Gutted at AD: Gen purchase went pear-shaped

[TeeJay]

Agree with 100%. Honest mistakes do happen. Do on to others .... imagine if you were trying to sell your house & you made typo on the price & the potential buyer tried to ram it down your throat! Society is way too letigious this days!

As other posters pointed out correctly ... a price in the shopping window is an "invitation to treat" & subject to the acceptance of the seller at the cash register. I don't think this is bait & switch if they did not try to sell you something else or forced you to buy something else. That being said, I can undertsand how the OP felt bummed out!

For internet sales it would be different as in some cases the automated payment systen had already accepted/processed your payment. This happen with Dell when they mispriced some items. They honored the sale out of goodwill/PR but in reality the buyers had a binding contract.

Absolutely so, I think people are too quick to forget that human error occurs, and too quick to think that just because someone is working behind a till, that gives them the God-given right to treat them like garbage.

It's funny how it works in the UK, as people just think that the price on the price tag is the price, and simply pay at a cashier (who actually says how much it will be, or asks for the amount, rather than the customer actually offering the amount and the cashier formally accepting it) but I guess it's just the difference between the law on paper, and how it works in the real world. I think the real problem, is that people are too used to 'corporate good will', and don't seem to understand that a company policy might be one thing, but their actual consumer rights, can actually be very different, and they actually have more leeway under 'corporate good will' than they do under the law

[Edit to add]

Whoever came up with the phrase "The customer's always right!" deserves a kick in the nuts from everyone who's ever had to work behind a counter and had a customer mouth off at them despite being in the wrong...

[Corgi]

Absolutely so, I think people are too quick to forget that human error occurs, and too quick to think that just because someone is working behind a till, that gives them the God-given right to treat them like garbage.

It's funny how it works in the UK, as people just think that the price on the price tag is the price, and simply pay at a cashier (who actually says how much it will be, or asks for the amount, rather than the customer actually offering the amount and the cashier formally accepting it) but I guess it's just the difference between the law on paper, and how it works in the real world. I think the real problem, is that people are too used to 'corporate good will', and don't seem to understand that a company policy might be one thing, but their actual consumer rights, can actually be very different, and they actually have more leeway under 'corporate good will' than they do under the law

[Edit to add]

Whoever came up with the phrase "The customer's always right!" deserves a kick in the nuts from everyone who's ever had to work behind a counter and had a customer mouth off at them despite being in the wrong...

I absolutely disagree. The employees are paid to do their job, they are not volunteers, so I expect things as sensitive as pricing for expensive goods to be double checked for consistency. I am going to spend thousands of dollars on something and I deserve to be treated like royalty as a result. If they are stupid enough to mix up the price then it is my right as a Canadian citizen to purchase it for that price. To the person who wrote 'what if you make a mistake listing your house'... that's preposterous, if you're doing anything financial you must triple check accuracy and if you don't then you don't deserve to own a house/have a job. Sorry if I sound harsh but where I live most retail employees are apathetic a$$hats who seem to forget they are here to serve me (royalty) and if I even sense an attitude I will tell that right to their face. Especially if they don't know something. I went to a telephone store and I was asking about Blackberries. I asked the lady a question, whose shirt said "expert" no less, and she told me something blatantly different from the specifications I had read online and admitted her statement to be falsification. Obviously, instead of saying she didn't know, she lied and made something up to appease me.. There was nothing left to do but expose her incompetence to the rest of the patrons. Because people like that don't deserve to have jobs they don't even deserve to live. If you're incompetent enough to mix up numbers then you deserve to face the ramifications for that even if it means paying up for it with deductions from your paycheck. Yes I am ruthless but in my job, people expect perfection and I go to great lengths to provide them with that... and I'm not paid very well either but that's not the point. Being paid is enough. If somebody doesn't return the favor I get very upset and I will not hesitate to express just exactly how I feel about whoever is pissing me off right to their face.

It goes without saying most people don't like shopping with me because "oh shopping with corgi is embarrassing oh tra la la"

[Raijor]

I believe that consumer protection laws in Canada would have required the store to sell youthe watch at the advertised price. It sounds to me like a case of "bait and switch"

[TeeJay]

On some of your points, I agree, but others, I disagree with completely... Firstly, you must remember that the consumer laws of our respective countries are very different. In the UK, as mentioned above, buyers do not have the right to demand that a mis-priced item be sold at the incorrect price. However, there are laws, which say that items cannot be intentionally falsely labeled, for example, if something is marked as "Today only, manger's special price!" then it can only be sold at that price on that day. If it is re-adversized thus the following day, then that is illegal, as the initial advert clearly stated that the price was only valid on the day, so it's not as if buyers are unprotected, it's just a case of them being protected from intentional 'scamming'.

