines their "authority" over their new possession. Or reading the manual makes them feel incompetent because they can't figure out what the heck they're supposed to do without reading the instructions.
@anon
Haha, awesome... too true.
I'm with Bufsabre too, the shiny new manual is one of the things I get with my new gadget, so I just gotta pour over it. And hopefully it'll educate me on some cool features I would otherwise not known about. Though sometimes the manuals are terrible and worthless. I usually wait to read them until I "take the throne" so to speak, or lay in bed.
see im a little different if i cant figure it out in about 5 minutes of messing around THEN i go to the manual, it should be simple enough to figure out on its own but some things just arent. anyway thats how we learn best is through trial and error.
just thought id put my opinion in the ring.
Americans can't read or reason. NCLB (No Child Left Behind) and those with "Helicopter Parents have created a generation of people who can't read and reason or whose parents did it for them. People can't even figure out how to set the clock on their VCR or microwave because they can't understand the instructions.
America's newspaper is USA TODAY. There is better coverage of the news in the US in some European newspapers then in USA TODAY.
I'm an American. Yes, people here have become completely ignorant and vain. They want the latest and greatest without responsibility or compensation. Heck, only 5% of Americans pay 95% of taxes. The rest are buying and returning HDTVs off our tax money under the disguise of welfare. Grah, don't get me started on a long rant.
Does anybody know how to program a VCR? I thought that was one of life's mysteries...
how articulate.
Americans are dumb, and technology brings that out. I work in IT. At least once a day we get a call about something that isn’t working which turns out to be it was turned off or it was unplugged.
If you have someone that can’t figure out that a monitor isn’t working because it’s turned off, how can you expect them to operate a digital camera, or figure HDTV out?
@Chuck:
Actually, your comment is not correct -- basically just a talking point started by some think tank and repeated by people when convenient. The top 5% pay about 60% of the total income taxes -- not 95%. The top 50% pay 96% of the taxes. The bottom 50% pay about 3%. And welfare people buying HDTVs...? Sounds like more bullshit to me.
The top 5% of earners enjoy the most luxury and utilize more of the system than the rest of the population in order to achieve and maintain their wealth. Therefore it is perfectly fair that they pay the most taxes.
"There is better coverage of the news in the US in some European newspapers then in USA TODAY."
Get off your high horse. You don't even know how to use "then" and "than" properly.
@SugarDaddy
I was not being exact. I was merely emphasizing the unbalance and unfairness in the American tax system. If you don't think people on welfare are wasting their money on things such as HD TVs, open your eyes. That's why their on welfare.
What I cannot fathom is why the government should take my money, whether I worked hard for it or not, and give it to somebody on welfare in the form of food stamps or whatever. A very smart man once called this legalized plunder, and that's exactly what it is. It I want to, out of the goodness of my heart, give my money for food for the poor, then great. But when the government makes that decision for me, and in the process gives millions of dollars away to people sitting on their butt on a couch somewhere, that's a problem.
I don't care what your reasoning, you cannot justify stealing my money (and that of thousands of other Americans) and giving it to poor people. For heaven's sake this is America. It's the place that if you want to work and get rich, all you've gotta do is try.
I apologize for the lengthy rant.
@rick
yeah too bad you assholes beat us to the invention of the telephone, and the lightbulb, andwe musn't forget about the internet, in which you so proudly cast your wares about. we stupid americans just cant find the time to read manuals even though it dosent take a genius to figure out how to use a gps that has step-by-step directions ( THE ENGLISH COMMONS- Tom-tom) maybe we stupid people can invent somting capable of going to the moon, or advance the field of forensic sciences, which evidently murders in other countries are overlooked as accident, e.g. India, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, and maybe a few more countries to mention. you may want to consider the fact that not EVERY, or even Most, Americans ar stupid, but well capable of mentally kicking your ass. the pentagon for instance, has India, England, Russia, ect hacked it yet? c'mon i thought you guys were first and foremost on the academic food chain. i guess nuclear physics, creating massively devistating atomic bombs, utilizing hydrogen as a weapon, and EMP which could send any country to its knees and back into the dark ages, just dosent compute. if you are going to be prejudice, be sure and consider your own nationaliy and its misteaks before pointing out ours, and if by some chance you are an American, you are the dumbass and you need to move to Canada, or California, where country haters such as youself are very much welcome. P.S. burn a flag for me please, you ungrateful swine.
