Retail Stories: "I'm Trying to Order a Gift For My Wife"

I've worked on multiple retail jobs and collected a lot of interesting stories. I still think back to the experiences...

This particular story isn't really a retail story, as the setting is different, however, since it's still customer-facing and quite interesting, let's still keep it in this collection.

On a weekend afternoon, I was checking and sorting through my emails, my phone started ringing. I picked it up and greeted the customer, a man, perhaps in his thirties, started talking: "I'm trying to order a gift for my wife... I tried multiple times already, but none of my orders went through."

I began by apologizing to him for the experience and the issue, then I asked him a few questions as I try to further understand the situation. He mentioned he suspects the error due to his Bill To Address is a PO Box address, which then the system is flagging as we don't ship to PO Boxes; he then said he wanted to try his luck calling in to see if the order can be placed over the phone manually. I let him know the system I use is the same as the system on the website, which then he sounded disappointed, but I reassured him that I would give it a try and see if it'll work on my end.

As I start to gather information from him, he tries to put the order through again. When I asked him for his email address, he mumbled something that I could barely make the words of, I heard the words "old email" -- in my mind, I was thinking he's going to provide me with his old email, which I later found out not the case. After his mumbling, he ignored me for quite some time, I was thinking he's still trying to order online, I patiently waited for him. Then, he said his attempt failed again and that he has already tried with multiple browsers and computers, yet no luck at all.

I reassured him again, that I will try on my end and the next thing I need from him is his email and phone number. He mumbled quickly, and I caught the email "[email protected]" and a phone number similar to "9059599590" -- I typed the contact information provided into the system. Looking at the email and phone number, I started raising red flags -- I quickly Googled the email address, and phone number, not much information was found, so I gave him benefit of the doubt first. I confirmed with him the contact information he had provided -- just in case I had heard it wrong, however, he confirmed all the information was correct.

After creating his profile, I began creating his order for him, I added the items he wanted, then I repeated the items back to him, once he agreed, I confirmed his order total with him. The amount wasn't high, just a little under CAD$200.

While waiting for the system, I thanked him for his patience and let him know that it'll be a moment for the order to be placed and for the payment to be processed, and soon we will know if the order went through.

I quickly refreshed the system and clicked into his profile and found the order created, the order had "holds" on it, stating it is a fraud.

I apologized to him, letting him know, unfortunately, the payment didn't go through and it is very likely due to the PO Box address. Then I asked him if he has other credit cards that we can try, he said he has about nine cards, but tried them all and none went through, as all of them have the same billing address and mentioned he had tried Paypal already and that didn't go through either.

I apologized to him and let him know that the only option for him might be to purchase at a physical store. He said his wife and him had checked, his local stores do not have any promotions at the moment and definitely not the one his wife wanted, and he would hate to miss out on the promotion on the website, as his wife really wants it.

I felt bad for the man, as I was thinking of perhaps the husband wanted to surprise the wife, and how disappointed the wife might be. I apologized again to him for the experience and inconvenience.

Then, he said he is willing to go purchase in the store but still wants to get the online promotion, and he can send us the receipt after making the purchase, which then he would like us to honour the online promotion.

I placed him on hold, so I can quickly consult my supervisor; although I know the chances are slim, as we may not be able to guarantee the promotion for the purchase. Of course, the conclusion with the supervisor is exactly as I had thought.

I took him off of hold and explained the situation to him, letting him know that unfortunately we simply cannot guarantee that we will be able to offer the online promotion to him -- even if he can provide us with the store receipt -- as we don't have the same promotions and offers as the retailers and unfortunately we are not able to guarantee the head office's decision.

He tried asking again and said his wife will be very disappointed. I apologized again and repeated the same information to him.

He hung the phone up, without saying another word.

After the call, I went through all the information again and quickly did an investigation, concluded it was a "potential fraud".

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Facts

The 2020 True Cost of Fraud – E-commerce and Retail study said the result of increased fraud volumes translates into a 7.3 percent increase in the cost of fraud year-over-year and the LexisNexis Fraud Multiplier shows that every $1 lost to fraud now costs companies an additional $3.36 compared to $3.13 in 2019 and $2.40 in 2016. This is an increase of $0.96 over five years. U.S. costs are significantly higher than the cost that Canadian retailers face per $1 lost to fraud at $2.87.

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*Disclaimer: Retail Stories are based on actual events and experience, with some details added and/or edited. If there is any resemblance to your experience and/or people you know, it may or may not be coincidental.

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Resources

https://www.retail-insider.com/retail-insider/2020/07/retail-fraud-continues-to-increase-in-canada-amid-pandemic-executive-study/

https://risk.lexisnexis.com/insights-resources/research/2020-true-cost-of-fraud-retail