I just spoke with a Toys-R-Us Customer Support rep, who will be forwarding my complaint and statement of boycott to her manager (whoopie). She claims my account hold will be dropped "eventually"--another computer system of theirs which lags for days on what normally is a transaction that takes seconds.
I communicated my dissatisfaction with what is, in 2007, the lame excuse that "we can't keep our inventory up-to-date." That was the first counter out of her mouth; I replied that I work in retail sales solutions for IBM and I KNOW that's an utter prevarication--she quieted down and just entered my complaint after that.
I also suggested that a responsible retailer, after such a bait and switch inconvenience, would honor the sale price once restocked. She had no reply to this suggested reparation, of course; it's reasonable but it would mean their take-a-loss, inventory-clearing "sales event" could become a bit more financially painful for the multi-billion dollar giant, trying to honor sales overruns accepted by its busted inventory and fulfillment system.
If anyone fears for the poor CS rep's ears, I remained respectful and calm, but firm; and I expressed regret that she had to be the interface for her company's poor practices. Though she did not return to the chipper tone with which she first answered the phone, she at least dropped the defensive, stiff tone she'd adopted as I expressed my statement of boycott and expectations for a company of that size and with that market position.
If anyone else holds my opinions as the responsibilities of an advertiser and of retailer placing holds on a customer's funds, please add your voice by contacting their Customer Service at 1-800-ToysRUs. It's one thing to waste our time by allowing us to browse through out of stock items; it's entirely unacceptable to hold funds for over 24 hours and then back out of the commitment (a sales order IS a form of contract) and offer no restitution.
Let them know how you feel, if you agree with me. Thanks for the venue to vent, if you agree or not;
David
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: RE: [Rabbits] *sigh*
From: David Artman <david@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, July 06, 2007 12:40 pm
To: Rabbits Discussion List <rabbits@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Yep, me, too. Now I get to figure out if/when they're going to remove the hold on my card.
>:(