1 post tagged “newport”
...the Barnes & Noble at Newport-on-the-Levee (located across the river from Cincinnati, OH in Newport, KY). Why? Well, I went in there with my parents this evening to buy a pair of cat bookends advertised for $29.95. When we took them up to the counter, we met with the first incompetent employee. Her name was Devonda. She rang the bookends up as $39.95. We pointed out the discrepancy in the prices. She was flabbergasted and shook her jowls at us. She wandered around for five minutes until she found a young man named Richard who was apparently a couple rungs up the ladder management-wise. He was also flabbergasted at the price and shook his sumo-like breasts at us. I told him he should give us the bookends at the advertised price...regardless of the price that came up on the register. He seemed shocked that I would even suggest such a thing. He stammered a bit and said,
Only a manager can do that.
Well, go get a manager then.
Ten minutes later--I'm not making that up; it actually took ten minutes to find a manager--a meek little girl named Sara P. came out. I never got to see Sara P. By the time she came out of the backroom where she'd been hiding, I'd left the store in a huff. The rest of the tale comes directly from my parents. Sara P.'s best excuse was that someone must've placed the $29.95 sign next to the cat bookends because they couldn't find the proper $39.95 price tag. She offered my parents a 10% discount off the price. My parents refused the offer, so she went to 20%. That was still more than the advertised price, so my parents gave up, promised never to shop at Barnes and Noble again, and left the store. My dad claims that Sara P. was close to tears.
I was so surprised when my parents came out without the bookends. Barnes & Noble was basically engaging in the old price bait & switch. I can't believe their management wouldn't remedy the situation and offer the product at the advertised price. Even if it was a mistake, it was a mistake on their part. What ever happened to customer service and taking responsibility for the actions of your employees?
When I got the rest of the story, I went back in to have a word with Sara P. I couldn't find her, so I just took the names of the other employees and decided to write this post.
