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~*UPDATE*~ Horrible shopping experience... ~*UPDATE*~

T S CT S COld Faithful
... so today I went out to Burlington Coat Factory in Huntsville on University Drive. It's over there in the old Home Depot building, near Research Park Blvd.

It is winter time and there are some things I need, namely a winter coat that is not black or gray, a black belt and a brown belt, and two outfits for two holiday parties. One party is "formal attire" and one is "dressy business casual". So off to the BCF with my daughter I went.

We arrived a little after 1:00pm and I found a cute top and pants to wear to one party and a dress to wear to the other. Then I found a reversible belt (score!) and another sparkly trendy belt on sale (score again!). My kiddo picked up a couple of hats, some clearance jewelry, and I picked up a hat like Angelina Jolie wore in Changeling (a cloche hat). Last I found the perfect coat. It was a burnt orange (I think they call it Pimento) full length wool coat by Jones New York. It was one of the only styles of wool coat that came in a "petite" for the short girls like me that was not double breasted. One row of buttons is enough, thanks.

So I get up to the register and everything rings up fine, except the coat. OK, the coat was on a rounder that had a big sign on top of it that had a model wearing the exact coat, and it said "Jones New York Women's Wool Walking Coat $69.99 - Regular $99.99". So I thought that was pretty sweet. Perfect coat for $30 off the regular price. I told the cashier that the coat had been on a rack with a sale sign on it and she paged an associate from the ladies coat dept. The lady said "those coats aren't on sale until next week" and I replied that there is a sign on a rack full of them that states they are on sale now. We walked back to the coats, and lo and behold there was the sign. The associate said "this isn't supposed to be up until the day after" and took the sign down, glared at me, and said "they are $99". I told her that I'd like to see a manager and she took off power walking away from me and said over her shoulder that I'd have to go to the cash and wrap area and have one paged. My daughter looked at me and said, "that was awfully rude!".

So we went back to the register and I asked the cashier to please page a manager for me. She paged "Steve" and after 5 minutes he had not shown up. So she paged "any manager" and about 10 minutes later "Leslie" showed up. I explained to Leslie that there had been signage on the rack advertising the coats for $69.99 and I'd like to have the price adjusted on the coat that I was trying to purchase to reflect the advertised price. She said that an associate had put that sign up in error and it was not supposed to go up until the After Thanksgiving Sale on Black Friday. I told her that it was up when I picked out the coat, it was up when the coat was rang up at the register and it was up when I showed it to a coats department employee, so I expected to get that price. She said that she would not honor the price because it was an employee error. I asked her if she expected me to take responsibility for an employee's error and she said "no, but I will not sell this coat for less than the price on the tag which is $99".

So I tthanked her for her time, told her I would not be making a purchase today, and told her that I won't be returning to shop at a store that will not honor their advertised prices; and I left.

What would you have done?
It's the end of the world as we know it. It's the end of the world as we know it. It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine.
Last edited {1}
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G Gail-Hall of Famer
You did the right thing, TSC. I have had that happen to me before, you hate to return those other good bargains you just bought, but sometimes you just have walk away. They lose more than $30 in the end when you never shop there again. Even if there had been a mistake, they should have honored the price posted and not been rude. JMHO
_Joy__Joy_Old Faithful
I agree, Shugpie. I was about to suggest something like that, but a link is even better. Smiler Burlington would likely back you on this, not their employees.

I've worked retail in the past and the managers I worked for would have honored the price...not worth losing a customer over, especially in today's market.
V vick13Old Faithful
Yep, yep, yep. Go on up the ladder.

I just had to call a tow truck. My youngest was halfway to Tuscaloosa when the alternator went bad and the car stopped on the side of the interstate. Farmer's contacted Twilley Towing. They sent Joe Dirt. (In Bibb county apparently a mullet is all the rage.) He was rude, late, and stoopid. So..I called back the Farmer's Tow Service Feedback and gave them feedback on him while he was still filling out his paperwork in my yard...standing right beside him.
B blackacreHall of Famer
Isn't this amazing?
Horrible customer service, pricing errors, and a chance (in fact several chances) to make something positive out of this and gain a customer for life...and they blew it over $30.

