Monica Lau wrote in the Straits Times about an advertisement by Courts Bukit Timah offering a Dell notebook from $399. After taking the trouble, "braving the rain" to be at the store, she found that there was no such offer. The only Dell notebook was being sold at $999.
Was this a misleading advertisement? Are there anybody who takes action to address these complaints? Is this another example of the "buyer beware" culture?
This seems to be a bit worse than before when they claimed the advertised products are "sold out". If what the letter writer claimed is true, I'll be surprised if no actions are taken against the shop.
ReplyDeleteIn some countries, when an advertised product is sold out (during the promotional period), the consumer can usually request for a "rain check" and the shop will inform the consumer when more stock arrive and they can buy at the price advertised, even when the promotion is over.
Dear hanglian
ReplyDeleteIn other countries, the public servants are not so highly paid but they know what are their duty.
In Singapore, the public servants are highly paid and they know how to pass the buck to someone else. They follow the example of the top leaders to avoid taking responsibility to to do the dirty work.
It is always "somebody else's responsibility".
It is all too common to hear all these. In the 90s, I heard from my mother that some prominent bakeries offering their confectionery at steep discount only to tell their customers all sold out. And this is just at their opening hours!
ReplyDeleteIn the 2000s, I heard of a large electronics store chain (not Courts and those Sim Lian Square types) also trying out the same tricks with their so called limited offers. Since then, whenever I saw wordings like "Limited Sets Only", "From $XXX onwards" etc, I steer clear from them. You are only wasting your time if you believe them.
I don't like to go COURTS to buy stuffs, especially the electronic ones. The type of interest-free installation is too good to be true, it is just an enticement for more people to spend.
ReplyDeleteI know of someone who works in COURTS told me that some customers who cannot service the installment have to had the item seized back. The staff there will then 'cleanup' & re-package the seized-back item to put in the counter for sale again! (somebody can verify?) Not to mention about their furniture & sofas, etc. I don't like to purchase 2nd hand stuffs that are put on sale together with brand-new items.