Humiliated by Kmart's Horrendous Customer Service

Wish I had advice but I truly understand your humiliation. Wal Mart in
Lawrenceburg KY did the same thing to me when I tried to purchase
clearance jeans for my daughter a few years ago. The cashier, who was
also the manager, yanked them out of my arms, ripped the price
stickers off, loudly declared me a thief to the crowded store and
claimed I had to swapped the stickers... I tried getting her to go
look at the rack where they had come from (that still had numerous
pairs of teh same jeans in other sizes marked at the same price at
which I had tried to purchase the ones for my daughter) and was told
that if I didn't shut up and leave, they would have me arrested!

The woman was so beligerant & so loud & everyone was staring at me
like I was a criminal... I left the store in tears.

That was about 8 years ago & I haven't been back in that store since.
NOTHING is worth being treated like that!

I'm very sorry this happened to you. Many, many years ago, there was
an expose on K-Mart on the tv. Does anyone else remember this?

The news reporters were stating that they'd gone into several K-Marts
and items weren't ringing up at the register at the same price they
were marked on the shelves. Happens at almost every store at one
point, right? Except they had the head of K-Mart, on camera, stating
they raise the prices by $1 on purpose and what the customer doesn't
notice doesn't hurt them. He was bragging how most people don't even
notice that the item they saw on the shelf for $3 rang up for $4. I
still don't understand how he didn't get arrested.

I am amazed that crummy K-Mart still does business.

I think it's absolutely horrible the way you were treated at that
store!

I have had end of season merchandise ring back up at a higher price
once replacement or new stock arrives the next season Even with an
old clearance sticker much lower price on it.

Sku gets reassigned for the new season with the same number.

That said some stores mark down by store even in the same market.
Could be this item was returned from the store you saw it marked lower
at in the market.

I don't really see the cashier was wrong when all she said was
somebody maybe switched the tag. It happens and they also switch
signs. She didn't say MAYBE you switched the tag.

Anyway if there was no other product on the shelf then I would of
probably given it to you and just did a mark down at point of sale.
However if other items on the shelf were marked correctly exactly like
the item you were buhing I would of said no as the manager did.

Had they came over and arrested you for ticket switching then you
could complain.

>I told her I most certainly didn't, and, that if it helps, I found
the same item at my local store marked $4 as well that rang up as
$4.<

Okay, so the items were definitly marked $4?

If this is the case, then it might have been a special clearance sale
and the sale for that store "fell out" of the local system. Sometimes
happens on the Sears side when we do manager's specials or clearance
specials. These types of specials are sometimes authorized by
corporate for a certain amount of stores or for certain regions, etc.

My store routinely loads prices lower in their local system and
sometimes these are erased if the item takes a automatic price
reduction on the corporate/national level. For instance...there's a
bedspread that we want to get rid of. We go into our local system and
lower to price to 10.00 from it's clearance price of 29.99. Well, the
next week, the item has an automatic price decrease from 29.99 to
19.99. So the 10.00 price is erased, even though the item is already
ticketed at the cheap price. National, authomatic price decreases
erases local system decreases. The manager then has to go back into
the system and change the price back to 10.00.

I do not know exactly how K-mart does their pricing...and this is not
excusing what happened to you, I'm just showing how this might have
happened.

You should have gotten the price that it was marked at.

Kmart is always having pricing issues. I found a set of childrens golf
clubs in which the box was smashed in but the clubs were in perfect
condition. There was a handwritten note on a claim ticket on all 3
sets they had saying they were all half price due to the damage.

I thought..hey what a bargain to get this for $20.00! Go to pay and
big surprise, I get questioned on where this note came from. Like I
have a pad of claim tickets for damaged goods that I carry around. Got
manager and he says oh yeah we put those on a few days ago. I cannot
express my dislike for Kmart and Sears enough.

Was there more of the same toy in the aisle with the same price?

Personally, I would have walked over to the manager and asked to take
him/her to the section where you got the toys and show him/her the
exact toy with the same price.

It is pretty easy to tell if a sticker has been pulled off and by the
way she worded her sentence, it sounds like it may not have been a
case of price switching.

Take it to the district manager. He/She will help you out on this
situation.

well, i see somebody below posted a really good response about
michigans law regarding this issue. so i won't touch that.

i only want to say, that next time,ask to hear it from the manager
themselves, and ask why you would not get it for the marked price. if
it was clearly labeled, and obviously wasn't pulled off another
package, then you should have gotten it for $4.00.

It is if a item scans differently than the shelf tag.

She stated they looked like they were marked with a gun, which is not
a shelf tag.

Every mention of the law mentions if it scans. It does not mention
situations such as this.

Also she does not mention whether she bought them for the 8 dollars
which makes the law unactionable to her. Because the transaction was
not completed,


If I am reading this wrong, I know I will be corrected! :-)

Good Day

This is covered under the Michigan Pricing and Advertising of Consumer
Items Act 449 of 1976 - R 285.555.1 et seq. of the Michigan
Administrative Code. Street Name -Scanner Law.

Basically under this law, you are entitled to the price that is stuck
on to the item, and every single item on store shelves for sale must
have an affixed price. If it rings up for more than is priced, NEVER
tell the cashier. Complete the transaction, then bring the overcharge
to the attention of the retailer (usually the manager) in person or in
writing within 30 days.

The retailer then has 2 days to provide you the difference plus tax,
and ADDITIONALLY, A bonus of 10 times the overcharge, with a min.
bonus of $1 and a max. bonus of $5. If there were multiple but
identical items, you are entitled to the difference, but only one
bonus.

If the retailer fails to pay both the difference and the bonus, you
can sue them.

Check this link for additional info;
http://www.michigan.gov/ag/0,1607,7-164-34739_20942-134114--,00.html

Good luck, just one more reason our state is a great place to live.