As an avid fan of discounts, I tend to follow my favorite stores/websites on Facebook. For the little bit of newsfeed spam it generates, I tend to be rewarded fairly frequently. But lately, I’ve noticed a disturbing phenomenon.
In this age of online shopping, things sell out quickly. Websites sometimes can’t handle the traffic and are down. Glitches happen and orders are lots. You know, basic online errors. It’s frustrating, but we all understand that shit happens, right?
Apparently, wrong.
Here are some of the reactions I’ve pulled off the Rent the Runway, Gilt, RueLaLa and Loft pages*:
“TOTALLY NOT FAIR TO THOSE OF US THAT DON”T HAVE A STORE IN OUR CITY! YOU SHOULD GIVE US 50% OFF ONLINE AND FREE SHIPPING!!!!”
“This type of error is completely inexcusable. It seems as if this is a scam of sorts and that does not bode well for my future purchases with your company. Make this right or I’ll report you.”
“They should credit everyone $20 for going our of our way!!!!”
“YOUR DUMB SITE ISN’T WORKING! YOU NEED TO GIVE US DISCOUNT FOR WASTING OUR TIME!”
“I am so disappointed in this company. I logged in and everything is already sold out. If you want to turn my bad review around you should give me a discount.”
“What the hell, only in store? All your coupons need to be online, too!”
“Why can’t I use this in store? I don’t shop online! This is bullshit!” **
And my personal favorite … the winner of an online “style contest”:
::headdesk::
I regularly rant to the husband about this. How in the HELL did people become so entitled? A store gives a coupon good for a day or so, and that means they OWE you a coupon? Or better yet, because your favorite item was sold out they owe you something else FOR FREE? SERIOUSLY?
The sad part is, these companies all have fantastic customer service. A pair of shoes I bought from Rue didn’t fit … and the sale was over. But I called to do a return, and the CSR offered to track down the right size and do an exchange, though their TOS says no exchanges. An order I placed on Rent The Runway got lost in the interwebs somewhere, and when I wrote to see if they could track it down they immediately responded saying they couldn’t, but would extend the promotion I’d used (which was now expired) to my new order.
Both of these instances were service above and beyond what I called/wrote for, or expected. It’s a wonderful way to keep customers, and get recommendations. I do not understand how people can take service like that, and demand something even more.
Grow up, and learn how the world works. The stores are their to sell you things, not cater to your every whim. They don’t need to discount their product, or give you special treatment. You’re going to have to pay full price sometimes. DEAL.
ARGH.
* If you need invites to any of these sites let me know. I’ve got ’em!
** The funniest part about these last two comments were that they were back-to-back on the FB page, talking about two different coupons. ::shakes head::
Little Pieces Everywhere 
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