A woman in Waterbury, Connecticut, said she was humiliated and hurt when she made returns at a Babies "R" Us.
Jessica Huchko told WFSB that she and her husband were expecting a baby boy but miscarried.
Huchko said that prior to the miscarriage, she and her husband already had most of what they needed after having three girls, but went to Babies "R" Us to get the latest of some items.
"We pretty much had everything, but with car seats and strollers, you have to update them every five years," Huchko said.
But having those items around after the miscarriage was difficult.
"Every time I would see them, I would either get mad or upset. I needed them out of the house," Huchko told WFSB.
So Huchko went to Babies "R" Us to to return the items to the store. She said she did not have a receipt, which is against store policy. Huchko said that both items were still in the box and she had the debit card she used to pay for them.
"I guess I didn't give (the employee) a good enough answer, so she asked, 'Why are you returning this?' And it triggered something inside of me," Huchko told WFSB.
She said in a Facebook post Thursday that when she told an employee the reason for returning her items, she became overwhelmed and started to cry.
"(The employee) was obviously mortified for asking and continued to do the return. While we were standing there, many people had started to line up behind me. I was so emotional I could not stop crying," Huchko wrote. "I became nervous now that so many people were watching me cry while she was looking up the product. She must have scanned the items over 20 times and could not find them in the system anywhere. All I wanted to do was leave."
Huchko said eventually a manager had to step in, who, according to Huchko's post, could not locate the stroller in the system and could only offer the mother half the price of the car seat.
WFSB reported that the manager allegedly offered Huchko pennies for the $179 stroller.
"(The manager) turned around and said, 'It's coming up as two cents.' I said, 'So you're offering me two cents for a double stroller?' It was worse than a slap in the face," Huchko said. "Now I have to try and control myself while there's a huge line forming behind me."
"We are deeply sorry for her experience in our store, and more importantly for her loss," Babies "R" Us said in a statement Monday. "The store leadership has provided coaching to the team members to help ensure similar situations are handled with more care in the future."
Huchko is hoping for a change in store policy. She said the store manager called her Monday and offered to give her the rest of the balance owed for returning the stroller.
About the Author
