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If I had the power to smite you....

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  • If I had the power to smite you....

    ...I would.

    For two days now I've been dealing with this infuriating SC.

    Yesterday he came in and wanted to do a price match on an HP laptop. He had a flyer for Circuit City showing it $120 cheaper than us. Needless to say, he wanted NOTHING with the computer (I only mention that because it added to the frustration. I do not wish to spark another argument about who benefits from attaching other items to a sale). By some miracle, CC was actually advertising the same model number that we carried (typically, each major retailer receives a slightly different version of the laptop with a unique model number, thus precluding any price matching). After clearing it with Professor X, I called CC to verify that they had it in stock.

    SC: Why do you have to call them?

    Me: As a matter of policy, we can't price match unless the Circuit City closest to us has the item in stock, and I need to verify that by phone.

    SC (already getting snarky with me): Well I'm sure that if it's not in stock at the CC next door, then their store in (City 30 minutes away) has it.

    Me: It has to be the closest store, sir.

    SC: What's the point of that?!

    Me: The point is that we offer the price-match so you'll buy it here instead of there. If they don't have it, then you can't, so there's no incentive for us to match the price.

    (Yes, I told him that).

    So I got on the phone. Unfortunately, our list of competitor's phone numbers was lost during the remodel, so I resorted to calling the 800-number in the flyer. They were perfectly willing to check stock at the local store, it just took them a minute to punch up that information.

    In the meantime, I see the SC hovering next to me, on his iPhone, calling the store directly. Just as the guy from the 800-number is getting back to me, the SC interrupts.

    SC: They have it in stock.

    First of all, don't interrupt me while I'm on the phone. Second, I can't take your word for it; you have every reason to lie to me, I'm sure.

    I gestured for him to wait so I could hear the guy on the phone. He said they were in stock at the local store. I thanked him and hung up.

    Me: OK sir, they have it in stock, so I can do the price match for you.

    SC: Did you call them or did you call the 800-number?

    Me: I called the 800 number.

    SC: Why didn't you call the store directly.

    Me: Because I didn't have their phone number handy.

    SC: Well you could have gone online for it, or asked me (waves iPhone at me, as if I knew ahead of time that he had one).

    Me:Regardless, sir, they have it in stock, and I've gotten approval from my manager, so we're going to do the price match for you.

    SC: I just don't understand why you didn't call them directly.

    Seriously, WTF. I am GIVING YOU WHAT YOU WANT!!!! Why the HELL are you continuing to argue with me about this??!?!

    Me: I used the number I had available to me, sir. In any case, they do have it in stock, so will will to the price-match. Is there anything else you need?

    SC: Calling the 800-number wasted time.

    OH MY GOD. If I could have stopped the sale and thrown him out of the store right then, I would have. Instead, I ignored that and waved Professor X over so he could key in his authorization code for the Price-Match.

    Then the SC threw down $450 worth of corporate gift cards and cash cards. Cash cards are similar to gift cards, but are only issued when someone returns something for store credit. Corporate gift cards are issued only when someone orders gift cards in bulk (25 cards or more, on which they get a small 5% discount), or as an "apology" for a complaint.

    I HATE it when people come in and purchase high-ticket items in part or in whole with large amounts of gift cards or store credit, because it SCREAMS one of three things.

    1) They are a thief. A common tactic is to steal something from one store and return it at another without a receipt for store credit. Eventually they build up enough credit to get themselves a free SLR camera or a laptop.

    2) They complain up the ass until corporate gives them enough for them to get a steal on a laptop (and how much you wanna bet that the complaints are bogus?)

    3) They are taking advantage of the gift card bulk discount just to get free money to use in the store. Strictly speaking that's not wrong, but it goes against the purpose of the discount, and is extremely irritating because we have to ring in a zillion gift cards.

    At any rate, he paid for the computer and left. I thought that would be the end of it, but I was wrong.
    "We guard the souls in heaven; we don't horse-trade them!" Samandrial in Supernatural

    RIP Plaidman.