I absolutely disagree. The employees are paid to do their job, they are not volunteers, so I expect things as sensitive as pricing for expensive goods to be double checked for consistency.

I agree, they are paid to do their jobs, and yes, they are being paid to do it correctly, so I agree with you absolutely on that point. But, I would make the following exceptions... Human error can and does occur, so while it should not be 'accepted', it should certainly be 'understood' that it can happen, and allowances made... Also, the person sitting on the register, is likely not the person who actually priced the product. Also, it is well known that scummers will try swapping price tags on products in the hopes of getting things cheaper (doesn't really work now companies use barcodes ) so sometimes, someone else might unwittingly pick up something with a swapped label... Either way, the incorrect label is not the fault of the person on the register, and it is not reasonable to hold them responsible for the incorrect labelling, especially if it is not in their power to actually remedy the situation, that's what supervisors are paid for...

I am going to spend thousands of dollars on something and I deserve to be treated like royalty as a result.

I couldn't disagree with you more strongly on this issue. While I do expect a modicum of professionalism and courtesy from staff, I do not expect, or believe that I deserve, to be fawned over. Just because they are there 'to serve', that does not make them servants, and I would never treat them thus.

If they are stupid enough to mix up the price then it is my right as a Canadian citizen to purchase it for that price.

Again, if that's how consumer law in Canada works, then that's indeed your right, as mentioned though, it is not the case in the UK, so that's just a matter of perspective

[Edit to add] While it may well be a legally correct and right, morally speaking, it's a pretty shitty attitude and approach to actually insist on a vendor accepting a lower price which may well have been applied by a either a poorly trained or new member of staff, or which has obviously been applied in error, ie "If you don't let me have it at that lower price, I'll sue your ass into the middle of next week..." Legal victory, yes. Moral victory? I don't consider 'being smart enough to get one over on someone' as particularly moral... Sure, it doesn't hurt to ask if the price is correct, and if it's wrong, then indeed enquire if they will accept that price, but to actually insist on it, just because "it's the law", I don't know, it just feels wrong to me...

Sorry if I sound harsh but where I live most retail employees are apathetic a$$hats who seem to forget they are here to serve me (royalty) and if I even sense an attitude I will tell that right to their face.

Especially if they don't know something.

Now this is something which I have mixed feelings on... I have absolutely no patience for retail employees who don't know their product. Admittedly, it's their manager's fault for not ensuring they're properly trained, but equally, it is possible for them to research the industry themselves. If an employee has a negative attitude, then ultimately, they don't deserve to keep their job, and an attitude like that is something I have never tolerated in people I managed in the past.

However, to say:

who seem to forget they are here to serve me (royalty) and if I even sense an attitude I will tell that right to their face.

I would have to say again, that just because they are in that job, it does not make them indentured servants, and if someone was to ever treat a member of my staff with an attitude like that, then regardless of the amount being spent, I would (and have) tell (told) them to leave. One thing I would never have, is anyone deliberately belittling staff under me, or treating them like servants. At the end of the day, the money being spent is irrelevant, as the business could equally sell that amount of product to any other customer, so it's not as if a 'big spender' is irreplaceable. I play it fair from both sides: While I would not hesitate to 'eject' a customer who was being condescending to staff, equally, I would not hesitate to discipline a member of staff who was rude to a customer, or who continually made mistakes in their performance, which they did not resolve through additional training.

I went to a telephone store and I was asking about Blackberries. I asked the lady a question, whose shirt said "expert" no less, and she told me something blatantly different from the specifications I had read online and admitted her statement to be falsification. Obviously, instead of saying she didn't know, she lied and made something up to appease me..

Indeed, that is not an acceptable situation for a staff member to be in. But, equally:

There was nothing left to do but expose her incompetence to the rest of the patrons.

It was not you place to do that. It is for her manager to discipline her as need be. Had I been that woman's manager, you would have been told (not asked, but told) to leave the store, as I would not stand for a customer chewing out a member of my staff. However, to be fair, I would then also take her aside, and explain the importance of product knowledge, and tell her that lying to customers is unacceptable, because selling product on a false pretense is legally actionable... As I said, I play it fair on both sides...

