In Costa Rica many things come in 'returnable' containers.
Coke bottles, beer bottles, gas cylinders, beer boxes, and large water bottles are all returnable.
The way it works is this:
You give a deposit for the 'container'. Then you can bring the container, and they'll take it in, and give you a new one where you only pay the liquid/content. When you no longer require the container, you can give it back to them and if it is in good shape they will return the deposit in exchange for the container.
Many months ago, I bought my containers (over $100 worth as I bought 3 boxes of beer, 72 bottles of small beer, several large bottles of beer, 1 cylinder of gas, a bunch of coke bottles). Since it was a bit of money, I was very careful to ask:
"Do I need to keep the receipt in order to give these back"
The answer: "no, you just bring them in"
I didn't trust the clerk, as people in this country tend to have a habit of not being very accurate in the transmission of information. So I went to the customer desk, and saw how people came, put the bottles in a specifically placed shopping cart for it, and receive a receipt which they changed in the cashier.
So I used my bottles/containers. I never had any trouble. I'd bring in the bottles, pay for the liquid, and leave with fresh beer/water/gas. I was happy.
Until the day I asked for my deposit back, many months after purchase and after having thrown away the receipt. I have been cutting back on my drinking, so I decided to cash a few of my beer bottles. I went to the desk, asked for it, and in a disparaging tone, was told by an employee name: H a z e l C.A.M.P.O. S that without a receipt I could not get my deposit back.
Upon explaining that I was told it was not needed, and that they never asked for my receipt when I used the bottles to purchase more liquid, she said that it wasn't her problem and asked if I cared to speak to her supervisor. Her supervisor J.E.N.N.I.F.E. R E s p i n o z a repeated company mantra 'without a receipt, screw you'
I'm a frequent customer of this establishment, I have purchased from them for many, many years. I literally spend $500 per month at their store. And yet when I ask for my messily deposit back... This is asking for too much.
BEWARE: If they ask for a deposit that they are supposed to return, don't expect it back. I'm sure if I had my receipt they would have found something 'disatisfactory' and an excuse for not giving my deposit back. This is actually standard practice in this country.in over 6 years of renting from 5 different landlords, I never got my security deposit back, no matter how much I stuck to contract rules.
If I had purchased from any other company, I wouldn't have expected anything given back, no matter how much right I have to it. But I expected more from Walmart.
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