Anyone telling you the staff is wonderful met Dane, not the other manager. The product? I wouldn't shop there at the prices, given the nature of my issue. Why write a book for a review? Because the manager there is comedy gold! Interacting with him was like playing catch with a balloon full of urine and feces. When you get soaked in filth, you can only blame yourself. This review is my walk of shame.
At first I was mad, then I started laughing over it because it was ridiculous. Remember that one guy in high school who's all mad for no reason and makes simple things problematic so everyone groans when they have to be around him for school functions because he triples down on the douche factor when confronted? He works at Smoke Rings as a manager now.
Let's break this down in detail, for your edification and enjoyment! (note: this is not "break rules so I can have my way" , it's the opposite. I wished to reasonably exercise store policy, and was taunted and resisted), I don't have room for the taunting, but just know it exists :D
1. Purchase item without inspection or even holding it (my fault). looked like a hot topic after-school special, but I thought it was all metal given the price. It was put in the bag without ever touching my hands, lesson learned, no big deal no complaints to them, we were just hanging out for a moment while I looked around and he was helpful. my criteria was metal pipe with screw on cap, no caps were there but this one.
2. Inspect item at home:
a. cheap plastic shell enclosing metal pipe (it's actually called 'metal', but it's just a name apparently. This shell is gonna melt.
b. tiny googly eyes from dollar store over two torx screws holding it together...and the eyes don't even cover them right. and one is missing :D no idea why they put those on instead of just dabbing red paint over the screws, it's a silly design.
c. went to rinse it out like oh well maybe I can remove the stupid plastic skull shell and get a good piece out of it, wow there's LEDs in it apparently on the other side, and now it's shorted out because YOU CAN'T GET IT WET!!!! so you can't clean it out without submerging a battery in liquid. so cool!
So we have a piece with a battery and an electric circuit inside, with trash plastic enclosing it, one googly eye over a screw, and we're now going to repeatedly expose it to fire and hold it up to our face. Does this sound like a 20 dollar piece? 9.99 since you're going to dispose of it like a razor blade, but not 20, man.
Go in to exchange it, probably should have said "exchange" at first, but i realised my mistake and said "i don't need money back, I just want to get an item of equal value since this one is garbage"
I guess Manager in the back only heard "money back garbage" because he leaped in like a gym class hero making it an issue where there really wasn't one. Interaction: receipt says you can exchange, please let me exchange.
how it went:
Tried to tell him multiple times I just want an item of equal value, but he kept ignoring this and trying to get me to convince him of why it was a bad piece and worthy of exchange.
I started getting annoyed at the sheer stupidity of it all after pointing out a, b, and c, and he asked "who TOLD you it lights up?"
what? that's your take-away from cheap plastic shell, googly eyes, battery submerged in water and exposed to extreme heat, can't clean it out properly because of the design...that IT LIGHTS UP? And he's in the "I don't believe you" camp! the lighting up is not even a THING! the thing is the plastic, battery, electronics, and that you can't put those in liquid or expose to heat! THEY MELT! DERP!
where were you going with this logic? consider it like this: he thinks it doesn't? is that my complaint that I thought it did? no...I just point out a battery does this. So if it doesn't light up...there's no battery? is that the logic? I don't know, smh at this one, can i please just exchange?
"nobody TOLD me, I see it with my own eyes. look. "
Hold the pipe in my hands and show the light up LEDs. He acts skeptical, WHY? why be skeptical, this is such a non-issue! it's a crappy plastic thing with circuitry! OH i get it now! prove the battery exists!
"my hands don't naturally glow red in the dark" I tell him as he stares at length, peering into my cupped hands. This is getting stupid.
he then asks me what I want. repeat that I just want an item of equal value.
I keep getting asked why. does it matter? it's not been used, I don't like it, and contract of receipt says I can.
Manager tried to claim this would be EIGHTY DOLLARS anywhere else! Now I know he's tripping. Maybe he didn't hear me when I said it's plastic because I agree IF it were high quality and metal yeah dude 20 is a steal. this dollar store dookie is definitely not worth 20 USD. Ending with: I got the exchange, and while we did it, he tried to pick a fight. read more