To think they should have reduced the price of the shoes in Tesco?

[Rewd]

A pair of childrens shoes from tesco, they were the last pair in my sons size and there was some damage to them.

By damage I mean messy glue around the joins and some black marks which looked like permanent marker on the white of the shoe which didn't budge when I tried to clean it with a wipe.

I took them to a till and explained that they were the last pair on the shelf in that size and asked if the store would consider selling them at a reduced rate because they're not in great condition. The woman on the till quite bluntly said no. I said no problem I'll put them back then.

As I turned to return them to the aisle she called over her supervisor and repeated my request to her, to which she said to me "well we're not going to reduce, there's not much wrong with them is there" in a really shitty tone.

Was I being unreasonable? As far as I was aware it was common practice to sell damaged stock at a reduced rate, and if not common practice then a gesture of good will.

Was I being unreasonable?

[anniegun]

I am sure shop floor staff cant decide the price of items they sell. That would be open to no end of abuse.

[Shastabeast]

Mumsnetters rewrite history because they are projecting their own baggage onto other people’s experiences. They remember a time similar to yours, but entirely different because the context and people aren’t the same, but they fill in the gaps regardless and don’t realise they are doing it.

Plus a big dollop of enjoying putting the boot in (in some cases to make you feel as shitty as they do).

Only you know what happened. If they were rude that was unreasonable but unsurprising as Tesco is well know for bad customer service. Equally customer service is stressful and low paid so it’s not a great incentive to be polite to everyone.

YANBU to ask in this situation but don’t let it bother you. Most rude people are rude because they are stressed rather than because you’ve done something wrong. When we have these experiences we try to figure out why. But that way lies madness, especially on MN. Carry on being you (polite and chirpy) and if people are rude brush it off as being their problem not yours. And don’t post on MN unless you are a masochist.

[Eckhart]

If your issue is that they were rude to you, why is your thread titled 'To think they should have reduced the price of the shoes in Tesco?'

It looks a lot like nobody on the thread agreed with you on your original point, so now you're trying 'Yeah but they were rude as well!' so you can still get sympathy about your unsuccessful trip to Tesco.

[Dontfuckingsaycheese]

I always ask for money off if an item isn't perfect. Why should I pay full price for something that is not perfect when the next person will get a perfect item for that very same price.

[Bookworm65]

Shoes aside, I very often find the staff in Tesco rude and abrupt - in different outlets - whereas staff in the Co-op, Sainsbury's and other supermarkets are, for the most part, friendly and polite. I think Tesco needs to give their staff better training in customer service.

[Denny53]

But they are not damaged. Damaged shoes are ones that leak in the rain, don’t fasten up etc. A bit of glue and a mark on sole is not damaged. I wonder what tone you asked in for the cashier to answer you the way she did?

[RedRiverHog]

I doubt the person on the checkout or their supervisor could have done anything even if they wanted to. Customer service or someone on the shop floor would have been the best people to ask. Reductions can only be done at certain times in my store (not Tesco) and by people with the correct log in details.

The checkout colleague should have asked the supervisor to call someone in that department and if that wasn't possible they should at the very least politely explained that.

[Ihopeyourcakeisshit]

@donquixotedelamancha

Sorry, were you there? They were rude and they were abrupt.

Honestly OP, some threads just get a lot of nutters at the start. Stop feeding and come back in 30 posts.

This.
I'm amazed at the shite being spouted.

[ilovesooty]

I'm inclined to be a little sceptical of the politeness of someone who describes posters who disagree with her as nutters.

[Cheesypea]

Are you aware that it was payday this weekend? And that discounts need authorisation? Discounts are also scrutinised.

[MonaMinute]

Wow... so many people who are accepting of shoddy goods and bad service!

Of course they should have reduced them, as a goodwill gesture if nothing else. And if they weren’t authorised to do so, they should’ve been polite about refusing.

[NaughtipussMaximus]

@MonaMinute

Wow... so many people who are accepting of shoddy goods and bad service!

Of course they should have reduced them, as a goodwill gesture if nothing else. And if they weren’t authorised to do so, they should’ve been polite about refusing.

Wow... so many people who are crazily entitled!

It’s up to the store to decide to discount something or not. I think it’s cheeky even to ask, tbh. You don’t haggle in a supermarket, it’s not like a market stall! If you don’t want to buy damaged shoes at full price, just don’t buy them, but don’t get the huff when people don’t respond well to you being a major CF. If they were abrupt at all, it was probably because the couldn’t believe how entitled you were.

[kursaalflyer]

Perhaps I am blessed with tons of resilience but I'd have forgotten the whole episode by the time I'd got to the car. Someone was rude? Heigh-ho, their problem if they are miserable people. Don't ponder any more. And ask at customer services next time you have a problem with merchandise, they will have the authority to discount not a checkout operator.