Because people like that don't deserve to have jobs they don't even deserve to live.

That's going a bit far...

If you're incompetent enough to mix up numbers then you deserve to face the ramifications for that even if it means paying up for it with deductions from your paycheck.

I agree absolutely. In the past, if I ever made a mistake ringing through a sale, I would immediately make up the balance from my own pocket, and it's a damn good lesson in not making mistakes However, while I would not mind a manager insisting on me making up the balance (although to be honest, none ever have, I only chose to do so because of my own standards) if a customer dared to suggest that to me, even if it would cost me my job, I would tell them to go eff themselves, because at the end of they day, they are not my boss.

Yes I am ruthless but in my job, people expect perfection and I go to great lengths to provide them with that... and I'm not paid very well either but that's not the point. Being paid is enough. If somebody doesn't return the favor I get very upset and I will not hesitate to express just exactly how I feel about whoever is pissing me off right to their face.

I agree, it is frustrating when people are less diligent than others, but I always leave it to a manager to reprimand the staff, not do so myself. Believe me, I've made my fair share of complaints in the past about poor service, and I know that in one case, it actually led to someone being fired from their job, and you know what, I don't feel bad about that, because their incompetence and lack of professionalism cost me time, and thus business and money, but, I never berated them myself, simply because it was not my place to do so. I passed the comments on to their manager, (on several occasions) and let them get on with their job of 're-distributing' the member of staff (This actually involved bank personnel, rather than retail, but same principle, in that they were incompetent and unprofessional)

It goes without saying most people don't like shopping with me because "oh shopping with corgi is embarrassing oh tra la la"

I guess it depends on the circumstances. It's one thing to stand up for one's rights, when one is in the right, it's another to just be an obnoxious customer who insists on getting their own way, (when they're actually in the wrong) just because they're spending money

We ought to start offering our services as consultants acting as 'mystery shoppers' to help maximize on staff competence

[nicknoh]

In the USA here, there have been lawsuits over false advertisement and, in 99.9% of the cases, the consumer wins. You should of raised holy hell.

-H

AFAIK, false advertisement is a criminal offense. You could report them to the state's attorney general, but I don't think you would be able to force a sale or recover damages.

In the US though, generally price tags and advertisements do not constitute offers to contract.

[Sweattdogg]

That totally sucks, and had you been the type of person who would have sat there and carried on for hours causing a scene, I'm sure they would have honored the price. I would move on to another shop. By not honoring the price they probably lost a customer for life. Had they honored the price you probably would have made future purchases there and may have forged a relationship. The short sight is the manager or owner who made the final decision not to honor the price. I would not go back.

What about car dealers in the states selling cars for above sticker? Obviously this isn't a problem now, but a couple of years ago when the vette z06 came out you couldn't get one for sticker even when the dealer had it on the floor with the sticker in the window. I also never understood how that worked. I guess they know that people may not sue.

[KB]

Wow TeeJay has Lani seen your last post yet?

Ken

[RLudlowe]

Mate see if it goes back in the window, with the same price tag, then photograph it, and go in and demand to buy.

Get the s/no, and if they again refuse, point it at Consumer Affairs.

If it goes back in the window at the sale price, don't go to consumer affairs, go the Police fraud squad.

This is illegal in the US and they can go to jail for it.

The first time could have been a honest error, but the second time it's clearly a scam.

[b16a2]

Teejay can I borrow you for my law dissertation, you break things down so well

This has turned into a bit of a witch hunt, 'get the pitch forks out on those rubbish AD employee's', I for one will not be going into retail after reading this thread

[TeeJay]

Wow TeeJay has Lani seen your last post yet?

Ken

I'm not sure, but Robbie let me know I was letting the 'Long Post' side down, so I felt the need to get creative

Teejay can I borrow you for my law dissertation, you break things down so well

This has turned into a bit of a witch hunt, 'get the pitch forks out on those rubbish AD employee's', I for one will not be going into retail after reading this thread

I'm sure we can come to some kind of consultancy arrangement

And indeed, retail is nasty. It pays the bills, but the sheer amount of crap that comes with it, I'd advise against it unless all else fails... Professional jobs might be stressful, or dealing with 'important' things, but I doubt many of them get close to the utter nastiness which many retail assistants have to endure when an uppity customer can't get their own way