I went to my local Orvis store today to pick up a Battenkill 3/4 and a spool of DT3 fly line, planning to use a $25 off coupon I received thru an e-mail. As I was browsing the reels, this cute-as-a-button employee came over to see if I needed help. I told her I’ve decided on the reel and asked if she could spool it up with my selected line and some 20 lb backing, which she did (quite nicely, too.) I get to the checkout, hand her my $25 off coupon, and she tells me she’ll ring up 2 separate purchases (the reel being $79 and the line $59) and she’ll use the coupon twice, saving me $50 total. She didn’t have to do that. I was assuming she’ll add up the reel and line and knock off the $25. Kudos to her (and trust me when I say she is a cutie). That type of service alone will keep me going back there. Nice to see there are some nice people left in this world.
:?: As a former retail general manager this raises a red flag for me. Normally these types of coupons are for a single purchase only. In most states this employee could probably be guilty of theft by deception, a.k.a. shop lifting. I don’t want to falsely accuse anybody because it really does depend on the type of coupon, company policy and state law. Glad you were happy with the service but… :?
That’s what I figured too, for the coupon. It said $25 off on any purchase over $50. I thought those bar codes were scannable only once, since they’re numbered (that would make sense, no?) I guess they’re not, meaning if I were a dishonest person, nothing would prevent me from going home, printing another, and using it another day…I think it’s good until 12/16. There’s a little more to the story. After she finished spooling the backing on, I told her I had the line for her right here in my hand. She said, “Oh…good…I see you brought it from home…that was smart” I told her that “No, I just took it off the wall” and she said “Thanks”. I don’t know is she was testing me or if she really thought I brought the line from home to have spooled…guess I never will, either. Maybe that was just her way of thanking me for not swiping the line?
In response to those who are accusing the sales person of fraud.
I don’t know about Ken but in the last 3 weeks I’ve received 4 (yes 4) of these $25 off a $50 or more purchase for my local (Arlington, TX) Orvis store. Three of them came via mail and one via Email. All of them had concurrently running effective dates so I would have had no compulsion against going to the store and buying items individually to maximize my discount. It sounds like in Ken’s case the clerk merely saved him the trouble. On at least two other occasions when I’ve had these coupons and used them the clerk didn’t even take the coupon from me and in fact told me, “give it to a friend”.
I think many are being too quick to judge the sales person.
There’s a fine line there, and exactly where it’s drawn depends on store policy. Working retail myself, the same red flag went up in my mind, but I’ve also worked at places where we were told to treat coupons in a similar way as the young lady in question. Who knows? Often times it will even vary from store to store in the same company.
While I was at the check-out, the store manager (at least that’s what her name tag said) was there also and knew quite well what transpired and nothing was said…that’s why I thought nothing of it. I’m assuming (I know…bad word) that if something was against store policy, she would have spoken up there and then.
“In response to those who are accusing the sales person of fraud.”.
Now how did I know my reply would get taken the wrong way? Form my original reply: “I don’t want to falsely accuse anybody because it really does depend on the type of coupon, company policy and state law.” I am not accusing anyone of theft. Just commenting and that having been done I will be quiet. Period. :roll:
What you encountered was a pleasant exchange of good will. Good Karma so to speak.
Customer service is a broad stroke of a brush that means different things to different people. Theft I would hope is not considered covered in this broad stroke.
Theft by Deception, is not Shop Lifting. Theft by Deception is the manner (or how) in which the object was taken. Shop Lifting is taking an object past a register to exit or attempt to exit without paying. The (how) something was taken informs the courts the severity of the crime (Petty Theft, Theft by Deception, Fraud, Passing Bad Checks, Misuse of a Credit Card, Forgery ect., ect)
Policy is a course of action. Policy is established by whoever has the authority and is not governed by law and can contradict law. Then there is a big spin off here too.
Discretion the power or right to decide or act according to one’s own judgment; freedom of judgment or choice. Discretion is what this cutie used. Her discretion may be against or in favor of Orvis’s policy and thus could get her in trouble or a raise.
As already mentioned in this thread Orvis has broadcast coupons into the winds and they have landed on the doors of many more than once for some. Orvis is or should be aware of the laws in regards coupons, advertising ect al…
But anyhow I could go on and on. Just chalk it up to an exchange of good will an act of Karma.
Wonderful, thank God, thing that we have fifty different states with fifty different state constitutions, or charters, that limit the amount of federal rule. Shop lifting as a type of crime is not normally a federal offense, unless it falls into a scope governed by federal law, and therefore it is the right of the state to determine what type and severity of crime it is. In the state of Pennsylvania shop lifting is determined by our constitution to be a theft by deception. I have had to have prosecuted, successfully, several employees that committed this exact crime against the stores I ran in Pennsylvania. Yes it is a type of fraud that falls under the state law of Theft by Deception.
Bottom line=
Repeat Business!..and Referrals!!..and that adds up to GOOD business.
I have heard complaints many times of Orvis’ pricing, but their customer service philosophy toward the customer is just A-1. Kudos to the store staff.
Mike
Nighthawk (and others whom I might have offended),
No offense was intended by my statement (thus why I didn’t mention your post specifically), but I was just pointing out that it seemed that several individuals were a little to quick to accuse the sales clerk of doing something wrong. Having been in the position of dealing with coupons as a clerk I know how careful I was to “follow the rules” and I would hope that others would do the same.
My experience with Orivs has always been that they will go above and beyond your expectations to make a sale, this seems to be no different.
Brian,
You did not offend me! Sorry I did not intend to seem so grumpy, call it a bad arthritis day! Amy said I was being a grumpy old troll today so I took some time out and Watched the original Rudolph the Red Nosed Rein Deer on DVD. Sure fire way to cure the shack nasties. God bless and Merry Christmas my friend.
OK, Eric, maybe this will take the heat off of you…and we can see what people think of this…
First of all I’m making all the disclaimers…no harm intended.etc…but I’ve always believed in keeping and open mind and consider all things …
Let’s suppose this cutie is a little deviuous…
"After she finished spooling the backing on, I told her I had the line for her right here in my hand. She said, “Oh…good…I see you brought it from home…that was smart” "
Did you consider that she may have been giving you the go ahead to claim it was your line???
:lol: :lol: