[US] LEGO Store September Promotion

ColoradoBricks

While it is cheaper for me to order online than to drive 25 miles to the LEGO store (less taxes + either cash back or helping Brickset, not taking about money saved on gas) I still like like to go there to talk to the staff and to "just" be there.

I check-ed out with $76 of items, including $60 of star wars stuff to take advantage of both freebies. To my surprise on checkout, I am told I have to chose between the two freebies but I can't have both. I argued that the same items at [email protected] will automatically add both to my cart and after a talk to the supervisor I eventually got them both.

It is probably specific to my store as they are always strict on limits (like limit of 1 for both B-Wing and #41999 in the recent past), I was taken back, soon there will be more cons than pros to make the drive...

vwong19

That wasn't the case for me today at my San Diego store... Got both.

Brickarmor

In the past, if you had over the dollar amount but nothing from the theme, you could add a trinket or two and it would then include both promos. I think this was the case even in August with the Friends and GS polybags. No more, alas, no more. Found this out trying to add a SW keychain to my order today. But it does appear you get both if you buy $75+ SW stuff. I'm talking just about [email protected], by the way, not brick and mortar.

LegoFanTexas

ColoradoBricks said:

I was taken back, soon there will be more cons than pros to make the drive...

Someone needs to inform TLG management that there comes a line that they can cross, it isn't marked on any map, on any road, or on any balance sheet, but there is indeed a line...

...cross it and the image goes from positive to negative, and it is hard and expensive to go back.

What just happened to you strikes me as petty, a 50 cent polybag (the SW figure) for customer goodwill is a bargain every day of the week.

These decisions seem to be made by bean counters, and that never ends well.

pillpod

^ I agree. But it seems the supervisor took a hold of the situation and did exactly what should've been done. I'm sure the cashiers were just following the rules given to them. Good on the supervisor for providing good customer service, if he or she didn't put up too much of a fight.

But I agree, the penny pinching is head scratching. LFT, you like old sayings right? :) Penny wise, dollar foolish.

LegoFanTexas

:) My favorite is, "stepping over dollars to pick up pennies"

But the idea remains the same...

LegoMom1

Or- Can't see the forest for the trees.

dougts

So another cutback to go with the rest. I remember fondly getting 1x rhe freebie if I spent twice the required amount, etc. they cut that awhile back, and I'm ok with that, as it was never intended to work that way

Thus one? Wow. But I guess they figure only us hardcores even know or care and all the "normal" parents just think. " wow. Cool!"

Russell844

I was able to get both freebies in store today without any problems. I didn't even ask. They were both automatically added by the cashier, who happened to be the assistant manager.

juggles7

Was told today that I couldn't make multiple purchases to get more than 1 Trooper or more than 1 Camper. I put everything I had (about $300 worth) back on the shelves, except $75 worth and left with my 1 Trooper and 1 Camper. They lost out on about $200 in sales, and I left, an unhappy customer. Lose/lose.

LegoFanTexas

Yep, all for something that cost them a dollar to make.

Bean counters I tell you...

wrangler6915

The offer clearly states one per customer and cannot be combined with other promos or offers. I dont see the issue if they are enforcing their own policies that are clearly stated. For those people who go to a brand store with manager who give them extras or circumvent company policy, well, guess they are lucky. And some times life is unfair.

bluedragon

I had a better experience today. My total was just over $140 and I asked whether they would split into 2 transactions if I bought $10 extra to get 2 camper vans. The cashier tossed another poly into the bag- "no need". Thanks!

juggles7

wrangler, you mean the fine print on the back bottom of this month's store calendar? I don't think that's clearly stated. I bet you could make a [email protected] order, get one each of the promo polys, complete your order, then make another order, and get another pair of polys. But they won't let you do the same thing in a store? That make sense to you, wrangler?

LegoFanTexas

wrangler6915 said:

The offer clearly states one per customer and cannot be combined with other promos or offers.

You are completely correct, but that really is beside the point.

There is the legal answer, then there is what consumers expect. Run afoul of consumers and the backlash can be strong.

TLG has the right to run their stores however they wish, and customers have the right not to shop there.

It is a two way street.

Sometimes as a retailer it is better to just let customers have just a bit more, make them feel like they got a good deal. Keeps them coming back and the profits coming in.

Start behaving like Mr. Scrooge and customers might not come back.

wrangler6915

Look u can rationalize it all you want. The bottom line is terms are posted on the website. I'm not going to start a rehash of the reseller ethics thread, but all you need to do is look at how many of these freebies end up on eBay or elsewhere for sale and u get an idea of how many are being bought just for resale. And yes, I'm sure u can circumvent the terms and place multiple orders.... But don't cry foul when restrictions tighten up even more because TLG is sick of people abusing their offers.

