Borders Coupons

[jacknife]

Here's the fixed version of the infamous coupon

40%

[doubleM]

That one looks to have been "redesigned to avoid ambiguities" to me. If Borders had thought that this was an emergency-grade situation, they might have acted sooner. I'd rather pay 15-20% less at an independent store for the same cd most any day, for many reasons. Borders has some good sales, promotions (legit), and of course books, though...which grab my interest on occasion. The Borders' mark-ups on music seen higher than those on their other products. Higher than just about any store where I live. That's why I don't feel guilty or cheap for using a poorly worded coupon there. I didn't take the time to cross-analyze the store's past coupons, but if I did, I don't think I'd know if it was "fishy"...because I'm not "in the know" about coupon modification. Anyway, it was fun while it lasted.

[ghost of miles]

Look at it from the harried Assistant manager's viewpoint,( I was a trainer AM)....you are trying to get some work done upstairs, in-between helping out at the info desk, checking out books for employees(Who are leaving now and have to catch the bus), getting a check for a part-timer out of the safe, changing the schedule to figure out a way to cover the Music dept. since the new guy there is calling in sick on the night Jane's Addiction is in town-and he didn't get that night off,(Oh, then you see the post-it to make the next day's schedule) getting some ones for the cafe, keeping an eye on that suspisious looking guy with the big back pack, hearing that it looks like the Fecalphiliac(SP?) has left his calling card agaian, answer a few emails, now....Thurston Howell lll is down at the register with a bogus coupon , and demanding that YOU give him 40% the Duke Ellington Centennial box set with a computer book coupon!!!! Gimmie a volume of Books in Print to throw at the guy!!! Wonder why I don't work there any more????

Bro, you ol' fellow MOD, you! C'mon, man, suck it up, suck it up! Don't forget that buzzing sound that indicates eight skids of remainders have finally, belatedly arrived for that big tent sale that you need to set up by TOMORROW MORNING! No excuses--move it, man, move it!

Oh, and btw, the cafe drawer's under by $200.

[Jazzdog]

Now I know why I never rose above the ranks of the harried sales clerk. These guys had it TOUGH.

ME? I have to tag and sticker 12 cartons of Multi-media product per day, 6 of those are dvd that need to be tagged, yet I only have keepers for 2 of those cartons and the space for only one. Somehow I can make all that shit fit...and everything is alpha'd on the shelves! But I do have it easy...I only have to do a minimum of customer service and I get first crack at all the promo copies that come in!

[ghost of miles]

Now I know why I never rose above the ranks of the harried sales clerk. These guys had it TOUGH.

ME? I have to tag and sticker 12 cartons of Multi-media product per day, 6 of those are dvd that need to be tagged, yet I only have keepers for 2 of those cartons and the space for only one. Somehow I can make all that shit fit...and everything is alpha'd on the shelves! But I do have it easy...I only have to do a minimum of customer service and I get first crack at all the promo copies that come in!

Well, not to turn this into an ex-Borders' employee thread or anything--but, to turn this into an ex-Borders' employee thread for a moment:

I think I was happiest as a music clerk. I did SPOs, took care of the jazz section (and yes, got the cream of the promos), sorted the multimedia skids, and tended the music-book section. We had a great staff, a good manager, and I truly enjoyed going to work every day. Once I became music manager I was miserable for about three months, but after adjusting to it I was pretty happy doing that as well. I got along well with everybody who worked for me, and we all had expertise in one area or another, enough to give the department great balance in terms of customer service. The feeling became quite family-like--we even exchanged presents at Christmas-time each year. We were also obsessed with driving multimedia sales, and took great pride in watching our percentage of the store gross climb. I have generally fond memories of that time. After the company re-structured in 2001, morale plummeted at our store, and I left later that year to work at our university's library. Within six months six other employees followed me here, three of them former Borders managers--we've re-grouped.

Re: the coupon, I wouldn't feel guilty about using it at all, unless you knew for sure that it had been doctored by a third party or non-co-op partner. I mean, if you kept returning & trying to work it a second, third, or fourth time with a new clerk and/or manager-on-duty, that would be slippery. Certainly as a manager I would have honored such a coupon, unless corporate had sent us a warning not to. Even then, if the customer seemed sincere, I still might honor it--if we screwed up, we screwed up. If it was proven to be a doctored phony, that would be a different scenario, different response.

[BERIGAN]

I'll come back and turn this back into a Border's employee thread soon, but until then, here is what the coupon really looks like....

http://www.ciscopress.com/promos/promos.as...F-E973F101675B}

[Rooster_Ties]

When it first appeared, the coupon DIDN'T have this text included in it:

Discount valid on your choice of one of the following titles:

CCNA ICND Exam Certification Guide (CCNA Self-Study), ISBN: 158720083X, CCNA Certification Library (CCNA Self-Study), ISBN: 1587200953, or CCNA Flash Cards and Exam Practice Pack (CCNA Self-Study), ISBN: 1587200791

Originally, the coupon didn't say anything about being limited to only these four books, or that the coupon was only good on one book.

