L.L. Bean Must Hate Me

L.L. Bean must hate me. That's what my husband thinks, anyway.

My husband grew up in Maine and he told me about the best retail return policy a shopper could imagine. He told me that he used to wear an L.L. Bean parka when he worked at a fish packing plant. Money was really tight for him, and when he realized he needed money for rent, he decided to return the parka at the nearest L.L. Bean store and use the refund to pay for his rent that month. Now, keep in mind, he did not have a receipt for the parka and the parka was drenched in fish stench, leftover sticky fish guts and random fish scales, but L.L. Bean TOOK IT BACK and gave him a refund! To this day, I am still amazed by this story because it defies the laws of retail shopping! (I don't recommend doing this, per se, but it just shows that L.L. Bean has a phenomenal return policy!!!)

So, why does L.L. Bean hate me? Well, once I heard this story, I wanted to test out the return policy and see if it really worked--I'm all about testing theories that I hear! I grabbed one of my husband's old L.L. Bean blankets that he had from 10 years ago that had moth-bitten holes in it and grass bits stuck in the fibers, and I filled out a return form and mailed it back to L.L. Bean. I filled out the form to request an exchange to see if L.L. Bean would send a new blanket to replace the old one. A few weeks later, a brand new blanket showed up on our porch!

Now, why did that new blanket show up on our porch? I didn't even have a receipt for the one I sent back to the return facility! In retail land, no receipt means no service, no returns, right? That's what I thought until I met L.L. Bean's return policy:

http://www.llbean.com/customerService/aboutLLBean/guaranteed_popup.html

A few years ago, we went back to visit my husband's side of the family in Maine, and while we were there, we went to L.L. Bean. That was the first time I actually stepped foot in the store itself (up to that point, I just shopped online at L.L. Bean's website to get acquainted with their products). When I walked around the store, I noticed this sign posted near the cash registers:

Well there it was etched in wood, hanging proudly on the wall: the original statement guaranteeing all L.L. Bean products! This was the magic sign with the incredible policy that makes people feel secure about shopping at L.L. Bean. This was the magic sign that enables receipt-free returns!

Ever since that blanket showed up on our porch, I have been a loyal L.L. Bean fan. It is the ultimate worry-free shopping experience because if something doesn't fit or if something shrinks in the wash, or if you just don't like the item, you can return it to L.L. Bean, no problem! A couple years ago, I bought some Keen sandals from their shoe department and after I wore them, I realized I did not like how hot they were on my feet--they did not let my feet breathe and I always had hot feet when I wore them. So, I returned those. Now, can you imagine any shoe store that would let you test out a shoe and return it because they were uncomfortably hot on your feet? I sure can't! I also bought some Nalgene water bottles a few years ago, before the BPA content was known, and after the articles about BPA in Nalgene bottles were released, I decided to return those water bottles to L.L. Bean immediately, just to play it safe. Now don't get me wrong, even though I have returned a lot of things to L.L. Bean, I have also balanced that out with purchasing a lot of things, so they still have my business and they have definitely earned it!

Nevertheless, my husband thinks L.L. Bean must know me by name by now and must hate seeing a return box from California!

Here's a little BONUS: If you sign up free for an L.L. Bean Visa credit card, you get free shipping and you can earn L.L. Bean dollars to spend at L.L. Bean! Oh, and now they changed their policy so that L.L. Bean credit card holders receive FREE RETURN shipping too!

Here is the link to the L.L. Bean return form: http://www.llbean.com/shop/returns/images/090330_returnExchForm.pdf

No more BPA in Nalgene bottles:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/18/business/18plastic.html

Here's the website for L.L. Bean, let the shopping begin!

http://www.llbean.com