YOURS TRULY,
wise up er' shut up
I worked in inventory at a local apple store. In my experience 95% might be a little high but it is easily 65-70%. Most of the time people return stuff because of some sort of electronic hypochondriac situation. For example, when the ipod touch first came out and there was a batch of them that had "dark screens" we had multiple people buy and return several ipod touch because they "thought" the screen was dark. It was my job to inspect all the returns and send them back to the warehouse, so I personally looked at ever single returned ipod. All of which had perfectly fine screens. People hear about a problem then they assume that their device has it. Instead of store employees telling them to get lost their ipod is fine it is easier to keep the customer happy and return it.
Are all 5% xbox 360's?
I kid.
I've never worked in any electrical shops myself, but once when I was in Curry's I saw somebody kick up a fuss because he wanted to return his Xbox 1 because he couldn't play any games on it. He said he had 5 games, listed them and said they had no scratches. The guy on the counter asked him if he had any games with him to test it, so he went to his car and brought back a pirated Splinter Cell.
They told him to buy a real game...
I say, keep returning them, so that we have more precious mint and NIB refurbs on woot.com!
I did some part-time, weekend work in BB as a Geeksquad agent and one of our tasks was to test out gear that folks were returning to customer service. You wouldn't believe the tragically dumb excuses people come up with for retuning stuff. At least 80% of the ipods, GPS units, portable DVD players, digital cameras, etc. worked just fine. If it works, the customer usually has to pay a restocking fee on expensive items. That usually sends them right back through the front door with the product in hand. More often than not, a POed spouse is responsible for the return and not an unread product manual. I've seen grown men in tears begging to return a 60 inch plasma display 2 days before the Super Bowl because their wife was threatening to leave them over an unplanned purchase. Bottom line...nothing over $50 should be an impulse buy.
Damn, THAT'S all I need to do to get her to leave? I'm in!
The most important thing people need to know:
R T F M !!!
RTFM slogan literally is killing Linux, so can't be considered as a good advised.
Moron user exist but even a stupid user ever is able to work with many gadgets. How?.
Currently, manufacturer give two manuals:
-a long, with a lot of useless stuff and warrant limiting.
-a short, usually a one or two page, specific how to fast startup. You don't need to read the whole (and boring) manual anymore.
Additionally, manufactured give extra paper:
-a lousy yellow, red or any distinctive color paper that say important advised (such don't put babies or mascot inside your microwave).
-A ads about "free" services such free mp3 (credit card needing) for example.
I agree. It is the RTFM arrogance that permeates Linux that scares off novice users. The simple fact is any common problem that elucidates an RTFM indicates Linux has FAILED. Usability is extremely important, but there are some in Linux world who almost equate usability with dumbing down. Some people cannot seem to fathom that not everyone likes trawling through manuals, howtos, FAQs, readmes for hours to achieve something that can be done on Windows or OS X with a few mouse clicks.
@Magallanes
that's why us linux users have STFW and RTFF
Or, in the case of those of us who've purchased an Archos product, the manual doesn't tell you s**t so when the battery light doesn't start blinking to connote a full charge because you didn't know that if you physically turn off the player while its charging, for some reason the battery light won't blink, so you send it back and get a new one at which point you investigate the forums for several hours and realize that for some reason the archos has to be "on" for the battery light to blink, otherwise, it just stays lit...
I will admit it takes balls to admit you bought an Archos.
Why? Good quality products at a way better price then any Apple product, though personally I prefer Cowon.
Why? My first PMP was an Archos and it was solid....
95% may be high. But I do recall reading several years ago that one of the reasons Sharp stopped selling their Zaurus handhelds in the US was because American users found them too complex. The comment was made that Japanese users will read a gadgets from cover to cover when they get it. American users don't/won't.
I think this depends greatly on the product - I know that a lot of people when traveling (or even just out and about) will forget a charger or accessory, and buy one with the intent to return it. Even on things that have a restocking fee, it's cheaper to 'rent' an item than to buy it. And yes, of course sometimes working items don't work with your particular setup. So I'd knock at least a couple of points off for those things.
Our experience in processing RMAs is similar. A larger percentage of returned products do work just as they are supposed to. That said, we do occasionally produce a package that doesn't differentiate product A from product A 2.0.
