On Saturday, September 13, 2025 I went into the store and purchased a set of headlights for my car. I wanted the upgraded LED bulbs, but there was no one around to unlock them for me so I settled for the basic set, paid for my purchase and walked out. I went to another store with better customer service and found the LEDs that I wanted so I came back today to return the ones I bought. The manager asked me why I was making the return and I told him it was because of the disappointing experience that I had the previous Saturday. He rolled his eyes but took my receipt. I asked for a refund and when he told me to put my card in, I did. He said I was using the wrong card and asked me if the lightbulbs were actually mine. I looked at my receipt and realized that I'd used Apple Pay instead of my physical card, so I went out to get my phone. When I came back in the store, he had shredded my receipt. When I asked why, he became verbally abusive and refused to refund my purchase on the basis that he had the right to refuse service for any reason. The lightbulbs are still sealed in their original packaging, and I had a complete receipt that was within my return period. He not only refused to return, but he flagged it as returned in the system, so I'm unable to get a refund from any other AutoZone store or my bank. As I was walking out of the store, he called me a thief and said I should kill myself. The interaction felt very unsafe and I do not recommend that people shop here. I also work in customer service and avoid escalating things to management or corporate whenever possible, but "managers" like this are the reason that retail stores are dying. No one, regardless of whatever role they play in a store, should be allowed to yell at customers and tell them to kill themselves. That is unacceptable and dangerous behavior. I asked for the bare minimum of a refund when I abided by the terms in their return policy and was instead treated horribly and threatened with police action if I didn't leave.
I called the district manager and regional manager for the store and no one even answered the phone. I took the bulbs to the AutoZone on Whitten Road in Bartlett and they could not process the return because he flagged them as returned. They have not been returned, because I have the lightbulbs and the receipt in my hand. I called the district manager for that store and she was not helpful at all. read more
