posted on January 10, 2003 12:49:19 PM new
Stopped today to get something at OfficeMax in Rochester Hills MI.
For the third time in a year I looked at the huge board they post their flyer on as you come in and saw something I wanted - a Verbatim CD-R for $19.99 after in store and mail in rebates.
And for the third time the cleerks told me they had never had a single one of the special in the store to sell.
Boy -- That's really special.
That irks me so bad I am not going to stop in and buy the regularly priced stuff anymore.
Why give my money to crooked people who think I'm stupid?
If they had never made the offer I would have no problem with them. But if they try to trick me that sours the relationship.
I will also send a loving letter to the State Attorney General. He just got a judgement against Circuit City for the same crap.
Maybe these guys all went to the same business school to learn false advertising 101?
posted on January 10, 2003 05:55:51 PM new
Go to their web site, & send a email complatining about it. If you don't raise a complaint nothing will ever be solved.
Several years ago, marie Callinders (sp) pie shops had a introductory special. Buy on pie, get one free.
Works for me. Went in, ordered a cheese cake another pie. Was told the cheese cake wasn't included in the special. Said fine, show me in the advertisement where it stated the cheese cakes were excluded.
I was told well it doesn't say it anywhere. OK fine, I want the cheese cake. Again was told Nope. My friends laughed at me becasue I was getting mad. That made it worse.
So I canceled the order. Came home, looked up their web site, sent a email raising holy hell.
Two days later I get a call from the store manager offering me a coupon for 4 free pies (still no cheese cake though).
Went in several days later to redeam the coupons. Asked for the manager. OK I said WHY no cheese cake. Well he said the cheese cake isn't a pie, it's a cake. Wrong I said, a has multiple layers and although it is called a cheese cake, it only has 1 layer.
Still didn't get a cheese cake, but did get 4 free pies because I raised a stink.
posted on January 10, 2003 06:30:54 PM new
A cheesecake is not a pie. So your claim was based on a falsehood.
A pie is filling poured into a pastry crust(shortening, water, flour). A layer cake filled with pudding or cream can be called a pie (the layers being considered the crust).
A cake is a liquid batter of eggs, flour and sometime rising agents poured into a pan and baked.
Many things are misnamed though. That cream cheese filling poured into a graham cracker crust...is not a cheese cake.
There are millions of one-layer cakes in the world...pancakes, are cakes.
But you knew that didn't you?
.................................................
We call them our heroes...but we pay them like chumps
[ edited by mlecher on Jan 10, 2003 06:42 PM ]
posted on January 10, 2003 07:32:31 PM new
Neither, apparently were hamburgers..why didn't you demand a double cheeseburger? A cheesecake isn't a pie. Maybe they were silly enough to think that by advertising free pies, people would know what they meant, and not demand cakes instead!
posted on January 10, 2003 10:36:16 PM new
Actually they do serve hamburgers and other "meal" items. If they had not tried to "laugh it off", I might have let it go. But they made light of the situation apparently forgetting the rule of sale "the customer may not always be right, but is always the customer".
In the long run, it would have been less expensive to "give" me one cheesecake. As it is the retail price of the 4 free pies came to $27.80.
The same point of fact. You go into a local variety store say a Wal Mart. After selecting an item from the shelf & checking the price marked on the shelf, you opt to purchase it. You get to the checkout, it is scanned & the price is different (higher). Do you still want the item at the higher price. Not me, I'll make them sell it to me at the price marked on the shelf. If I have to hold up the checkout line, so be it. It isn't my problem it was incorrectly marked.
In fact the local Wal Marts advertise they will meet the low price of any local stores.
I go to checkout, let the sales person, the xyz has that item for xx.xx.
In the past I have had them ask "where is the advertisement showing the competitions price". Well I didn't bring it with me, I said. I was told, we cannot sell you the item without the advertisement.
OK, I say, where in the Wal Mart advertisement does it say I have to bring in the competitions sale paper. Nowhere does it say "bring in the competitions sales paper so we can verify you are telling the truth". While I will agree that some people will take advantage of such a situation, I don't. If Wal Mart's add stated "bring in the competitions add so we can verify it" I would.
