Picked up one, paid for two on offer

[duebaby2]

Not really Aibu but more of who was BU? I need somebody with retail experience to tell me what should who was right and who was wrong!

So I went to buy nappies at a store (well known), let’s call it store 1, they had them at £12 each or two for £18. They only had one pack so went to customer service, they said I could pay for two on the offer and pick one up at a later date from any of their stores - there is two within 5 miles. So kept the receipt and a voucher type note to say I’d paid in full for two, that they were on offer and I could collect from any store.

Two days later I went to the other store (store 2) in my area thinking I could pick up the second pack. Got to customer service and they point blank refused, they said the voucher note with my receipt wasn’t accepted by them anymore and that I couldn’t just take the nappies as id paid a different store (even though they were the same brand of supermarket) - even though I had proof of purchase both receipt and note written by customer services from store 1.

So a week goes by, I finally go back to store 1, I get the nappies I needed who were apologetic about it all and said store 2 should have honoured it and were wrong to refuse me. I said well I was a bit annoyed about going to store 2 just for the nappies, them having the nappies I needed and then them refusing to give them me but understood why they said what they said, so I decided to just come back to store 1 and get them when I needed to go there anyway which was a week later.

It wasn’t like I could buy two packs from either because both stores only had one with no others in stock at the time and we really needed the nappies. Plus £6 in saving is a lot of money so really didn’t want to buy them individually or not at all knowing the offer wouldn’t last forever.

So in the end was store 1 or store 2 right? Could I pick them up from any store or should store 1 have not told me I could and store 2 were correct in refusing.

Impossible to say which store was right, not knowing the policies of the store in question, tbh.

Surely being the same big brand name, one being a bigger store, they'd both have the same policies in place

Yes, but no one, including you, knows what the store policy is.

So one one can tell who's right.

I work in retail and all offers are subject to availability, therefore store 1 shouldn’t have allowed you to pay for 2 in the first place.

Who knows? Either of them could be right about the policy in principle and as SmallPinkBear says the easiest solution would have been for Store 1 to tell you to come back when they had more stock. But it's poor customer service by Store 2. When I worked in retail I'd have spoken to Store 1 and resolved it in a way that didn't leave a customer with a wasted journey.

@SmallPinkBear is correct. Store 1 were technically in the wrong. However they could have phoned store 2 and put the nappies aside for you, avoiding all this. All managers discretion really.

Store 2 giving you nappies that you paid store 1 for would bs a pain in the arse for stock management and accounting. Possible on most systems, but a pain. They shouldn't have committed store 2 to that without checking they were happy.

But; they also shouldn't have honoured the offer if there wasn't enough left, so I'd leave this one alone and be glad that you managed to claim an offer that wasn't valid anymore and made a saving!

I work in retail and all offers are subject to availability, therefore store 1 shouldn’t have allowed you to pay for 2 in the first place

That depends on store policy, surely? I've been aware of supermarkets in the past with the policy that if you miss an offer, you could get a voucher to take advantage of it once it was back in stock.

I think store 1 went above and beyond by letting you pay for pack 2 when there was no more stock left. Most shops would have told you that offers are subject to availability, as PinkBear said.

I think if I worked at store 2, I would have called store 1 to try and confirm what happened and then let you have the nappies in exchange for the voucher, and marked off on the receipt that you had now received the second pack.

I can see why you would be annoyed by the wasted trip, but store 1 really didn't have to sell you the 2 packs if they weren't in stock so overall you have gained by this and I would let it go.

I think store 1 should have simply apologised for the lack of stock and left it at that. It was an unconventional thing to do and I can see why store 2 didn't want to get involved with the transaction. There was no guarantee that other stores would have had what you wanted anyway.

It is often standard policy within some chains to offer what they call 'raincheck vouchers' for these exact circumstances. The fact that you were issued with a voucher demonstrates that this system is in place at the store you went to, so the other branch should have known about it too.

I'd send an email to the store head office, querying what their policy is, whether the voucher is valid for all stores, or whether you have to go to the same one. You will then have an email you can show if it happens again. You might also get a few quid of store vouchers as an apology for inconvenience/hassle.

You shouldnt have been told to collect another pack from store 2. Its all to do with individual budgets from different store even if they are within the same group. You also cannot buy something in one store and try to return it to a different store, as its all computerised and the 'system' wont allow it.

Yes, you can buy something in one shop and return it to another branch of the same chain. I do it all the time. Being computerised makes it easy for the shop to track this, if they keep track of such things.

Of course you can buy something from one branch and return it to another but anyway OP, who knows. Speak to head office

I would, nicely, flag it up with head office. You've got it sorted out now but there could have been a change in policy that one or the other store could have missed.

moneytothemasses.com/quick-savings/tips/raincheck-
vouchers-supermakets-best-kept-secret-money-tip-136

@Antigon I'm not angry or anything by it and it's been resolved now. I just wanted to know why I was told one thing then told another. The offer is still on anyway

Ah ok. Might be worth stocking up whilst the offer is on

Of

Oh omy has oo

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Sorry about that!! 2yr Old ds got hold of my phone!

haha, glad Omy has oo

Worth a polite email saying you were out of pocket because you travelled to store2 and had to buy more nappies before you could get back to store1. Might get a gift voucher..

Training issue.

Store one should have contacted store two to check before making any promises on their behalf!