What's really sad here is that when (not if) the store folds and the “associate” and her “manager” are all out looking for jobs because their store has closed they will all stand around, scratching their heads and blaming it on the “economy” when in fact they will have no one but themselves to blame (yet they will do their best to find someone, trust me).

Here is what you should do tomorrow morning. Do not call, do not e-mail....WRITE (spend the couple of bucks on certified mail...make them sign for it and show them you mean business). Spell out exactly what happened using the names that you provided here. Use this address:

Burlington Coat Factory
Corporate Headquarters
1830 Rt. 130
Burlington, NJ 08016

Remember, a good CEO is going to want to know what his representatives are doing on his/her behalf and service mark that they have spent time, money and worked hard to cultivate.


Edited to add...When you write, make certain that you mention your positive experience with their competition (Maurice's) and also mention the amount that you spent with their competitor and NOT them. The market is tight and it will get their attention (whether they ever admit it or not).

Don't put up with it.
Last edited by blackacre
T S CT S COld Faithful
Just an update - I used the link provided and sent in their Customer Feedback Form telling about my experience. I then put the entire thing in an email and sent it directly to:
Monroe G Milstein [President and Chief Executive Officer]
Jack Moore [President of Merchandising, Planning and Allocation and Marketing]
Elizabeth Williams [Executive Vice President, Chief Merchandising Officer]
Mark Nesci [Chief Operating Officer of Burlington Coat Factory]
Robert L Lapenta [Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer]

and we'll see what (if anything happens). I let them know that I went to another local store, Maurices, where I always receive excellent customer service and spent more money than I would have spent at BCF, but the excellent service that I received made it money well spent. I felt good and was happy when I left Maurices, a stark contrast to how I felt upon leaving BCF.

(Blackacre, I may still send a letter if I don't get a response!)
P ^PuF^Old Faithful
You handled it in the best possible way.

....If that had happened to me i would still be kicking myself for not being alert enough to have taken a pic of the rack with the sign in place....then, in my mind, i would find a great lawyer, sue them for false advertising and wind up with a big settlement and the meanie people having to apologize to me then getting fired Big Grin

Bad customer service has always been a big burr under my saddle.
D DixieChikOld Faithful
I would have done the same thing you did -- leaving my pile of stuff there for them to put back on the racks. I've had that happen at Rite Aid, but the manager gave it to me at the listed price but I've been sure to check the dates on their stuff ever since.

Several months ago, the local schools sold a coupon book that had a coupon to Jonathan's Steakhouse in it. It had 2 different coupons -- one that was buy one adult meal get 2nd free and another that was kids eat free. My brother and his wife and 2 kids went and wanted to use the adult meal coupon. they were told by the OWNER that he would give them one of the kids meals free but not 2 and that they couldn't use the adult coupon because they had kids with them. My brother -- being the nice guy -- took what the man gave him. He politely said thank you and handed me his coupons (we used to go hear music there) to use in front of the guy and told him he wouldn't be returning. I, not being the nice one, told the owner that that was false advertisement and was very bad business. I told him I would no longer be eating there -- and never have since. It wasn't long after they went out of business....live and learn...
AlabamaSonAlabamaSonHall of Famer
TSC, you did exactly the right thing. Your situation makes me think the people working at the store were simply there to collect a salary, a common problem these days. Hopefully the attitude does not extend all the way to the top. If it does not and the management pays attention to your story you will have done them a great favor.

Back in its early days Best Buy would give you one of the items free if you found a pricing error. I know they don't do it any more and I don't know when they stopped. But they have given me a couple of items in the past. I would imagine it would count against store shrink, which would get the manager's attention.
D DixieChikOld Faithful
I remember working at Sam's and someone bought a golf club for her husband. It was a Calloway and it was marked 21.90. When her husband found out how much she paid for he came into the store and brought the receipt with the club and asked for the manager -- he then explained to the manager that this was a $200 club that was sold for $21.90. The manager was going to let the man have the club for that price and the man refused because he knew that was wrong...the Manager made a point to correct the lady that put out the price changes every morning and that was a lesson in "common sense" for most of us. If other clubs around it are in the $100-$200 range and this was isn't something is wrong...But the manager still honored the pricing error...