It is a simple matter of what is stated in the advertisement.
posted on January 10, 2003 11:37:45 PM new
In Michigan, we have what is know as the Michigan Scanner Law. If you take an item to the checkout, and the scanner reads a higher price than the price tag, you are entitled to 5 TIMES the difference to a maximum of $5.00.
If the item you want to buy has a regular price of 5.00, and is on sale for 4.00, and the scanner scans it for 5.00, then you get the 1.00 difference. TIMES FIVE! for a total of 5.00 to you.
This law was enacted to keep merchants on the ball, and keep their electronic scanners up to date.
posted on January 11, 2003 03:16:49 AM new
That's funny, but not all retail stores work that way. This week I got a call from a lady who was in town looking for a gift for her daughter. She said,
"I live in Lodi and shop at the local [our competitor's store]. The manager of that store honors coupons from [another competitor]. I had a coupon for $30 off, but I left it at home in Lodi. Will you honor it?"
We gave her $30 off, based on that cockamamie story.
Re: OfficeMax, ask for a substitute. Otherwise, get there Sunday morning when the stuff goes on sale. $20 CD-RWs sell out fast.
posted on January 11, 2003 06:35:04 AM new
When I used to work as a manager for Radio Shack, we used to get national advertising for things that we'd never revceive or maybe one or two of them. It used to drive me crazy at how pissed off our customers would get at us and blame us for not having it in stock. Glad I quit that place after figuring out how the company really is run.
Yeager: wish we had that scanner law here! At first, when scanners were first introduced to the public, the policy was that if the item rang up wrong, it was free!
But then, they were giving away too much merchandise and they stopped that after the first year. Now, you have to stand around after getting your purchase made, looking over the slip to correct the prices. I average about 10 percent error rate here. That's why I wish we had your laws. Unfortunaetly, Oregonains have been voting Republican for a long time and everyting here is pro-business, pro-employer, pro-corporate give-aways and screw the consumers and workers!
posted on January 11, 2003 06:57:35 AM new
It's not unique to OfficeMax. Try getting what's on sale at Circuit City!! We've yet to go in to our local store and find something we want that was in their ad. "Oh, we haven't gotten that yet." And that's a reply made three days after the ad came out.
CVS drug store is the same way. Their ad comes out on Sunday, but you may have to go to 10 stores to find one particular item that's on sale.
posted on January 11, 2003 09:38:09 AM new
The MI Attorney General just signed a consent decree with Circuit City here to stop this very thing. They are now required to state how many they have to offer per store in their ads and no refusal of rainchecks.
posted on January 11, 2003 09:49:47 AM new
K-mart is another that uses that scam.The only time I go to K-mart, is when they have my coffee on sale,There is none there.So they give you a coupon and tell you to come back...you call and they never get that order in for some reason.Im hooked on one coffee brand and it is popular with others,Chase and Sanborn.The grocery stores are no longer carrying it(they have their own brand)and I have to jump thru hoops to find it....My life is so complicated...
posted on January 11, 2003 10:17:54 PM new
Often times, I will go into a store such as Ross, Marshall's, etc. and I will pick up an item I want. A few rows down, there will be an IDENTICAL item with a clearance sticker on it. I will take both up to the register and tell them I want the sale price and 90% of the time they will honor it!
posted on January 13, 2003 07:49:12 AM new
A very common practice, imo. Years ago I learned to call the store offering the 'sale/leader' item. If they said they were out and I really wanted a rain-check [to hold the price] I'd go anyway. If they had them, I'd give them my CC # and ask them to ring them up and hold them for me to pick up. That usually worked and saved the 'trip' to the store.
posted on January 13, 2003 04:23:34 PM newOften times, I will go into a store such as Ross, Marshall's, etc. and I will pick up an item I want. A few rows down, there will be an IDENTICAL item with a clearance sticker on it. I will take both up to the register and tell them I want the sale price and 90% of the time they will honor it!