[Ragu]

To turn it back to a Borders employee thread. I've had every job there from music clerk to General Manager and I've seen all aspects of this. And by the way GoM, corporate did send out something saying not to honor the 40% coupon except for the computer books, but in retail the name of the game is make people happy, so there are managers who will make exceptions. I think there are two important points to consider-it's the computer company who screwed up the coupon, not Borders corporate-but of course if Borders name is on it, the customer doesn't care who made up the coupon or whether someone in quality control was asleep. Also at 40% off Borders loses money on CDs. There's less margin in CDs than in books. The margin is in the 25-35% range. Now knowing thoses things, is it OK to go and demand 40% off a coupon you printed off the internet to buy CDs-hey that's for you to decide. I see it both ways. Certainly when, as a perk, a couple of times a year the company offers employees 40% off merchandise I have no qulams about buying CDs I know thery're losing money on. On the other hand, one of the reasons places to buy music are closing right and left these days, is because consumers want stores to stock lots of CDs that may only sell once a year or two, but want them at the deep discount you get on the internet. The way to make money selling CDs is to sell a handful of hot selling titles, realtively cheap to lots of people. Ask Wallmart.

[Ragu]

I can't believe I forgot to mention this part...in addition to the aformentined being pulled in 9 directions as a manager and having to deal with customer issues at the same time. Here's what happened tonight! I had to close the store as the only manager on a busy Saturday night (the supervisor scheduled to close with me, I had to terminate yesterday for theft, but that's another story). Because I have a cough and cold right now, I was hoping to get the store recovered (put everything back where it belongs) with the help of the staff and then do paperwork in a hurry and get out of there (usually I work a few hours after closing). But as I was getting ready to let my staff out they let me know they discovered what appeared to be a passed out junkie sitting on a tolet in the men's room with drug parphenelia nearby. They left and there I was by myslef to call 911. The paramedics came and roused the guy and then took him away in an amulance. The I had to wait for the police who came to collect evidence-a spoon, a lighter, a balloon, and a syringe. Then when they left I had to go count money and do paperwork. You gotta love retail. I'm really not complaining, all jobs have their good and bad points. And hey, just last week I got a free promo copy of the remastered "The Bridge" by Sonny Rollins. Every day is an adventure.

[ghost of miles]

Man! Does every Borders have a "junkie-in-the-restroom" story? I'm serious... That's the fourth one I've heard (and we had one at our store too). And don't you hate those crises-at-close?

Ragu, as a manager my take was similar to what you said: if corporate had told us not to honor it, I still might give myself leeway to honor it--it's a tough call. I'd probably lean towards not honoring it, esp. if I knew it was a mistake on the part of the computer company. (Just for the record, I didn't know it was a computer company screw-up when I used the coupon last week; if I had, I would not have used it. My old store was honoring them, though, as of last week--the clerk told me she'd rung up several others already.)

[jacknife]

Here's the new Borders coupon!

[ghost of miles]

Wow! I'm printing that sucker out and leaving work right now! Oops--better rent a truck first to bring home my loot!

[Rooster_Ties]

Well, I managed to get the new Miles "Jack Johnson" box today with the 40% off coupon. (Yeah!!! )

The register/computer took it just fine at first, but it only took off like 25% or so. So I did some figuring, and the gal behind the counter called the assistant manager over, who went back to check with the head manager. Long story short, yes - the coupon was supposed to only be good on those particular books (which we all know). But I insisted that I knew it had worked for others (I claimed it worked for a former coworker of mine down in Austin last week), so the guy said he would go ahead and honor it, but only on one item (which is all I had, just one box set).

They were selling the JJ box for $69.99. So with the discount - I got it for only $41.99 (or $45.15, if you include sales tax).

[GregK]

I am an idiot. I went to a local independent store who always has great prices and lots of imports, etc. He said for some reason his shipment of the Miles JJ box didnt come in, but he promised he would have it tomorrow, for $52.99!! I checked with another independent close by, and he said his distributor didnt have it and wouldn't have it for a week or two, which made me think the first guy wouldn't have it for the same reasons, so I went to Borders and bought it for FULL PRICE!! I just couldn't bring myself to use that coupon, and if I could have waited I could have gotten it for almost $15 cheaper, but as I said above, I am an idiot.

[ghost of miles]

Have you opened it yet, Greg? If you haven't opened it and still have the receipt, you should be able to return it and get your money back (30 days is the official limit, and a lot of times managers will give you a break even if it's older than 30 days).

Deep Discount also has it for about $52 total:

JackJohnson

[Son-of-a-Weizen]

But I insisted that I knew it had worked for others (I claimed it worked for a former coworker of mine down in Austin last week), so the guy said he would go ahead and honor it, but only on one item (which is all I had, just one box set).

Aw come on.....give us the rest of the story -- like how he reacted when you started crying?

