Amongst the ho-hum of everyday average deals, there is always a few that stand out in the crowd. You know the ones I’m talking about. The promotions that blow up Twitter feeds, Facebook “Likes” and deals blogs. The deals that make you read the fine print twice just make sure you’re not seeing things.
A few legendary promotions come to mind: 1) Zellers 50% off any item in the store (including clearance) 2) Shoppers Drug Mart Cadbury chocolate bars 3) London Drugs stacking coupons 4) Save On Foods stacking coupons 5) Pharmasave Double Coupon Days 6) P&G $9 coupons….the list goes on. All fantastic deals and all deals that were eventually “modified”. Or just plain cancelled before their expiration date.
There are a slew of reasons why a retailer cancels promotions before they are “over”. They run out of stock, the deal was an error (printed incorrectly in a flyer or on a coupon) or consumers abuse the deal by purchasing an excess of a product and ultimately clear store shelves.
A panicked retailer would shut down a promotion if any of the above reasons were occurring in their store. However, a consumer may argue that they were promised a fantastic deal and the store is obligated to honor their original offer.
What do you think? Should retailers be allowed to cancel promotions/deals? Or should they be forced to honour their original offer? Let us know!
I have been an active member of points programs for years. What I think is that Shopper’s has created fraud by taking people’s points away time and again when they do not put limits on their promotions. People buy their products, store managers knowing place orders allowing people to purchase items, and then Shopper’s goes in and freezes peoples account with no explanations. Can you imagine a professional company like Safeway or Aeroplan doing that? I can understand putting a retraction on it, because you got caught with your pants down, by not putting limits on the number of items you buy, but to go in and take points away? Shame on you Shopper’s! I think all these big brand new stores your building are going to be on the chopping block soon if you don’t smarten up!
I feel like some promotions get cancelled because of abuse from a select group of people. I’m happy if I get a deal, but I’m not going to cry if I miss out.
Of course they should be able to. Sometimes they just don’t expect people to take advantage multiple times, and there are definitely a lot of people who abuse these offers
Well since a store is a private business they have the right to do whatever they want. They get loss leaders but if stuff goes out of control and people abuse it, they can try to avoid losing more money than they thought.
It may not be the ethical thing to do by breaking a promise, but they definitely have the right to do it
I absolutely believe they have the right, but I dont believe most people’s issue with this is anything to do with trying to take anything away from the company. These marketing teams need to start putting a little more thought into their promotions BEFORE publicizing them so there doesnt need to be any “Cadbury Scandals”!
If they would just take a little extra time to stock their shelves, and do the math as to WHY the sale would be popular with shoppers, and see if it still works for their business from all angles, they would save themselves alot of headaches from disappointed customers!
I was first tempted to answer yes they are allowed, however there is one case which i think makes it not justifiable.
Take the following scenario. You see an amazing sale at a store, so you run there to buy your stuff. You grab a cart and start your shopping then you arrive at the sale item’s aisle or at the cash and you notice a sign saying the sale was cancelled. You’re already there. Your cart is full. You’re grugingly purchase the rest of your items anyways, thinking you wouldn’t have come if it weren’t for the sale.
In this case, i think it would be false advertising. If it’s a sale on one item, and the store doesn’t want to make rainchecks, they should put a small disclaimer “until quantities last”. If it’s a sale on the entire store, then they should honor it. Otherwise, i believe it is false advertising.
A store definitely has the ability to cancel a promotion, however, they do have to consider the resulting consequences. Customers do get angry about such things. I know that I often remember the store that cancelled the promotion and then choose to make my purchases elsewhere.
Yes they have every right to cancel the promotion if people are abusing it. However most times at Shoppers even if the promo wasn’t cancelled if you’re not there right when the store opens you won’t get in on it anyway due to all the people taking advantage of it, most of whom don’t even need the product but justify it by donating it. Yes donating things is great but the people who would really benefit from promos are those who don’t qualify for assistance because they make too much money for those programs but are barely squeaking by and can’t get in a on great deal because the shelves are cleared.
JMO tho.
I agree with lily. This is exactly what happened at Price Chopper a couple of weeks ago. Their flyer posted “Nestle, 90s, $9.99.” After getting to the store and finding the product, there was a small sign on the side saying there was a misprint on the flyer, the image for that sale should have been “Halloween Minis, 90s, $9.99” and the Nestle 90s in question is also on sale, but at $14.99.
Now, that was false advertising. They call $14.99 a sale? Even Metro had the same item that week on sale at $13.97! Halloween Minis at $9.99 is a good buy? I don’t think so. No Frills had the same thing on sale for $6.88.
Price Chopper? More like Price Rocket!
I agree with debragirl31. It’s one thing to cancel a promotion, but to take away the points of people who had already earned them I think goes too far. They really need to stop and consider these things before advertising the promotions….especially since this isn’t the first time!
