AIBU to be fuming at Harvey Nicks beauty counter assistants?

[greenbean789]

Having received a promotional card from Harvey Nichols by post with an offer of a free gift with a purchase of two products I made my way across the whole town to stock up on my favourite brand skincare. Had a little chat with the assistants, bought my creams, discussed the gift. Then given a bulky looking shopping bag, helpfully packed by the assistants, arrive home, open a bag and voila! There is no gift! The bulky thing was an empty bag, one part of the gift, but all other items - 6 or 7 of them are not there! It didn't occur to me to check the bag on the spot, as I thought of the sales assistants as professionals. I rang them up, they did not apologise, just told me to pop back in! That would be another 4 hours of my life to waste, and at least another fiver or more on public transport! Plus I am on first trimester of pregnancy, travelling on buses is actually making me sick! On the other hand, it was a free gift, so I can't really demand much? But if it weren't for free gift or for the invitation by post, to be more precise, I wouldn't have travelled that far and would have done my shopping elsewhere, closer to home or at a more convenient time. And by the way, the gift was really good value! Can't help thinking it was a deliberate omission.
Has it happened to you? What would you do if it happened to you?

Phone them up and have a (polite) moan. Hopefully they'll agree to replace and will hang on to your gift until you are next in town for other business.

Mistakes happen.

They could be more apologetic though

I doubt it's some conspiracy to do you out of a free gift

Sorry - skipped the middle of your thread (it's late). Either call again and ask for the manager or spend a couple of hours in an (entirely reasonable) huff, have a , and then get over it.

I'd be miffed too, but why would you possibly think it was a deliberate omission?

YABU, mistakes happen and they've offered to rectify it if you go back in to store.

Which brand, because as far as I was aware, the staff on the beauty counters are employed by the brand. They don't actually work for HN. I would advise either calling back and speaking to whoever is in charge of the counter, failing that email the brand direct.

I imagine they weren't very apologetic because they may, mistakenly, think you did get it but are trying to bag another. It happens a lot.

It was a mistake. It happens.

Explain how far out of your way it is, and that you're pregnant, and ask them nicely to stick it in the post. I wouldn't bother going back and if they refuse to post it, well you tried and can chalk it up to experience.

They should post it. Their error, andyou shouldn't be put out any furthe. It's not that it's a free gift - they have benefitted from you being wowed by their soooper promotion and spending lots of money you may not have otherwise spent.

I would send an email to the store manager requesting it to be posted. It's not on really.

This. I don't know why we put up with such crap service.

I rang them up, they did not apologise, just told me to pop back in!

Nope, not good enough. You are the customer, and shouldn't have to be inconvenienced in order to rectify their mistake. They should have apologised profusely and offered to put it in the post for you.

Twitter/Facebook as well as phoning.

They've said if you go back in they'll help you.
It's not bad service.
How do they know you're not trying it on? ( not saying that, but people do)
They may not have even packaged the free gifts.
I thought they were employed by the counters they worked on, not the shops. Was it a harvey nichol free gift? Could well have been packaged by them?
There is no conspiracy here.
Mistakes happen. We are all only human.
You opened your free gift when you got home miles away.
If it were me i'd have open my free gift when i was still in the shop!

Yes it's annoying but it's hardly something to fume about. Everyone makes mistakes.

I hope you've never made a mistake then OP?

What the two posters above said. It's a mistake - nothing to fume about.

Wow. People make mistakes. I used to work for clinique and then chanel and I once had a woman nearly reduce me to tears because on my first day at chanel I mistakenly sold her a tester bottle from the display thinking it was the last one we had. She came back to the shop later that day absolutely livid. It was a genuine mistake on my part. I apologised a lot. A lot.

The assistants should have apologised and offered to send the gift by post (we did that on occasion at clinique). But I'm sure they didn't do it deliberately. Why would they? They aren't paying for the gift themselves. More likely during bonus time lots of different consultants are working on the counter (often "temps" from cliniques own agency who also supply Estee Lauder and so on) and they didn't realise the gift hadn't already been made up. They aren't supplied ready packed - the counters prepare them before hand.

I bought some baby gap pyjamas from the Trafford Centre store - 45 miles drive from home and I only go once or twice a year.
got home to find I'd got 6m top and 18m bottoms.
rang to ask if I coukd post them back for an exchange but store staff said I had to take them back.
GAP head office were much more sympathetic. Just sayin'.....