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  • All time lows of what people will do for a reduced or free item

    Yesterday, I went over to K-Mart to pick up a jug of wiper fluid for my car's windshield. That's it, nothing else. When I got to the only open check out line, this woman ahead of me had the cashier literally scan the price of every item BEFORE she agreed to buy it. Then, she took out this box of dinnerware, and there was a dent in the bottom corner of the box. As she got this out, she said to the cashier, "Oh, this has a dent in it, and I think I should get the price of this reduced." Immediately, I and the rest of us did our little moan under our breaths, because we knew we weren't going to be out of the store soon. The cashier looked at her and told her that the BOX had a dent in it, and it in no way means the dinnerware was damaged. She then had the cashier scan the price, then had to take a moment to decide if she wanted to buy it. Finally, she decided on it, but again mentioned how she should get it at a lower price because the box was dented. After she finally checked out, she stood off to the side, glaring at her receipt and looking over at customer service, as if she was going to get her price reduction there.

    Not one time did this woman actually OPEN the box to look at the condition of the actual plates, coffee cups, and salad bowls. I checked out and left before this woman did, so my guess is she was taking it up with a store manager to get a discount on her damaged box!

    The lows people go to in order to get a free lunch these days! Or, at least, a whopping discount.

  • #2
    I'm only REALLY picky about prices when I'm buying with a small amount of money. I normally mentally add things up as I go along, and sometimes get a few extra things I i don't NEED but want if I have enough.

    but I'll go to check out and say "I only have X amount...so I can't go over it." I'm normally pretty good and SOMETIMES even have a little left over. But I also don't haggle over the price...if I don't have enough I appologize, and say what to take off.
    It is by snark alone I set my mind in motion. It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire 'tude, the lips acquire mouthiness, the glares become a warning.

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    • #3
      Oh for Pete's sake, so the corner of the box is dented. So what? How does that entitle one to a price reduction?

      I'm a stock boy and a truck unloader. I know breakage when I hear it. Sometimes a box will be in pristine condition but I'll hear tinkling and jingling when I pick it up so I know something inside is broken. As long as all the pieces are intact what difference does it make if the box has a crinkled corner?

      Perhaps the customer was intending to give the dinnerware set as a gift, but even there the condition of the box shouldn't be an issue if none of the pieces are broken.

      On another note, a few years ago my company used to give away teddy bears or some other plush toy to the first 100 or so people through the doors on Black Friday. People would sometimes fight over them. That may not have been the reason we stopped offering the toys though: In 2002 (I think) there was a longshoreman strike and it was was looking as though the toys might not make it to the stores in time for Black Friday because there was nobody to unload the boats or containers and get them on their way. But of course the ads had already been planned and printed with the toys featured on the front page.
      Last edited by Irving Patrick Freleigh; 09-09-2008, 11:25 PM.
      Knowledge is power. Power corrupts. Study hard. Be evil.

      "I never said I wasn't a horrible person."--Me, almost daily

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      • #4
        Quoth Irving Patrick Freleigh View Post
        Oh for Pete's sake, so the corner of the box is dented. So what? How does that entitle one to a price reduction?

        I'm a stock boy and a truck unloader. I know breakage when I hear it. Sometimes a box will be in pristine condition but I'll hear tinkling and jingling when I pick it up so I know something inside is broken. As long as all the pieces are intact what difference does it make if the box has a crinkled corner?
        Some people can be picky about the condition of gift packaging, even if it's just going to be thrown out anyway. Pretty much everyone in my family doesn't care about the condition of an outer box (as long as it doesn't look like it was picked out of a dumpster) as long as the widget inside is new and has all its parts.

        Obviously, a slit in a blister package or other electronics packaging is out as one never knows if someone lifted something from it, but a bashed-in corner of an otherwise intact cardboard box? No biggie (and none of us would ever think of trying to haggle a discount for that either!).
        "I am quite confident that I do exist."
        "Excuse me, I'm making perfect sense. You're just not keeping up." The Doctor

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        • #5
          Surely the cashier's correct response is: "The box is dented? Would you like to get another one off the shelf?" Or call someone to do the same.
          "I can tell her you're all tied up in the projection room." Sunset Boulevard.

