BOGO

[Shengirl]

There is a portion of our society to whom the ideas “buy one get one free” and “half-off” are completely divergent concepts. I blame all of this confusion on certain stores that require people to buy two of something to get it at half price. It ingrains people with the need to follow the sale sign to the letter, all logic aside. I personally find this very alarming. However, it is also just plain frustrating. I can spend five minutes trying to explain how, at Sustenance Tiger, a person can buy one four-dollar item for two dollars or two for four dollars, and it is accurate to call it either “buy one get one” or “half-off.”

One woman, at the end of my explanation, leaned close and said conspiratorially, “And does that make sense to you?” She had a gaze that told me she expected me to whisper back, “No, though I must pretend it does so my manager does not beat me, I agree with you that the Man is just trying to trick us.”

In reality, I said, “Yes!” and could not keep all the exasperation from my voice. The woman just shook her head and walked off. It's one thing to ask to make sure, "Do I have to buy two to get one free, or are they half price either way?" but another to just utterly fail at basic logic and math.

[justZu]

I guess it is encouraging to see customers actually reading sale signs, we've all had our share of customers who latch onto one word from a sign and run with it, regardless of what is really on sale.
I always try to follow the signs, buying two if it is BOGO. I don't want to be the sucky customer who demands one item at half off when the purchase of two is required. However if you were to tell me that I could buy only one and get it for half off, I would understand it without a diagram or an algebraic equation.

If you really want to mess with their heads, offer them what I offer at my beer stand..."buy one for the price of two and get one free." That one is guaranteed to make their jaws drop and smoke puffs come out of their ears.

[JustADude]

Just a thought here, but at the place where I work our BOGO coupons are exactly that. You buy 2 pizzas and the cheaper one is free. You don't get half off a single pie. Only thing in the system to let you get half-off is the employee discount.

[disneyfav4ever]

People always seem to have trouble understanding BOGO. BOGO is not half off. If it were half off, it would be listed in the ad as 50% off, BOGO is "buy one, get one free." Why is that so hard to understand? I am so sick of people getting mad at wanting BOGO items for half price.

[katie kaboom]

Well in their defense, some grocery stores do the BOGO with the understanding that if you only buy one you get it at half price. Food kitty does that, i was a cashier there for a little over a year. But people need to realize that not all grocery stores work BOGO sales the same way.

[Shengirl]

Exactly. I work at Food Kitty, and that's the way we do it. MY point was that people should understand EITHER true BOGO or half-off-bogo if it is explained to them. They're not difficult concepts. Hence why I said,

It's one thing to ask to make sure, "Do I have to buy two to get one free, or are they half price either way?" but another to just utterly fail at basic logic and math.

Though I would say that anyone expecting BOGO=half-off at a pizza parlor may be legally retarded.

[Imogene]

Sustenance Tiger

Sustenance Tiger sounds like either: a) a boss from the Mega Man X series, or b)the next title for Metal Gear Solid.

[SpyOne]

There is a portion of our society to whom the ideas “buy one get one free” and “half-off” are completely divergent concepts. (edit) ... a person can buy one four-dollar item for two dollars or two for four dollars, and it is accurate to call it either “buy one get one” or “half-off.”

While I would not call them "completely divergent", I would agree with your customers that they are not the same.
First, "buy one, get one free" is only a promise of "half price" if I am buying an even number of the item: if I buy one, I should expect to pay full price. And if I buy 3, I'll pay full price for 2, and get 1 for free.
Now, should a store give me half off instead, I have little room to be upset, because the deal I am recieving is at least as good as the deal I was offered, and if I buy an odd number I will actually save more. So, I am not getting "ripped off" in any way, really. (Although states differ on whether I have to pay the same in tax on those transactions, and in a state where the customer still has to pay the full sales tax on the "free" one, "buy one get one" is still a worse deal that 2 at "half price".)

As a customer, I am a little upset at a recent trend in advertising that works this in the opposite direction: several food stores have taken to offering products at "10 for $10". Most of them actually ring up at $1 each, but I always expect to find out at the register that, "Oh, sorry, those are $1.69 each. It's only $1 each if you buy 10 of them."

In short, I think the problem here is not a few stores that make folks buy 2 to get the deal, but the large number of stores that have taken to offering "buy 2" or "buy 3" or "buy 10" deals, but then let you get the deal even if you aren't buying an even multiple of the advertised number.

And, for the record, when the store I work in advertises "2 gatorades for $3", we mean it. They are $1.99 each, and $.98 off if you buy 2.

[Jadedcarguy]

If you really want to mess with their heads, offer them what I offer at my beer stand..."buy one for the price of two and get one free."

Beer free! Wait.......................................whut?<d runk slack jaw>

[Becks]

Well in their defense, some grocery stores do the BOGO with the understanding that if you only buy one you get it at half price.

Especially if it's a deal that you can only get with your store club card.

[mrtauntaun]

I've found it varies depending on region. In the last place I lived, my local supermarket would run BOGO specials. However, if you bought one item, they would give it to you for 50% off.
Where I live now, if I buy something on BOGO, I either have to get both items for the price of one, or just one item for full price.

[Neo_Classic]

I wrote about this a while back in the first thread I made when I joined:

Scenario #7

Urgh= Just urgh...
Me= Only thirty more minutes and then I go home.

Urgh: The cashier overcharged me.
Me: (looks at receipt) No, he didn't. The item is originally $5.00 and it rung up as $2.50.
Urgh: It's buy one get one free.
Me: You did get one free.
Urgh: The cashier charged me for both.
Me: (explains to him that our registers will not allow a product to be sold for $0.00 so we had to split the cost when two are rung up) <--- Blame this on corporate.
Urgh: I need a manager. This isn't right!
Me: (tries to explain basic math)
Urgh: Manager!
Me: Okay, sir.

I have no idea why corporate INSISTS on using the buy one get one free thing knowing darn well that our registers will not ring up a product as $0.00. You can't even markdown a product to 0. Also, wouldn't it just be easier to call it a half off sale?

What gets me is the people who buy one item that is BOGO and then ignore you when you tell them this. Um...if you just paid x amount of money and can get another one for free, why in the world wouldn't you? This happened all the time when my cousin worked at one of the organic supermarkets.

[BookstoreEscapee]

Well, if it's buy one get one free, I generally read that to mean that you will pay full price if you only buy one. If it says 2 for $5, it usually means that one is $2.50, because at least around me it's rare that they say you must buy 2 to get the sale price.

It amazes me how often I see people buying 10 bottles of juice because it's 10 for $10. Do they really drink that much juice?

[Neo_Classic]

You can always save it for a later date.