Toys R Us Swot
I’m usually not one to sit online and complain about things. Or use my blog or Twitter page to bash brands. I work with a lot of brands and sometimes, brands make mistakes. But last night I had a learning experience as both a marketer AND a customer that I just have to share. And this is more of a lesson than a complaint or bash. Let’s back up…
Toys R Us. 8 p.m. on December 20. That alone is enough to make me run for the hills. But I had little kid shopping to do, which usually brings me to this store around this time of year. What kid wouldn’t want a Christmas present from Toys R Us? Anyways, I was at the register ready to check out when I told the associate I had a Google Offer (I snagged a great $10 for $20 offer last week in my gmail knowing I’d be at that store in the near future). I gave the associate my phone with the barcode to scan. It didn’t work. He looked perplexed. He tried again and scratched his head. I asked him to try again and maybe ask for help. So he called for another person to come over. Another woman came over and basically just told me it wasn’t going to work. Fail #1. I had bought my offer fair and square. I was redeeming it within the allotted time frame. She told me to call 1-800-Toys R Us to get a gift card. Oh joy. A Toys R Us gift card. Just what I want AFTER my shopping is done. I usually have little patience for this type of thing but I politely paid full price and left the store. Since I had a-ways to drive home, I decided to call the 800-number immediately and tell them the story. So I was directed to customer service and told the lady on the phone about what happened. I then had to describe what a Google Offer is, exactly. Now I’m starting to shake my head.
“I think I’ve heard of that,” she said. “Oh, good,” I thought. “‘I think’ is exactly what I want to hear.” Sarcasm. So she goes and talks to her supervisor. At this point I am thinking they will refund me or give me the gift card I don’t want. But no, wait for what happened
Toys R Us. 8 p.m. on December 20. That alone is enough to make me run for the hills. But I had little kid shopping to do, which usually brings me to this store around this time of year. What kid wouldn’t want a Christmas present from Toys R Us? Anyways, I was at the register ready to check out when I told the associate I had a Google Offer (I snagged a great $10 for $20 offer last week in my gmail knowing I’d be at that store in the near future). I gave the associate my phone with the barcode to scan. It didn’t work. He looked perplexed. He tried again and scratched his head. I asked him to try again and maybe ask for help. So he called for another person to come over. Another woman came over and basically just told me it wasn’t going to work. Fail #1. I had bought my offer fair and square. I was redeeming it within the allotted time frame. She told me to call 1-800-Toys R Us to get a gift card. Oh joy. A Toys R Us gift card. Just what I want AFTER my shopping is done. I usually have little patience for this type of thing but I politely paid full price and left the store. Since I had a-ways to drive home, I decided to call the 800-number immediately and tell them the story. So I was directed to customer service and told the lady on the phone about what happened. I then had to describe what a Google Offer is, exactly. Now I’m starting to shake my head.
“I think I’ve heard of that,” she said. “Oh, good,” I thought. “‘I think’ is exactly what I want to hear.” Sarcasm. So she goes and talks to her supervisor. At this point I am thinking they will refund me or give me the gift card I don’t want. But no, wait for what happened