My disappointing SAKS experience

maebymarni

Member
May 29, 2009
205
1
So, about a week ago, my boyfriend and I went to Saks and he bought a really fun jacket on sale. Unfortunately, the salesperson conveniently forgot to tell us that in less than a week Saks would be having its consolidation sale. Lo and behold, I come in a week later to find the same jacket marked off an extra 25%. This extra 25% amounted to approximately $160. I spoke to the manager, and he refused to do an adjustment. I called pretty much everyone I could think off, and chewed off the ear of any person who would listen, but still, no one would refund me the $160.

Honestly, I feel cheated, and I feel like the SA took advantage of us. $160 is not a small amount for anyone. Our regular SA wasn't there the day we purchased the coat, and when I spoke to him, he told me he never would have sold me the coat knowing a sale was coming up, so it isn't as though the sale was a big secret that no one knew about.

Just thought I would share- I'm pretty upset.
 
It's not uncommon for stores to not do price adjustments on sale merchandise for further mark-downs. You're paying the higher price for the peace of mind of getting the size you need. What if the SA told you to leave the jacket on the rack and you came back for it a week later and it was gone? I bet you would have regretted not buying the item on sale, even if it weren't as deeply discounted.

All that really matters is that your SO likes his new jacket. At the time, he thought it was a steal.

*Note: next time you want someone to make an exception in store policy, you might want to try a more polite approach than calling whoever at Saks and yelling at them.
 
It's not uncommon for stores to not do price adjustments on sale merchandise for further mark-downs. You're paying the higher price for the peace of mind of getting the size you need. What if the SA told you to leave the jacket on the rack and you came back for it a week later and it was gone? I bet you would have regretted not buying the item on sale, even if it weren't as deeply discounted.

All that really matters is that your SO likes his new jacket. At the time, he thought it was a steal.

*Note: next time you want someone to make an exception in store policy, you might want to try a more polite approach than calling whoever at Saks and yelling at them.

First, I realize that this is common store policy.

Second, you may not be an economist, but this is situation is what we would call information inequality. The SA knew there would be a sale, but he did not tell us. The information had value- if we had the knowledge, we could have made a more informed decision, knowing that we had two choices. The first choice being that would could wait and see if the jacket was still there, and the second choice being that we could buy the jacket then and there, and be OK with spending the extra $160 for the piece of mind. Personally, I felt it was very deceptive of him to withhold that information, and I did not feel that this was a very good way to do business.

Finally, I object to your assumption that I yelled at every person I spoke to. While I did misleadingly write that I "chewed some ears off", I assure you that in reality, I did not yell at anyone, but I did spend a considerable amount of time trying to explain my disappointment.
 
i'm sorry that Saks decide not to mark down the jacket, but have you try to return it and repurchase to get the mark down? but i don't think SA is obligated to tell every client about the sales-then no one would make a purchase til the sale, KWIM? If you build a good relationship w/SA, most will send you flyer or give you a heads up about the sale, so you'll know when to wait.
 
First, I realize that this is common store policy.

Second, you may not be an economist, but this is situation is what we would call information inequality. The SA knew there would be a sale, but he did not tell us. The information had value- if we had the knowledge, we could have made a more informed decision, knowing that we had two choices. The first choice being that would could wait and see if the jacket was still there, and the second choice being that we could buy the jacket then and there, and be OK with spending the extra $160 for the piece of mind. Personally, I felt it was very deceptive of him to withhold that information, and I did not feel that this was a very good way to do business.

Finally, I object to your assumption that I yelled at every person I spoke to. While I did misleadingly write that I "chewed some ears off", I assure you that in reality, I did not yell at anyone, but I did spend a considerable amount of time trying to explain my disappointment.

I may not be an economist (I'm a lawyer), but I think the economist would say that perfect information does not exist in real life. Hence, I don't know how your ideal world theory changes this real life situation.

Furthermore, you stated that you "chewed some ears off," so it's really not much of an assumption but rather a use of the facts you presented.
 
I'm afraid it was just the timing you had, but like others mentioned, you were guaranteed that jacket by buying at that time. Otherwise, it might not have been there if you came back the following week.

Your bf probably would have been able to return it during the consolidation sale and rebought it at the sale price - did you try to do this with the manager and they refused?
 
I know this is dissappointing but its just the way it works. The sales assistants will take some advantage but thats because they need to make money too. But there was always a chance that the jacket would have been sold out before the sale began, so they cant guarantee you the sale price.
 
Good Morning,

I don't think our SA did this on purpose and I apologize for the inconvenience this has caused. We did change our adjustment policy back in the spring in order to bring in line both our full line stores and our .com division. Our new policy for a sales adjustment is 7 day's from purchase and full priced merchandise only.

I would like to follow up on this with our store and could you please share with me which store this was and reply back to me at [email protected].

Thank you,

Russel Karbley
Sr. Coordinator, Saks Direct Customer Service
Saks Fifth Avenue
500 Hickory Drive
Aberdeen, MD 21001
T 410 297 4406
F 410 297 5599
Toll Free: 888 327 3313
[email protected]
 
*Note: next time you want someone to make an exception in store policy, you might want to try a more polite approach than calling whoever at Saks and yelling at them.

i have to agree. it's all in the approach, especially if you are a regular customer at that location. i got a PA from barneys of all places over the holidays because SO bought me a bag and it went down. we were over the 7 day PA policy, but because i explained it in a calm, reasonable way, the SA made an exception. i'm sure if i'd gone in there with a mission to raise hell she would have told me her hands were tied.
 
It is totally in the approach you ask for exceptions. Sometimes the salesperson really can't do an adjustment, but you have a MUCH better chance by nicely asking. I'm guessing that the "usual" SA didn't want to the PA either or else he would have suggested coming in on a day he was working so he could do it. Of course the SA in hindsight would say, "I would have told you..." He wants you to keep shopping with him! But the reality of the situation is that SAs cannot guarantee what goes to further mark-down. Sometimes, styles will just be transferred to another store!

The policy is printed on the back of the receipt. Unless one of their customer service representatives or salespeople screamed at you or insulted you while communicating with you, adhearing to their policy is NOT poor customer service. Refusing to break company policy means they are doing their job.
 
Is it really a week between when you purchased the jacket and the start of the consolidation? I'm asking because they were preselling for the consolidation like 4 days before it actually started. If the SA was nice enough, he would have told you they were preselling in a couple of days.

Yes, they are doing their job by not breaking the rule, but it is a rather disappointing experience.
 
I can totally understand your disappointment and I would be upset as well, especially since they only recently changed the policy and you were not aware of it. Had you known Sak's new policy about PA's, perhaps you would have thought to ask if a sale was coming up or if the sales lady thought the price would go down soon.

It is also a shame that Sak's has to change its policy. They are probably taking a big hit with the current economy and can no longer cater to customer PA requests like they used to. I remember buying something very expensive years ago not knowing that double points was coming up and that the price was dropping. Saks was very helpful in rectifying the situation. Now, they probably cannot afford to give the same sort of customer service.

Is it possible the sales associate was new or part time and didn't know about the upcoming sale?