PGA Superstore FAIL

[CR McDivot]

Searching for a new ball to try, I came across an online ad from PGA Superstore for a 2fer @ a certain $ that looked appealing. All well and good, except after driving 30 miles one way the Greenwood Villiage, CO store refused to honor said ad.

Details - I arrived at the store and found plenty of the advertised item on the shelf, but with no price listed. So I waited in line with my advertised deal and noted to the cashier the ad, but also informed him that there was no price at the shelf. He scanned the items and came up with a price that denoted only a single each at standard rate, at which time he went to his computer and stated that the sale had ended.

I explained that I had checked the ad earlier in the day, and that the OEM of the balls listed the same discount on their own website. Nope, PGA Superstore will not honor the OEM price - nor their own ad price!

Left the disputed items with the less than helpful (much less competent) cashier and drove home.

Checked the ad online as soon as I got home. It is still there, with no restriction to "Online Only" or expiration date!

Wonder why golf retail "Brick and Mortar" is hurting?

I don't, and will never waste another minute (let alone an ounce of fuel) on PGA Superstore!

[sirsteveo55]

  On 4/26/2017 at 12:24 AM, CR McDivot said:

Searching for a new ball to try, I came across an online ad from PGA Superstore for a 2fer @ a certain $ that looked appealing. All well and good, except after driving 30 miles one way the Greenwood Villiage, CO store refused to honor said ad.

Details - I arrived at the store and found plenty of the advertised item on the shelf, but with no price listed. So I waited in line with my advertised deal and noted to the cashier the ad, but also informed him that there was no price at the shelf. He scanned the items and came up with a price that denoted only a single each at standard rate, at which time he went to his computer and stated that the sale had ended.

I explained that I had checked the ad earlier in the day, and that the OEM of the balls listed the same discount on their own website. Nope, PGA Superstore will not honor the OEM price - nor their own ad price!

Left the disputed items with the less than helpful (much less competent) cashier and drove home.

Checked the ad online as soon as I got home. It is still there, with no restriction to "Online Only" or expiration date!

Wonder why golf retail "Brick and Mortar" is hurting?

I don't, and will never waste another minute (let alone an ounce of fuel) on PGA Superstore!

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That really stinks I would be pretty furious if I was you. I would never go back there either. Just order them online and hopefully its free shipping.

[Gator Hazard]

This is usually when I write a nice letter to someone at the corporate office explaining everything. Then let them know how disappointed I am and that it's a great recipe to disenfranchise customers. I would provide screen shots of the sale and terms (or lack there of) and make my case. May want to even let them know you belong to several golf forums. The power of the pen still works if explain in a firm but respectful manner 

Edited April 26, 2017 by Gator Hazard

[Denny Bang Bang]

  On 4/26/2017 at 12:24 AM, CR McDivot said:

Searching for a new ball to try, I came across an online ad from PGA Superstore for a 2fer @ a certain $ that looked appealing. All well and good, except after driving 30 miles one way the Greenwood Villiage, CO store refused to honor said ad.

Details - I arrived at the store and found plenty of the advertised item on the shelf, but with no price listed. So I waited in line with my advertised deal and noted to the cashier the ad, but also informed him that there was no price at the shelf. He scanned the items and came up with a price that denoted only a single each at standard rate, at which time he went to his computer and stated that the sale had ended.

I explained that I had checked the ad earlier in the day, and that the OEM of the balls listed the same discount on their own website. Nope, PGA Superstore will not honor the OEM price - nor their own ad price!

Left the disputed items with the less than helpful (much less competent) cashier and drove home.

Checked the ad online as soon as I got home. It is still there, with no restriction to "Online Only" or expiration date!

Wonder why golf retail "Brick and Mortar" is hurting?

I don't, and will never waste another minute (let alone an ounce of fuel) on PGA Superstore!

