SMYTH toys

kuchma2000

Christmas shopper prepare to be RIPPED OFF.:eek:

Christmas is only time of the year we spend most. And that is the time when most shops making biggest profits.

Same here - at the SMYTH toystore.

All of you noticed those signs "3 for 2", but keep your eyes wide opened at the checkout. I was <SNIP> by SMYTH today - only noticed on my way out.

I purchased lots of toys for my kids from SMYTH, and never paid much attention, but when I looked at the receipt today - none of the "3 for 2" were mentioned. :mad:

So I went to the Customer service and !!! MANAGER !!! told me that I had items that listed under different offer.
I was more than sure I got it right as all of the items I purchased were on the same shelf signed "3 for 2" (Guess WHO?, Monopoly (turned out it is not on offer), Connect).

I went back to change item which was not under the same discount and got the right one (different Monopoly, supposed to be right - but wrong once again), and was asked to pay an extra €10:mad:.

Once again !!! MANAGER !!! told me that I had items that listed under different offer, and added that previous one was not on offer at all.

So I requested full refund.

As a result - 2 hours wasted, and bad feeling for the rest of the day:eek:.

! ! ! W A R N I N G ! ! !

* ALWAYS CHECK YOUR RECEIPTS TWICE OR EVEN THREE TIMES

* DO NOT GET TOO MUCH OVER EXCITED, LET YOUR FRIEND/PARTNER TO CHECK IT AS WELL.

Guy:Incognito

Wow that hurts the eyes to read. You know you dont have to type like your on the adrian kennedy show.

Most of the time I've seen 3 for 2 offers in Smyths the items have a 3 for 2 sticker on them. At a guess the offer on games is an MB offer? (Guess who and connect 4 are MB games, Monopoly is a Hasbro game) . What does the ticket in the 2nd pic say? It looks like Guess who and then somethign else under it?

Dublinstiofán

Jesus, learn to punctuate and use paragraphs!

kuchma2000

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

... looks like Guess who and then somethign else under it?...

Didn't get to the bottom of this S**T, was too much dissapointed.

But as you said it looks like "Guess Who" not on the same offer as "Connect".

kuchma2000

Dublinstiofán wrote: »

Jesus, learn to punctuate and use paragraphs!

Hope that's better now.

wonderfulname

Wow, chill out, checking your receipt is just common sense, and it comes after just paying attention at the check out. I don't see how you were "scammed", that title is more misleading than Smyths was going by the images you have provided, you can see the games in the offer have a sticker on them, and that the "3 for 2" is actually a "3 for 2*".

You were at fault, not Smyths, I really don't see why you're being so agro towards them.

kuchma2000

kuchma2000 wrote: »

As a result - 2 hours wasted, and bad feeling for the rest of the day:eek:.

Two hours to find Monopoly?

To be fair, just by your wording in the OP, I'd say you're an awkward customer. I used to buy lots of stuff in Smyths (used to be a big wrestling fan and as I grew up i still collected the figures and such).

Whenever I seen a promotion, or if i was looking for a particular wrestling figure, or if i wanted a figure that was on the shelf, but wanted one in cleaner/not damage packaging, etc. the staff never had any trouble or hassle verifying things for me, or pulling down stock for me to mooch through or letting me know when stock would be coming in and what was expected with different deliveries and such.

My brother still visits regularly checking out their videogames and buying stuff for his baby, and although the store is obviously much busier at Christmas (so staff can't be expected to stop and have a conversation with you or help you get stock off the top of shelves or such) I've been up with him a few times and have always found the staff helpful and reasonable.


On top of that, Smyths have a great public image in my opinion. They donate a lot and are seemingly always happy to help out with local charities and that kinda thing (and not in a bag-packer or chugger way that annoys the customer - or at least they don't do that in my local store anyway).

I love Smyths, and you certainly weren't scammed. They're a great outfit altogether.


I could go on but I'm just rambling now. Anyway, I take their side.

kuchma2000

Deleted User wrote: »

...Two hours to find Monopoly?...

not only for those 3 games. Total on the receipt almost €150.

And to make it clear full refund requested only for 3 items mentioned previously, not for the whole lot.

kuchma2000

wonderfulname wrote: »

... you can see the games in the offer have a sticker on them, and that the "3 for 2" is actually a "3 for 2*"...

Actually it's not the case for 3 games I purchased. All 3 have sticker, !except! for the first Monopoly I got wrong.

kuchma2000

kuchma2000 wrote: »

not only for those 3 games. Total on the receipt almost €150.

And to make it clear full refund requested only for 3 items mentioned previously, not for the whole lot.

