Obtuse attitude, both times

I have had to deal with a very obtuse individual at the Greenstone branch of Edgars, on more than one occasion. This staff member pretends that he doesn't understand me (when he clearly does) when I ask questions and is just a generally difficult person to deal with. This morning I tried to return an item of clothing with tags and Proof of purchase supp****. It was bought 30/11 so it was out of their 30 day return policy. Fair enough. I asked if I could have a gift voucher as I did not want to exchange the shirt for something else (this branch is small and has very little stock and variety). It was a problem for Melusi (Milo) who lacks finesse and customer skills. I had to resort to arguing with him in order to just get a gift card. I am still going to spend the money at Edgars, so I cannot understand why it would be an issue. I phoned Edgars Customer Care afterwards to query the return policy and I was advised that a gift card is perfectly fine if I don't want to do an exchange. Is it too much to ask for a courteous and helpful assistant when doing my returns? It's wrong that I HAVE to shop at Eastgate to avoid the Greenstone branch.