Now none of the text with these sales are generally very large, except the price--as intended to catch the eye of the unwary consumer unschooled in the psychology of advertising, "make 'em want it and then change the game."
I got a call from my aunt as my uncle, stronger but yet tenuous on his cane, was insisting on walking to K-Mart, some half a mile or more away to see the chair. This would have been worrisome enough, except that it was also a day in which it had rained and was threatening rain again.
It would not likely be possible to dissuade my uncle from the destination, (he is my father's brother and stubbornness is a family trait), but I offered to drive.
And there it was, the chair advertised for $199.99. My uncle had the ad in his hands. "I'll take it; that's a great price." And then. . .
"I'm sorry sir, this price does not go into effect until tomorrow, Sunday." It is rare that I invoke my lawyerly background. When it comes to my own business, I prefer the non-confrontational approach, and I simply would slither away, annoyed but chairless. But after all this, I was not about to allow what appeared to me to be a basic "bait and switch". You advertise a price and then, there is some reason it does not apply. In the case of someone who has come a distance or has his or her heart set on the item, or cannot come back the next day, this is a gimmick to lure the soul into making the purchase at the original price.
I went to see a manager. The first one was a woman, who alas, I could barely understand who did point out to me some fine fine print at the bottom of the advertisement. Get your magnifying glasses out, it's under the 99.99 twin and 269.99 queen. It says that the sale doesn't actually begin until March 18, which was the next day. A few pages in, in blue, also at the bottom in slightly larger print, it says the same thing.
The upshot was, "so you see, stupid lawyer person" (she did not say this but it was the clear message), it's there, we tell you, so that's it, that's the deal." Uh-huh.
About a year or so before my job parted its way with me, and although managers did not generally try cases, I stepped in at the last minute on a case of a lawyer whose efforts to solicit inmates to hire him result in his putting things like "legal mail" or "attorney-client correspondence" or mixed variations thereof on the envelopes. If something is legal mail, this means it comes from your lawyer and the guards must bring it to the prisoner, without looking at it, for them to open. But when it is an advertisement, of which they receive a surfeit, they simply discard it. This lawyer claimed he was "trying" to be clear, but in fact, he was trying to get the correspondence by the guards. There were also issues with the size of his disclosures, to the extent that there were any, which came, in the correspondence after you had to read everything else. His solicitations or communications were considered by the Bar to be deceptive and in violation of the rules--even though he protested again, and accused the Bar of being vile and obstructive, he was "trying" to comply with the rules with his contorted language. It was very simple. Put the word ADVERTISEMENT on the front where it could be seen. But that would not have served his purposes.
In this K-Mart situation, I pointed out to the manager that no one, let alone an old person, could possibly see that "disclosure" of the timing of the sale. The fact that it is there, buried, may mean it is not out rightly fraudulent, but it was surely deceptive. If you really want people to know when the sale begins, then that should be in larger letters, like, at the top, so they don't show up to be shown the minuscule print that sends them away. Otherwise, the smaller the print, the more that you are obviously hiding, but being "technically" in accord with the law, which you were forced to do in the first place.
"You do not understand, ma'am." Oh, yes, I understand. Another place where people are being shall we say, fastened to insanity by a verbal screw. I asked for another manager. And then a third.. I got Edgardo (I think that's the spelling) as I was returning to my uncle downstairs, with my point being, "I don't care about the darn chair, but this is simply another form of a bait and switch." . Edguardo was very nice, and had been consumer training school, using all the buzzwords of how much they wanted to satisfy the customer, and we'll listen to everything you have to say, and then say our usual line.
I heard things about the customer being right, except it was clear that no one working there thought I was right. I was being "handled." Being "handled" infuriates me. We'll "give" you the chair for the sale price. I am glad my uncle got the chair (and the coffee he said was also in another part of the circular), but they were still missing the point. But, as they say, we were not going to have a meeting of the minds, and I had burdened Edguardo more than enough with my laments, and I thanked him for his patience as he was only the messenger of the deception, not it's progenitor.
If you WANT people to know the facts then you'll state them clearly; if you don't and here placement is so obviously to deceive, then you'll do this kind of chicken ---- stuff and skewer the public, who apparently is getting so used to it, they will ultimately lose all freedoms. But if you are not yet willing to give up your soul, read the fine print and wait till the next day,. Better, don't buy it at all, and talk with your wallet. A barren cash register is more persuasive than any education in ethics or morality.
This is not just K-Mart. This is the world. The world (as human beings are managing it) stinks.
At least my uncle will have a nice chair when the apocalypse comes. We both think it will be very soon.
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