Getting advertised sale price easier said than done
If you’re going through those weekend circulars and you happen upon a really great deal for a laptop, say, or a mattress, we have a cautionary tale for you. Getting that price may be easier said or seen than done. David Segal writes the column “The Haggler” at the New York Times.
According to Segal, getting an item at the advertised price is sometimes a problem if you refuse to buy extras with your purchase, such as a protection plan. He talks specifically about this issue at the office supply store Staples. Customers have complained about how they’ll try to buy a computer on sale, have the sales associate confirm its availability — only to be told that the item is no longer in stock when they decline to purchase a protection plan, one of the priciest add-ons for a computer. It’s called “walking the customer,” trying to get that person out of the store as quickly as possible.
Refusing a sale seems counterintuitive to a business, but Segal says it makes perfect sense when you look at the carrots and sticks Staples has for its salespeople. The company uses at a program called Market Basket, which tracks the sales of each associate. A salesperson must sell an average of $200 worth of extras every time they sell a computer. If they don’t…
“A number of sales people explained to me that if you don’t keep your Marketbasket average at $200, you’ll get creamed,” Segal said. “You’ll a lecture, you’ll get probation; you’ll get night shifts, weekend shifts, and if you cannot keep your numbers up over the long term, you’ll get fired. So as weird as it sounds, it makes perfect sense for the sales associate.”
How to avoid this problem? Segal says the best thing a customer can do is emphasize that the stor needs to honor the advertised price.
Take a listen to the audio above to learn more about this business practice.
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.