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My buddy had a similar experience at PGA Superstore when we were in Myrtle Beach last month... the store had several items mis-priced, and they would not honor the price of a hat my buddy wanted to buy.  It was total amateur hour

[iacas]

  On 4/27/2017 at 1:07 AM, Denny Bang Bang said:

My buddy had a similar experience at PGA Superstore when we were in Myrtle Beach last month... the store had several items mis-priced, and they would not honor the price of a hat my buddy wanted to buy.  It was total amateur hour

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That's often illegal.

[klineka]

While I dont think it is right that they didnt honor the online price, other than having to wait a few days for shipping, why not just order them online at the good price? Especially with a 2 for 1 deal, even a couple extra dollars shipping would still make it cheaper than paying full price at the store right?

[Denny Bang Bang]

  On 4/27/2017 at 1:50 AM, iacas said:

That's often illegal.

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I've definitely seen a lot about "bait and switch pricing" being illegal, but not a store having to honor a mis-priced item.  Maybe depends on the state/country/etc?

Either way, we all just dropped our stuff at the register and left.

[CR McDivot]

The deal was not 2 for 1, rather buy 2 for a discounted price ($7 less than regular price for 2). My point was that "Brick and Mortar" seem to be cutting their own throat by not providing as good of customer service as online retailers.

I did, indeed, send my business to an online store for this purchase after being dissed by PGA!

Edited April 27, 2017 by CR McDivot
Tried to quote klineka, but quote box went nuts!

[klineka]

  On 4/27/2017 at 2:56 AM, CR McDivot said:

The deal was not 2 for 1, rather buy 2 for a discounted price ($7 less than regular price for 2). My point was that "Brick and Mortar" seem to be cutting their own throat by not providing as good of customer service as online retailers.

I did, indeed, send my business to an online store for this purchase after being dissed by PGA!

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Ahh ok that makes sense. I think you certainly have the right to be upset. Especially since how many different online retailers have popped up today, there are so many different options other than brick and mortar stores. I have a golf galaxy maybe 5 minutes from my house, and usually I only go in there if I want to try out a club before buying it, or if I have coupons. Although I did buy my 3 wood from them used, it was in great shape and it was a similar price to what I saw online.

[jkelley9]

I have to admit that I'm pretty crappy when it comes to supporting small businesses or brick-and-mortar (like PGA superstore, since they're pretty big fish).

The only items I've bought from Golf Galaxy (actually... "Golfsmith" was the last time I walked into that store), were for my Sun Mountain C130 cart bag because there was no advantage to getting it online except a few bucks savings (like... $10 savings for a $200+ bag), balls (when I wasn't playing the K-Sigs I am now) and my Scotty Cameron (since there's no advantage to buying online, no price breaks).

I just have a hard time paying for something I can easily get online for less and with less effort, and typically with better customer support. I'm all about good value too, and reviews. Things not offered in a store unless I spend time up front anyways.

[hilmar2k]

  On 4/27/2017 at 2:36 AM, Denny Bang Bang said:

I've definitely seen a lot about "bait and switch pricing" being illegal, but not a store having to honor a mis-priced item.  Maybe depends on the state/country/etc?

Either way, we all just dropped our stuff at the register and left.

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It's state specific. A lot of states require the retailer to honor the marked price (if it's lower). 

Edited April 27, 2017 by hilmar2k

[rehmwa]

we have a new one - only a few months old as far as I can tell

I'm NOT impressed - overpriced, never a rep on the floor, you can't get into the simulator bays, no one ever offers to help, wierd layout sometimes hard to even find what you want

[nickel_aTm]

  On 4/26/2017 at 12:24 AM, CR McDivot said:

Searching for a new ball to try, I came across an online ad from PGA Superstore for a 2fer @ a certain $ that looked appealing. All well and good, except after driving 30 miles one way the Greenwood Villiage, CO store refused to honor said ad.

Details - I arrived at the store and found plenty of the advertised item on the shelf, but with no price listed. So I waited in line with my advertised deal and noted to the cashier the ad, but also informed him that there was no price at the shelf. He scanned the items and came up with a price that denoted only a single each at standard rate, at which time he went to his computer and stated that the sale had ended.

