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As you may or may not know, timinganddelivery.com welcomes your stories relating to service! And…from-time-to-time we publish some of them (with your permission, of course). If you think you have a service experience worth sharing (good or not-so-good), send it in!

Talk about being footloose and furious!  We recently received this story from one of our female readers involving her latest experience with the new Browns Shoes store in downtown Vancouver’s Pacific Centre Mall…

DAY 1

I purchased a pair of sandals from the new Browns Shoes in Pacific Centre ($350 big ones).  The salesperson was friendly, efficient, and wonderful to deal with.  No complaints!

Six days later, I receive an e-mail from Browns Shoes (I am a loyal customer and therefore signed up for the online newsletter) stating that the summer designer sale has started (woo!), I’m excited.

I check Browns’ email and notice that the sandals I bought are now $50 less (enough for me to bother at looking into things further).  Being an avid shopper and someone who appreciates details, I check the Browns price adjustment policy online which states:

Price Adjustments: Browns offers price adjustments on merchandise that goes on sale within 14 days of purchase, in stores only (we unfortunately cannot make price adjustments online). We do not offer price adjustments for items that get further reduced once they are already on sale.

So I think (to myself) - great! I have my receipt and I will take the time to go in and get this adjustment on the same day.  When I arrive at the store, the person I assume is the manager greets me at the cash desk.   Here’s how it went down:

• Me:  I state why I’m there (receipt in hand).

• Her:  Tells me that she will not offer me the adjustment because I don’t have the sandals with me. She needs to look at them to see that they haven’t been worn. (huh? why does this matter?)

• Me:  I explain how I received the e-mail about the sale and double checked the price adjustment policy online. It says nothing about bringing the product back to the store.

• Her:  She says that the online store and the retail stores are run separately and don’t have the same policies.

• Me: I tell her that this is confusing to the customer which she acknowledges…but still no adjustment.

• Her:  She tries to mollify me somewhat by saying that at their store they grant 1 extra day for returns etc, making it 15….but I’m there on day 6! (I really don’t care about this extra day that I don’t need).

• Her:  She then points to a small sign on the counter that explains their policy. Not the most effective way of communicating with me as I wasn’t told this when I made the original purchase, nor was this information printed on my receipt or online. GRRRR!

• Me (again):  I reinforce how I’ve taken the time to come in to undertake what I thought was going to be an easy transaction.

• Her:  She says she’ll be happy to do it for me “right away”…when I bring the sandals back in.

At this point, I have absolutely no desire to come back downtown the following day.  Bottom line - I leave the store upset and kind of embarrassed.

DAY 2 (theme - it’s a matter of principle!)

After having a night to sleep on it, I thought I might as well see what happens.  So, as instructed, I pack up my shoes and put them nicely in the box and head back downtown for the sole (no pun intended) purpose to get this darn $50.

Once again, I’m back at the same cash desk and state again that I’m seeking a price adjustment.  The salesperson (new one this time) reiterates that I need the shoes with me. I say that this is my second attempt, I do have the shoes, and produce the box. (check!)

She then starts the process and barely flips open the lid, only noting that the sandals are actually in there and I haven’t brought in an empty box.  She doesn’t talk or interact with me for the entire length of the transaction so I’m not really feeling any better.

Meanwhile…the woman who I had been dealing with the previous day is again standing in the same spot right by the cash desk and engaged in a personal-ish conversation. She also doesn’t acknowledge me.

With a little eavesdropping, I discover that the lady I dealt with on DAY 1 was a senior employee of Holt Renfrew and has been associated with Browns Shoes for a significant period of time!  What’s more is that she currently plays a key role with Browns Shoes and seems to be overseeing the launch of this new store.

With this information I know for certain that this woman did have the authority to analyze the situation and deal with my concerns back on DAY 1! She chose not to take action and as a result I had a negative experience that took up a good chunk of my time over two days!

Good thing they’re great sandals…I was awfully close to going barefoot!

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