Tom here... speaking as Tom... The Tom, Tom t Tom Tom, TOMMMM. :-) Yes Bob, there's certainly a cutoff point where unreasonable expectations cannot be assuaged. I would not reasonably expect to purchase a $10,000 camera for $1000 if that was the nature of the pricing error, for example.
We were discussing a far lesser amount, and it was combined with the fact that ithe tem had been SOLD, receipt of sale received. Let's turn the scenario around. If I were looking at an item on a website that had terms of 'No cancellations/refunds/returns', managed to click accidentally and put it in my shopping cart, and then completed the purchase (not unreasonable considering that some stores retain your filled shopping cart if you leave w/o purchasing), and then I attempted to cancel the transaction saying I had clicked in error, I would expect to get the heave-ho and be stuck with the item. How is that any different than a retailer making an error by clicking the keys, typing the word PAIR, and then having a transaction come through to completion? I would expect them to follow through with the sale, just as they would expect me to honor my agreement to purchase. Three years back I purchased a DVD Recorder/VCR combo from Circuit City. The website said it was the same price in store. I drove the 30 miles. The item had a price of $100.00 too high on the shelf tag. I got a salesager to help me. No, he didn't think I was right. I had him pull up the website. Sure enough, I was not mistaken. Guess what happened next? He wrote up a sales ticket, except instead of writing $280.00, he wrote $200.00. I thought I'd just wait and watch. He walked me up to pay and handed the sales ticket to the cashier telling her an override would be be needed. Yep it rang up at $380.00. Yep, then 2nd salesager manager comes over, looks at the transaction, and performs the override. Right there I got an item at pretty close to 50% off. Did I feel bad? I had a twinge, but with the recognition that it's likely another customer (or more) walked in and did not receive the promotional price, paying $100 too much. Had the price been correct on the shelf, and had their sales staff been properly trained (or folloed their training), the error in my favor would not have occurred at all. So it was really a matter of cause and effect I guess that might have been the straw that broke Circuit City's back. Tom C. On Fri, Feb 5, 2010 at 12:57 PM, Bob Sullivan <rf.sulli...@gmail.com> wrote: > Bill, > > Price is really important here. > A one dollar error is fluff to be overlooked. > A 10,000 dollar error is something nobody will overlook. > > You and Tom C. are welcome to continue the rant against B&H. > Your rant won't save the brick and mortar shops. > That train has left the station. > It's wonderful that you have a Pentax retaler in Regina. > In the Chicago metro with 6-8 million people, we have one retailer left. > Central Camera is the only place to go for a hands on look at Pentax. > > I can wish that this was different, but I know that I won't pay > 10-20-30% extra to support a local shop. Whenever I was given the > choice, I voted on price. And before you opine on all those wonderful > services I lost, let me tell you this. The guys behind the counters > didn't know squat about Pentax cameras and lenses. I get more good > and useful feedback from this list about new products than I ever got > from the bricks and mortar shops. > > There's an image forming in my mind of Regina, a windswept town on the > frozen tundra of Canada, miles from the nearest neighbors. Rising > from the plains of 1 story homes and shops is a 2 story retail beacon. > It's the Regina Camera shop. In the early evening darkness I can > almost see the faces of the customers, bundled against the cold, as > they wind thru the streets toward the brightly lit shop. > > Regards, Bob S. > > On Fri, Feb 5, 2010 at 11:13 AM, William Robb <war...@gmail.com> wrote: >> >> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bob Sullivan" >> Subject: Re: Message from Henry Posner, Part I >> >> >>> Thanks Mark for putting some sanity back into this thread. >>> Bill wants to argue like this is some 2 dollar item picked off of the >>> store shelf. >>> I think the situation changes with the price of the item and in the >>> virtual store. >> >> The price is not germaine, the principal behind it is what is important. >> If I can't depend on an online retailer to honour the pricing on his web >> store shelves (and lets make no mistake, that is what the B&H website is), >> then what incentive do I have to go there rather than to my B&M store that >> may end up having a lower cost if B&H decides they don't have to honour the >> pricing on their virtual shelves. >> I can go downtown and get an honest transaction, or I can go to >> B&HPhotoVideo.com and run the risk of them being dishonest with me. >> Mark mentioned Cambridge Camera as an example of who not to shop with. >> Is B&H really any different? >> >> William Robb >> >> -- >> PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List >> PDML@pdml.net >> http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net >> to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and >> follow the directions. >> > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > PDML@pdml.net > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow > the directions. > -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