  • #2
    I can just about guara-damn-tee you the reason he had all the cards was reason number 2.
    "If we refund your money, give you a free replacement and shoot the manager, then will you be happy?" - sign seen in a restaurant

    Comment


    • #3
      But but.... cliff hanger ending? I"m confused at that.
      Does it count as sucky if you get a bunch of gift cards for wedding gifts and use them to buy one large ticket item?? (not me, my friend got married and bought a new TV with I think 5 or 6 gift cards at the place they had a registry)
      "I'm working for popcorn - what I get paid doesn't rise to the level of peanuts." -Courtesy of Darkwish

      ...Beware the voice without a face...

      Comment


      • #4
        Quoth CrazedClerkthe2nd View Post
        I can just about guara-damn-tee you the reason he had all the cards was reason number 2.
        Probably, but it could be that there are discount gift card programs.

        We used to have one here called AtHome and another called Lifestyle Rewards. Each offered Staples, Best Buy, Future Shop, etc. gift cards at 20% off, up to $500 in cards per year. They bought them in bulk and resold them. I think they started suffering losses because of people like my family who took advantage of it. $500 in cards for each store, plus taking advantage of the rebates they offered, and their other discounts.

        Now, how did they get a 20% discount? They probably didn't. Their "FREE 7-Day Trial with FREE $25 Canadian Tire Gift Card" made them a profit. Free trial and free gift card. It took 2 months to get the free gift card, which would be $30 or $36 in membership fees, depending which program it is. After waiting 2 months for a $25 card, people would forget to cancel, which got them another $15 or $18 for each uncanceled month.

        And yes, people forgot to cancel, and yes, they we're pissed off. Now they have another program offering the same 7-day trial with $25 card, but 5% off on gift cards, which is the same as the discount they're probably getting.
        Otaku

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        • #5
          Round Two

          He came back in today, this time with his wife and kid in tow. He had the laptop (still boxed) and an old printer with him.

          Now before I get into this, I need to explain something. Corporate royally FUBARed the sale this week with our store and one other store in the district. We did not receive the flyer, the sale prices did not drop into the signage print queue so we didn't have the sale prices to post, AND they failed to download the sale prices into our POS system, so nothing was ringing up and no rebate forms were printing out. Of course, there isn't a flyer every single week, so we didn't think twice about it until people started coming in with flyers they'd gotten in their Sunday papers and starting asking for those prices.

          Now, sometimes the flyers that our customers get do not match the ones we receive in the store. This is because several of the major papers in our area are actually based in a different district for our company and are also in a different, and of course they receive the flyers that the stores in that district get. So on rare occasions the flyer will be different (possibly because of a sale going on in Massachusetts, such as for their annual Tax-Free Holiday). Initially, this was the explanation we gave to customers as to why things weren't ringing up here, though it quickly became clear that this wasn't the case. In any event, the flyers were perfectly legit and we were more than happy to honor the prices therein, it just meant overriding them at the register.


          Enter my SC from yesterday, toting the computer he bought, and a flyer.

          SC: I bought this yesterday. It's gone on sale for less, and I'd like to match the price.

          Wonderful. I've already had to price-match this once for him, now I have to return the damn thing and resell it with ANOTHER mark-down. Boy are they gonna love me for that! At least though, it was an internal price-match this time rather then a competitor price-match.

          I went to check to price posted at the laptop display to see if - by chance - this was one of the few price changes we'd actually received.

          SC: NO! It's in HERE! *waves flyer*

          Me: That's fine, sir. We can adjust the price for you. Do you still have your receipt?

          SC: Why isn't there a flyer available in the store?

          You already have a flyer from the newspaper. Why do you care?

          Me: *explains the problem*

          SC: NO FLYER?! WHAT KIND OF STORE IS THIS?! How long have you worked here?!

          Oh no, you did NOT just go there. You are NOT blaming this on ME!!!

          Me: *pointing to the two year pin on my nametag* Over two years, sir.