It would be interesting to see, in the accenture study, if the *rate* of returned products has increased. As the consumer electronics space as a whole has grown, more consumers from farther back on the curve are purchasing. These majority users and late adopters tend to have a higher expectation for ease of use, etc. straight out of the box, whereas leading edgers tend to be able to figure it out for themselves or don't have problems either going online or R'ing the F-ing M.
I write packages and manuals for a living. Care to share whose packages and manuals are especially good, clear and concise? Whose aren't? Post here or feel free to mail me at [web followed by the at symbol webslog dot com].
We've had products whose packages end up being
Joshua, minor typo in the last sentence of your post, "We believe this ia...", ia -> is. I don't mean to be 'that guy', but it's a simple change.
Also, poor user interface design is more reflective on companies not designing with their clients in mind rather than the propensity of clients to give up when confronted with a hard task. It's not like people have fundamentally changed their stance on product usage; the harder it is to use, less people will attempt to use it. Companies have to look at ways of streamlining their interfaces and manuals. There was a great book I read on this a few years ago called "The Design of Everyday Things" by Donald Norman. I'd recommend people to check it out if they're interested in human factors and design.
Americans and our generation in general (but specially Americans), have become so lazy, that they want everything to work on its own, do as many things as possible and look as good as possible. Is very common to see reviews saying: "the remote control looks so 80s" or "the keys on the X PDA are too hard (or too soft)".
I don't believe is about quality anymore. We are just TOO spoiled.
I totally agree - we are just too spoiled, but there's no way around it. It's a feature of capitalism. If Toshiba's widgets have buttons which are two soft, there's a gap in the market for a product with buttons that are just right...and someone will exploit that gap. There's no way to stop it.
I can't believe you guys are complaining about this. This is the reason we have access to products that make our lives easier and more comfortable. I spent time in China with my wife's family recently and I'll tell you there is no way I would want to give up the lifestyle I enjoy in the US. It's amazing that most of the products that make things easier, like shower curtains, bath mats, etc, are made in China but are not available to them without considerable effort (even to city dwellers). Live like a Chinese for a few days and you will appreciate America's quest for convenience and comfort.
if there is a manual, it is on CD, easily over looked by the average consumer. If there is a paper manual, it is usually in some form of second language English from some Asian company. Very difficult to follow sometimes. But the real culprit, besides consumer ignorance, is marketing. They promise too much. SOME in store sales people mislead the customer,
Lately the trend is to download the manual. It the consumer can't get on line, how are they to get access to the very manual they need?
Even with its idiosyncrasies, the Archos is still damn good at what it does, which is a lot...
Seriously, there are a few manuals that are poorly designed, the worst being the ones translated from Chinese with Babelfish, but I've got to say some others are simply not user friendly, even for a tech savvy person.
Also American retailers have a habit of accepting products back more easily than their European counterparts. When I lived in France, they would only accept the product back if it was really defective, and only for store credit. If you could not figure it out, they'd usually bring a sales guy to show you how to use the product.
Damn you reply button!
i worked in Customer Service for a long time, and your average customer is a real bonehead...
Issues ive run into:
"My ipod doesnt turn on" -- well its not charged -- "but it didnt come with a charger" -- this white cable charges it
"My hig-def TV looks horrible" -- well what are you using -- "Cable TV" -- did you order a high-def package? -- "I was told i plug the cable in and it does high-def. I dont want it"
"My printer says it cant find the printer" -- did you plug the printer cable to the back of the computer? - "Um, i pluggd this cable to the electric switch" -- well how about a connection to your computer -- "oh, is that what this extra cable is for?"
And the greatest one:
"I turn my computer on, but nothing is on the screen, i want to return it i am so pissed off right now" -- okay maam, on the screen theres a little circle button... i want you to push that...-- "oh my god it works"
People really are just boneheads... They will blame everyone and everything before asking for actual help.... But i do blame some companies because they should make better instruction manuals...
.... 89% of all statistics are made up on the spot.....
78% of all people know that.
I always do extensive research on the product and prices before buying anything. It pays to know what and why you are buying something. Like my dad used to say "money don't grow on trees". But in any case, I love any retailer that will allow you to return a product (with receipt) if not satisfied, for any reason.
