Poor service from an associate

"She made little effort to help me"

She DID help you. And if it was so unacceptable to you why didn't you
ask for a manager and get it settled right then and there instead of
writing to PF?

I worked at the garden center at a Kmart and people were always moving
the signs in front of the dirt that listed the price so they could get
the better dirt at the cheaper price, they always got mad and said we
had to give it to them at the price listed. I'm not saying you did
this or that this is what happened but it is possible.

I see this alot working in a grocery store. Customer picks up
something, sees a similar comparable item priced cheaper, and they
dump it near the item they picked up. VERY FRUSTRATING. Another
customer comes up sees the item the other customer dropped thinks
"Wow, thats a bargain" and expects, it to ring up the same.

This happens all the time. Or is could be what the other posters
mentioned, sale prices changing, etc etc.

You probably should have spoken to a manager.

"I then told her that all of the shirts on the sale rack where I found
mine were exactly the same"

What it sounds like is that a clerk put a bunch of shirts on a rack
where they didn't belong OR the signage hadn't been changed from what
use to be on the rack. In any case, as a manager, I would give it to
you at the signage price.

For retailers: when changing out an endcap, rack, etc.. the very first
thing you do is take the old pricing down before putting up the new
merchandise. When I go into stores I see this rule being broken time
and time again.

Based on what you've said, I'm guessing sales staff put the sign in
the wrong spot. It's also possible not all the shirts were exactly the
same, and the signage stated "selct styles only" (something I've been
caught on at other retailers).

If it was the former, then I think they should've given you the sale
price. If it was the latter, then sorry, they did what they could to
assist you.

I feel for you, but the salesperson hears/gets this all day, every
day. Shoppers pick up items and then return them to the handiest
rack. So full-price clothing gets hung up on a sales rack, and the
next shopper who comes along has no idea.

In your situation, I would have taken the cashier to the rack to prove
that I was right, OR... I'd let her ring it all up, then head to the
rack where things were on sale, and get another associate to refund me
the difference in price.

I also think the associate should have stopped scanning things and
ASKED you whether you wanted the items at full price, rather than just
continue with the scanning.

Did you have them void the purchase and put the shirt back or did you
accept the situation and buy them?

She called the department and determined that the shirts were not on
sale. What more did you want them to do? If you were so sure they
were on sale, you could have gone back to the department and spoke
with someone who worked there. She can't just leave her register.

Many times customers put items back in the wrong place. It happened a
lot when I worked at Macys.

It sounds like you accepted the response from the department where you
picked up the shirts. I see no mention that you returned to that
department to prove your case.

I don't see how this is poor service. The CSR called the other
department, they checked on the price, and verified the item was not
on sale.

If you had pursued this further, and found out the item was in fact on
sale, you would have something to be upset about. As is, I am having
trouble understanding that the JCP CSR's did anything less than what
one would expect.