Why I argued (politely) to save three bucks

re: Why I argued (politely) to save three bucks

Joan — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 03:14:32 GMT

Right on, Jason. People in service jobs really don't get paid enough to deal with these idiots. The American sense of entitlement and bitchiness when they don't get their way certainly knows no bounds.

re: Why I argued (politely) to save three bucks

jason — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 17:20:05 GMT

If each coupon had a disclaimer for everything that every customer tried to read into it, the coupon would be a mile long. You knew damn well before you even walked up to pay for the item, that this would exclude sale items. This is a given, in all retail environments. I have been in retail Mgmt for 15 years also, and have come to the conclusion that the customer is very often wrong, but we are trained to smile, nod and pretend you are right. "Have a nice day = please just leave" This particular manager should have given you the 3 bucks and then researched the validity of the couon and it terms, then corrected anything that needed to be done for any future situations of the dame matter.

re: Why I argued (politely) to save three bucks

Bob — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 20:11:47 GMT

If you think Office Depot is bad, I had a terrible experience at Staple where due to "Low stock" they would not take my coupon at all. They stated that "We cannot afford to lose anymore margin than they already had on this weekends sale"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What the heck are they thinking!!

Bob

re: Why I argued (politely) to save three bucks

Glenn — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 17:32:20 GMT

Frank, it is NOT the salesperson's that "Disapproved" your application for credit. I assume when they ran a credit check, it came back negatively. Resulting in them NOT giving you credit to make purchases. No businesss will just hand out credit to every Tom, Dick or Harry without getting a credit check.

re: Why I argued (politely) to save three bucks

Zach — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 04:28:22 GMT

I work at Office Depot (sadly). I have to let you know that the manager you spoke with was not being very honest at all. There is no such thing as a coupon that does not work with sale items...PERIOD. I have worked there for 3 years and the only real exeption any coupon has is that its either not combinable with another COUPON or it doesnt work with electronic items (because there is only an average of 5% mark up on such goods). I should also inform you that it is Office Depot policy to "take care of a customer" up to 100 dollars, assuming they have some sort of proof. Lastly, in the cashiers defence, corporate does set the pricing in the cash register and any coupon codes as well. They would probably do a better job of it if they actually had to deal with the aftermath of it all.

re: Why I argued (politely) to save three bucks

Rochelle — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 06:53:42 GMT

I had a wonderful experience at an Office Depot. I went for the free (after rebate) calculator. I called ahead and had the clerk put one aside for me. When I got there the clerk apologized and got the manager who gave me a different, comparable calculator at no cost. Another shopper had taken the last free calculator as the clerk was bringing it up to the register. Their computer showed two in stock so the clerk wanted to make good for their error. Some stores/employees care about keeping a promise. I was thrilled with my free item and I didn't even have to jump through the hoops for the rebate.

re: Why I argued (politely) to save three bucks

Ashley — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 14:20:05 GMT

I find it funny that there is so much pride involved with fighting for your consumer rights in saving some money. I think people need to spend less time fighting for themselves, and more time holding these huge corporations accountable for the treatment of the people making the products in their stores. The basic human rights of these people are far more worth your time and energy. It's sad that "sticking it to the man" involves wasting your time over $3 when it could involve boycotting companies that outsource labor from countries with deplorable standards and conditions for their people.

And to the people complaining about the poor service at McDonalds or Arbys... think about it... walking away from that commercial farm sandwich could be one of the better decisions you've made... both for your body and the animals.

It's time to take a stand against much larger issues.

re: Why I argued (politely) to save three bucks

--- — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:56:33 GMT

Having worked back to school and holiday rush as a Staples cashier, I must point out that it's not always the store's fault--especially if it come to something like instant coupons or rebates printed at the register. Often, the computer system the register uses is controlled by corporate, and not the individual store, and if dates or item numbers get programmed in wrong, there is literally no way for the people in the store to make your coupon print; we can only lodge a complaint with corporate and wait for them to solve the problem, while we're stuck handing out mail-in papers to rude customers who yell at us about it all day. I mean, I've been known to argue over 50-cent discrepancies in price, but give us a break, all right? And not everything is corporate deception--sometimes it's just an honest technical error.

re: Why I argued (politely) to save three bucks

Vicky — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 18:25:19 GMT

"Some of you are probably thinking, It's only $3 -- give it up, already. "

I was indeed thinking that, but for Office Depot, not you. :) I once had a game of who'll-blink-first with a moving company that promised me a rebate on any unused or gently-used boxes I had left over from my move. When I brought the boxes back, I was told that I would get a $20 rebate, but oops - the guy who signs the cheques wasn't in. He wasn't in the next day, either. Or the next. When I called AGAIN, I was told that he'd left for a two-week paternity leave. I finally lost my temper and said that I was coming down to the corporate office immediately, and they'd better have my cheque ready for me. They did - and it wasn't signed. ARGH! Fortunately, I realized that fact before I left the premises.

That whole time, I kept thinking that they were probably thinking "Geez, lady, it's only $20. What's the big deal?" In which case my response would've been "YES, my point exactly!"

re: Why I argued (politely) to save three bucks

Get Over Yourselves — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 15:25:34 GMT

First things first, I'm not sure where you other retail types are working. My first retail job, and first customer service job, the lesson I was taught on day one was "'The customer is always right' is wrong!" And the customer is NOT always right.

You would have been better suited to call corporate than put some poor manager making minimum wage through the wringer for a mistake made by their corporate office in their advertising. You might be losing out on $.30, but she's probably in danger of losing her job. Common sense should tell you that coupons like this can't be used on discounted, clearance or sale items. You decided to take advantage of an advertising snafu and bitched your way into a discount.

As to the person with the McDonald's story - so you think you're better than them because they work at McDonald's. I hope you get laid off and have to work fast food for the rest of your life just to keep a roof over your head. You're a pompous ass.