TSC -- If I were you I'd call and get the General Manager's name from the store and write a letter of complaint. Or you could call WAFF and let them do a story on pricing error for the holidays and see if they can remind these people that their attitude toward customer service can cost them business.
NashBamaNashBamaOld Faithful
I would have told them that they have a choice, honor the price and take the $30 off the coat, or loose the $100 + purchase, a customer, and have that customer tell their friends and family about the incident and avoid the store.

Their attempt at saving $30 cost them quite a bit more. People forget that the best way to make money in business is to ensure every customer leaves happy. If they leave pissed, regardless of how much they spend that day, you've lost money.
Smooth operatorSmooth operatorHall of Famer
quote:
Originally posted by AlabamaSon:
TSC, you did exactly the right thing. Your situation makes me think the people working at the store were simply there to collect a salary, a common problem these days. Hopefully the attitude does not extend all the way to the top. If it does not and the management pays attention to your story you will have done them a great favor.

Back in its early days Best Buy would give you one of the items free if you found a pricing error. I know they don't do it any more and I don't know when they stopped. But they have given me a couple of items in the past. I would imagine it would count against store shrink, which would get the manager's attention.


My experiences with Best Buys is they are great when purchasing, but a nightmare if you have warranty issues or returns. I'll never walk into Best Buys again. I'd rather get the wrong price, than to see my warranty denied because I kept having same problem with a defective product. In fact the product was so problematic,they completely quit selling it, and thus denied my warranty I paid for.
B blackacreHall of Famer
Wow. Nice responses.

TSC, actually, you should print it (this thread) off in another day or two when it’s up to 3 or 4 pages and send it to the corporate address if you are not satisfied with their response or if you just decide to write to them anyway.

If I were a Regional Manager I would be horrified that my store was being discussed so negatively in a public forum (over $30!) by a customer that just wanted them to fulfill their advertisement. Just a quick head count shows that 696 have viewed the thread and even 14 or 15 of us have offered responses. That will be a drop in the bucket when you consider it can be “Googled” and picked up there as well in a day or so. I would think that that speaks volumes. Click “print” and then send it. I can guarantee you they will begin damage control and become very apologetic, very quickly. Find out who their Disctrict/Regional manager is and send them one copy. Then copy another one to the CEO. They will then be tripping over (and blaming) each other to make you happy. Guess who will be in the middle? That's right, the sorry manager that refused to do the right thing and "take care of the customer". Keeping a customer happy never costs as much as trying to regain their trust.
In the long run, it's much much cheaper.
T S CT S COld Faithful
I got a response - straight out of a can:

Dear ***** ****** {my name was here},

We apologize for any problems you may have encountered in our Assigned to Employee - Home store, and for any inconvenience this may have caused you.

We always expect our personnel to provide our customers with the highest standard of Customer Service.

Thank you for contacting us so that we could immediately address your concerns. We have discussed this situation with the Store Manager Steve. When a customer service issue does arise, we look upon it as an opportunity to further demonstrate our commitment to total customer satisfaction. Can you give me a contact number?

Again, we apologize and thank you for bringing your experience to our attention. We look forward to providing you with excellent service in the future.


Sincerely,

Burlington Coat Factory Customer Relations

Please help us assist you more efficiently:

• If responding by e-mail, please reply to this e-mail so that we can easily track your response and update your request.
• Your contact information is below; please let us know if we need to update our records.

