Homebase Buy 5L for the price of 2.5L Crown Paint Offer Debate

Tommy247_2

Hello all. There has been a bit of a debate and would like to hear the forum view on things. As an employee of the company and would like for myself to be kept secure in i'm not giving out my full name or what store i work in for fear of getting a telling off.

There is an offer in work which is when you purchase 5 litres of Crown Paint you get the 5 litres of crown paint for the same price as 2.5 litres.

The way the deal works is that you purchase a 5 litre TIN and it costs the same as a 2.5 litre TIN.

I have had customers come up to me with two tins of 2.5 litres of crown paint and saying they should get 5 litres of paint for the same price of 2.5 litres.

I have to tell the customer its they must purcahse a 5 litre TIN and get it for the same price of a 2.5 litre TIN. I get told by my bosses that for the customer to get the offer the paint must be sellable in a 2.5 litre tin and a 5 litre tin so we can say the offer is correct that the customer is getting 5 litres for the same price 2.5 litres

The wording of the offer does not explicitly say that the customer must purchase the 5 litres of paint in a single TIN this has provided some confusion as some customers that have came into the shop have viewed the offer as a buy one get one free on 2.5 litres of crown paint per the wording of the offer. What is the forums view on it?

phill99

I don't think it is a problem. if it was the way you see it, then its a 'buy one get one free' deal. But that isn't the deal.

Id on't see what the issue is.

keystone

The wording on the website is ambiguous and thus can be interpreted either way by both the customer and the store. Its ham fisted though because I think what they really mean is how your bosses have tried to describe it. The solution to the problem (if, indeed, there is one as Phil suggests) is to reword the offer so that it is not open to interpretation. Is that beyond the whit of your masters?

Cheers

Tommy247_2

Unfortunatley for us at a store level all our "Point of Sale" signs are sent to us by head office and must be displayed from the time periods stipulated to us by head office. We are not allowed to change the signs in any way unless instructed by head office.

The reason for my post was a woman came down to my till today with two tins of crown standard colour emulsion 2.5 litre. Her argument was that the point of sale sign said buy 5 litres for the same as 2.5 litres. The lady correctly has 5 litres of the product in her hand but i tell her she must have it purchased in a 5 litre tin hence the confusion. She was very angry as the point of sale does not explicitly stipulate the physical contanier/vestibule of the paint just the volume in litres.

MX5huggy

Sorry I'm with head office.

keystone

Tommy247 wrote: »

Unfortunatley for us at a store level all our "Point of Sale" signs are sent to us by head office and must be displayed from the time periods stipulated to us by head office. We are not allowed to change the signs in any way unless instructed by head office.

Thats a cop-out and you know it.

The reason for my post ............

was that you had your customer handling skills tested today and are unhappy with the experience.

Cheers

keystone

MX5huggy wrote: »

Sorry I'm with head office.

Is that a confession or an apology?

Cheers

Leif

Tommy247 wrote: »

I have to tell the customer its they must purcahse a 5 litre TIN and get it for the same price of a 2.5 litre TIN. I get told by my bosses that for the customer to get the offer the paint must be sellable in a 2.5 litre tin and a 5 litre tin so we can say the offer is correct that the customer is getting 5 litres for the same price 2.5 litres

The wording of the offer does not explicitly say that the customer must purchase the 5 litres of paint in a single TIN this has provided some confusion as some customers that have came into the shop have viewed the offer as a buy one get one free on 2.5 litres of crown paint per the wording of the offer. What is the forums view on it?

I have looked at the Homebase web site, and it does not state that it must be a 5L tin. Clearly a 5L tin costs Homebase less than two 2.5L tins, so I understand why they enforce the 5L tin rule. I suspect Homebase could be taken to court by a customer if the posters and fliers are also not explicit that it must be a 5L tin.

As for you, I suggest you adopt a very apologetic tone with customers, and explain your point of view, and state that management will not allow you to sell two small tins for the price of one. And apologise to them. That is the best way to defuse anger. That approach has also worked for me with very aggressive people, well, up to a point, it beats being confrontational.

Tommy247_2

Leif wrote: »

I have looked at the Homebase web site, and it does not state that it must be a 5L tin. Clearly a 5L tin costs Homebase less than two 2.5L tins, so I understand why they enforce the 5L tin rule. I suspect Homebase could be taken to court by a customer if the posters and fliers are also not explicit that it must be a 5L tin.

As for you, I suggest you adopt a very apologetic tone with customers, and explain your point of view, and state that management will not allow you to sell two small tins for the price of one. And apologise to them. That is the best way to defuse anger. That approach has also worked for me with very aggressive people, well, up to a point, it beats being confrontational.

Excellent post and agree.

Doozergirl

Was the paint available in a 5 litre pot or not?

It's the way you deal with customers that sometimes gets their back up. I hate being told 'head office' this and 'head office' that. It's a cop out and your job is more than to make excuses. If the paint were available in a 5 litre pot then as a customer would go and fetch one myself, although from a customer service point of view, apologising for the misunderstanding and fetching one for me would be lovely.

If the 5 litres were out of stock, I appreciate that till staff probably can't sort it out but I'd expect the manager to either let me take two tins of 2.5 litre paint to compensate for their inability to order enough paint or order me a 5 litre tub specifically.

If the paint weren't available in a 5 litre tub at all, I can see why the customer isn't amused. It's your managers job to explain it. If the wording in ambiguous then it needs to be flagged to Head Office and still give that customer the 2x 2.5 litre tins. If it isn't unambiguous, then it shouldn't be that hard to point out the wording to the customer and help them pick a similar colour perhaps that is on offer.

(Or tell them that B&Q have been doing 2.5L on BOGOF. They were last week. )