LegoFanTexas

It isn't rationalization and it has nothing to do with resellers.

Stores can have all the terms and conditions they want, and shoppers can take their money elsewhere.

JCPenney had a perfectly logical rational behind their move to everyday low prices and dropping the constant sales.

Remind me how well that worked for them?

Stores are not entitled to a dime, buyers are in charge, if a store does not provide what they want, the buyers will go elsewhere.

That is not rationalization, that is reality.

ColoradoBricks

I don't think buying $75+ of SW and expecting one of each two freebies is circumventing the rule, that is what [email protected] does by default..

wrangler6915

^^jc Penney had and inept board who hired an over priced CEO who took the shareholders for millions in the process of destroying the company. Jcp also sells largely commoditized products which can be found in a multitude of other retailers. The proprietary brands Jcp does have are driven by perception of savings...not as a unique product. TLG sells a unique product with a cult following. So , go ahead and stick it to them and go buy another brand...oh wait, that's not an option

LegoFanTexas

wrangler6915 said:

So , go ahead and stick it to them and go buy another brand...oh wait, that's not an option

^ Sure it is, perhaps I'll go buy an iPad instead...

It doesn't have to be a plastic building brick... :)

starfire2

I was told that I could NOT use the 10% off coupon on Ewok Village or any exclusive set. Apoarently it was in the fine print none of us read. Oh well, still was able to use $20 in VIP points though. I did get the VW bus and the clone lieutenant.

dougts

Lego is entirely within their rights to begin sticking to the letter of the policy on promos, regardless of what they have done in the past. That doesn't mean I'm not equally within my rights complain about it, even if I'm not entitled to anything more.

Honestly the whole "shut up and be happy you get anything" attitude being conveyed here by some puzzles me. LEGO seems to be making yet another change at brand retail that results in less Lego for the money. Isn't this the place - a lego forum - where we should feel welcome to come and discuss such things and feel free to share our opinions and disappointment without such judgement?

Maybe you are happy getting less lego, but for me less lego = bad and I'm going to voice my displeasure with my fellow AFOLs, even if lego isn't technically doing anything wrong.

juggles7

I want 5 Camper Van polybags to give as Christmas gifts. This is my chance to get them, but Lego wants me to beg, jump through hoops, make multiple trips to their store, play games, etc. Short of that, they seem determined to give me one, just one, per lifetime.

Oh, and while they were being stingy with their promo polybags, I noticed 2 other previous promotional bags there; Chima Acro Fighter and the Iron Man promo were right there, left over from previous promotions. There was a limit of 5 on them. That just adds insult to injury.

Of course the Acro Fighter and the Iron Man were once "one per customer", too. Makes it hard to have any respect for their "rules".

ckenda1

I just got back from another run to the Lego Store and I didn't:

A) Buy $50 worth of stuff
B) Buy anything Star Wars related

And I was still given a SW Clone Lieutenant poly.

My oldest son and I just went to let him pick a few smaller things for his birthday.

I guess some stores just seem to be much more strict than others.

tamamahm

wrangler6915 said:

Look u can rationalize it all you want. The bottom line is terms are posted on the website. I'm not going to start a rehash of the reseller ethics thread, but all you need to do is look at how many of these freebies end up on eBay or elsewhere for sale and u get an idea of how many are being bought just for resale. And yes, I'm sure u can circumvent the terms and place multiple orders.... But don't cry foul when restrictions tighten up even more because TLG is sick of people abusing their offers.

Uh. Reseller ethics? Circumvent? Abuse?
Sheesh. This thread isn't anything about that.
The OP has a valid expectation that the promos he could get by staying at home and ordering, he should receive within the store. Considering this has been normal operating procedure in the past, yes, it is yet another surprising change.

DoubleD

I went today and got the series 11 and ask how strict it was about starwars to get the minifig, and he said had to be starwars. So I got the complete set of minifigs and 5 battle packs and got both freebies no problem.

I have had them give me more then one on a single order one time during hulk promo. I have been told if you go outside and take your things to your car and come back that they would have no problem giving you a second promo item as long as you spend how ever much.

Canuck26

I have been in retail now for just shy of 35 years. I am currently employed as a Business Consultant for an international franchisor. I currently have 11 franchisees that I oversee. The one thing that every franchisee desires is to maximize their investment and be more profitable. The one key to success? Take care of your customer! Whether it be operating a clean store; a well stocked store; a friendly store; or a store where financial value can be found; it all adds up to taking care of the customer. The customers vote with their money, and that's what keeps the business open.

