What do you do?

Here the situation a customer (not a regular) come in and asks for help on port. they are not experienced with port and after about a 1/2 dissertation on the subject, they leave happy with a bottle of LBV. Fast forward to a week later they walk in carrying the bottle of of port. I take a quick look at it and it appears that the attempt to open it went really wrong not centered and did not bother to remove the seal or the capsule just straight into any part of the cork. Surprise the cork did not come out and only pieces of it did then after repeated attempts they were only getting bit and crumbles yet 3/4 of the cork was still in place. I took the bottle and removed the seal and capsule took a double step cork screw and removed the cork to reveal the cork was soft and pliable and in perfect condition. This is clearly operator error and not the fault of the bottle, cork or wine. They wanted a refund or replacement of this bottle. the question is What do you do?

Give them a refund and joke about how you should have mentioned not needing a corkscrew to open the bottle.
They’ll laugh along, knowing you’re taking the blame that rightly should sit upon their shoulders, and become a regular customer because of your tact and grace in handling the situation.

+1

Was this a t-stoppered cork or a regular driven cork?

What vintage was the LBV? (older ones with driven corks are almost impossible to remove in one piece. This is due to the shape of the bottles neck. Much like of Vintage Port).

Instruct them on how to properly remove a cork…using a proper cork screw. I’ve seen more friends try to use (or hand me to use) some cheap cork screw that is a complete P.O.S. and which almost always breaks every cork regardless of how new the cork is.

My thoughts as a customer…

1. what a dumbass
2. what a ballsy dumbass
3. what a generous retailer

Well they obviously wanted to drink it, find a stopper and re-seal it and give it back to them to drink.

From http://www.fortheloveofport.com/faqs/port-faqs#LongLast

Unfiltered LBV’s, if stored in refrigeration after the bottle has been opened, will normally provide shelf life of a week or two.

For filtered LBVs, these typically can last up to ten days after being open, without any major deterioration of quality.

Do whatever they want…

Pretty simple-do you want them as a customer(replace it) or don’t you(do anything else).

I’d replace it-loyal customers don’t come around on a regular basis-

Once you got the cork out, you hand it to them and say “There you go. Do you need glasses.”

FIFY

I’m with Randy; they had trouble removing the cork, you did it for them, you’re welcome, please come again soon. Giving them a new bottle isn’t wrong, in a business sense, though; just don’t do it twice for the same people.

+1.
If it’s a customer you want to retain, its a small price to keep them coming back.