Boots Grabbit Bargains Part 49 - Post your finds here

virtually

jenniewb wrote: »

Rule no.1 of shopping:
NEVER apologize! your money, your the one with the power- its not something you ever need to apologize for and the fact that you do concerns me- either you have bad experiences/issues/hang ups or the staff at the store you are shopping in are offering bad customer service. Its actually part of their job to make your shopping trip a pleasurable experience! And you know what? there are people who are paid to do just that, if your shopping experience is a 'painful' one where you are feeling you are in the wrong, there is something very wrong there... part of the bill you are paying is going to someone somewhere whose job it is to make your trip a good one.

And I used to work for customer service- so I totally get what I am yapping on about here!

If you find yourself apologizing again, ask yourself why, is it you or is it the store/staff/customers around you, then deal with whatever it is- if it is the staff/store, make a complaint, I am sure head office would welcome any chance to improve customer satisfaction in this economic climate more then ever!

Erm.. nope don't have hang ups/issues here..thanks I will go with your other options myself! And I don't think people who don't want to cause a fuss or are more apt to try and be as helpful as poss do either...although maybe have issues shopping at Boots sometimes! Just being polite and accommodating as possible. Takes all different characters and personality traits and styles to make the world.

But yes, I do agree with you. Best customer service would mean that I was welcomed, when I produced my vouchers staff considered it a delight, they felt blessed I chose to spend my money in the store etc. But that isn't my experience in general, esp of late and definitely using vouchers. And if I complained every time I felt my shop in Boots was 'painful' I would be complaining constantly...well regularly anyways :rolleyes:

They should always treat you like valued customers and when you get a bad experience in store they have left me feeling like very invaluable indeed! You shouldn't feel like you have to apologise ever, sometimes though it is the right thing to do and sometimes it is done because you are being treated like you should apologise and that is concerning...but it also does happen.

Sadly, head office don't always welcome the chance to change the culture of their stores! Simply put I find using the vouchers is often a hassle and the staff don't like me using them more often than not (lots of exceptions of course).

I agree with you as how it should be. I too have worked in customer service, banks, run a customer service based business etc etc and I agree with the theory. Sadly the practice aint always like that as many on the forum have found recently when using vouchers.

the_kid

I am a new poster here, but having been bootsing for a while, long before I discovered MSE!

As someone who received the email from S&G and I am aware like everyone else, that this is meant for the new skincare range only, if you able to get away with using it against minis etc, then that is a bonus, if the SA says no, then so be it, I don't understand why people are getting so upset and prounouncing SAs to be dragons etc because they will not honour a coupon that is (a) not supposed to be used on that product and (b) more than likely not even issued to the person trying to use it.

Don't get stressed by it not being honoured, be happy for the glitches you have managed to acquire, the freebies and bargains and move on and wait for the next one.

Probably going to get shot down now...not the world's best first post...but I find it incredible that people are getting so stressed because they cannot redeem a coupon that isn't supposed to be redeemed for the products they are buying.

virtually

Welcome.Can't speak for anyone else, but for me my upset today was caused by the treatment I received in store. That is a very important point and maybe that will help you understand more.

I'm not sure which post you are referring to or why someone called a SA a dragon, but I would guess it would be down to the unpleasant/unprofessional? behaviour of the staff member and not the fact that they weren't being allowed to use the voucher.

I sincerely doubt many of the more experienced bootsers on here would be getting 'stressed' by simply a voucher not going through.

I imagine from spending the last while reading back many pages, many other people might feel the same for similar reasons.

Also, as an aside (and I am quite new to this myself so cannot claim to be any kind of authority!) my understanding is part of the confusion is coming from exclusions not being listed on the voucher which is standard practice and the vouchers bleeping and not being accepted no matter which line you buy from full sized, facial, body etc.

Mum2Hannah

In many, many stores I find using coupons is considered something 'odd' to put it mildly... it seems to give SA's the excuse (most of the times) to treat one 'differently' coz of coupon usage... as metioned previously, it costs nothing to be polite and professional no matter what... @ the end of the day staff r pd to do a job & serve those cmr as had it not been 4 the cmrs there'd b no job 4 staff... having said that I also agree cmrs should not b rude to staff... however, just coz I use coupons should I accept being treated differently?