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          • #6
            Immediately, I and the rest of us did our little moan under our breaths, because we knew we weren't going to be out of the store soon.
            Sorry, OT, but I once was in a resale shop and the woman in front of me was buying a lot of odds and ends, chatting with the cashier, writting a check. So she pays for her shit load of stuff, and I figure I finally can buy my one thing I was buying. Nope, one of the clerks at the shop came up and said kind of loud, "who wants to buy these craft supplies in this box?" and of course the woman who was in front of me decided she had to get that. She paid cash, and really it's not that sucky, but still, I was annoyed that she wouldn't just pay for the first stuff and not hold up the line buying other things that she didn't even look at.
            Time! Time! Time is what turns kittens into cats.

            Don't teach me a lesson; all I learn is that you are an asshole.

            I wish porn had subtitles.

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            • #7
              Perhaps the customer was intending to give the dinnerware set as a gift, but even there the condition of the box shouldn't be an issue if none of the pieces are broken.
              I doubt it... cos if it was suppose to be a gift, she'd have exchanged it for a nicer looking box instead of trying to just get a discount.

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              • #8
                Asking for a discount on things happens all day at my job. I get so tired of it. One time this old man wanted a dicount because a book he wanted had a little tear on the cover that would take a magnifying glass to find. He asked me over and over again for a discount.
                Many times a week people ask for a discount because a button is missing on an item and when I show them that an extra button is attatched to the shirt 8 out of 10 times the person will say "Ya but I have to sew it on myself."

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                • #9
                  I wouldn't be surprised if she dented the box herself before bringing it up there and demanding a discount.
                  Fixing problems... one broken customer at a time.

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                  • #10
                    Quoth PepperElf View Post
                    I doubt it... cos if it was suppose to be a gift, she'd have exchanged it for a nicer looking box instead of trying to just get a discount.
                    I have had on more than one occasion people bring up a dented box that is on discounted (because I worked in a gift store) to the counter with the same product in a non damaged box. They want the non damaged box for the damaged box price (product unharmed inside) becuase its a gift..... they dont like it when I point out that the price reduction is because of the boxes damage...

                    Ive also had people ask me to put a more expensive price tag on a gift, and leave the price on before wrapping, say Mr X spends $20 on a platter, he asked me to make a new tag for it that says $45 and leave the tag on so that the recipient will know he spent $45 on them....

                    they got very pissy when the answer would be no.... you wanna be a cheapskate then be one, dont try and fool people into believing you spend more than double on their present than you actually did!
                    I wasnt put on this earth to make you feel like a man ~ Mary Bertone

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                    • #11
                      Quoth Kiwi View Post
                      I
                      Ive also had people ask me to put a more expensive price tag on a gift, and leave the price on before wrapping, say Mr X spends $20 on a platter, he asked me to make a new tag for it that says $45 and leave the tag on so that the recipient will know he spent $45 on them....
                      Wow, that's tacky. I was taught to remove all price tags from gifts (and I love teh "blank" gift receipt). But then, if you';re tacky enough to bring up price, lying about the price is such a small step.

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                      • #12
                        Quoth PepperElf View Post
                        I doubt it... cos if it was suppose to be a gift, she'd have exchanged it for a nicer looking box instead of trying to just get a discount.
                        Not necessarily. I've had several people ask me for a discount on items where the box is slightly imperfect (though what little damage there was could not possibly have reached the product inside). When I would tell them no, they would try again by saying that it is a gift, and they don't want to give someone a gift in damaged packaging.
                        Me: But this item has damaged packaging.
                        Them: That's why I'm asking for a discount.
                        Me: So, you don't want to give a gift if the product and the box it's in are not both absolutely perfect.
                        Them: Right.
                        Me: But if you got a discount, then it would be okay to give a gift in damaged packaging?
                        Them: Well... YES!
                        Me: That doesn't make any sense. In any case, the box is still sealed, and the product inside is fine. No discount.