[Rewd]

It is not remotely entitled to ask for damaged stock to be reduced if its the last one on the shelf, least of all in a store that routinely reduces prices on a daily basis in accordance with the condition of the items.

Will the person who inevitably buys them at a discounted price be a C.F too then?

Of course they should have reduced them, as a goodwill gesture if nothing else. And if they weren’t authorised to do so, they should’ve been polite about refusing

My thoughts exactly.

[Rewd]

Last one on the shelf in the size I needed might I add.

I agree that going to customer services would have been a better idea.

[VettiyaIruken]

I don't think you are being unreasonable.
You asked a simple question. One that gets asked a lot for many different reasons.
There was no need for them to be rude about it. A simple "no, sorry, I can't do that" would have been fine. You had already accepted the no and gone to walk away, getting the supervisor was pointless. As was the supervisor's attitude about it.

Don't let it bother you. I imagine it's fairly crap working in retail right now and we're all only human.

I'm sorry you felt bad.

[VinylDetective]

@MonaMinute

Wow... so many people who are accepting of shoddy goods and bad service!

Of course they should have reduced them, as a goodwill gesture if nothing else. And if they weren’t authorised to do so, they should’ve been polite about refusing.

Absolutely. The pile in on this thread is a disgrace.

[WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll]

Wow... so many people who are accepting of shoddy goods and bad service!

Of course they should have reduced them, as a goodwill gesture if nothing else. And if they weren’t authorised to do so, they should’ve been polite about refusing.

How is it 'accepting' of shoddy goods to see something in a shop that you don't think is worth the price being asked and walk on by, deciding not to buy it? I'd think exactly the same about goods that were in perfect condition but, to me, overpriced.

As PP have said, they are their own goods and it is up to them if they want to reduce them, if they believe they might never find a buyer willing to pay full price. It's the same as on FB and eBay, where people will tell you that your asking price is too high and that you 'need' to reduce it - by all means make an offer, but it is not up to the buyer to dictate the price, it is for them to decide whether or not to accept the best offered price and make or decline the purchase.

I'm sure they do often reduce prices, but they have scheduled times for doing this and specific staff with the training and authorisation. For non-perishable goods like clothes, they may just send them back to the supplier for a refund/credit as unacceptable, if they remain unsold after a certain amount of time.

It really doesn't help them to have to consider reductions ad hoc, especially as a very high proportion of people (not saying you, OP) deliberately damage goods cosmetically for the express purpose of getting a discount. Such people are probably determined and will get bolshy and entitled if turned down, so the staff are probably anticipating this response, hence they don't 'give ground' by responding sweetly and apologetically in the first place.

[WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll]

Out of interest, OP, how much were you hoping to get off the shoes, if they were perfectly OK other than a couple of blemishes? How would you have reacted if they offered to take 25p or 50p off them?

Again, I'm not saying you, but a lot of people who ask for discounts work on the assumption of anything being a bonus for the shop if goods are not 100% perfect and will be expecting them for half price or less for an item that is 98 or 99% fine. However, the damage can't impact that seriously on the function of the goods - otherwise, the person seeking them for a hefty reduction wouldn't be wanting them at any price in the first place.

[satnighttakeaway]

@MonaMinute

Wow... so many people who are accepting of shoddy goods and bad service!

Of course they should have reduced them, as a goodwill gesture if nothing else. And if they weren’t authorised to do so, they should’ve been polite about refusing.

No one was forced to accept shoddy goods, have you read the OPs posts, Tesco didn't open her purse and take her money out.

Why should a shop reduce their stock just because someone asks? That's never been a thing.

[Rewd]

Out of interest, OP, how much were you hoping to get off the shoes, if they were perfectly OK other than a couple of blemishes? How would you have reacted if they offered to take 25p or 50p off them?

I would have bought them, %100.

It was the principle.

I wasn't expecting a huge discount in the first place, I just felt they should be reduced slightly due to the fact they weren't in perfect condition.

I don't think it's right that any customer should pay the same price for something damaged, that somebody else pays for the same item but in perfect condition.

[Rosebel]

If everyone had agreed you should have had money off would you have come back and said they were rude too? Or did you want to just get people agreeing with you?
You said nothing about bad service just that you were annoyed because they wouldn't give you money off.
Why do people bother to post on am I being unreasonable if they don't accept people's answers? When I post on here it's always to get views and I can accept when I have been unreasonable. No point in asking otherwise.

[Rewd]

you said nothing about bad service

Did you even bother to read the post?

. The woman on the till quite bluntly said no. I said no problem I'll put them back then. As I turned to return them to the aisle she called over her supervisor and repeated my request to her, to which she said to me "well we're not going to reduce, there's not much wrong with them is there" in a really shitty tone

[Rewd]

Posters don't have to change their POV regardless of whether people agree with them.

I stand by my position but wanted to know what others thought, that doesn't mean I need to agree with you either.

[sanityisamyth]

They're not damaged. They're badly made. You get what you pay for.