Also Known As: Customer Justified Stealing.
.................................................
We call them our heroes...but we pay them like chumps
posted on January 13, 2003 09:43:50 PM new
My mom is a great believer in rain checks. The place where I work now doesn't give them. It's always "limited to stock on hand." Even if that means one or two sale items. Recently I had a discussion about it with one of the managers who seemed quite content with the setup. I think it sucks.
There's another well-known con that I'm seeing now. We get crappy items in marked way high, then immediately they go on sale for "half price." The sale fliers state a "retail price" which is competely ficticious, as no one would ever pay it. All the stores do it.
There is also what appears to be some very creative bookeeping at my work. (Our auditor was Arthur Andersen, if that's any clue.) Every day the computer shows non-existent stock on hand. Thousands and thousands of dollars worth. No way it's simple error. Either a ton of stuff is being stolen, or someone is inflating the books. If we don't catch it right away, it gets written off as "loss" (store-level theft).
posted on January 13, 2003 10:25:40 PM new
"Also known as: Customer Justified Stealing"
In case you've never visited a store such as these, items are misplaced all over the store and some get the markdowns that are called for and others are missed. I never said I made up my own price.
Stores need to universally mark their tickets and if one item is marked down and an identical one is not, they still must honor the sale price. Plain and simple.
posted on January 14, 2003 06:23:03 AM new
No, alot of times those clearance items are floor models, out of box sales and working returns. Do you really believe you deserve the same steep discount on a NIB model because of it?
.................................................
We call them our heroes...but we pay them like chumps
posted on January 14, 2003 09:53:49 AM new
I understand that some items are marked down because the packaging is torn or there is a flaw. I would NEVER expect to receive a discount price on a "good" item simply because an inferior item was marked down. A new item and a 'damaged' item are not identical.
I usually only buy clothing and ALL aspects of the items are identical. The store honors the lower price because they know they have erred in skipping over the one item and not the others.
It is against the law in most states now to have the price tag reflect one price and charge a higher price. Most stores have a policy to refund the customer if such an incident occurs. I don't expect a 'reward' but I do expect the store to comply with their own markdown policies and honor the discount price of the item.
I also greatly believe in rainchecks and price adjustments. I got a raincheck for an ad item at a large discounter because the store hadn't stocked the sale item in months and didn't have any on hand when their ad hit. I waited several months for them to mail me that the item was in stock but that day never came. They ended up sending me a coupon for a % off my next item purchase. Many stores advertise for items that they have no intention of stocking.
[ edited by wendywins on Jan 14, 2003 10:00 AM ]
posted on January 14, 2003 11:47:28 AM new
>It is against the law in most states now to have the price tag reflect one price and charge a higher price.
In Oregon, it has long been the law that the lowest price marked on an item is the correct price.
posted on January 14, 2003 05:13:22 PM newIn case you've never visited a store such as these, items are misplaced all over the store and some get the markdowns that are called for and others are missed. I never said I made up my own price
Most of the time those items are not misplaced or mismarked. They maybe identical in looks, but many times they will have a different SKU. Why? Many discount apparel stores such as Ross, Marshall's, Goody's and TJ MAxx, buy items from from different sources.
Example:
1) Ross buys 100 dresses (Manufacturer style# 123) by Follies from agent A. Ross' price is $12.00 each. Retail priced at $26.00
2) 1 month later: Ross buys 50 dresses (Manufacturer style# 123) by Follies from agent B. Ross' price is $10.00 each. Retail priced at $22.00
By the end of the month the dresses purchased from agent A have been marked down, while the dresses from agent B have recently arrived and are not on sale.
The dresses are identical except for the source and the price Ross paid.
Most times the 1st few digits are what determine the source.
Dress A: 123 444 0000
Dress B: 331 444 0000
Same dress, manufacturer and style, just a different source.
posted on January 14, 2003 09:22:53 PM new
Gee, next time I have a Taco Bell "$5.95 for 10 Tacos" coupon, I'll just raise a stink and demand 10 burritos because the coupon "doesn't specifically exclude burritos."