          SC: And you don't have a flyer?!

          Yes, he IS blaming me. GodFRAKKINGdamnit! Just DIAF already. And just like yesterday, he's arguing with me AFTER I've already agreed to give him what he wants!!!!

          Me: Sir, that is entirely outside of my control. But like I said, we'll be happy to adjust the price for you. May I see your receipt?

          SC: Yes, but I'd also like to get the printer offer.

          Me: The free printer? (There was an offer to get a free HP 1560 with any HP laptop in the flyer) Yeah, I have that.

          SC: No, it says you can get $70 off an HP printer with the purchase of any HP notebook.

          There was no such offer listed in the flyer, however, it was an ongoing offer that we had in the store, for a $70 rebate on any HP WIRELESS printer with the purchase of an HP computer.

          I explained that it was a rebate, not an instant savings, not a rebate.

          SC (snippily): I UNDERSTAND that!

          Since this is already getting very long, even for me, I will summarize the next part. Not only was this guy a blazing asshole, but he was also a Blazing Idiot. The kind of guy who - armed with but a mere tidbit of information - thinks he's an expert on the subject and considers you stupid if you say anything he doesn't like, because he KNOWS these things, damnit!

          Anyway, he settled on an HP J4680, then asked if it was network ready in addition to being wireless-ready. It's not and I told him so. Then he asked which machines were network ready. I showed him. He looked at the HP 6310.

          Then he wants to know why the 6310 costs more than the J4680 when it "lacked" a feature the other had. He failed to understand my explanation, and asked the question a second time. I rephrased, and he still didn't get it, and made a thinly veiled comment on my intelligence.

          Then he asked me how much the ink cost for each. I told him the ink for the 6310 cost more, so he decided to get the J4680. This becomes important later. I answered his question; no more, no less.

          THEN he wanted to take advantage of a second offer, whereby if you buy an HP printer and recycle your old printer, you get $30 off.

          I explained three things to him

          -First of all, it's $30 in Staples Rewards not $30 off.

          -Two, the printer he buys has to be at least $159.98 regular price, and the J4680 is only $129.98 (he had, of course, opted for the cheapest wireless HP printer we sold).

          -Three, even if the printer qualified, we can not combine the $30 Rewards offer with the $70 rebate offer.

          SC: It doesn't say you can't combine them!!!!

          Me: *pulling out of a copy of the Trade In/Trade Up offer; shows him where it says "CAN NOT BE COMBINED WITH ANY OTHER OFFER"* In any case sir, the printer you picked doesn't qualify anyway.

          SC: RANT RANT; RAVE RAVE

          At this point I wished I had my D'K Tahg with me........(not really, of course)

          After a few more minutes of arguing, he decided to go home and collect his old desktop PC so he could do the same Trade-in/Trade-up offer, only applied to the laptop.

          SC: Can I leave this stuff here? *points to the old printer and the NEW laptop*

          Me: No sir. That's yours. You own it, and we can't be held responsible for it. You need to take it with you.

          SC: Well I don't want to lug that printer back with me. Can you just recycle it.

          Me: We can, but there is a $10 charge if you aren't recycling it as part of Trade-in/Trade up.

          SC: *more ranting* So I can't just leave it.

          Me: No sir, I can not and WILL not be responsible for your property.

          Finally he left, but with the promise to return before we closed at 6.

          I went to my department lead and filled him in on this guy, and asked for him to please deal with him when he came back in because he's already pissing me off big time. He agreed to do so.

          (END OF PART 2)
          "We guard the souls in heaven; we don't horse-trade them!" Samandrial in Supernatural

          RIP Plaidman.

          Comment


          • #6
            Quoth NightWatch View Post
            But but.... cliff hanger ending? I"m confused at that
            The tale is so long and epic it had to be split up. You guys responded too fast for me.
            "We guard the souls in heaven; we don't horse-trade them!" Samandrial in Supernatural

            RIP Plaidman.

