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Bill Fishman

Bill Fishman & Affiliates

11650 lberia Place f nnCef owes me two bucks. Don- I na and I were shopping for Christmas gifts at the new Target store in town. I spotted an end cap that featured a package of three blank video tapes. The sign on the end cap shouted in 2 inch letters "SALE, 3-PACK $9.99."

San Diego, Ca.92128 did. Don't you think the sign should be changed?" I asked.

There were also two lines of descriptive copy on the sign in type about the size you're reading right now. I didn't bother to read them.

The top two shelves were filled with Target's private brand of video tape, wrapped as a 3-pack. The bottom two shelves contained a national brand 3pack. Neither one was price stickered.

Target does not individually price their merchandise. The c,ashiers have a price look-up system that is activated when they ring the SKU numbers. I decided on the national brand and put the purchase in the shopping cart.

Our total purchases that day came to $62.40. I charged it. As Donna loaded the packages into the shopping cart I examined the register receipt. The video tape was rung at $11.99 not the signed $9.99.

I showed the cashier the error. She checked the newspaper ads and found no indication of the sale. Paging for a department worker to pick up the phone brought no results.

The head cashier came to the rescue. "I know exactly what you mean, I was fooled by that sign yesterday," she said. "Then I found out that it's only the Target brand that's priced at $9.99, not the national brand. Come back to the display with me. I'll show it to you."

By this time Donna had become disgusted with my arguing about two dollars and proceeded to the car. I walked back to the display with the head cashier. "See," she said pointing to the two small lines of type on the sign reading "compare with national brands at $11.99."

"Do you mean to tell me," I asked, "that your customers will know that the only sign on this entire end cap does not represent the 3-packs of tape on all the shelves? "

"The national brand is signed at $11.99 on the shelves around the corner," she replied.

"But, you said that yesterday you misinterpreted the sign just the way I

"Well, don't blame me, I don't make the signs," she replied defensively.

"But, you do represent the store!" I challenged.

"Would you like to speak to the manager?" she asked, now sorry she ever got involved.

"l would rather talk to him than to the Attorney General for the State of California," I warned.

She disappeared into the manager's office.

"I understand you have a problem," the manager said to me.

"No, you have a problem," I snapped back. "The problem is neither the two dollars nor the incorrect signing. The problem is that Target's people are saving the company pennies and losing customers forever," I told him.

He immediately saw how misleading the display and sign were and ordered it corrected. He also offered to refund the difference when I returned with the cash register receipt. My choice was two dollars or a very angry Donna waiting in the car. Target still owes me the two bucks.

There is definitely something lacking in any management training program that allows employees to think that it is the company's policy to misrepresent information. And there's lots to lose when employees feel that they must, at any cost, defend the company, right or wrong.

Nordstrom has become the most feared competitor in retailing by not only advertising their policies, but by convincing their store people that the customer must be not only satisfied, but overwhelmed by Nordstrom's liberal policies. It's built one hellava business.

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