I was in one of my stores the other day and had a customer ask me if we had any small size fountain cups. I asked the franchisee about it and he simply replied to the customer and me, that no, they were currently out. Had I not been there, I am pretty sure that the customer would have left. Instead, I turned to the customer, apologized for being out of the item she wanted, and said go ahead and fill the next size up, and we will only charge you for the small cup. She got a great big smile on her face, thanked us, and said, "Wow, I'll be coming back here." She acted as if we had given her a hundred dollars. The cost to us - $0.20 retail and about $0.04 cost. The cost to us of not having that customer return to the store? Who knows for sure but I can guarantee that it would be more than $.04.

Should TLG honor a customer's request to "bend" the rules? You bet they should. There will always be customers that abuse the rules. You can usually figure out who they are pretty quickly. Taking care of the other customers will more than pay for any abuse. Going the extra mile is really just doing what's right, especially in today's competitive environment. A customer should not even have to ask - it should just be a given.

Sorry for such a long post but being in the business for as long as I have been, I am passionate about customer service (and probably a little more critical when I don't receive it).

LegoMom1

@Canuck26- You are working for the wrong company. You need to get a job with TLG and oversee all their US stores!

Canuck26

You know we are getting our first LEGO store here (opening on the 20th) and I thought about applying for the SM position. I did a little research and quickly realized that I would have to work about another 35 years at the rate they pay. Five years sounds a whole lot better to me. They probably aren't looking for the grandma type anyway.

LegoFanTexas

@Canuck26 - Thank you for sharing... You couldn't be more correct...

bmwlego

@dougts
Excellent post! Well stated and just want to say thank you!

SirKevbags

While I see no reason that the OP shouldn't have been given both promo items, it was in my opinion a stupid decision, just something to consider.

These items by their nature are limited. If every purchase was broken down into £50 chunks or whatever it needs to be then the stores are going to get rid of them quicker. True you are making the customer happy but if there are none left for the last week of the promotion then you have unhappy customers.

Of course the ideal is they should make more, send more but in reality that won't be happening because they don't want a massive overstock.

Most importantly it isn't the fault of the staff checking you out. It would be great if they had more discretion but in the majority of cases their hands will be tied.

GIR3691

The other issue is these polybags are limited per store and they'd rather be individually stingy . It's better to only give you one than give you 10, run out, and have to deny 9 other customers anything.

I'd blame higher-ups for not sending enough sets. Of course, they don't have to give anything away, so they just set a number and make it first-come-first-serve.

BulkheadX

starfire2 said:

I was told that I could NOT use the 10% off coupon on Ewok Village or any exclusive set. Apoarently it was in the fine print none of us read. Oh well, still was able to use $20 in VIP points though. I did get the VW bus and the clone lieutenant.

you need a microscope to read that fine print!

BulkheadX

I just got back from picking up a Jedi Defender (89) and they gave me both polys without asking (although I was wondering when he only got out the trooper at first... the other one was down the counter and he had to step over the get it lol)... maybe you guy didn't do the math on the $76 worth of separate items and had to be corrected?

as for ordering from lego.com, I did 2 orders back in may and only got 1 poly because they reviewed the order and removed one as per the 1 per household policy although I am not sure they do that for all orders (my account gets an extra review everytime because of a flag from an accidental ebay purchase that no one (from ebay or lego) bothered to tell me was a scammer using stolen CCs to sell merchandise from lego.com until it was too late to return the dang thing and restore my credit with them :( ah well... lesson learned)

cloaked7

@Canuck26 Excellent post. Thanks for sharing. C/S is one area where a company, business, store can set themselves apart from the competition. And, the competition isn't just similar brands. It's anything you can spend your $$ on. As your example showed, a huge impression can be made with a few cents. How much does being polite cost? A smile? But, they can go a long way. And, what a difference a poly can make! :-)

Brickarmor

VW poly is gone from US [email protected] No longer adds to cart and is pulled from Shop home page.

vwong19

Fashion Valley store at San Diego still had both Clone Lt and VW polybags as of yesterday afternoon.

I had a great experience there yesterday and received both polybags with qualifying purchases.

cloaked7

Brickarmor said:

VW poly is gone from US [email protected] No longer adds to cart and is pulled from Shop home page.

Not a surprise to me. I figured that would happen. I figured LEGO would make less than the demand would be. It's a great set. Will probably go to $25-30 before long, if it hasn't already.

Glad that I was able to get a couple of them. One of the best bagged sets LEGO has ever made. Maybe the best? If anyone believes there is a better one I would like to know what they believe it is.