Yesterday, I went to the pharmacy to stack up on wet wipes for the diaper bag. After a rather loud arguement at the checkout, I walked out announcing “I will never shop here again!” Not few heads turned among the other customers.
But hey, no one messes with a Mother shopping with and for her baby! I could not have been more certain that I was right and that the two employees at the checkout were wrong.
The core of the dispute was a membership deal on Dr Greve Pharma baby producs with a major pharmacy chain. How can you misinterpret the following:
“3 for 2 on Dr Greve Pharma products (baby oil, zink creme, and wet wipes) valid from July 1st to end of 2011. Buy 3 and pay for 2 – you get the cheepest product for free. You may combine all products in this offer, mix and match as you like.”
..and further:
“You can get these products in all our pharmacies. You can also shop with membership discount online.”
I picked 3x wet wipes and gave my membership card to the lady at checkout. When I looked at the receipt, it showed that I had paid for all three so I went back in the store to correct it. This is when the arguement starts.
Pharmacy employees:
- No, there is no 3 for 2 offer.
- Our offer is “buy 1 baby oil and 1 zink creme – get 1 wet wipes for free”.
- No, you cannot mix and match as you like.
- You have to get one of each, not 2+1 or 3 alike.
OK, see where this is headed?
- You must be talking about an internet deal. Internet deals are not the same as shop deals.
- Look at this advertisement (she points to it), it clearly says “…”
My side of the story?
- I signed up for the membership in July because of this great deal on the wet wipes, which we just so happen to be using anyhow.
- I have shopped at four other pharmacies in this chain over the past three months and received the 3 for 2 mix-and-match deal. I have bought both 3x wet wipes and 2 zink + 1 baby oil. The former multiple times.
- I asked the lady to check their website. She did and claimed there was no info about this deal. (The info is there, on multiple pages. Hint: look under “current deals”, “membership deals”, or “membership advantages”.
- I asked her to read the membership folder. She did and upheld her claim.
- I asked her to read the adverticement in the leaflet on the counter. She did and claimed that the above quoted text means “buy x and y – get z for free”. (Hello? You, should not work in a pharmacy if you cannot read your native language..)
- She claimed that those four other pharmacies must have misunderstood the deal and that I had gotten lucky with them.
At this time, frustration was building. I took my bag, my receipt, and walked away. I feel rather proud that the strongest word I used was “bullshit”.
About 4-5 minutes later down the hall outside another shop, the lady came looking for me. She had called HQ.. I have no idea what they told her, but this ended with me getting a cash refund for the third package of wet wipes. “We want happy, returning customers”, she said, following up with “I see how the text of this deal can be misleading, I will ask management to make new signs for the store specifying that the offer is buy 1 baby oil and 1 zink creme – get 1 wet wipes for free.”
Oh, Lord! The woman still cannot read!!! Or maybe she is too proud to admit to herself, her coworkers, and me that she is wrong.
Bottom line:
I got the deal this time, but I will probably not use the local pharmacy for membership deals anymore. A day later, I am still thrilled that I had the guts to fight for my rights, and doing so without becoming rude. I do not think that she would have dragged me back into the store to give me the refund if I had called her names (even if she had earned them..)
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