I spent most of my working life in the auto parts business, most of that specializing in imported car parts.
In the beginning, the early 70s, return policies were quite strict. No return on non-stock items. Handling charge for the return of normally stocked parts that the customer decided not to use. No return on any installed part. No return of electrical parts except for provable warranty.
This was necessary for the small businesses to survive, and to continue to provide the critically necessary supply of hard-to-find parts for the low-production cars that we served.
Then, along came Walmart, and other mass merchants, and later Amazon, Rock Auto, etc. These mega-large distributors redefined the concept of customer expectations. Consumers now believe they have a legal right to no-cost, unlimited returns.
There is no such legal right.
Whether a company is well advised to adopt such customer-centric policies is open to debate. I know well the economics of both large and small scale businesses, and do not believe the small, specialist operations can be profitable while offering Walmart, no questions asked, return policies.
So, as consumers, we can choose who to give our business to, and whether there is value in rewarding the smaller merchants that provide unique and important services.
My personal limits exclude crooked dealing, rude behavior, and poor service. I have no objection to paying more for good service. I expect first-quality parts without exception, and avoid vendors who provide lowest-cost components to attract that sort of business.
None of this is specific to Vick’s. I’ve never done business with them, as the high-quality, brilliant service vendors I use have done a great job of keeping my loyalty.