Is issueing vouchers not a part of a marketing tool enticing (sp) the cmr to walk into the store & spend more & more? How many times have we not seen a lot of cmrs who cannot b bothered with vouchers (or don't know how) and will buy whatever @ whichever price? Just coz we Bootsers use vouchers it doesn't mean every1 else does... until recently, I was one of those cmrs who hadn't a clue on how to get the best possible deal with my vouchers and I still find some Boots coupons amongst my old receipts which I never used...:o

Also what upsets me it's not only the SA's (here, generally, I find the young ones quite polite) but supervisors/managers who many times haven't got a clue but act as they have the God given right to treat one as they plz... when we use vouchers we r doing nothing wrong so why the need to make us feel uncomfortable and out of place? Also many times the conditions on coupons acceptance is very much SA dependent... for example, on the £2 haircare vouchers does it state it can only b used on 1 product @ a time (tho I know certain restrictions apply)? But so many of us have mentioned they have not been able to get 2 products on the same voucher...

Bottom line, IMO, is if ones Company issues vouchers and accepts other coupons too it is not upto the SA's/Supervisors/Managers to voice their personal opinions or belittle the cmr... if one is employed as a Retail Asst one should provide a good (if not excellent, lol!) cmr care no matter how one pays for the goods...

Rant over and apologies for being off topic (once again )...

vaz119

coolcait wrote: »

On the other side of the coin (to coin - ahem - a phrase) I was in Boots in Buchanan Galleries, Glasgow a fortnight ago, and saw condescension and rudeness from a customer towards the SAs.

One of the No 7 tills was out of order, so that didn't help, on a busy Saturday afternoon.

At the front of the queue, stood a woman in a dark trouser suit; she was holding numerous vouchers and, whatever was going on, it looked like the lone till was having difficulty coping with it all.

The SA and the manager, however, stayed polite and apologetic, as they tried to sort out the problem.

The customer did not. She came out with a number of waspish and nasty comments - using that old trick of laughing as she said them (my view is that the comment is just as waspish and nasty, no matter how much you laugh as you say it).

At one point she snatched a voucher out of the manager's hand (as she 'giggled' - but the expression on her face cancelled that out!). Yes, she literally snatched it.

As her transaction was completed she said (cue 'giggle' again) that she wouldn't be coming back to that till again, she would find some experienced staff to help her.

'Meoooww!' said I, in my head - but my vocal chords joined in .

"Would you like a saucer of milk with that?!" said the lady in front of me, to the SA and manager, as the betrousersuited customer marched away.

"She was a bit rude, wasn't she?!" said the girl behind me, to all of us.

"Thank you for your patience"; "So sorry for the inconvenience" said the SA and manager, in a superhuman example of professionalism, as they refused to be drawn into commenting on the customer who had just left, and focussed instead on getting the rest of us served.

The general view of the customers, however (untramelled by the constraints of service :rolleyes: ) was that the customer in question had been jaw droppingly rude, and that the SA and manager had dealt with it magnificently. Even if their efforts had gone completely unappreciated by the customer in question.

As you say, politeness costs nothing etc, and it works both ways IMO. However, if that customer were to post her version of the story on here, it might well be greeted as an example of the customer standing up for herself against shoddy treatment/jobsworth SAs and be received with cries of 'well done you'. On the day, however, it was an appalling bit of behaviour (IMO, and according to customer consensus)

As an aside, on the thorny topic of 'skincare' and why some SAs won't accept a skincare voucher for hand cream or foot cream (for example) when hands and feet have skin on them, I must have a look at the signage in Glasgow's Boots tomorrow. IIRC, there are separate sections for 'hand care' 'foot care' and 'skin care', and those descriptions and demarcations might be used across the range of products.

don't know if i was an SA, if i could have managed to stay so professional...i would have had to bite my tongue right off!

vaz119

Just got the BEST valentines pressie ever...... a £10 boots gift voucher!!!!:rotfl:

We never normally do valentines day, but my DH said he went in to buy me a wee gift (from boots of course) and as he looked around he thought to himself that he could hear me saying...."but i could have bought that for x less, with x hundered points...infact MrB paid me to take it away!!!":rotfl: So he thought i could get the pleasure more from the voucher!