That is pretty sad. The poor schmo who filled out this form didn't even fill in all the boilerplate fields. Hello, We apologize for any problems you may have encountered in our Assigned to Employee - Home store. What a load. So not only was I disrespected in the store, made to feel like a criminal, given rude service, and then when I bring to their attention, I get a canned letter that isn't even filled out properly??? WTF?
Smooth operatorSmooth operatorHall of Famer
quote:
Originally posted by CrustyMac:
Don't EVEN get me started on Best Buy's service after the sale. Mad

Crusty, I wish we could make more people aware of how badly Best Buys treats it's customers after the sale. I went on a web site one time (I have forgotten which one now) that tracks customer complaints, and Best Buys had by far the most customer complaint registrations. However, they seem to be doing well even in this bad economy. I guess their advertising is just so effective, people can't help but go there.
B b67Hall of Famer
Don't even get me started on Best Buy. You folks can't get help after you purchase something. I can't seem to get help in that store in Florence when I WANT to purchase something. I stood in there for over 30 min. one Sunday waiting for help in the TV dept. I finally marched up to the front and told them that I knew I wasn't purchasing one of the $3000 flat screen tv's but I deserved help just as much as anyone else. I wouldn't have waited that long but my precious little school children had given me money for Christmas to buy a new TV for our classroom and they had one for the exact amount so therefore I needed to buy it from them or I would have walked out. (Since my classroom TV was one from home that came over on Noah's Ark and couldn't be hooked to a VCR or DVD they felt sorry for me. LOL)
readaholicreadaholicHall of Famer
TSC,

I wouldn't let this thing die. I would follow the suggestion of a certified letter, sending a copy of this thread, calling and talking to a real person - any of those, but don't let it die. Get thru to these folks and let them know this is not the way to run a business and that their treatment of customers is now well known across this area and will be considered before shopping there.

I have never been in the store, have family that have shopped there in the past, but I for one wouldn't waste my time or money to drive to Huntsville to shop there if that is an example of their service.
Number 6Number 6Hall of Famer
I would have done the same as you. I would have made sure that she rings up everything and then said, "I don't think I'll be taking any of this." That way it would have been more work for them to clear the register. I'm not scared and have done it before. I never go back to those stores that do that either. It's just a ploy to get you to buy crap at regular price. It was done on purpose.
AlabamaSonAlabamaSonHall of Famer
Just for fun I went to the Burlington Coat Factory website to send them a link to this forum. It is somewhat crazy to navigate to the point of contacting someone, but you can get there. Well then they wanted a store number and such. TSC, you should go to this Burlington Contact Link and give them a link to this forum.

Then they can see for themselves what many people are saying. As for me, I don't think I will set foot in one of these stores. An incident in the store is one thing, but when you find the problem goes all the way to the top . . . well what can I say?
B blackacreHall of Famer
quote:
Originally posted by AlabamaSon:
Just for fun I went to the Burlington Coat Factory website to send them a link to this forum. It is somewhat crazy to navigate to the point of contacting someone, but you can get there. Well then they wanted a store number and such. TSC, you should go to this Burlington Contact Link and give them a link to this forum.

Then they can see for themselves what many people are saying. As for me, I don't think I will set foot in one of these stores. An incident in the store is one thing, but when you find the problem goes all the way to the top . . . well what can I say?


Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Okay, once more...
Sending links and e-mail correspondence to the company web site will do absolutely no good. I know we all mean well, but as indicated by the response TSC received, it was routed to a “customer service center” that was probably operated by a 3rd party contractor or some minimum wage hack (maybe even working from home) that handles CSR for a dozen or so stores and couldn't find Huntsville on a map.

Please understand...these things are all designed to insulate the customer from the key players and allow their underlings to “handle the problems” so none of this gets to them and lets them concentrate on what they perceive to be bigger issues within the corporation. You must admit, it is way easier to hit “delete” on a “fill in the blank” complaint form that have to take time and respond in a meaningful way. For most consumers, the lame e-mail response is plenty (they feel like someone listened, they got to vent, game over). In this case, I would not be satisfied with such a response.

Please understand that I have been there and I know exactly how this game is played.

Correspondence on the corporate level has to be collected, copied, archived, routed and it will end up in someone's lap. If it is certified (return receipt) where a signature has to be collected from the President's office (or simply his/her designee) it is a royal pain. It just depends on how far you want to take it. If you are satisfied, stick with the lame form letter response. If you want them to know what happened and why you, I, and (at last count) 1071 of our closest forum friends will not be contributing to their bottom line, go back 4 days and three pages ago and follow a fool's advice.
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