Asinine Promotions or When Marketing Becomes A Con
Wednesday, November 15th, 2006It’s been a while since I posted a personal rant, so here goes.
Bookstores are one of my weaknesses. Yesterday, I visited the World’s Biggest Bookstore downtown. In need of computer books, my wily subconscious delivered me first to a different department, where, of course, I found more books I hadn’t known I needed. As I looked up to orient myself and head to the computer section, a nice young man offered me a discount flyer, telling me that if I spent more than $50 I would receive a free $10 purchase coupon. Yes, it was in addition to the regular discount that I have a card for. Special 2 day only promotion. Since getting out of a bookstore for less than $50 is nigh impossible for me anyway, I accepted delightedly.
After collecting my other books, I arrived at the front cash registers. The clerk gave me a total which did not seem to reflect the $10 off so I asked for an explanation. Well. I shortly had 2 clerks involved, with a third looking on. The promotion was a few hours old, and they’d already put together sample receipts and other tools for trying to explain it to customers.
The $10 was deducted in prorated portions from the cost of each book as a percentage of the total. The unnecessarily complicated math seemed a red herring at that point, considering that after the various amount totaling $10 were deducted, there next appeared a charge of $10 for the purchase coupon itself. Ok, I asked, so where is the gift or discount?
The clerks, I am assuming, had also been coached not to give me a straight answer to this one. After listening to some meaningless mumbles and obfuscations, I spied a hint. Asking directly, I received a confirmation that after completing my purchase I would be given the gift, and that this would, apparently, induce me to return to the bookstore (in this same 2 day period) in order to use it. At no time did they suggest that I could split my books into 2 purchases in order to use it immediately, although this was done once I insisted on it.
Later, mentioned in a negligible manner, they threw in the information that if I wished to return or exchange any of the books, I would also be required to pay back the portion of the gift associated with it. That referred to the books in the primary purchase, where I had paid back the deducted $10, and also explained the complicated math. I don’t remember the last time I returned a book, but the idea that I would ‘pay them back’ for a deduction that I’d paid for (shown on the receipt) took the whole fabrication to yet another level of stupidity.
This is not promotion. This is a con. I’d expect it from a street vendor perhaps, but not in a large store.
Let’s not forget the introduction of the ‘promotion’ was a straightforward offer of $10 off a purchase of over $50, clearly designed to induce a customer who’d planned to drop $30 to double their spend. The manipulative trickery of this convoluted exercise was the most off-putting retail experience I’ve had in a while.
Uninformed and unhelpful sales clerks are so common now as to seem normal, but this sort of business practice in retail is more than a snubbing of customers. It is an insult. The marketing person who dreamed this up should be very relieved he did not get to meet me. Had I the time and strength yesterday, I’d have tracked down the store owner and not let up until the promotion was pulled. Yes, I do such things. As it was, I doubt that anyone took the trouble to note my views or convey them further.
Many of us often don’t have enough time to argue. The changing retail landscape makes it harder to walk out and go elsewhere. Are these things encouraging more such behavior? There may be some instances I can think of where I might not be able to find the same books elsewhere and only if I need them immediately, but that store definitely lost most or all of my business yesterday.