I sell a lot of things on eBay and two of the products I was selling were a Linksys Range Expander and Actiontec Wireless Routers, they were used I personally checked them working and I got about 50% of the Range Expanders back saying they didn't work, rechecked them when they got here 100% of those worked fine, people just had no clue how to set it up right, not even with the install disk, the Wireless routers I had less people return but of the ones returned as not working only 1 was truly not working and it didn't power on, probably a surge charge killed it
but yeah most of America if the device doesn't function like they think it should or doesn't react in split seconds is broken/defective
this is also why MS had that whole Vista Capable debacle, average consumers don't educate themselves before buying things
Very poor example as the Linksys Range Expanders are horrible products.
Very limited compatibility - work only with a select few Linksys routers. Automated install disks not finding the device. Manual (RTFM) setup not working. Needing an alternate direct cable connection method to set it up with an undocumented method through calling advanced tech support.
I personally went through two of those devices. One failed after a day. Second was better, but still could not use my security settings on the main router, Linksys. Had to turn security off or go back to WEP.
I gave up on Linksys at that point in time due mounting quality issues. New routers failing and unstable (reboot every day?) where 5 year old ones transmit faster and keep on trucking year after year.
That's coming from a tech guy that used to swear by Linksys products for 10 years.
I wonder how many of those presumed still functioning devices were just Linksys routers the new owners were tired of having to power cycle.
I would get at least one customer a day calling our ISP who would end up asking why they had to power cycle. When I explained how much we paid for routers they started figuring things out.
I also believe that some people just don't think they can learn so they don't even try. Others are just lazy or cheap. Getting calls from people doing self installs that want us to walk through everything from installing network cards to set up their network. They feel that paying for the install is not needed but we should help them for free.
join us tomorrow when we use a blow dryer to remove ID sticker from functioning electronic device A on the identical malfunctioning electronic device B.
remember to pay with cash :)
Usability studies have found a direct relationship between overall computer experience and whether the user will consult a help file. So you understand; beginning users rarely consult help files, but extremely experienced users often will. Of course, one reason is that many help files aren't written very well.
(It drives me nuts when my wife asks me how to do something in Word or Excel when all she has to do is open help and it walks you right through the steps.)
I bought a video sender system from Argos on Friday, tested it out, saw it was incapable of sending a clear picture through a single brick wall so I returned it. Rather than get into a protracted argument with the Argos customer service person over what constituted working or not, I just said it didn't work and got my money back. It would have been more accurate to say the video sender wasn't fit for purpose, but it was easier to say it didn't work.
This story seems to hint that returning an item is somehow wrong, it is not we all have consumer protection laws to give us this right, the cost is absorbed by manufacturers as operating cost, what is the story really ?
I often hear of people to scared to return items they don't want or need so hurray for the sensible majority of american consumers.
I have to agree ginnal I work as a home IT engineer and the amount of pc & consumer electronics goods that passes all tests fine then gives continuous errors is astounding.
Meh. I don't even return the product I purchased! I find beans and fishing weights to be an advantageous replacement.
PS-I'm kidding.
Hell, a few weeks ago the newspapers even said that 1/3th of all Americans younger than 25 can't find New York and/or Iraq on a world map, and that 40% of all Americans under the age of 44 has never even read a book.
So, this really doesn't surprise me. Maybe the United Nations should send the USA some aid in the form of proper teachers. Maybe we could even hammer out the fat and laziness!
Well for those of us that do read the manual...
A manual written in Chinese and translated to English by someone in India is really useless. Not dissing Chinese or Indians, just manufactures need to drop the one size fits all when it comes to manuals.
I return gadget items all the time. If im not happy with it in 30 days and I still have the receipt, I take it back.
Why live with a device I dont like?
Based on my small sample of people who have bought gadgets from me on ebay, I'm not shocked.
People simply don't read instructions, and barely read the item description before they buy. Then they blame someone or something else when "it don't work".
I don't think thats what it is. People are smart. If you need an item only once and you think it can be given back as good as new for a full refund, why wouldn't one do so? thats what people are doing. They buy items, use the once/twice/period of time when they can return and get the money back. its like almost using it for free.
Engadget readers and comment posters, please tell me if i am wrong.
You are not wrong. A lot of people know they generally can't take something they don't want back. However, if it's "defective" then they can get a refund/exchange.
I would say the headline is RTFA not RTFM - It says 68% is from the product under performing and 26 is buyers remorse. I would say that doesn't equate to not reading the manual.
