Retail

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Macy’s Memorial Day Sale — “No Exclusions”?

macysexcsmall21Whenever Macy’s prints percent-off coupons, they are usually loaded with exclusions for product categories and brands to which the advertised discount does not apply. But according to their latest circular for Memorial Day, there are no exclusions for their 15% coupon.

*MOUSE PRINT: The fine print under the words “WOW! NO EXCLUSIONS” says that that applies to all sale and clearance apparel only.

Further down the ad, it becomes clear that the discount is not even 15% off on all apparel despite the words “NO EXCLUSIONS ON APPAREL” just above the “extra 15% off” claim.

*MOUSE PRINT:

macysexclusions

So certain apparel is only 10% off, and “specials and super buys” are excluded altogether.

Turning to the inside of the circular, we find Sunday and Monday only deals.  And guess what, the coupon is not good on any of these items, even the apparel. [Disclaimer enlarged below.]

*MOUSE PRINT:

macysexc2med

To add further to the confusion, in a full page ad in the main section of the newspaper on May 24 (which was printed weeks after the pre-printed circular above was), Macy’s advertised the 15% coupon, but with all the usual exclusions listed.

*MOUSE PRINT:

macyexccoupon2

So, who knows what is discounted and what is not. While the exclusions for this sale (if they exist) are possibly fewer than most any other Macy’s sale, they certainly have taken a bit of liberty in promising “no exclusions.”

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$500 of Free Gas Promotion UPDATE

bigotiresOver a year and a half ago, we warned about a retail promotion promising $500 of free gasoline  if you made a particular minimum purchase at the store.  Poorly disclosed in the advertisements were the facts that you also had to buy $2000 of gasoline ($100 a month for 20 consecutive months), submit proof of purchase monthly, and then get back $25 in prepaid cards each month after submissions were approved.

As it turns out, the deal was too good to be true, and thousands of consumers received nothing after submitting receipts month after month.  Complaints flowed into Florida’s Attorney General, and he filed suit last February against Tidewater Marketing, the company behind the promotion.  Many different retailers around the country advertised similar $500 free gas promotions, including some tire stores.

Now, a group of tire retailers that offered the promotion — Tire Kingdom, NTB (National Tire & Battery), and Big O Tires — is trying to make good with their customers.  They are offering restitution to customers who received a free gas certificate from them after buying a set of tires between certain dates in 2007 and 2008.

Those customers have their choice of receiving a $100 Visa prepaid card immediately, or they can participate in an alternative $500 of free gas promotion since they “retained a [different] vendor that we are confident will meet our standards and your expectations.”

Why are these tire stores doing this?  Maybe they have a conscience, and want to maintain their goodwill with customers.  Or maybe it is this:

*MOUSE PRINT:

NTB is offering these programs to resolve any claim that you may have with respect to the Tidewater $500 Gas Program. If you participate, you will have to agree that the new program is a substitute for whatever rights you may have had in connection with the Tidewater program. This will include releasing NTB and Tire Kingdom from any claims that you may have had as a result of the Tidewater program. This release is an integral part of the offer.

So, you have to sign a release and agree to drop any claims you have or could have against them arising out of the original promotion.  For Big O Tires, their motive is a little more immediate:

*MOUSE PRINT:

If you decide to participate in this alternate program that Big O Tires is offering in this letter, you will be giving up your ability to join the class action (should the Court decide to certify a class), as well as giving up your rights to bring a claim against Big O Tires or BOTK for claims involving the Tidewater Global Marketing program.

A consumer filed a class action against Big O Tire, and is awaiting court approval certifying the class.

In any event, although the offers being made to compensate customers are a bit self-serving, don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.  Take whichever deal you prefer (noting that even with a different vendor, giving you $500 of free gas over the next 20 months is still a seemingly economically infeasible offer for the promotion company).  The deadline for signing up for the alternate program is May 15… so hurry.

Information and claim forms are here:  Big O Tires and Tire Kingdom/NTB.

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Quiznos: Get Less for Less

Last year, Quiznos advertised their large deli favorites sandwiches for only $5 for a limited time in a series of commercials showing hungry people eating five dollar bills.  The commercial said that these sandwiches had more meat than comparable Subway footlong subs, and the ad ends with the announcer saying “get more meat.” More recently, Quiznos has been advertising “new lower prices” and “love what you eat for less.”

quiznosad

A regular Mouse Print* reader recently wrote that it was his observation that during the $5 subs promotion, the “large” sandwiches seemed smaller than previously.  He asked a store employee about the tuna subs, and was told they were now putting 2-1/2 scoops of tuna in them instead of the old three scoops.

Mouse Print* made three contacts with Quiznos PR people to find out if their “large” sandwiches had been downsized, but did not receive an answer. Poking around online, however, the answer seems to be yes.  Here are the nutrition statements for various Quiznos sandwiches from November 2007, when the company first began to publish such information and several months before the promotion of their $5 subs:

*MOUSE PRINT:
 

quiznosold

And here is the current nutrition statement for these same sandwiches cobbled together from their website. Note the changes in the calories column:

*MOUSE PRINT:

quiznosnew2

You will note that the total calories dropped by about 15%, old versus new.  (Some would say that is a good thing since no single sandwich should contain a day’s worth of fat and calories.)

Clearly the company appears to have downsized its sandwiches.  Whether that was done so they could advertise  lower prices and make the public think they were getting a bargain, is unclear.  We can only take an educated guess.