Didn’t Play Their Cards Right

(Our store is having an Easter sale and has sent promotional emails to our customers, which contain ads and coupons. I’m ringing up a customer who has made a large purchase, most of which consists of gift cards, which are never discounted. When I tell her the total and how much she’s saved, she becomes upset.)

Customer: “I spent nearly $300! My discount should be much higher!”

(I double-check the totals to make sure I haven’t rung up anything incorrectly.)

Me: “Ma’am, I believe your savings are lower because most of what you spent was on gift cards, and we don’t discount those.”

Customer: “But the email I was sent had a picture of an Easter basket with a gift card in it! I should get my discount on the gift cards too, since there was a gift card in the picture! That’s false advertising!”

(Despite my best efforts to explain, she asks to speak to my manager.)

Manager: “Ma’am, a gift card is literally an exchange of money, dollar for dollar. We don’t ever give discounts on gift cards, and as you can see, we don’t charge tax on them either. That doesn’t happen until you purchase something with the gift card.

Customer: “Oh… well, I guess I learned something today.”

Manager: “For future reference, the fine print here on your coupon also states that we can’t discount gift cards.”

Customer: “I could spend all day reading fine print if I wanted to. I have a Ph.D.! Nobody reads the fine print!”