I would consider myself a hightech guy, raised natively in digital. I bought a squeezebox duet for my mom a few weeks ago at Fry's. I really wanted to get her an iPod (because she knew the interface) but the primary use was to be a digital source for a home music system. I was worried that it was going to be convoluted, slow and flakey (wireless + music streaming = disaster) but I asked the sales guy about the return policy - he said 30 days, no hassles. So I got it anyway and tried to set it up. I got it working, got the music going, it technically 'worked' from every aspect of the word. But the interface was bad, slow, and unresponsive. Also, it would sometimes just flake out - not a good situation to hand over to a 55 year old mother who can't set the time on the VCR(what's a VCR?).
Anyway I took it back. The guy asked me if it was broken. I said "no, the product just sucks." He chuckled and asked me if I wanted to elaborate and I did. But the bottom line is it was a shitty product, that I wouldn't have bought had I not been able to return it no questions asked. I took a chance on a product hoping it would be great, it wasn't, so I got rid of it. I never read the manual, but my mom wasn't going to either. The product worked, just not well for what I needed. I have done this many of times, sometimes it works out. Often times it doesn't, but if you are going to have your sales people try and upsell in the store, you damn well better be prepared for the consequences.
Wow, there are a lot of really arrogant people on here who must think that because they know some technology basics that they are all hot s%^t. The fact is, most Americans are too busy working, being productive members of society, and spending time with their families to sit on websites like Engadget and learn about all this new technology. Most people just couldn't be bothered because they have better things to do with their time and technology just isn't of interest to them. Yes, I know, it's amazing some people care about other things than the latest and greatest. You just have to learn how to be patient with these people and not judge them because they don't have the in depth knowledge that you do (or think you do as usually seems to be the case), because most of the time they have knowledge in some other area where you are completely clueless. It's just the nature of the society model where every person has their own specialty. Plus, lets not forget the integrated circuit is still a relatively new addition to the everyday lives most people alive today .
Furthermore, drawing the conclusion that 'people don't read the manuals' or 'gadgets are too difficult to use for most people' from the statistic '95% of returned gadgets still work' is a complete stretch. There is no statistically valid evidence to support those claims. For example, I return working stuff all the time, because, well, I think it's a crap product and not worth the money. When I was putting together my home theater, I bought and returned 4 receivers before I found one I was happy with. I don't think is too uncommon, and is included in that 95% statistic.
And lets not forget the Walmart-style return policy that is all to common in the US where stores will accept returns of everything from an unwanted Wii to used condoms no questions asked. I'm sure more than a few of us have abused such policies.
It's like a new puppy... if you can't be bothered to learn how to properly use and maintain it.........
THEN DON'T BUY IT!!!
(endless possibilities on the "use and maintenance" of a puppy, but let's just leave it at an awkward analogy)
The problem with your argument is that we're not talking about people who doesn't have time to read the manual because their life is so fucking hectic, it's about people who doesn't prioritize reading the manual and therefore often miss out on the experience the used item could actually give.
It often takes less then 30 minutes to read a CE manual cover to cover. Why do we think that this unacceptable while it's considered normal to spend multiply hours each day with said device?
It often makes me sad to see some guy spending $2000 on a new HDTV and than hooking up his dvd-player using composite because "that cable was included". Had he bothered to spend 30 minutes reading the manual it would have made the viewing experience so much better.
With that not said CE manufactures can't be pretty stupid. For once always include a printed manual. Don't spam the user with stupid promotions, crapware etc. And for the love of god, make sure the product does not include any critial bugs.
This study indicates people only return merchandise because it's broken or they believe it is broken. That does not cover other reason for returns. I'd say, in my experience in retail a good portion of returns are just to get money back because they don't want the item anymore, or because the iten is an unwanted gift, or just plain shady customer tricks. (Returning a camera they scratched, claiming it's broken.) People are smarter than you think. I call this study bullshit. It's putting way to much faith in customer honesty.
Nice try limaxray,
There really is no excuse with being too busy to learn and know about the electronic things you buy. It only takes a few minutes to do a little research. You might as well say your son or daughter was too busy playing video games, had better things to do, hanging out and chatting with friends preventing them from doing their homework. There's just NO EXCUSE for that.