Who says romance is dead!

Sophie_Rabbit

Hi just catching up

Popkins sorry about you Nana.

Sandra Scarlett your posts are fantastic, make me laugh everytime.

Hope everyone has a good Bootsing day, I'm off to find half price P&P body serum after being told yesterday it wasn't half price!

Sophie x

I don't understand why some people have to get high and mighty about other peoples coupon use. I find all posts on here very imformative and I pick and choose which "Glitches" I am going to try and would never dream of posting that I thought people were in the wrong for doing what they do. If you see what i mean.

sarnd

jazzteddy wrote: »

Hi Sarnd:hello:
I have read, then re-read Sandra's post, tried to make sense of it, then read yours.
( thanks to lovely SS for trying this out for us)
Correct me if I am wrong but are you suggesting something like the example below:

Buy 1 x P&P serum 50% off @ £12.25p
Pick up 1 x No7 gwp foc
Buy 1 x olay thermal skin polisher @ £7.34p
Buy 1 x U G spa rituals shampoo @ £4.88p
Buy 1 x any item @ 53p (to make the total come to £25.00)

Then when paying use:
1 x 250 extra points wyb any No7 skincare
1 x 150 extra points wyb any UG from ACM
£5 off a £25 spend voucher (please tell me where I can get 1 of these though)
£5 off any P&P skincare from ACM
£5 off wrinklie
£2 off haircare wrinklie

This should leave £7.47 to pay/ 400 extra points and 28 normal points.
I think this the sort of thing you mean.;)
Another option would be to buy a cheaper haircare/ or skincare product and try the S&G £2 off voucher...
But as we know that causes problems this may be easier.:)

Does any one with self serve till experience think this will work on the SS tills? How would you input the vouchers, or is there a limit on the number you can use in one transaction on SS tills?
Just thought that it may be less stressful to do it this way?

squidgeum

[Quote:]
Originally Posted by veruccasalt
Um, actually, probably because they recognise that what is happening is against the spirit of what Soap and Glory are offering, and that whilst some customers think they are very clever and entitled to take advantage of high street stores, eventually some one has to pay (see Woolworths, for example), and in the long run they can see that the organisation they work for, have loyalty towards and keeps a roof over their heads, is being taken advantage of.

I know this will be an unpopular view, and that SS is revered as a god-like figure here, and that I am probably making myself 'persona non gratis' on this forum, but lets try to see it from the other side of the fence too.[/quote]

pollsdolls wrote: »

Like everyone else here you have an opinion, and we are all entitled to voice them and thats the nice thing about this forum.:T

But I do think its wrong to specifically identify one person in your post when voicing your opinion. In doing that, it makes it a personal matter rather than just your opionion. There are lots of other people doing similar transaction, so it would seem to me to be unnecessary to label Sandra Scarlett in this way.

I am not speaking for Sandra, she is more than able to that herself, just doing the same as you and giving my opinion. BTW as for 'taking advantage 'of Boots, isn't that the name of their card after all?

I agree with Polls. Why single out Sandra when there are at least a dozen or more posts from others who have done the same thing? That's not just expressing your opinion, it's also being vindictive towards another Bootser. A Bootser whose informative and hilarious posts bring a great deal of pleasure to many.

I don't look on SS as a 'god-like figure'....but I do have huge admiration for somebody that can keep such a fantastic sense of humour in the face of what they have had to endure healthwise.

P.S. Did you not consider it 'taking advantage' when you participated in the online multi GWP glitch before Christmas (as can be seen from some of your earlier posts)? :whistle:

porlock

FYI - half-price P&P spotted in Strand (Trafalgar Square end). I asked how long it was on for and the SA said 'Until we run out - we've not got that much stock left'. Didn't someone mention a No7 re-brand coming up?

Anyway, best to grabbit whilst you can, just leave one for me!