Halloween has come and gone. And as always, Americans went all out. The total spend was predicted to hit over $11 billion in 2024, with almost $4 billion of that going to costumes. Retail stores specializing in Halloween paraphernalia were no doubt busy in the run-up to the celebration. And some staff might have breathed a collective sigh of relief as the witches went back to their hiding place in the days after.

But for one Spirit Halloween employee, the nightmare was just beginning. She was getting ready to permanently close the pop-up store for the season when a customer came in demanding a refund. When the employee pointed out that it didn’t meet company policy, all hell broke loose. What started as a retail dispute ended with a call to 911.

Almost anything goes when it comes to dressing up for Halloween

Image credits: breejeanjohnson (not the actual photo)

When one mom bought the wrong size dinosaur costume for her son, she took things a bit too far while trying to get her money back

Image credits: Liza Summer  (not the actual photo)

Image credits: s_decoy

Spirit Halloween is a pop-up Halloween retailer that trains and hires thousands of seasonal staff every year

For those unfamiliar with Spirit Halloween, it positions itself as “the largest Halloween retailer in North America.” It’s been running for over four decades, having celebrated its 40th anniversary last year. This year, there were 1,525 pop-up shops in strip centers and malls across the U.S. and Canada. It was a huge jump from the 1,000 stores ten years ago.

The company announced earlier this year that it had hired 50,000 seasonal employees to work in the stores in 2024. “Opening over 1,500 retail locations is no small feat, and much of the magic we create for fans each year is thanks to the passion and dedication of our associates who bring the Spirit Halloween experience to life,” said CEO of Spirit Halloween, Steven Silverstein, during the recruitment drive.

The company revealed that working at a Spirit Halloween shop comes with “head-turning perks.” Among them are “competitive salaries, flexible scheduling, and a premium pay incentive program.” Store managers who’ve worked at Spirit Halloween before are also eligible for retention bonuses. In addition, “all Spirit Halloween associates also receive a 30% discount on Spirit Halloween purchases, allowing them to haunt on or off the clock.”

But, as with many retail positions, the job also comes with the possibility of dealing with difficult customers (and some drama) now and again. As the employee at the center of the 911 call found out.

The Spirit Halloween website clearly states that all sales become final on 24 October 2024

The employee noted in her post that the customer’s receipt stated “All sales final after October 25th.” In a comment on her post, the employee said the woman had “purchased the product on October 26th, which was over a week before she tried to return it on November 3rd.”

She added that the store accepted exchanges “for products purchased before the 24th, up until the 24th, and told everyone making a purchase that the last day to do any sort of return was the 24th. On the 25th we now say all sales final.”

Bored Panda checked the Spirit Halloween website’s refund policy for in-store purchases. Here’s what we found:

“Our SPIRIT Halloween stores are seasonal locations that are usually open from the end of August to the beginning of November. You have until October 18th, 2024 to make any returns or exchanges as long as the items are unworn, have the original accessories, are in new and resalable condition, and in the original packaging. You will also need to have your receipt. After October 24th, 2024 all sales become final.”

According to job adverts listed on its site, Spirit Halloween requires all store managers, assistant store managers, and sales associates to be “totally sales and service focused on Spirit’s unique Guest” adding that “selling is [their] priority.” It’s also crucial that each employee “follows all Company policies and procedures.” So, it would seem that this employee was adhering to the requirements of her role.

The employee agreed to answer a few questions for curious netizens

“Every retailer’s nightmare”: People sympathized with the employee and called out the customer for wasting police resources

“People dial 911 when the ride goes down”: Netizens flooded the comments with their own similar stories

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