Only a week and a half remains until the Groupon to my store expires. I speak for a lot of us when I say I’ll be relieved to see the end of $50 sales turning into $0 sales, $18 Alternative Apparel t-shirts waltz out of the store for $1.36 each, and when my IPT (items per transaction) is above two, yet my ADS (average dollar sales) remains well below the desired $100. However, in spite of these frustrating retail challenges, it has been very interesting and educational to see customers’ reactions when they learn that their seemingly generous friends, relatives, or boyfriends have used a $50 discount on their gift.
During the holiday season, a husband and wife approached the register brandishing a gift receipt and wanting to return an shimmery blue Michael Stars v-neck top. A red flag should have gone up in my head from the start (me: “Could I have your last name please?” Customer: “You have the receipt…you shouldn’t need that. Why do you need that?!”). Anyhow – I entered the four-letter code from the gift receipt (please see the previous post for a more in-depth rant on returns and exchanges) into the price field on the computer.
My mouth probably fell agape as $16.75 appeared on the screen.
Anyone in their right mind knows that no Michael Stars product that’s not on massive clearance would retail for $16.75. I probably muttered something like “hm, that doesn’t seem right,” and entered the gift code a second time.
$16.75 stared back at me again.
At this point, I alert my store manager who is at the register next to me. By now, the couple looks very confused and a bit agitated (albeit, understandably). I explain to her that I have entered the gift code for this top (the full price of which is, in fact, about $75) but *this* is what appears. Initially my manager seems perplexed, while the couple is still in the dark – probably presuming I have no clue how to operate my computer. I explain to them that upon entering the code on the receipt they provided me, it appears that the purchaser paid only $16.75 for the top.
“No way!” Exclaims the wife. “Not possible. If my mom had gotten a good deal on that top, she would’ve told us,” claims the husband.
At this point, my manager chimes in: “What probably happened is that she used her Groupon on it; that’s the only way the price could be so low.”
Still in disbelief, the couple attempted to wrap their heads around the situation while demanding the full price of the top in store credit. Unfortunately for them, no sales associate or store manager is about to give an additional $50 to anyone without the original receipt. The couple ended up canceling the transaction and leaving in a confused, exasperated huff – I think more exasperated with the husband’s mother than anything else.
It’s never fun to come to the realization that your mother-in-law skimped on your Christmas gift. Of course, this was only the first instance in such a series:
A girl wanted to exchange an Anna Beck necklace her boyfriend had given her. She had her gift receipt in hand, but was insistent that she should be getting at least $50 in store credit given that the necklaces go for about that much. More than likely, she had come in with her boyfriend and selected the one she liked on a previous visit.
Price the boyfriend paid? $1.25.
