[PappyB]

Hey all,

I had an interesting experience with a vendor I'd like to share and get opinions on.

I placed an order with a retailer I've bought from for years, and never had any issues with -- nothing but good to say about them, actually. The name of the vendor does not matter, and I'd like for this thread to be treated as a hypothetical.

They have a free shipping policy if your order is a certain amount (several vendors have this policy, the target amount varies...).

My order fell 0.02 short of the target, and there was simply nothing else I wanted to order. So, I asked if they could give me the shipping deal or just charge me $.02 more for one of the items to get it. They said no on both counts, and were actually kind of rude back to me "If we did this for you, we'd have to give everyone who asks free shipping, and my paycheck will suffer for it" . NO sorry, we value your biz, but we just can't do it -- just a big, fat, firm NO. (this is all in email)

So I cancelled the order outright and am ordering elsewhere for now, and for the foreseeable future, as this left a bad taste in my mouth, so to speak. I have spent hundreds of dollars with this store, over the years, too. ??

Seems to me, they're stepping over dollars to pick up nickels?

I am curious what you all think -- am I being too harsh, were my expectations out of line? Personally, I just can't stand it when a store quotes policy in response to a reasonable, in my opinion common sense, request. AND I do think long-time customers deserve a bone now and then -- in this case, a $.02 bone. But perhaps it's me that's all wet??

I guess it's the principle of the thing to me.

[hworth18]

Pappy,
I think I know who you are speaking about and I have also discussed this issue with him over the phone.. He was pretty firm in his policy to me and told me that below a certain dollar amount, it was costing him much more than just the $.02 cents, (figure the next lower shipping rate, which was "free") so it would've cost him the entire shipping charge just to give me $.02 and all it was going to cost me was $4.00, so I didn't argue the point too much..

I hear your plight, as I have been there myself...

[fileasfog]

If the difference is 2 cents then I dont see why the buyer could not add 2 cents to the check he writes.

I think it was a bad business move.

[PappyB]

Originally Posted by hworth18

Pappy,
I think I know who you are speaking about and I have also discussed this issue with him over the phone.. He was pretty firm in his policy to me and told me that below a certain dollar amount, it was costing him much more than just the $.02 cents, (figure the next lower shipping rate, which was "free") so it would've cost him the entire shipping charge just to give me $.02 and all it was going to cost me was $4.00, so I didn't argue the point too much..

I hear your plight, as I have been there myself...

I hear you Harry, I know it's "just $4.00"... but again, it's more the principle. I would have been all to happy to put the $.02 "in the jar" to make it legit... and frankly, I was very suprised at the response I got from the request, not very profesional at all, IMHO.

[hworth18]

Originally Posted by PappyB

I hear you Harry, I know it's "just $4.00"... but again, it's more the principle. I would have been all to happy to put the $.02 "in the jar" to make it legit... and frankly, I was very suprised at the response I got from the request, not very profesional at all, IMHO.

True, and they probably should "bend the rules" for good customers, but when do you stop "bending"??
I manage a small company and I know we are very stringent on some policies and others we can bend, but I also know that I have customers who know this and frequently try to take advantage of it..

It may be "$.02" or "$4.00" to you and me, but it could mean $15.00 (shipping)+ the markdown price of the sale item, which is loss of profit in the end for the retailer.. I guess "professionalism" and "principle" depends on which end you are looking from..

[admin]

IMHO


That sounds pretty stupid to me!

Granted, my dealer of preference doesn't always offer the best deal outright, but if I ask for a little something extra I usually get it. A dealer ought to be able to stretch their policy for two cents on a "just between you and me" basis, if for no other excuse. If they can't be at least that flexible, they should probably rethink their policy.

If Acme diecast figures that he makes $50 dollars on any purchase over $200, and that he can cover $15 shipping at that margin. Then I don't see why it would matter if the purchase was only $199.98. I understand that firm policies are necessary, but we're talking about a repeat customer.

Loyalty is a two way street in my book.

Devils Advocate
Sometimes, these threshold based deals are calculated so that the average purchase falls short of the offer. This would of course encourage the buyer to extend their order by at least one item. You can imagine how big of a boost in sales this might be. Maybe this is what the dealer is trying to ensure.

[PappyB]

Originally Posted by hworth18

True, and they probably should "bend the rules" for good customers, but when do you stop "bending"??
I manage a small company and I know we are very stringent on some policies and others we can bend, but I also know that I have customers who know this and frequently try to take advantage of it..

It may be "$.02" or "$4.00" to you and me, but it could mean $15.00 (shipping)+ the markdown price of the sale item, which is loss of profit in the end for the retailer.. I guess "professionalism" and "principle" depends on which end you are looking from..

Good points, though I'm having trouble applying them to this case: nothing I was buying was on sale -- and telling them to charge me the difference, is hardly taking advantage of a policy.

Where do you/should you draw the line is a good question. I agree with Gaven's assesment below, when it comes down to it. (This vendor's prices are not the best, mind you, too... and I probably order $500+ a year from them.)

But regardless, some sort of "I'm sorry, I'd like to, but I just can't do that" response is called for at the very least, rather than what I got.

Maybe I'm letting the Pats loss creep into my Monday, but this vendor's reply just didn't sit well with me.

Thanks for sharing your opinions, all!

[PappyB]

Originally Posted by admin

IMHO


Devils Advocate
Sometimes, these threshold based deals are calculated so that the average purchase falls short of the offer. This would of course encourage the buyer to extend their order by at least one item. You can imagine how big of a boost in sales this might be. Maybe this is what the dealer is trying to ensure.

Yeah, I usually cave and do just that -- this time, I just really didn't want anything else at the moment, so I thought I'd ask for "$.02 from the "tip jar"...

[hworth18]

Originally Posted by PappyB

But regardless, some sort of "I'm sorry, I'd like to, but I just can't do that" response is called for at the very least, rather than what I got.

Agreed, they could've been a little more tactful in their response, and in the long run, it probably wouldn't have made a difference in their overall numbers.. It is unfortunate that they ended up NOT making a sale and you ended up NOT getting your product, and in that respect, the dealer should have made a concession..

[jim]

If it had been down to me I would have looked at how much business I had done with the buyer before refusing to bend. If it was a regular customer then I would have bent the rules. always take the long view, if the guy orders on a regular basis I know I will make it back plus the customer thinks he has a good deal and will come back to buy more. Its not rocket science just good business surely!