Why do I feel so bad? (Price matching)

[Shepp]

The last time I tried to price match at WM, they had to call to see if the competitor had that item in stock. Since they didn't, no price match.

That equated to no purchase. Basically I just wasted their time, and left empty handed.

[MapleMegatron]

Originally Posted by ngnaw

I don't feel bad at all. It's a policy they put in place. I'm still courteous when I speak to them. I actually find it funny when I get items for free due to prices being wrong (when items are under $10 and scan wrong) or when they have to match the lower price and take $10 off.

You know what i noticed? They are far more ready to give you that 10$ off isntead of price matching and its probably because that 10$ off is all internal. They can see that the price is wrong and will so what is expected without ay questions and witha smile. But when things cant be verified or are a bit blurry and not straight in line with their policy, then thats where things get harder.

Originally Posted by timcrook

Has anyone here worked as a cashier or customer service at retail? I want the inside info, are managers hard on you if customers PM?

No, but you have to respect their law. At Walmart, unlike TRU, all their deluxes have their own numbers in the computer. And so, the only item eligible is the item on the flyer. In this case, if following Walmart`s official price math rule, the only item you can ask for a price match on is Highbrow. And thats it. If you didnt know, dont feel bad. But now you know. They might price match for another deluxe but that is going beyond their price match policy. They reserve the right to judge if the item is identical or not:

Our “local competitors” and ‘identical items’ are determined by us.

People here have commented that all deluxes are under the same code and that is NOT the case at Walmart, and so you cannot price match for a toy that is not shown in the flyer.

Originally Posted by Mega-Prime 316

I said they were sold out and then they said that if the advertisers store from the flyer was sold out they did not have to match anything because the items were not in stock and therefore the ad was void...I left empty handed.

That is also part of their policy. You cannot get a price match for an item which is sold out at the competitor. That is part of all price matching policies, even TRU's:

Retailer must have the advertised item in-stock and be available for immediate sale in the same local market area

[MapleMegatron]

Originally Posted by joshimus

I always get BS answers when asking about PM at Walmart so I won't bother anymore. I'll buy it at Walmart regular price, get a Raincheck at TRU and when that comes in buy it on sale and return that one to walmart.

Yup, thats what I have been doing for a year now. It means they dont get my money, but thats ok, they chose that way of doing business. Plus is guarantees that I get the figure if ever it doesnt end up being sold at TRU for whatever reason.

[alternatorfan]

Originally Posted by Nocturn

Wal-Mart employees just don't want to deal with price matches, bottom line. They handle thousands of transactions and what you're asking for only serves to both take time and money away from the company. You're going to face resistance every time.



Repeating yourself doesn't make your opinions any less crazy. These people make barely enough to live off of why the FUCK would they bother memorizing every single item that comes through their workplace? At any given time there are literal thousands of products on their floor, and it changes with every week. Why would they push themselves to superhuman levels at twelve bucks an hour, just to satisfy nerds like us? Give me a fucking break.



^

Ok points taken then why at toys r us do the people not know what they are selling its a toy store they make the same amount of money.
And wal Mart too ok the toy dept people don't know what they sell and they work in that section ????
use your head man.
Don't hire people that have no interest in doing there job esp in sections that need educated employees.

[Jeem]

The Walmarts I have been to are also a pain to PM.

I recently got the 4 limbs for Voltron and then a week later, TRU had a 20% off sale. I took the flyer in with my receipts and they said No. That i need to show them that TRU had the same product as the items on my receipt.

I had to go home and print each item off the TRU site with the UPC on them in order for them to match the items on my receipt.

At a savings of $5 a limb I got back $20 which is a fair amount of change. Ended up getting the black lion from TRU cuz Walmart was too much trouble.

[down_shift]

In my own experience, some people who work a till are so effin' bitter that they actually get a small amount of pleasure in denying a price match.

They tried it with me last week. I price matched an online price for Legends. They said they don't do that. I didn't put up a fight. I paid full price, since I knew I would be at the same walmart in the next few days.

Went into customer service, explained to them what had happened, showed them the competitors online price, and they refunded me the difference. Had I really felt the need to make a scene I could have, but it's not worth it for me over a few toys. Instead I took the high road and still got my price match, if a few days later.

[UltraMarknus]

They are GREAT for price matching groceries fwiw!

[Shepp]

Originally Posted by down_shift

...but it's not worth it for me over a few toys...

This. If they don't play along, I'm perfectly free to take my money elsewhere without any fuss. I'm also perfectly free to buy whatever the item is without the price match or discount.

The choice is mine, and I don't need to make a scene either way.

Maybe ten years ago I'd make a fuss, but now I'm a little wiser and a little more cynical/apathetic.

[Nocturn]

Originally Posted by alternatorfan

Ok points taken then why at toys r us do the people not know what they are selling its a toy store they make the same amount of money.
And wal Mart too ok the toy dept people don't know what they sell and they work in that section ????
use your head man.
Don't hire people that have no interest in doing there job esp in sections that need educated employees.

Points clearly not taken. You don't get it and haven't changed your position.

Toys R Us being a toy store changes *nothing* they still have no obligation to become a human encyclopedia. That store is still huge, though not as big as a walmart, they STILL have THOUSANDS of products that their computers can barely even keep straight, you're expecting EVERY SINGLE CSR you encounter to have memorized every product for every toyline for every season for as long as they work there. That's impossible. It's you who needs to use his head.

The corporations have zero expectation that their employees memorize the contents of the shelves. The employees have no reason to. It's never going to happen.

Why does a toy section need educated employees? If anything that's a section where you need the least education because kids know what they want, and the products are designed to be safe, I'd say it's more important to have skilled employees in say, the photo booth, or electronics, or the goddamn hunting department.

Working in the toy department does not require them to know every toy. Even CSR's who are collectors themselves usually only have interest in a handful of toylines, because like most adult collectors, that's all they have the attention/money for. Beyond personal interest, there is no reason they would know the specifics and particulars of products on the shelf. Like I tend to know what's going on in the Transformers and LEGO aisles but that's only because I have a personal interest in those toys. An employee will never have a collector's knowledge of every line. You're asking people to be Google for next to minimum wage.

[Yonoid]

In high school and thought unviersity I worked in a video game store. Being a pretty avid gamer it was impossible to know every detail of every game. Sure I was able to make recommendations etc. But people come in with the expectation you knew every level and every cheat code of every game.

It's just not possible.

When price matching I prep everything ahead of time. Flyer in hand or loaded on the phone.

When tr voyagers was on sale at tru for 50%off they had galvatron on the flyer. At Walmart website I loaded up all the voyagers on my phone to show they are all the same price point even though they all aren't on the flyer.

Some instances I ask for a manager. More times than not I get the flyer price.