            Comment


            • #7
              Quoth Dave1982 View Post
              You guys responded too fast for me.
              It's cuz we love you so very much Dave!! with butter...
              "I'm working for popcorn - what I get paid doesn't rise to the level of peanuts." -Courtesy of Darkwish

              ...Beware the voice without a face...

              Comment


              • #8
                Quoth Dave1982 View Post
                Since this is already getting very long, even for me, I will summarize the next part. Not only was this guy a blazing asshole, but he was also a Blazing Idiot. The kind of guy who - armed with but a mere tidbit of information - thinks he's an expert on the subject and considers you stupid if you say anything he doesn't like, because he KNOWS these things, damnit!
                I hate people like that. Grr. And I don't get why he wanted to keep arguing after he got his way. Guess he was already mad and wanted to stay that way. Nutbar.
                1129. I will refrain from casting Dimension Jump and Magnificent Mansion on every police box we pass.
                -----
                http://orchidcolors.livejournal.com (A blog about everything and nothing)

                Comment


                • #9
                  I really feel sorry for you.... lots of tact and diplomacy on your part.. I know it would hurt the bottom line, but if companies actually started to tell guys like that to just f-off perhaps they could keep their good staff longer.. Nobody needs or wants to take shit like that.

                  Staples is a good company. Some of their lower end electronic stuff is priced exactly what it's worth and you have to consider that, but for the most part they sell ok products. I've probably bought a hundred grand worth of stuff there since 2000. I never buy the extended warranty... if it doesn't work right away or quits in a couple of weeks they've always taken it back and replaced. After six months or a year the product is most likely obsolete by then anyway, so we'd just buy a new one.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Alright, now my earlier post is officially useless. There's no way he'd get those gift cards through a discount program. Would have been complaints to corporate. 99.9% chance of that.
                    Otaku

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      THE INFURIATING CONCLUSION!!!

                      5PM rolls around with no sign of this guy returning. Business was winding down, so my dept lead had me start cleaning up. While i was picking up papers in the printer aisles, a kid ran up and said "Can you help us?"

                      Me: Sure

                      *kid starts running again*

                      Me: Don't run! PLEASE DON'T RUN!!

                      He led me straight back to the SC.

                      I frantically tried to wave José, my dept head, over, but (in)conveniently he was tied up. SO I had to deal with him.

                      Me: OK, you wanted the J4680? And you said you also needed an HP 21 cartridge? (The HP 21 was for a different printer).

                      SC: Yes.

                      Me: OK *retrieves those items* Now, did you want me to also get you the extra ink cartridges for this printer?

                      SC: Is this a return? *points at the back of the printer box*

                      Well, this particular box had a nice big rip on the back that had been covered over with clear tape. I'd forgotten about that, but I knew for a fact that it came in from the warehouse that way. It happens sometimes, and these things are packaged in such a way that the boxes can take some abuse without the contents being harmed. Hell, that's the whole point of packaging, right?

                      And - needless to say - I didn't have any other besides THAT ONE in stock at the moment.

                      Me: No sir, it came in from the warehouse like this. If it was am open box return we wouldn't resell it.

                      SC: Can we open it to check?

                      Like the bajillion gift cards, this is another thing that I really hate. On the one hand it's not an entirely unreasonable request, but on the other hand we can't sell it once it's opened, so unless they buy it now, we have to eat it.

                      So, not having any patience for this guy's bullshit, I laid it out straight to him.

                      Me: Ok sir, if I open this, and it's not damaged, are you DEFINITELY going to buy it?

                      SC: Yes

                      Me: You are?

                      SC: Yes!

                      Me: OK *opens it; pulls out a bunch of papers from between the hole and the printer*

                      As I expected, the printer is fine.

                      Me: It's fine sir.

                      SC: But *poking the hole* it must have impacted it here.



                      Me: It would only have hit this stuff *waves handful of manuals and other junk*

                      SC:........................

                      Me: Do you want the extra ink for it?

                      SC: How many pages do you get out of this one?

