Is My Pride Worth $3?

[AutieAB]

Yup - 100% complain. It always seems to me customer service in the USA is rotten - the most common example of being ripped off being the infamous 'Mail-in Rebate' - That would just never be allowed in the UK, and I know a friend in Ohio who has fought legal battles with Best Buy to have them stop the practice. So many times they 'accidentally' lose your rebate, or say you havent filled in it right - why not just give the discount on the cash price? Its all a con as they KNOW so many people won't bother mailing in in rebates.

They're allowed in the UK ("Cash Back" offers) but are rare and I totally agree they're a con. You hear the ads on US TV & radio all the time: "Free phone! [incomprehensible mumble]after $250 mail-in debit card rebate allow 10 weeks for delivery[/mumble]" That's Not Free! They'll have your money for ages and send you back a pre-pay debit that often charges transaction fees to use it! 'Tis a con...

[Morv]

For a dollar, or two, perhaps, I wouldn't argue. If it were any more than that, and especially if it were $10, I would bring it up the cashier. Wisconsin has a "Truth in advertising" law which, more or less, states that if a price on a product is posted or it is advertised, it must be honored. I once got some big bucks off a hard drive at Best Buy when I pointed out that the advertised drive was a certain price, size, and had a 16 MB buffer, but it turned out the item they were intending to advertise actually had a smaller buffer on it. What did I end up getting? A larger hard drive with the appropriate buffer size for the price of the original. Now, they did remove the sale signs after I alerted them, but without any argument they gave me a discount which I wouldn't describe as a steal, but I would say adequately compensated me for the expectation which I had built based upon their advertisement.

$10, certainly worth arguing over. A good strategy is to be polite. A phrase such as, "Why don't you cancel that order and send someone back to check out the sale price while yoiu check some of these nice people out?" would be good. There's three, well, four, entities to consider in this sutation: you, the clerk, the store, and the other customers. Other customers don't want to wait. The clerk doesn't deserve to be put on the spot for someoene else's mistakes -- if you offer someone like the clerk, who is caught in an uncomfortable spot, a way out, he'll most likely take it. The store does owe you what it advertised, but the store, as an entitity, is concerned with profit. It is cold, but understands obligation. The other customers may give you odd looks, but what they really want is to check out and get going... that is unless they are buying copies of the National Inquirer and Sun, in which case they may actually only care about gossip.

Bottom line: do not wrong others and do not be wronged yourself.

[boy ricky]

I would have brought it to their attention for sure. You still can, take the slip back and get the $3.00 back.

[DL Dave]

most people are assholes.

Seems kinda off topic, (but it was my topic, so I'll go with it) but I don't think most people are. I think we all have good days, and bad days. And mabey some of us have more bad than others, but I think the truth is we just rember bad days more. I mean do you realy rember the cashier who said thank your, or the person who held the door for you when you were coming in from the rain? But you sure rember the person who said you were stupid, or cut you off in trafic. It's not that the bad stuff happens more, it's just that we tend to pay more attention to it.

As for going back for the $3, it comes down to me not wanting to draw attention to myself. After all I can always shop somewhere elts. Wal-mart is right across the street. Problem there is I used to work at that wal-mart. I know too many people there. So I guess I'll just have to suck it up.

[Morv]

I wouldn't agree with the thought that most people are assholes. However, I would say the average person isn't very bright.

[dprmn1964]

I would not let them get away with it,money is money .I was at a store in ontario picking up diapers and they added sale tax to them,they are not taxable in ontario and I stood there and made them fix it even with the line up behind me.Hey 15% tax is still my money and it adds up.

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THE SQUEAKEY WHEEL GETS THE GREASE.

diaperman

[Guest]

Anybody rips me off of more than $0.05, I make a fuss.

[Dill_Pickle]

From a store management standpoint, I can tell you that it is in the store's best interest to give you the better deal you ask for.

Why? To keep you (and everyone else who felt ripped off, or saw you talking about getting ripped off) from telling all your friends about getting ripped off and not to shop at that store....

Whether the clerk will see it that way or is, of course, debatable... but I notice we are speaking of K-mart, which has been struggling financially of late.....

and I'll agree that "mail-in" rebates are rip-offs...

[Mr. Malleus]

That's why I'm glad I don't buy adult-diapers. When you buy baby-diapers, people just assume you have kids.

Pampers kick ass.