GREAT 'WHAT SHOPS DON'T WANT US TO KNOW" HUNT

klondyke

worotan wrote:

Why not say 'I saw no signs...'?

I might seem like nitpicking, but 'signage' is a meaningless extension of the word 'signs', used to make a notice sound more official. I've noticed this in a few large shops now, and really demonstrates that the person who wrote the notice doesn't know what's being said. It comes from George Bush Jr's ridiculous habit of adding '-age' and other suffixes to words, to sound more authoratative and scientific.

This may seem irrelevant, but salesmen have always used jargon to baffle customers and get them to spend unnecessarily; this is an new way of people who know little puffing up their authority. And more authority means more confidence to charge more, even when it's based on childish errors.

Not really relevant to this thread, but 'signage' is not a meaningless extension of 'signs'. It refers to the whole system including eg font size, label size, what type of symbols, location decisions for optimum communication - the whole caboodle.

edwara

If you buy an item in Gap and then you notice it has dropped in price within the next 14 days all you have to do is take the receipt back and they will refund you the difference. Sometimes they ask if the same item is still in stock but they have never checked to see if the same size is still there. I have had loads refunded, you don't need to take the item so you can even be wearing it! A very helpful assistant told me this once, I have never seen it publicised in a shop. Gap also have no time limit on returns with receipts.

They will only refund you once in the 14 days. It is great as there is nothing more annoying than having bought stuff and finding it cheaper 3 days later.

khdgsa

If you know that NEXT have a sale coming up within a day or so, go into the store and examine the pricetags. You will see a number written in pencil on them which is the price the item will be in the sale. E.g. if the number is 1999, the sale price will be £19.99 - so go back the next day !

pinky8

vaderag wrote:

The first bit is true, however (unless things have changed in the last 2 years, which is pretty likely) it used to be staff discresion (to a reason) how much to give you when trading in. Selling price is set however depending on age, condition and how much it was traded in at.

Hi,

It changed about a year and a half ago because the prior trade in way of doing it was open to a certain amount of abuse. The preowned price is now decided by headoffice. The preowned item's barcode is scanned and it automatically comes up with a trade in price. If the barcode is so old it is not recognised then a £1 trade in is offered for the item or it is not accepted as a trade in. The price per game for trade in is fixed and if the game is not in good condition (is heavily marked/scratched) then it will most likely be refused to trade in.

I hope this helps,

xxx

Cavee

nuttersinc wrote:

House of Fraser
if you then pay with a cashback credit card you win again

From working in HOF for about 4/5 years on and off we were told that customers were not allowed to pay off their accounts with "credit" cards although there is no way of the till physically stopping you paying your account off with a credit card, its upto the sales assistant if they notice or not.

Cavee

egglie wrote:

I work in retail and just wanted to re-itterate that most important point made in this thread - be nice to shop assistants! If I have a really nice customer I will go out of my way to make sure their order goes smoothly and that they get the best deal. if some w**ker comes in and is rude to me then I'm not going to make any special effort.

I totally agree!! Well said.

kev1n3

superhoop wrote:

Again, many MSE readers will know this...

Don't automatically assume that if an electrical item breaks after twelve months that you cannot take it back for a repair or replacement.

A retailer has to sell goods of 'reasonable' merchandisable quality. It all hangs on the word 'reasonable', but the point runs something like this:

If you buy an £800 telly and it breaks after 13 months, you would have a good case to claim that you would expect this to last longer.

You're only entitled to a full refund up to 30 days after purchase, but in this case of the telly you should be able to claim a repair or a replacement from the retailer

Mind you, if you buy a £10 walkman and try to return it after 18 months, a retailer (and a court) would likely say that the item had lasted a reasonable amount of time.

The facts can be found on the DTI (or the DPEI as its now known) website:

http://www.dti.gov.uk/ccp/topics1/facts/salegoodsact.htm

Hope this helps someone.

Steve

I purchased a SAMSUNG Digital-Can 14 months ago from Dixons. last week the dam thing completely refused to record. It would playback but not record. I took it back to Dixons and was told that the 12 months cover had expired and that the chip in the camra had shot it. i was given a estimate of £250.00 to have it repaired.

Now thanks to this post i can get back to dixons and have another try at them armed with some DTI advise to them... :-)

thanks

Softstuff

I have something to add here, as a small shop owner:
Don't assume that small shops have a huge profit margin. If their pricing comes even close to Asda or Tesco then you can be sure they're making nowhere near as much profit as the big guys, since in some cases tesco and asda can SELL their goods for a price either the same or sometimes lower than a small business can buy goods wholesale. About the only people making a killing in certain product area are the big stores.

But with some things, even when it is slightly dearer on the price label, it can pay to shop with the little guy. They're usually very free with help and advice, and you will generally get a better friendlier service.

wigan_rugby

When in asda and you notice a price scanned wrong at the till, DO NOT inform the till assistant, instead go to customer services and inform them, they will reimburse you and give you £2 on to a savings card.
marvelous.

Skyhigh

Don't always assume large retailers give the best deal, even when advertised.

Try going into a smaller chain, or even better a small company shop - often they will be more willing to discount items to get a sale and if its a very small shop (i.e. only a couple of employees) then you've got a better chance as you tend to get a more personal service.

Going to larger chains such as Argos, etc doesn't give you any extra 'cover' when it comes to returns policies, all retailers are bound by the law.
- plus smaller businesses will often be more willing to help you, as they don't want to loose out on the sale.


Also, when haggling if you are buying multiple items, haggle on each item as you buy them, then try and work down the total overall cost.
This means you save on all the items twice
Plus many people/places may not 'twig' or remember that they've already partially discounted items individually.


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