I decided I needed to step up my game, wardrobe-wise, for a business conference I’m going to, instead of wearing levi’s. I didn't want to wear a dress, either, so I went to the mall to look for a pair of Docker-style pants. One pair is all I needed because I already have a nice pair of pants that are part of a suit. After trying on many pairs of khaki pants, I selected a pair and also splurged on two pairs of warm knee-high socks. I had a coupon for $10 off. After I paid, I walked down to the other end of the mall to check out a sale I had heard about while waiting in line to pay for my pants. What did I find on a 70% off rack at the sale? That’s right, a pair of pants that looked a lot like the one’s I had just bought. They were marked down to $9, almost $20 less than the first pair. I bought the $9 pants, of course, which turned out to be $5.40 because that brand had an additional 40% off the clearance price (talk about icing on the cake!) Then I went back to the other store to return the $28 pants.
I asked the clerk if she would re-calculate the sale to apply the $10 coupon to my two pairs of socks (the $10 discount had been spread out over all three items instead of being taken off the total purchase at the end). She said she couldn’t do it, because the coupon was a single use coupon and I had already used it once. “Is there a supervisor you could call to take care of this?” I asked. “No,” she said, “they are way stricter than we are.” In a fit of pique (don’t worry, it was a very polite fit) I told her that I would just return the socks, too.
When I got home, I decided to call the store and just let them know that their loyalty coupon hadn’t inspired much loyalty on my part. After all, my coupon was right there in the cash drawer. The evidence of the coupon was right there on my receipt. I wasn't tring to make a completely different purchase. Why couldn’t they just do it? I called the store, asked for a manager, and told her my story. After apologizing for my dissatisfaction (not for their lame policy, just for the fact that I was unhappy), she offered to give me my $10 discount if I wanted to come back to the store. (At first, I wasn’t sure I wanted to drive all the way back. Then I decided that if I am going to complain, I should go back and give them the chance to make it right.) After five minutes of listening to another clerk explain all the reasons that there was no way someone could honor my request, the manager arrived and sold me my two pairs of $8 socks for $2.15 ($10 off plus a multiple item discount).
And that is why my nickname is Consumer Woman.
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4 comments:
Way to go! That is great. I love it when I get really good deals. I really don't like rude sales people who are not at all helpful. So I am glad that you got such a great discount.
You are tough...I was impressed, and I thought that the only person in that store with any customer service skill was the manager that helped. That second clerk was just as unhelpful about it all...hosers...if only they knew how much we could spend there!
Part of the problem in situations like that is that the clerks aren't empowered to make any decisions or accommodations. The company assumes that the problem will be solved by a manager or supervisor, but in reality most customers just settle for a disappointing experience and are less inclined to feel any loyalty to the store. The store may save a little money by making fewer accommodations for their customers, but overall they lose money because those customers come back less often.
Go Mom!! I would have just been bitterly disappointed for an hour and then forgotten the whole thing. Your way is much, much cooler.
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