I explained that I had checked the ad earlier in the day, and that the OEM of the balls listed the same discount on their own website. Nope, PGA Superstore will not honor the OEM price - nor their own ad price!

Left the disputed items with the less than helpful (much less competent) cashier and drove home.

Checked the ad online as soon as I got home. It is still there, with no restriction to "Online Only" or expiration date!

Wonder why golf retail "Brick and Mortar" is hurting?

I don't, and will never waste another minute (let alone an ounce of fuel) on PGA Superstore!

Expand  

I don't work in the golf industry and don't have a pga Superstore nearby. Not saying they were right or wrong. But if you found a nice deal online, why didn't you just pull the trigger and order as opposed to driving 60 miles?

[Architex]

  On 4/26/2017 at 12:53 AM, Gator Hazard said:

This is usually when I write a nice letter to someone at the corporate office explaining everything. Then let them know how disappointed I am and that it's a great recipe to disenfranchise customers. I would provide screen shots of the sale and terms (or lack there of) and make my case. May want to even let them know you belong to several golf forums. The power of the pen still works if explain in a firm but respectful manner 

Expand  

Actually what is more effective and quicker is to light them up on social media. You will be amazed at the response you will get when you bring this up on their FB page or Twitter. That is my go to now when a company does wrong by me. And so far every time it has been corrected.

[Gator Hazard]

  On 5/8/2017 at 9:17 PM, Architex said:

Actually what is more effective and quicker is to light them up on social media. You will be amazed at the response you will get when you bring this up on their FB page or Twitter. That is my go to now when a company does wrong by me. And so far every time it has been corrected.

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In my opinion it is always best (as well as the right thing to do) to contact them first and make them aware there is an issue. It could be a training issue, corporate may not be aware what is happening, etc. If you don't receive an adequate resolution, at that point you can go the scorched earth route but I try and give them the benefit of the doubt and opportunity to fix it first. That has worked for me almost every time as well.

I am sure that most business owners or persons in management would appreciate that courtesy and opportunity as well; it helps them to make necessary corrections that provide overall better service or products. As the old saying goes, you catch MORE flies with honey. Example: had an issue with a bottle of Glenmorangie. Emailed them, they sent a rep out from local distributor to "replace my bottle", but they gave me two more as well. Two of the type I had purchased and one bottle of 18 year old. Guess what? They have a loyal customer because they did more than what was necessary to make it right. 

Edited May 8, 2017 by Gator Hazard

[Dave2512]

FWIW that PGASS is terrible.

[Pretzel]

If something like that happens again, I'd recommend raising a bit of a stink about it and getting ahold of both a manager and the phone number for their corporate office, as well as taking down some names (you don't generally need last names, just whatever is on their nametag if they have one). 

Store managers are usually much more willing to honor the sales when they know that corporate will find out they've been shafting customers if they don't honor the deal they offered. 

Don't do it over expired coupons or anything little like that, but when they flat out refuse to honor an advertised promotion that's when it becomes appropriate.

[Architex]

  On 5/8/2017 at 10:08 PM, Gator Hazard said:

In my opinion it is always best (as well as the right thing to do) to contact them first and make them aware there is an issue. It could be a training issue, corporate may not be aware what is happening, etc. If you don't receive an adequate resolution, at that point you can go the scorched earth route but I try and give them the benefit of the doubt and opportunity to fix it first. That has worked for me almost every time as well.

I am sure that most business owners or persons in management would appreciate that courtesy and opportunity as well; it helps them to make necessary corrections that provide overall better service or products. As the old saying goes, you catch MORE flies with honey. Example: had an issue with a bottle of Glenmorangie. Emailed them, they sent a rep out from local distributor to "replace my bottle", but they gave me two more as well. Two of the type I had purchased and one bottle of 18 year old. Guess what? They have a loyal customer because they did more than what was necessary to make it right. 

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I left out the part where I would have asked to speak to a manager first. If I got nowhere with that then I would go online with my story. There are many companies that are very customer centric like Glenmorangie (love it BTW). I have not felt that way with PGA SS and many others.