Pb tech open box/last unit sell at cost price

To post in this sub-forum you must have made 30 posts or have Trust status or have completed our ID Verification

Forums › Bargains and Deals › Pb tech open box/last unit sell at cost price

1 | 2 | 3

20164 posts

Uber Geek

#1364702 12-Aug-2015 15:16

JEDENZED: I'll give the manager I emailed due time to respond to my message before going down the road of a public shaming on FB, if even then. I'm not completely sure if I have a valid argument but I feel my case is legitimate. I hope they will take the opportunity to do right by me and welcome my spend rather than leave me aggrieved and unwilling to ever shop there again...

It all comes down to how well the company handles the error, and treats you IMO, as to how you respond.

networkn

Networkn
32354 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1364705 12-Aug-2015 15:39

mattwnz:
JEDENZED: I'll give the manager I emailed due time to respond to my message before going down the road of a public shaming on FB, if even then. I'm not completely sure if I have a valid argument but I feel my case is legitimate. I hope they will take the opportunity to do right by me and welcome my spend rather than leave me aggrieved and unwilling to ever shop there again...

It all comes down to how well the company handles the error, and treats you IMO, as to how you respond.

So two wrongs make a right?

Unless a company goes out of it's way to screw me, I tend to worry more about MY behavior and how I react than them.

mattwnz

20164 posts

Uber Geek

#1364762 12-Aug-2015 16:58

networkn:
mattwnz:
JEDENZED: I'll give the manager I emailed due time to respond to my message before going down the road of a public shaming on FB, if even then. I'm not completely sure if I have a valid argument but I feel my case is legitimate. I hope they will take the opportunity to do right by me and welcome my spend rather than leave me aggrieved and unwilling to ever shop there again...

It all comes down to how well the company handles the error, and treats you IMO, as to how you respond.

So two wrongs make a right?

Unless a company goes out of it's way to screw me, I tend to worry more about MY behavior and how I react than them.

Not sure I understand your point. But the company is supposed to be the professional. So I would expect an apology from the manager and it is written in a professional and sincere way. At the end of the day it all comes down to how you feel you have been treated. Most people if they think they have been treated fairly and the error genuine, will accept the apology.

geekbhaji

222 posts

Master Geek

#1364774 12-Aug-2015 17:15

Everybody makes mistakes, its not a big deal, but after making mistakes, we pay the price..
Its upto you how you react, and whatever your reaction is, it would be justifiable. If we take mistakes lightly then they are never going to find the root cause of it, and someone someday is going to face same thing again.. better make them understand your point..I am not asking you to be rude, be polite but ask them for a solution..

Humor makes us humans !

JEDENZED

437 posts

Ultimate Geek

ID Verified

#1364784 12-Aug-2015 17:37

There's a reasonable level of interest and input being shown to my question, thank you (and apologies to the OP for hijacking the thread!)

As such, I've decided to bore you all to tears with the email I sent to the store manager. You can draw your own conclusions on my approach and provide thoughts if you feel compelled. I've no intention of taking any further action to garner a result, no matter what the response I receive is.

Hi xxx,

One of your team members, yyy, passed on your details to me so I could follow up with you directly around an issue which arose this afternoon. It relates to the order referenced in the subject line (see also attached PDF of order confirmation).

I emailed the Hamilton store yesterday (Thurs 6th Aug) to secure one of your advertised special open box/last item deals for a laptop. The clearance price of the quite highly specced refurbished machine was $661, down from a purported RRP of $1200 approx - a really great deal!

Today at around 3pm I was very pleased and excited to receive the order confirmation attached from your associate zzz.

Keen to get my hands on my new laptop and finding myself in the vicinity of the store, I called in to pay for and collect the purchase. Yyy approached me and assisted me with my collection request. After spending some time checking the storeroom, on the computer system and with a colleague, yyy advised me that the laptop didn't actually exist; it appeared to be a "ghost" item in the system.

Yyy expressed his sincere apologies and embarrassment at this error and invited me to sit with him while he searched the system for a comparable and acceptable alternative for me. I received the impression from yyy that exceptional measures would be employed to do right by me for the mistake.

Yyy spent about 15-20 minutes searching your database for refurbished or clearance items of a similar level without any obvious results, as well as comparing CPU clock speeds before he left to discuss things with a colleague. When he returned, he showed me one option, a refurbished Toshiba Satellite (Part #: NBKTOS75730IR) which carries numerous specs far below that of the one I had been advised I had secured. When I noted the shortcomings to him and turned down this option, yyy advised me that this was the only somewhat similar option available to me at the price point of the ghost laptop and effectively indicated that no further solutions would be offered.

I would like to say at this point that yyy is a credit to your company and I believe that he would have fully resolved the issue for me had the decision been his to make. It was for this reason that I didn't pursue things further with him directly, instead asking for the manager's details to follow up with. Yyy asked me to reference him to you when making this correspondence and I have copied him in accordingly.

To say that I am disappointed by the current status quo is a major understatement. I feel that as New Zealand's biggest computing and I.T retailer, PB Tech has a gold standard to maintain with regards to delivering on it's promises to customers who buy from them in good faith of receiving superb service and a level of value not offered by it's competitors.

I understand completely that when buying last unit items, there is a possibility of others securing the items before you. That didn't happen in this case. I also understand that sometimes stock levels shown on a site are not completely live or up-to-date and an order can be accepted by the system automatically. In this case, something like that seems to have occurred but despite the lack of stock available to actually fulfil my order, I received an email from an real person to advise that my order was successful and was being processed.

I would really appreciate the opportunity to purchase a model of laptop for the same price as the one I was advised I had secured which is genuinely at least as good in terms of specifications. i.e. high speed quad core CPU, 8GB RAM, 1GB HDD, DVDRW drive etc. The 17.3 inch monitor size wouldn't be a deal breaker, the performance specs are more important to me.

