That was irritating

Earlier this week, I ordered a picture as a gift for a friend. Since I really liked the picture, I also ordered a copy for myself. The next day, I purchased two 5x7 frames, so that I would be ready to send out the framed picture as a gift when the print came in.

As it happened, Jo-Ann Etc was having a "buy one get one free" sale on their frames. In addition to the two frames I picked up for the photo ($24.99 and $19.99), I also noticed a collage frame that I liked for $9.99. Since it was buy one, get one free, I picked up two of the collage frames. And some other stuff that I wanted, which is why I was at JoAnn in the first place.

The total was enough that I didn't nitpick; one of the items I got was $60. Even so, I mentally ran through the numbers and asked the clerk "Wait, did the frames ring up as buy one get one free?" He assured me that they did, and I didn't think anything past that.

Today, the prints arrived. I opened up the frame that I intended to use for the gift photo, which was the only one of the four to come in a box. And then I swore at it, because along one side was a two-inch scar where paint had bubbled and then chipped off.

I'm leaving tomorrow morning for the better part of a week, and I really wanted to get this in the mail before I leave, so I took the damaged frame and the receipt back to JoAnn. It was at this point that I noticed that the receipt showed the two $9.99 frames as the free ones, rather than the $19.99 and the $9.99. I have a particular dislike of any "sale" that I can get a better deal by going through the line twice-- if I can do that, why not assume I will and stop wasting my time and the cashier's time? But then I got to JoAnn's, picked up a different frame (I didn't see any of the same kind, and at that point I don't think I would have wanted one that could be damaged so easily anyway) for the same $19.99 price, and headed to the cash register.

JoAnn's policy is to split the value of the free item and the purchased item between both for return purposes. This means that they lose (because I can return the two $9.99 frames that I got for free and get money for them), and also that I lose-- because they would only refund $13.50 of the $19.99 sale price. So even though I was charged full price for the first frame, I could not replace it with another frame that was exactly the same price. I argued with the head cashier over this before telling him "No, I am not going to pay for the new frame that's the same price as the damaged frame. Give me the refund, then, and I'll buy the replacement frame at Target." (In fairness, he did say they could do a straight swap if I got exactly the same frame as the one I was returning, and offered to special order one when I told him they didn't have any more.)

I would like to note that the "buy one get one free" sale is still going on. (I later realized that this meant I could have gone back, grabbed another frame identical to the one I was trying to get as an exchange, then immediately return the second one and end up getting more of a refund between the damaged frame and the "spare" frame than I paid. If I were not pressed for time tonight, I would be tempted to go back and do just that, to make a point.)

At Target, I got even more pissed at JoAnn, because I realized just how amazingly overcharged I really was. Target had nearly the exact same frame as the one I refused to purchase as the replacement for half the price. I ended up getting a nicer-looking, higher-quality frame for almost exactly what the refund from JoAnn was, including taxes.

When I get back, if I'm still pissed off (and I probably will be), I intend to return ALL of the frames I purchased at JoAnn, and buy new ones at Target. Even without the benefit of the buy-one-get-one sale, the price will be about the same, and I'll get nicer frames out of the deal. Also, I won't be supporting a company that makes me feel like they are actively trying to screw me.

Does anyone know of a good fabric store nearby that isn't Jo-Ann?

That was irritating

Earlier this week, I ordered a picture as a gift for a friend. Since I really liked the picture, I also ordered a copy for myself. The next day, I purchased two 5x7 frames, so that I would be ready to send out the framed picture as a gift when the print came in.

As it happened, Jo-Ann Etc was having a "buy one get one free" sale on their frames. In addition to the two frames I picked up for the photo ($24.99 and $19.99), I also noticed a collage frame that I liked for $9.99. Since it was buy one, get one free, I picked up two of the collage frames. And some other stuff that I wanted, which is why I was at JoAnn in the first place.

The total was enough that I didn't nitpick; one of the items I got was $60. Even so, I mentally ran through the numbers and asked the clerk "Wait, did the frames ring up as buy one get one free?" He assured me that they did, and I didn't think anything past that.

Today, the prints arrived. I opened up the frame that I intended to use for the gift photo, which was the only one of the four to come in a box. And then I swore at it, because along one side was a two-inch scar where paint had bubbled and then chipped off.

I'm leaving tomorrow morning for the better part of a week, and I really wanted to get this in the mail before I leave, so I took the damaged frame and the receipt back to JoAnn. It was at this point that I noticed that the receipt showed the two $9.99 frames as the free ones, rather than the $19.99 and the $9.99. I have a particular dislike of any "sale" that I can get a better deal by going through the line twice-- if I can do that, why not assume I will and stop wasting my time and the cashier's time? But then I got to JoAnn's, picked up a different frame (I didn't see any of the same kind, and at that point I don't think I would have wanted one that could be damaged so easily anyway) for the same $19.99 price, and headed to the cash register.

JoAnn's policy is to split the value of the free item and the purchased item between both for return purposes. This means that they lose (because I can return the two $9.99 frames that I got for free and get money for them), and also that I lose-- because they would only refund $13.50 of the $19.99 sale price. So even though I was charged full price for the first frame, I could not replace it with another frame that was exactly the same price. I argued with the head cashier over this before telling him "No, I am not going to pay for the new frame that's the same price as the damaged frame. Give me the refund, then, and I'll buy the replacement frame at Target." (In fairness, he did say they could do a straight swap if I got exactly the same frame as the one I was returning, and offered to special order one when I told him they didn't have any more.)

I would like to note that the "buy one get one free" sale is still going on. (I later realized that this meant I could have gone back, grabbed another frame identical to the one I was trying to get as an exchange, then immediately return the second one and end up getting more of a refund between the damaged frame and the "spare" frame than I paid. If I were not pressed for time tonight, I would be tempted to go back and do just that, to make a point.)

At Target, I got even more pissed at JoAnn, because I realized just how amazingly overcharged I really was. Target had nearly the exact same frame as the one I refused to purchase as the replacement for half the price. I ended up getting a nicer-looking, higher-quality frame for almost exactly what the refund from JoAnn was, including taxes.

When I get back, if I'm still pissed off (and I probably will be), I intend to return ALL of the frames I purchased at JoAnn, and buy new ones at Target. Even without the benefit of the buy-one-get-one sale, the price will be about the same, and I'll get nicer frames out of the deal. Also, I won't be supporting a company that makes me feel like they are actively trying to screw me.

Does anyone know of a good fabric store nearby that isn't Jo-Ann?