I’m mad. I hate that ‘taken advantage of’ feeling. That is how I feel. And judging by the support from random mommys after I left the store, I am not alone.
Here’s the back story. I promise to make it brief.
1) I really do love the clothes in Gymboree, but don’t shop their too often b/c the kids grow out of clothes so quickly, I hate to spend $50 on something they will wear once or twice and/or ruin quickly.
2) My mother in law bought a beautiful Easter dress for my daughter at Gymboree. Wanting to find something similar, I went to Gymboree for the little guy’s Easter outfit. (I also bought a few extra ’sale’ items)
3) My purchases entitled me to $50 in ‘Gymbucks’…meaning I can have $50 off my next $100 purchase within a specific date range.
4) Since I am a self proclaimed ‘marketer’s dream’…I know instantly that I am heading back. If I can get some of these sweet clothes for ultimately 1/2 price, I’m in.
5) Because I have a bad habit of impulse buying and then returning, my total was more than $100.
6) There were a few things I didn’t need, so I went to return them today.
7) All of the items I returned were refunded at a ‘discount’ rate…rather than the full price of the item. This is because Gymboree splits up the ‘Gymbuck’ total discount among ALL of the items you purchase, rather than taking the full $50 off the total.
This means….that even though I was supposed to get $50 off $100, and even though I was still over $100 in purchases (after the refund) I don’t get the full amount back. This is because Gymboree takes a little off everything you buy. (regardless of whether or not you go over the minimum to reach the ‘gymbuck’ total)
9) This also means that I would have been better off spending ONLY $100…because as soon as you go over that, you start to lose the discount.
10) The sales clerk (who is clearly not the one at fault) kept saying, ‘this is why we tell everyone not to go over’ and ‘this is why you are better off just exchanging). Somehow, I’m not part of the ‘everyone’ they share this info with.
11) In protest, I’m taking just about everything else I purchased back. Sadly, my daughter had already worn one shorts/shirt ensemble. But the rest is going back.
I can’t stand feeling scammed. Note: I was not a yelling, screaming, threatening customer. I did, however, tell the sales clerk that I was VERY frustrated.
When I left the store, 2 moms followed me out to tell me they had similar experiences and won’t shop in the store unless there is a sale going on.
I suppose I can take small consolation in the ‘itty bitty’ discount I received on the shorts/shirt for my daughter.
This is karma. To remind me: 1) not to impulse buy and 2) to be aware of the marketing traps that stores throw out.
[...] into using a discount at Gymboree and now I’m bitter about it and taking the clothes back – see my blog post about it here) So, that frees up some money I [...]
I really don’t shop there all that often, but I will be even more cautious from now on. Thanks for the heads up.
I am so sorry that it happened!