[jazzkrow]

Any new Borders coupons to use on the ever elusive new BN Conns?

(Guess I better add I'm talking about legitimate coupons! Don't think I'd have much luck with last week's "100%" off coupon!)

Edited October 8, 2003 by jazzkrow

[mgraham333]

Any new Borders coupons to use on the ever elusive new BN Conns?

Sorry, nothing for the Conns, but Borders does have an in-store promotion going on:

20% Off Selected Jazz - Offer valid 9/29-10/26/03, in stores only.

This seems to include the RVGs and the Verve Digipaks.

[Rooster_Ties]

I just used the same 40% off coupon on the Andrew Hill conn, without any problem. The clerk behind the counter was clueless, and didn't even notice the notice posted by every register not to take the 40% off coupons!!!

Got it for $10.79 + tax --- sweet!!!!

(Never expected it to work so easily, and thought I would have to speak to a manager and have him say "just this one time", like the last time I used it on the new "Jack Johnson" Miles box, which I got for $41.99 + tax.)

Hell, if I knew it was gonna be that easy, I might have taken my chances with buying more than just one Conn on that same coupon.

Edited October 8, 2003 by Rooster_Ties

[Free For All]

You are such a thug.

[Brad]

Well, I'm going to try this today with the MJQ box. Let's see what happens. I'll leave mysyelf enough time in case I have to argue with the manager.

[Tjazz]

The clerk behind the counter was clueless

That says it all.

[Brad]

Well, I tried yesterday but got stiffed. The clerk was prepared to accept it but then saw "no online sales". My mistake was reserving it through their inventory system. So he calls the service manager. She knew all about these and said it applied only to computer books or something. She further explained that if you read the whole thing on the website, it only applied to those kinds of books. Hard to argue with that. That's the way it goes.

[BERIGAN]

To turn it back to a Borders employee thread. I've had every job there from music clerk to General Manager and I've seen all aspects of this. And by the way GoM, corporate did send out something saying not to honor the 40% coupon except for the computer books, but in retail the name of the game is make people happy, so there are managers who will make exceptions. I think there are two important points to consider-it's the computer company who screwed up the coupon, not Borders corporate-but of course if Borders name is on it, the customer doesn't care who made up the coupon or whether someone in quality control was asleep. Also at 40% off Borders loses money on CDs. There's less margin in CDs than in books. The margin is in the 25-35% range. Now knowing thoses things, is it OK to go and demand 40% off a coupon you printed off the internet to buy CDs-hey that's for you to decide. I see it both ways. Certainly when, as a perk, a couple of times a year the company offers employees 40% off merchandise I have no qulams about buying CDs I know thery're losing money on. On the other hand, one of the reasons places to buy music are closing right and left these days, is because consumers want stores to stock lots of CDs that may only sell once a year or two, but want them at the deep discount you get on the internet. The way to make money selling CDs is to sell a handful of hot selling titles, realtively cheap to lots of people. Ask Wallmart.

Got back to this thread a bit late, but Raqu makes some excellent points...stores are selling these items at a loss. The "clueless" clerk (every store has a few, as well as amazingly intelligent, hard working folks) makes only $6.25 in most stores, yet corporate is always looking for a way to justify cutting the hours of the full timers.(And part timers) So, enough folks use coupons in a way no one intended(DVD and cds have much less markup than books, 25% for cds and dvds, 40-45% on most books) and that guy or gal scraping by on 37 hours X $6.00 might find he only has 35 hours next week! Now, don't you feel pround you got that box set so cheap! Most likely, you could get the same price at deepdiscountcd.com ...which clearly is in the money laundering business.

Hell, did you know (Sorry former, current AM's) that the harried manager you want to bitch at to get the discount, makes 21, 22 grand a year BEFORE taxes??? We had 2 AM's at the Buckhead store that couldn't afford to own a car, had to ride MARTA, (Bus) to get home at night after leaving the store at midnight, or later. I felt lucky to own a 35 year old car!!! Gave many a ride home to other managers....Oh, and even though it is a fairly big company, it is by almost any standard, a liberal company.....

Edited October 24, 2003 by BERIGAN

[Rooster_Ties]

I'm sure nearly all of what you describe about is probably true, BERIGAN.

At the same time, I'm not loosing too much sleep over using the 40% off coupon for a couple items, since in my experience, 90+% of the time Borders charges full 'list' price on most CD's. (Or, at least they almost always charge full 'list' price on damn near everything I'm ever looking for.)

I mean, if it weren't for the occasional Borders coupon, or their once-a-year RVG sales -- I wouldn't buy any CD's there, ever.

No, I don't expect "loss leader" prices on everything, all the time. But I don't expect "full list price" on everything (damn near all the time) either. That's fine - they can set up their pricing structure however they like, it's their store. And I'll take most of my CD business elsewhere too.

Borders is probably the best bookstore in town. But their CD section is way overpriced, if you ask me.