I hope that you will take the opportunity to deliver a solution to this issue that will exceed my expectations and leave me singing the praises of PB Tech to all who will listen.

I look forward to your response xxx and thank you for your time. Please feel free to call me at your earliest convenience on the number below.

Best regards,

kiwijunglist

2981 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#1364787 12-Aug-2015 17:43

That's a really nice email, best of luck!

HTPC / Home automation (home assistant) enthusiast.

jeffnz

2870 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1364819 12-Aug-2015 18:30

I'm surprised this off topic has been allowed to go this long. Apologizing to the Op doesn't mean it is ok, I would suggest start another thread

Galaxy S10

Garmin Fenix 5

Sharesies

Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Sharesies (affiliate link).

kiwijunglist

2981 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#1364823 12-Aug-2015 18:40

I find the diversion more interesting.

HTPC / Home automation (home assistant) enthusiast.

jeffnz

2870 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1364891 12-Aug-2015 19:14

That as maybe but goes against the FUG , I don't mind being a killjoy ;)

"

Posts shall remain on topic. Off topic (OT) replies are not allowed, and the user should create a new topic if needed."

Galaxy S10

Garmin Fenix 5

kiwijunglist

2981 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#1364915 12-Aug-2015 19:47

Your last post was even more off-topic.

I think the discussion regarding pbtech's inability to supply an open box special falls within the "spirit" of the original post.

HTPC / Home automation (home assistant) enthusiast.

JEDENZED

437 posts

Ultimate Geek

ID Verified

#1364920 12-Aug-2015 19:57

kiwijunglist:

I think the discussion regarding pbtech's inability to supply an open box special falls within the "spirit" of the original post.

Not looking to raise anyone's ire here, but I too think my post is directly related to and follows on in the same vein/flow as the topic submitted by the OP. My apology to them wasn't for going off-topic, it was for adjusting the course of the subject slightly by introducing a real-world follow-on from his/her bargains and deals heads-up.

I did state at the outset though that if admin had issue with it, to please advise/delete accordingly... Still happy to stand by that if they do!

networkn

Networkn
32354 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1364942 12-Aug-2015 20:22

I think your email is clearly worded, polite and respectful, but I feel the reason for it is disingenuous and more than a little unreasonable.

I suspect they will possibly do something for you here, but if I were you, I would refuse it and say upon consideration, you think mistakes occur and that they shouldn't be out of pocket for a genuine error but that you appreciate the gesture and will sing their praises for being willing to work with you anyway.

It was a genuine error on their part, you have said yourself you were dealt with professionally, and I think you are being opportunistic in pressing the matter.

If I were you and if I had been inclined to write the letter, I would have written upto "and I have copied him in accordingly."

I would have then stated something like "Whilst I am disappointed at being unable to secure such a good deal, I wanted to highlight xxx's excellent conduct", yours sincerely xxx

You might have gotten a $50 voucher out of that or something, which is absolutely all that would be reasonable.

Just my 2c worth.

tdgeek

29751 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1364949 12-Aug-2015 20:33

Contract Law

Offer and Acceptance. PB offered a product you accepted that, and the following is evidence

I very happily received a confirmation email from them at about 3pm today saying:
"Your order has been processed. We’ll inform you for the update. Thanks for shopping with us".
The email also included a PDF attachment of an invoice (it doesn't say "invoice" but it lists the item details, cost and provides bank account details for payment to PB Tech).

IANAL (my papers were for financial degrees) but I feel this goes above and beyond E&OE, Errors and Omissions Excepted). Mistakes happen, but is this a mistake or a sale of an item that doesn't or ever existed? For the retailer, to fulfil the contract they should provide a conclusion, i.e. the sale that was entered into. If that involves selling a device at near or below cost, sobeit.

This is not an offer that was tried to be offered, but cannot as we don't have any anymore. It was documented and supposedly invoiced. A tort action would see this as specific performance, or at the very least part performance as evidence of a binding contract.

I hear the mistake comments, that is what E&OE covers. (The Maserati is in fact one million not one thousand, sorry) . But IMHO I feel this has gone past a mistake. If my reply is seen as unreasonable, ok, then a mistake is an option for anybody, anytime to reverse a sale or purchase.

tdgeek

29751 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1364950 12-Aug-2015 20:34

networkn:
I think your email is clearly worded, polite and respectful, but I feel the reason for it is disingenuous and more than a little unreasonable.

I suspect they will possibly do something for you here, but if I were you, I would refuse it and say upon consideration, you think mistakes occur and that they shouldn't be out of pocket for a genuine error but that you appreciate the gesture and will sing their praises for being willing to work with you anyway.

It was a genuine error on their part, you have said yourself you were dealt with professionally, and I think you are being opportunistic in pressing the matter.

If I were you and if I had been inclined to write the letter, I would have written upto "and I have copied him in accordingly."

I would have then stated something like "Whilst I am disappointed at being unable to secure such a good deal, I wanted to highlight xxx's excellent conduct", yours sincerely xxx

You might have gotten a $50 voucher out of that or something, which is absolutely all that would be reasonable.

Just my 2c worth.

tdgeek

29751 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1364953 12-Aug-2015 20:39

I hear you. But, as per my bolding. Ooops, press something too soon

"Whilst I am disappointed at being unable to secure such a good deal"

In fact a deal was secured,thats the issue. Offer, Acceptance, Consideration (Payment)

My issue is I accept mistakes, maybe more than most, but where is the line between mistakes and sales/marketing????

Networkn, nice reply, I like it, but something here is rubbing me the wrong way. Mistake or aggressive marketing that bounced?

1 | 2 | 3