December 31, 2008

but the sign says...

last night C and I ventured to a local shopping establishment. we were awed by some of the great deals. one particular sign read "2 for $5. Reg. Price $5 - 39.50." The sign hung amidst fleece hats, gloves, pants, and jackets. No way!!! Really??? C and I each scooped up an item or two and continued our shopping. when I got to the cash register, my fleece jacket rang up at $10 (still a good deal, mind you, but not what the sign said). "um, the sign by those says 2 for $5." I politely informed the check-out girl. Her semi-annoyed response: "that's only on accessories."
me: "well, the sign doesn't say that. the sign says 2 for $5."
her: "corporate sent us generic signs. that's only for the accessories."
me: "I'm sorry, but the sign implies the jackets too. It says regular price $5 - 39.50, which this falls into."
her: "ugh! it's only accessories."
me: "well, the sign is hanging directly above the jackets. there are no other signs back there."
she storms off, returns with a scowl on her face "you NEED to get TWO for the deal!"
me: "oh, ok. I'll go get something else, then."
her: "fine, hurry up."
I scurried past the growing line of on-lookers, waiting their turn to check out. I hurried to grab another fleece jacket, not wanting other patrons to wait any more on my account.
I paid for my purchases and politely thanked the exceedingly crabby woman.
C checked out next to me, she politely explained that she was purchasing items that were also on the 2 for $5 wall, and her check-out guy replied "ok." and nicely rang up her $5 purchase.
I felt mildly bad for arguing with the sales girl (more so, I felt badly for holding up the line). But, I have a strict policy of truth in advertising. Had she charged me full price for the fleece, I would have asked to speak to a manager and accused the store of false advertising. Some people might think that's really snotty, but I'm just looking out for the average American Consumer. You can't post sale signs and then not honor those sale prices. It's un-American.

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