I was in nyc this past weekend and was excited to pop into pasteurs on 34th st with a friend of mine. we're both relatively new to places like this and were pretty excited with all that the tiny store offered. Having recently used the Speick shave stick i was wanting to get the aftershave splash because i love the way it smells. i saw the sample bottle they had, made sure it was what i wanted, grabbed the box and headed to the counter. (my friend who'd smelled it for the first time was hooked as well and grabbed a box also)
When i got home i realized that the box behind the sample of the splash was actually the balm. I was a bit annoyed, but it was my fault for not double checking before i purchased it.
I made a point to stop at their location on Lex on my way out of the city on monday to do a simple exchange for the splash. I was confused when i found the box of the splash on the shelf and it read "34.95" as opposed to the 16 or 17.95 i paid for the balm at the other location. I asked to speak with a manager who walked out to the shelf with me. I asked if there was any variance in pricing between his store and the other and he said that sometimes there was a minimal difference. I then noticed that they were selling the exact same balm i was wanting to exchange, and had paid $17 for just one day and 30 some odd blocks away in the same city, for $35! When i pointed this out he just silently stared at the box on the shelf, holding my box up against it, turning it around a few times to make sure it was the same.
after an awkward silence i explained my rationale that prices in midtown were the same for the two items, prices in his store were the same for the two items, so please make it an even exchange. He said that the store in midtown "must have made a mistake" , that i "lucked out" and that he'd "never seen this (the splash) at that price, ever" effectively making me feel like a shmuck.
he said all he could offer was an exchange with me paying the difference. figuring that i can't get speick anywhere in my town (boston) and that pastuers is normally lauded as having prices that are fairly comparable to whats found online i swallowed my pride and payed the difference.
Now i love this stuff, but i just went on to westcoastshaving to find the two items splash (lotion) and the balm for nearly the same price. ($15!!!) whats worse is nearly every other merchant offers the two for nearly the same price.
I am now pissed because its obvious i was blatantly ripped off by the manager at pasteurs on lexington. (want to guess how much he'll restock my return out on his shelf for?)
sure, i could have refused to buy it, but the fact he said he'd never seen it at such a low price really was a dishonest statement on his part. (i'm new to the stuff, but they've been selling it for how long at this point??) i foolishly believed all the wonderful things i'd heard about them to be true so i trusted what he said. stupid me. lesson learned and i will never shop there again, caveat emptor, end rant
When i got home i realized that the box behind the sample of the splash was actually the balm. I was a bit annoyed, but it was my fault for not double checking before i purchased it.
I made a point to stop at their location on Lex on my way out of the city on monday to do a simple exchange for the splash. I was confused when i found the box of the splash on the shelf and it read "34.95" as opposed to the 16 or 17.95 i paid for the balm at the other location. I asked to speak with a manager who walked out to the shelf with me. I asked if there was any variance in pricing between his store and the other and he said that sometimes there was a minimal difference. I then noticed that they were selling the exact same balm i was wanting to exchange, and had paid $17 for just one day and 30 some odd blocks away in the same city, for $35! When i pointed this out he just silently stared at the box on the shelf, holding my box up against it, turning it around a few times to make sure it was the same.
after an awkward silence i explained my rationale that prices in midtown were the same for the two items, prices in his store were the same for the two items, so please make it an even exchange. He said that the store in midtown "must have made a mistake" , that i "lucked out" and that he'd "never seen this (the splash) at that price, ever" effectively making me feel like a shmuck.
he said all he could offer was an exchange with me paying the difference. figuring that i can't get speick anywhere in my town (boston) and that pastuers is normally lauded as having prices that are fairly comparable to whats found online i swallowed my pride and payed the difference.
Now i love this stuff, but i just went on to westcoastshaving to find the two items splash (lotion) and the balm for nearly the same price. ($15!!!) whats worse is nearly every other merchant offers the two for nearly the same price.
I am now pissed because its obvious i was blatantly ripped off by the manager at pasteurs on lexington. (want to guess how much he'll restock my return out on his shelf for?)
sure, i could have refused to buy it, but the fact he said he'd never seen it at such a low price really was a dishonest statement on his part. (i'm new to the stuff, but they've been selling it for how long at this point??) i foolishly believed all the wonderful things i'd heard about them to be true so i trusted what he said. stupid me. lesson learned and i will never shop there again, caveat emptor, end rant
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I grew up with extended family in Retail and the matra was " The Customer is ALWAYS Right." 
If the only consequence was to initiate a staff meeting regarding customer service and franchise reciprocity it would save the relationships with the patrons they have left.
