Ok, this is not related to bags, and I need some opinion and advice here.
Here’s what happened. A representative from a magazine (I shall not name which one) asked to pull out some of our merchandise in Rockwell. While this person had no prepared paperwork for a proper pull- out request, we acknowledged the request by getting in touch with the editor- in- chief of the said magazine to confirm if such a person worked for the publication. It was confirmed that she worked for the publication as editorial assistant and that she was in the process of pulling out merchandise from different shops for their photo shoot.
So, we allowed this person to pull out some items. She seemed real nice (I’ve never met her, but our shop girls have met her). Our policy for pull- outs has always been this: Items should be returned in the same condition as when they were pulled out, and items need to be returned 2 days after pull- out. Should there be damage in the items, they will therefore be charged for the damaged item/s, and item/s be considered sold. This pull-out form is standard and was signed by the representative of the magazine.
The pull-out of merchandise happened on November 12 (that was 9 days ago). Some magazines are considerate enough to inform us that they’ll be late with returning the items, so we, like other stores, are lenient with that. Anyway, we finally got in touch with her some weeks ago,to ask about the merchandise since we never heard from her after the two day period for returns had lapsed. After some time, she replies and apologizes because they were busy with layout hence the delay in returning the items. She promised to have items returned as soon as possible. I was grateful for her reply.
The return of the merchandise happened at around 6pm the next night, through one of the magazine’s interns. Upon checking of the items, one pair of earrings had 2 missing stones. It was damaged. So now, our store policy has to take effect. (In fact, I believe this is also the same policy all other retail stores have for magazine pullouts)
I spoke with the editor- in- chief of the magazine, who said that it’s the responsibility of the one who pulled out. I sent messages to the editorial assistant. I just heard from her, saying that when she last handled the earrings, they were in perfect condition. She had initially made contact that she would like to pay for the item once she gets her paycheck (this was back in November). But a few days ago, I got a text from her (after I had sent her a message asking about that “deal” we had), and she said she had shot us an email requesting to pay in January. When we checked the store mail, her email was not there.
So now, the question is: WHO do you think should be held responsible for the damaged item? The publication? Or the person who works for the publication whose signature is on the pull out form? What would you do?
Your thoughts are highly appreciated on this.
*Gawd, on a side note, I remember a friend of mine (who is also a retailer) who also had the same problem with another magazine– this stylist had borrowed so many items for “pull out” and was not heard from for a very long time that I had to help her by calling the editor- in- chief to inform about the incident. Items were returned shortly by the stylist, but there were still MISSING ones and one or two pieces that were damaged! And that stylist was never heard from again despite numerous attempts to get in touch with him. That male stylist was just too strange. Items borrowed and not returned for months. So obviously, this stylist is now “banned” from borrowing items from a lot of retailers.*
Meanwhile, I’m just scratching my head in wonder. My friend and I used to work for a magazine and we’ve never had this problem. We always managed to take extremely good care of merchandise that we borrow for shoots. After all, those items were not ours to use other than for the shoot. I understand sometimes accidents can happen, but what measures should be taken to ensure they don’t happen? *Sigh* what a dilemma, no?
x
Mrs.T