Even if you are an adult you still have to do your homework and research for your own sake of knowledge and even well being. A little knowledge is healthy and you should always try and challenge your logic side of your brain, especially to prevent from being senile at an early age. Even if you or others are "too busy" or say "they have better things to do" is just a sign of laziness. The laziness comes from not taking the time to balance your schedules, life events, and issues and instead cramming everything into 12 hours. You can make the time if you want but you are lazy not to do so. If i don't know something about a new technological breakthrough or revelation then I usually google it and there is more than enough information for me to become smarter than the people that sell such gadgets to me.
Seriously you should try it. It's really not that hard
Actually I can believe it, when I return stuff it's more often not that it doesn't work it's usually because it's poorly designed or doesn't work as claimed or insinuated.
There is just way too much poorly designed junk out there and sifting through it can be tricky.
I may not always read my instructions, but I can usually figure it out.
I think some of these returns could be more than a few of the old "What was I thinking, I can't afford this right now"
That's my thinking
There are many reasons for the high rate of returns, but I suspect the manual that comes with the gadget is often the culprit.
I am often told RTFM by my geek friends when I am trying to figure a new device like a video camera or a phone. Curiously, many times when these same geeks have read the manual they have been thoroughly confused by what they read and end up having to call somebody to figure it out.
I suspect the culprit is the way in which the manual is written. These manuals are many times poorly organized and either dense in their explanation or have poor sentence structure (has anyone tried to assemble a piece of furniture and read the directions?) What is amazing is that companies spend so much time, money and effort in marketing and creating this new fangled device and often leave the technical writing part to the end, and the result is poorly thought through manuals.
The one product that had excellent manual was Edirol. Along with the manual they had a simple one page explanation on how to turn it on and start using their product. It was a breeze. Can't say the same for many products that I buy...I end up preserving the manuals in zip lock bags and gingerly pull it out when I need to look up how to use a new feature etc.
Here is the other thing that I have discovered: many of the new devices are over-loaded with features that many of us don't use. I have always wondered the logic behind that..
Thanks for this timely post.
Kamla Bhatt
I used to work for a regional retailer of electronics and appliances, and was in charge of the electronics side. We would have people trying (we were VERY strict on what we would take back) to return items with no problems all the time. Now, a lot of our returns were cheap portable crap made by Coby, and those tended to be legit.
But we had people bring back printers because they didn't work...yet the people never bothered to try installing them, they just expected it to instantly print. Or those that needed a software update from the website (for Vista) and that was "too hard" for them to deal with. Or people buying those $29 POS Lexmark copy/scan/printers with ink that cost $65 to replace, returning those when the ink ran out, quickly. Or that would copy but do nothing else...again, because they never bothered to install the software for the scanner or printer drivers.
But my favorite attempted return? We sold the Wii in a bundle, with the system, 3 games, and an extra remote/nunchuck. One family (and yes, all 7 of them had to come back to say it didn't work) wanted a whole new bundle because the second controller didn't work. Why didn't it work? Because they couldn't figure out that you had to hit the "connect" button on the Wii first! And after explaining this, they STILL wanted a new one!
Needless to say they didn't get it.
Bottom line? You would be shocked by just how stupid and lazy the average consumer can be.
Many people purchase things just to try them. They know before they make the purchase that it may not be something they really need. Often times the 'reason for return' is false. Who wants to say "I tried it and didn't really like it."
I have to think this would really skew the statistics.
You are very very much correct "Peter. R"
Thats gotta be a great point.
never never never RTFM. if you read the manual then it knows it's got you.
Stuff should do what I want it to and, yes, it should intuit what I want it to do that from my body posture and brain waves. And then do it.
Anyway, IT support need something to keep them busy between twinkies and pr0n
Please note that Accenture takes these numbers from the companies themselves. How can you trust such a biased source (especially when 3 of Accenture's boardmembers sit on the boards of 11 of the companies polled)?
This is why Engadget will never be taken seriously as journalism: a total and complete failure to impose even the simplest, barest shred of a critical framework onto arguments presented by the industry it covers.
I can agree that the total working units being returned is high and it might be as high as 95% since most of you peoples response who worked retail or computer say different, even though you have done no study on the subject other than on your observations that say yes the World is flat. I've seen far too many people post messages on different boards on how to break an item so that it can be returned for a newer model or buyers remorse. I think more than anything people just don't want to be called stupid but hey instruction manuals come with almost all products and if not there is always the companies website that usually covers Faqs and Tips and Solutions but people are lazy.
I think we just got trolled by engadget.