Went to Speedo Chadstone on Sat 14th June 2008 and bought $50 pair of swimming goggles. Tried them on in-store before buying. After swimming for 1 hour in them was in immense pain as they were pinching the nose, something you can only discover after an hour not a few minutes in store. Went back to Speedo, helpful staff suggested different larger across the nose pair. Ah, but they are $17 cheaper. Manager Ben advises I will have to take a credit note. I say no as there is nothing else in Speedo that I'll ever buy. He argues that they have a "NO REFUND" policy. I advise is illegal so then he amends to "No refund unless broken/damaged". I tell him to get service manual out and show me refund policy. He does and it states refund can be given if product doesn't "work". I define swimming goggles as working if they keep water out of my eyes and are comfortable. Therefore these goggles don't "work". More arguing follows during which time he implies that it is MY FAULT as I had tried the goggles on in store and therefore NO REFUND from Speedo. It doesn't matter to him that an hour of swimming is a lot different to a few minutes in store. I talk to him more about what good customer service means, the futility of trying to hold on to my $17, the damage this will do if I leave the store angry and then tell everyone I can. Still won't budge. Finally I tell him that he either refunds the money or I will be leaving and calling Speedo and Consumer Affairs and getting my full amount of money back. I tell him it is not his job to protect $17 and that it is better to let it go and give good customer service. FINALLY, he puts through the refund after implying that I won't be able to bring THESE goggles back if they hurt because I've tried them on (again for a minute). The whole thing from start to finish was about 25 minutes and it was all over $17. Tried to contact Speedo - no phone numbers on website. Finally found a phone number on another site and called them. Got transferred all over the building, speaking to various people who each said it wasn't their area. Even spoke to the Brand Manager -- and he said it wasn't his area! Isn't protecting and promoting the brand his job? What do I want: Speedo need to change their policy to offering credit note or refund in all cases. I would like an apology from Speedo for making me engage in an argument to recover a measly $17 dollars.
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