                        Quoth Kiwi View Post
                        I have had on more than one occasion people bring up a dented box that is on discounted (because I worked in a gift store) to the counter with the same product in a non damaged box. They want the non damaged box for the damaged box price (product unharmed inside) becuase its a gift..... they dont like it when I point out that the price reduction is because of the boxes damage...
                        I would actually like to hear the customer try to explain their reasoning why they should get an undamaged package for the damaged package's price. I'm sure it would break my brain, but my curiosity would get the better of me in that situation.
                        I suspect that... inside every adult (sometimes not very far inside) is a bratty kid who wants everything his own way.
                        - Bill Watterson

                        My co-workers: They're there when they need me.
                        - IPF

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                        • #13
                          Quoth Blade_Raver View Post
                          I wouldn't be surprised if she dented the box herself before bringing it up there and demanding a discount.
                          ^This^

                          I have seen people hit and kick a TV box just so they can claim a lower price because the box was dented.
                          I AM the evil bastard!
                          A+ Certified IT Technician

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                          • #14
                            Oh yes, taking the price-tag off is something I (and my family) have always done. It's the gift that matters, not how much you spent on it.

                            My daughter absolutely loves the child-sized apron I got her for her birthday. The cost? Not even €5.

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                            • #15
                              This reminds me of something I witnessed at a very famous and popular 'seconds' store in my area.

                              The store buys up items that have been reconditioned or refurbished, overstock or discontinued items from major suppliers, or items that may have encountered very slight damage in shipping refused by larger, big-name chain stores... and then sells these things at a huge discount. ("Good Stuff Cheap" is their mantra).
                              The store's inventory changes almost daily and when a certain lot of items is gone... then it's gone.

                              Anywho... I am there getting some of those 20-30 gallon Rubber-Maid totes they had advertised and as I am ringing out, there is this guy at the service desk complaining to the clerk there.

                              It seems that he purchased a remote-control toy truck the other day.
                              He admits that nothing was missing from the box and that the item works just fine.... BUT.... the box had a large, crumpled dent on the one corner.
                              He wants to exchange this for a box that isn't damaged.
                              The clerk politely refuses and explains that much of the packaging for the items in the store is like that. (After all, it is the very reason they have those items to sell in the first place).
                              Guy insists on the exchange.
                              Clerk again, politely explains the nature of the store and its merchandise and refuses.
                              Guy insists on the exchange.
                              The guy complains, "this is supposed to be a birthday gift for my kid... and the box looks like crap!".
                              So, even though an exchange is not really in order (I am guessing she either fell for his attempt to tug at her heartstrings with the 'it's for my little boy's birthday' line ... or she just wanted to get rid of this cretin), the clerk has someone check to see if any are left in stock anyway.
                              There aren't any left.
                              Repeat the clerk's refusal and the guy's whines for about three more rounds before he finally leaves the store in a huff.... no exchange given.

                              ......buhhhh-llllink!!!!......

                              so, to recap:

                              #1 - The guy knowingly and on his own free will goes to a store that openly admits to being an "ugly" store that sells merchandise that sometimes comes in "ugly" packaging in their adverts AND signs posted all over the store... with the intent on buying a birthday gift.
                              #2 - The guy obviously sees that that box has a severely crushed corner.
                              #3 - Knowing where he is at... and seeing the condition of the package before he gets to the check-out counter.... he apparently has no issue with it and HE BUYS IT ANYWAY
                              #4 - He comes back the next day and THEN wants to exchange it.... AFTER he has opened it, checked for all the parts, and 'tested' it out.
                              "It's not easy being evil in a world that's gone to Hell" ~ Anton LaVey

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