6
Getting advertised sale price easier said than done
A woman looks into the window of a store advertising summer sales. Although the sales prices are printed on paper, it may be difficult to actually buy an item on sale.
To view this content, Javascript must be enabled and Adobe Flash Player must be installed.
If you're going through those weekend circulars and you happen upon a really great deal for a laptop, say, or a mattress, we have a cautionary tale for you. Getting that price may be easier said or seen than done. David Segal writes the column "The Haggler" at the New York Times.
According to Segal, getting an item at the advertised price is sometimes a problem if you refuse to buy extras with your purchase, such as a protection plan. He talks specifically about this issue at the office supply store Staples. Customers have complained about how they'll try to buy a computer on sale, have the sales associate confirm its availability -- only to be told that the item is no longer in stock when they decline to purchase a protection plan, one of the priciest add-ons for a computer. It's called "walking the customer," trying to get that person out of the store as quickly as possible.
Refusing a sale seems counterintuitive to a business, but Segal says it makes perfect sense when you look at the carrots and sticks Staples has for its salespeople. The company uses at a program called Market Basket, which tracks the sales of each associate. A salesperson must sell an average of $200 worth of extras every time they sell a computer. If they don't...
"A number of sales people explained to me that if you don't keep your Marketbasket average at $200, you'll get creamed," Segal said. "You'll a lecture, you'll get probation; you'll get night shifts, weekend shifts, and if you cannot keep your numbers up over the long term, you'll get fired. So as weird as it sounds, it makes perfect sense for the sales associate."
How to avoid this problem? Segal says the best thing a customer can do is emphasize that the stor needs to honor the advertised price.
Take a listen to the audio above to learn more about this business practice.
My wife bought a fridge at Sears that was "on sale." It was ticketed at $495. "Free Delivery," however, only came with items marked $499 or more, generating an additional $69. A large sign offered a 15% Discount "if you use your Sears Card." The fine print, however, stipulated that you only received a "maximum of $15" if the item was $499 or less. Further, unlike Lowes, Home Depot and Fred Meyer, there are no senior, veteran or military discounts at Sears and even if there were, you can't apply it on sale items. When a robot called with delivery information, it wanted her to measure the doorway to make sure the item would fit and told her to move everything out of the way for the hauler. No wonder Sears is considering "unloading" 1200 stores. Who's going to shop at a chain with such anti-human, con man policies?
I love this. Don't get me wrong, it is unethical and the thought of being treated that way by a customer service rep makes me mad. What I love is how the reps are getting around the unit of measurement (amount of sales without the protection plan) and keeping the item in stock that could produce the "Market Basket" sale.
It's still wrong, but proof that everyone can think outside the box to come up with a working solution.