                      *swift intake of breath; he was looking RIGHT AT the yield info on the box*

                      Me: 200 pages black, 360 color.

                      SC: And the other one? (The 6310).

                      Me: Off-hand i don't know, but...

                      SC: Can you please find out.

                      Already dreading where this was going, I looked it up.

                      Me: 400 black, 260 color.

                      SC: Let me look at that other one again. *goes to printer aisle*

                      Now I was totally beyond pissed. He just broke his promise that he would buy that printer if I opened it and it was undamaged. I didn't follow him, ostensibly to guard the laptop which he just left laying on the counter.

                      Finally, José came over and asked what I needed. I filled him in. He is also unhappy.

                      The SC returned.

                      SC: I want to get the other one instead.

                      *SNAP!!!*

                      Me: Sir, you told me that you would buy this one if I opened it for you and it was fine!!

                      SC *blustery*: That was because you told me that this one [the J4680] was more efficient, and it turns out that it's the other one that's more efficient.

                      Recall from part 2, how I that i told him the cartridges for the J4680 were cheaper? That's all I told him. I said NOTHING else because he didn't ask me, and because of his attitude I didn't want to volunteer any more information than was necessary to get him the hell out of my hair.

                      He was now saying I'd given him incorrect information about which printer was more cost-effective. That was an outright lie.

                      Me: You asked me which cartridge COST LESS, and I told you.

                      The SC turned to look me in the face. I did the same to him.

                      SC: You recall earlier!!!! I asked you which was cheaper to operate! You said this one [the J4680].

                      This was now the second time he called me a liar. Now I was seeing RED

                      Me: NO, you asked me which cartridges were cheaper. And the cartridges for this one ARE cheaper!!!!

                      José (who until this point hadn't said a word nor betrayed any emotion): Sir, I'll gladly sell you the other one if you want, but I just want you to know that because this one's opened, I'm gonna lose the cost of it. Which is fine, but I wanted you to know that.

                      SC *sputtering*: NO ONE WOULD BUY IT LIKE THAT!!!!!!

                      José: But you said you would buy it if we opened it for you and it was ok.

                      YES!! He showed some spine!! I wanted to hug him for that!

                      Somehow, the situation became defused shortly afterwards, and the guy left with his precious price adjustment, Hp 6310, and his rebate forms.

                      I swear though, if he comes back again, I'm just not even going to talk to him. I'll lie and say I'm otherwise occupied and have José for the MOD deal with him.

                      So that was my weekend. How was yours?
                      "We guard the souls in heaven; we don't horse-trade them!" Samandrial in Supernatural

                      RIP Plaidman.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        I..uh..it..I *brain explodes* What a twit he is.

                        I have chocolate though! *offers*
                        1129. I will refrain from casting Dimension Jump and Magnificent Mansion on every police box we pass.
                        -----
                        http://orchidcolors.livejournal.com (A blog about everything and nothing)

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          wow. That just sucks. the stupidity of people never ceases to amaze me. You handled it well though.
                          http://footloosecomic.com Pirate Faeries!!

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                          • #14
                            Forgot to add a couple tidbits of information from the end of this one.

                            First, yes, I did semi-flip on the SC in front of my supervisor, but no, he's not mad at me about it. José is fully aware of what a complete pain in the ass that guy was, and how disrespectful his behavior was. He said what he was aching to tell the SC was "You don't treat my guys like that!"


                            And guess who showed up just in time to witness the very end of the sale (post flip-out?)

                            The district manager!

                            DM: Hi Dave! That looked like a pretty good sale you were ringing up!

                            If only she knew.......
                            "We guard the souls in heaven; we don't horse-trade them!" Samandrial in Supernatural

                            RIP Plaidman.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Ok Dave... I too laughed at your last line.

                              I'd hate to be in retail.. unless it was my own store, and I could kick people out ... after telling them what I thought of them... in a fairly GraveKeeper-esque way......
                              When I said "From my research", what I actually meant to say was "Made shit up" - from a thottbot thread

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