Let me start by saying I’m not a marketer. Viral, guerilla or otherwise. I work in an auto shop and I know how paranoid you guys are about marketers lately. I’m going to leave the specifics out so you don’t think I’m shilling for a store or a brand name.
Anyway, last night I bought a new tv. I was just upgrading from my 26" lcd. I decided to go with 42" same brand. Quite a jump but I wanted to get 1080p.
So I go to the store. (national electronics chain store) And make the purchase. The price right around $2k before tax. I’m very excited. I’ve been researching for weeks.
I go out to pick it up from the front of the store and it doesn’t fit in my gf’s car. So I call a buddy and borrow his truck. Go back to the store and pick up the new tv. Take it home and drop it off. Take the truck back to my buddy’s house and go back home. By now its almost 10pm.
So I go in the house and open the box. Right on top is the manual so I pull it out. I’m the guy who reads the manuals alright. So on the cover I notice the model number is wrong. I mean instead of the 42" tv I purchased they loaded a 46" same brand better features. Wow! So I jump on line and puch in the model number and it’s nearly $1k more thank I paid.
Here’s my issue. Do I call the store and let them know they fucked up? My GF says that’s what I should do. Of course all my friends are like “Score! We’re comin over to watch football sunday!” Or do I just keep the thing? (of course I already set it up and I gotta tell you it’s fuckin awesome. I didn’t realize the bad guys in GoW had such dynamic facial expressions!)
Call them, tell them the issue. Worst thing that happens, they exchange it and you get what you originally paid for. Best thing that happens (and I’ve heard of this happening) is they say “our bad, enjoy your tv” and you get a clear conscience.
If you don’t tell them, you give up the right to bitch about any screwups on the other side until you’ve been screwed out of the difference. :)
I’d call them and tell them. If they want the TV back, they’d have to come get it AND at a time conveneient for you (that is, they don’t get to say "between 1-5 on Wednesday).
Yup. My time is my most valuable commodity right now, and there’s nothing more annoying than making exchange runs to the store, especially if it’s their fuckup. Call them up, and if they want it straightened out, tell them it’s their job at your convenience to make it right.
Ha ha, sounds like your girlfriend’s going to make you tell the store. I think the traditional guy thing would be to trade in a little ethical behavior for some extra TV real estate. But, no, stupid girls with their ethics and morality and doing the right thing nonsense.
That extra thousand in retail cost will never be realized by the store, because it’s used goods now. Plus there’s the labor they will have to spend on picking it up from your house. Man, you’d be saving them money just by keeping your mouth shut!
Personally, I’d call them, but like dannimal said, leave it up to them to come get it and do the switch if they really want it back. It is entirely possible they’ll do a quick cost estimate of labor time, restocking costs, etc and just not even bother.
It sounds like if you’re concerned enough to take time and type out a well-written post, you will be concerned enough to experience guilt if you pocket the thing.
I have friends that would welcome that TV because they BEAT THE MAN and would love to tell the story to any guest that came in.
If it’s a large, faceless organization (goverment, casinos, large corporations) it’s easier to tell oneself it’s okay to steal. Robin Hood and all. Heck, they can afford it.
Okay, the one excuse you’d have to steal is this: Call em about the mess up. If they tell you to bring it back, refuse and have them accomodate you. After all, it’s a $1000 difference for them. If they are really annoying, say f’em and feel morally obliged to keep it because they were rude to you.
My first thought after reading this (and probably every other poster too) was “why doesn’t this shit happen to me?!?”
My advice, because I’m single and no other guy is going to offer this advice here:
Score. Keep the TV. Tell GF whatever you want to soothe her, or just recommend you sit and watch a nice romantic comedy with her on the new 46" TV!
Sure you could call the store. But that’s like … 10 minutes out of your day and dealing with some schmuck you don’t even know trying to kiss his ass so you can keep it. Or … you could just keep it. As for the service thing, ask yourself, “when was the last time I had a piece of electronics gear serviced?” If your answer was within the last year, call the store and explain the problem because odds are you may have the anti-electronics gene and that seems to affect anything around you that’s plugged into an outlet for extended periods of time.
I can offer you this advice despite the fact that I would wuss out simply because we all need that one friend who “scammed the man” and lived to tell about it. Without that one friend, the rest of us all lose hope.
Disclaimer: This advice is only for entertainment purposes. No use of this advice is implied or recommended.
For me it’s usually a little angel chick on one shoulder and a nasty little devil boy with horns and a pointy tail on the other. I love watching those two go at it.
I had this happen with a local store on a monitor purchase 10 years ago. They called me up and explained what happened because I hadn’t even noticed. It wasn’t as big a price difference (maybe ~$200) but it was a flat screen CRT.
I liked the monitor and decided to upgrade, so I asked them to give me a wholesale price. They guy gave me the retail price! I was looking at the price list. I told him this, but he kept insisting he was giving me a wholesale price.
I ended up keeping the monitor, just to teach them a lesson.