I think they should be setting limits for each person from the onset!
I also think if the promo is sold out and no longer available that the customer should have the points redeemed to them if they ask!
They may have the right to cancel a promo, but I personally don’t think it’s the right thing to do. Customers will get upset and may stop being their customer! If it’s a misprint, then I can understand that mistakes happen, but when there’s little to no thought put into a promotion and then they pull it when it’s hot, that’s another story! SDM is brutal for this.Of coarse people are going to purchase the Cadbury chocolate and Huggies wipes – it’s a great deal and “Free Feels Good” right SDM???
i spoke to consumer affairs about this a while back and apparently there is no limit for when a store can retract an ad.
the discussion does not exist, because there are no legal limits
I totally believe they should have the right to cancel a promotion or sale. Let’s face it, human error occurs all the time. If somehow a law was enacted that promotions or something could not be cancelled, I think there would be NO promtions at all because the retailers would be terrfied of human error. We have all screwed up at some time. But I do think that if there are “limits” on things then it should be said so ahead of time.
I agree, that people should not be abusing these deals and spoiling it for everyone. Then the shops probably wouldn’t be cancelling these deals.
We’ve all heard or seen of the people who abuse deals. I think its justifiable to cancel deals if its abused….however, if its not being abused, then why cancel the deal? To me, if you made an error, or someone wasn’t diligent enough to ensure that the ad was printed accurately (they usually need at least 2 signatures on the final draft), then why is it the fault of the consumer? I live out of town, so going into town to get a deal is a big thing for me….if I get there and they retracted their deal, I may get angry, but they better have a justifiable reason to do so.
They should honour the promo in their flyer for people who made it to the store specifically for that deal, no matter what the reason for the error is/misprint, etc. Or they should pull it off the shelf and say they are out of stock, but they should not be offering things for sale for a price that is different than advertised.
As for “whether they have the right” of course they have the right. I have the right to shop elsewhere when they waste my time gas $ and switch the advertised deal. They have the right, but they should weigh pros and cons more carefully instead of taking it for granted that I am going to continue being their customer.
In instances like total misprints, yes it’s okay to cancel stuff.
Zellers was a massive bucket of horse crap though. It specifically said, can be used with sale items/flyer deals. Then they turned around to say that wasn’t true. Then this, and that, and put you through the ringer a hundred times. My Zellers pitched a fit over stuff like Doritos. Screw Zellers anyway, glad they’re going.
SDM and those chocolate bars… and all the point snatching… They just don’t learn, do they? They’re only hurting themselves by duping the consumer into thinking they’ll get a good deal and then cancelling it or taking points legitimately earned away.
Stacking is another matter. The stores aren’t getting reimbursed and companies are putting limits on stuff because people keep screwing around and selling stuff. I don’t fault them for that at all. That’s not their promotion, they’re just trying to help the consumer and the consumer ends up screwing them by reselling, using fake coupons, or stacking coupons that say they can’t be stacked.
Of course it is their ultimate right to cancel… but I think they should honor their advertising. They should count the cost and consider all the scenarios that could happen if they publish their deal. Imposing the customer limit seems the easiest way to keep the deals from getting abused. What is abuse? My coming in to town and stocking up on a food item, literally clearing the shelves? Is that abuse or just a consumer’s free right to purchase what is available?
“What is abuse? My coming in to town and stocking up on a food item, literally clearing the shelves? Is that abuse or just a consumer’s free right to purchase what is available?”
Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. Other shopper’s should have the same opportunity to benefit from a deal. If there was no greed, there would be no problem.
I believe retailers should be able to cancel sales/promotions, as long as they give a suitable notice before they do (like Shoppers, which gives a few days notice).
The Zellers take-back on the 50% off any item including sale does not fall into that category. My sister-in-law took the coupon in and used it on a sale item. The very next day her mother took a coupon to get the exact same thing and was denied. Then Zellers had the audacity not to apologize, but to delete the evidence where their rep said the coupon could be used on sale items, and claim that the customers were wrong and had cheated the system.
As far as claw-backs on points (Shoppers), I don’t think that should be allowed. If the retailer put no limits or restrictions on the product, then they should not be able to come back and say the customer was wrong. That being said, they do state in the fine print of their Optimum terms that products bought should be reasonable for a household. But they also don’t define what is considered reasonable, so they have left things up for interpretation.
No I don’t think they have the right. These are big companies who employ people to look into these matters. Zellers and SDM just didn’t realize in this economy everyone is looking for a deal and will take advantage if they can. As a consumer there is nothing wrong with that. Just good shopping. If I take a bunch of stuff and donate it its not an excuse to clear the shelves. It a way to give back to others. I don’t clear shelves but if someone did I would not judge. Early shopper gets the deal.
There has been too much lately of wrong deals and points being taken back. Its just not right. Very frustrating as a shopper.
i would like to know more on what this whole aduse is? If I see a deal and I want the deal I should be at the store when it opens. Who is to say what amount is normal for my household.
If I had 20 dogs….buying 500 cans of dog food is not outside my household limit. or if I was octomom and bought 100 huggies wipes or If you enjoy baking or just eating chocolate, is 100 bars too much? There is no way to define personal consumption and to speculate that they must be selling it is ludacris. Limiting is the only choice to try and be “fair” to all people wanting the deal. But I personally feel if there is no limit it is your own fault for not getting to the store when there was stock on the shelves. I think there is just way too many people complaining and really this whole coupons thing is getting out of hand….5 years ago it was great. the stores and manufacturers were better, and not as jaded as they are now. It really is a shame that the idiot box coupon show has ruin it with this explosion of newbie and has warned manufacturers to change coupon wording. I fail to see the abuse other than the massive influx of coupon users now getting the deals as compared to years ago.
I love Oslo of the people playing dumb about abuse of deals and promos esp. as these are likely the same ppl that complain when a store runs out or has to add exemptions are “clarifications” after the fact. Yes, it’s not great for retailers to take back their offers but when a family have everyone from grandma to baby Susie using the “limit one per person” coupon ithat isn’t great either. As someone that worked in retail I have heard the excuses and frankly I don’t care that you live out of town or ave five kids…I guess you should have thought of that before, no?
Why don’t they just control peoples optimum cards and give one set of 9000 points away like they did after with the chocolate bars.
You mean to tell me SDM actually took points away from the people that bought tons of Cadbury chocolate bars??? I can’t believe it. I would have returned the damn chocolate bars. What do you think they will do with the 9000 bonus points for Jamison Flu vitamins this weekend? Works for them, doesn’t it? They sell gobs of vitamins, giveth points and then taketh away. Marketting. I don’t know, I just don’t know. Guess people will have to smarten up and just buy one of any special offer per SDM Optimum card they own. Beat them at their own game. …and I was going to rush out this AM and redeem a bunch of my points on that stupid Jamison offer…glad I didn’t bother.
It sounds to me like the retailers are using coupons to draw in the customers and not honoring them, hoping “we” the customer will still purchase. The coupons are being used as a loss leader. That’s what it sounds like to me ! I think they depise coupons ! who knows ? So my feeling is ” yes ” they ought to honor there coupons regardless.
I used to work in retail and based on that experience, I’m really not surprised by some of the things I’ve read here, especially regarding setting limits and defining personal consumption. Even imposing limits of deals doesn’t always work. Moonieya already touched on having multiple family members take advantage of “one per household” deals, but I’ve also seen small store owners purchase the limit of five, exit the store, re-enter, purchase another five, then do it all over again so they can re-sell product for a higher profit. And do you know what happens when stores run out because people do things like that? Other customers get angry. I can’t count the number of times I had to intervene because a customer who was not able to get a sold-out advertised deal was abusing cashiers to the point that the poor girls were in tears. Until we as a society learn how to behave, why shouldn’t stores do what they have to do?
Absolutely. A business should be able to set its own rules.
A business should have to honor any printed or online deal. Period!
I have had to walk away from a cart full of goods and a hour and half of my time, for a changed sale at SDM before. Even though those were things my household needed, I would not buy any of it, once the cashier changed the terms of the sale … out of principle. Business’s should not be allowed to waste peoples time and money by falsely advertising sales or the terms of a sale. If they do falsely advertise a sale or its terms, they should have to either have to sell the items as mentioned in the ad, or they reimburse the customer for for their time and energy, say a gift card for $100.00.
I also think that the Scanning Code of Canada should not be optional. It should be the law. If you catch a company charging you more then the price posted for an item, you should get it free. SS is the worst for this. I catch them mischarging me every couple of shops.That is ultimately theft by the company to the consumer. It should not be an “voluntary program”. I often wonder how many people have paid the wrong price for the item and not caught them … probably way more then enough to cover me getting mine for free.
To the lady who talked about the 9000 pts for Jamieson flu shield i hope you didn t bother going because i did and didn t get 9000 but 500….I asked the cashier why that was so and she said you ll get the balance end of the month. I suspected it wasn t so . So I emailed SDM. and he said it was an error and gave me 400 pts as a compensation. Well it happens too often and Ill spend my points and then Ill shop somewhere else.
I walked into a store asked about a black friday deal two days later. The ad said, “while quantities last” The item in question was one that had been reserved by phone, then the person didn’t show. I came in and was charged double. “That’s not what you advertised!” “Black Friday only”
“Your choice” and I walked out.
(3 TB drive reg 159, marked down to 89.)
this week I bought two new monitors. From someone else.