Well to be fair, if they refunded you, and you happily bought other items, it wasn't really two hours wasted.


I used to work in retail, and I often seen people taking up deals wrongly. I understand it can be frustrating, but I just think it's a bit unfair to have the title so clearly calling them scammers over a bit of confusion on a board game offer.

Smyths are a great company, in my experience.

kuchma2000

Deleted User wrote: »

...bit unfair to have the title so clearly calling them scammers over a bit of confusion on a board game offer.

That's only title to warn people, if the title was "SMYTHs - GREAT TOYSTORE" don't think people would pay attention to this thread.

I agree it is not scam - but people buying so many toys in one go that they just do not check they receipts, and at the end we make rich people richer.

niallon

At a time of year where staff are under inhuman amounts of pressure, I know well, I work there, you fell victim to a product being in the wrong location (possibly) or simply that you misread the offer signing. You then got a full refund with no quibble. I'd say you did fairly well there.

kuchma2000

Deleted User wrote: »

...I used to work in retail...

If you really worked in retail you should know that better than me - all these toy already overpriced and if they were sold at 30% of their on shelf price - retailer would stil make enough profit.

All these discount made to attract people to buy MORE - as a result happy customer keeps forgetting to check his receipt and that is exactly what every retailer waiting for.

kuchma2000

niallon wrote: »

...you fell victim to a product being in the wrong location (possibly) or simply that you misread the offer signing...

Thanks for that.

All products were located in their places, no complaints to that.

wonderfulname

kuchma2000 wrote: »

Actually it's not the case for 3 games I purchased. All 3 have sticker, !except! for the first Monopoly I got wrong.

And the second thing you got wrong was just not pay attention, two seconds on their site and I can see what happened - two offers, three for two on selected board games, three for two on hasbro games, I have a funny feeling this was explained to you already though.
I already pointed out the seriously oversized asterisk, that tells you that there is more information you should be aware of, you just didn't check it out, then you failed to pay attention to how much you thought you were spending, failed to pay attention at the check out, and failed to check your receipt before leaving, not only is that not the shops fault, but to be honest it's absolutely mind boggling to me that somebody would fork out almost 150 euro and not satisfy themselves as to what they are paying for.

niallon

kuchma2000 wrote: »

niallon wrote: »

...you fell victim to a product being in the wrong location (possibly) or simply that you misread the offer signing...

Thanks for that.

All products were located in their places, no complaints to that.

My basic point is just that it's incredibly difficult to work in these stores at this time of year, every second thing is a complaint from customers who have themselves far more stressed out than they should and seeing a thread with a soapbox proclamation of a "scam" is pretty disheartening

kuchma2000

wonderfulname wrote: »

...I have a funny feeling this was explained to you already though...

Not exactly. As I said at the beginning "...MANAGER !!! told me that I had items that listed under different offer...", girl who worked at the Customer Service knew nothing and was checking with manager, but because she (manager) was on the phone she didn't bother to explain.

wonderfulname

So you were aware of this, yet you persist in blaming Smyths?

kuchma2000

wonderfulname wrote: »

...then you failed to pay attention to how much you thought you were spending, failed to pay attention at the check out, and failed to check your receipt before leaving, not only is that not the shops fault, but to be honest it's absolutely mind boggling to me that somebody would fork out almost 150 euro and not satisfy themselves as to what they are paying for.

to be completely honest, that is true - in most cases I do not pay attention on how much I spend when it comes to presents for kids, but little treats like this one "3 for 2" makes people happier that they can save just a tiny bit on something.

Also I did not notice that there was no discount applied - my wife did, I would just go home as any other happy customer.

kuchma2000

wonderfulname wrote: »

So you were aware of this, yet you persist in blaming Smyths?

aware of what???

kuchma2000

wonderfulname wrote: »

...yet you persist in blaming Smyths?.../QUOTE]

And yes, I do blame them. 100% sure all this done to confuse people, and suck their money.

Overheal

Sorry but I check all my receipts.

And as a sales associate, I check my customer's receipt. If the register doesn't do the bundle we advertise, I get to find out why. It's my job.

If you don't check your receipts that's your own problem. Those things are chock full of useful information: return policies, free entries into contests, the occasional coupon, etc. etc.

It's not a scam of any description that you don't check your receipt. It's not part of their business model. You did get a receipt, and! You DID check it, because you DID catch the error. So I'm a little confused at what the problem is here. All day every day, customers ask me for details about our deals - exclusions and all that other crap. You could have done the same before hitting up the till. The big Asterisk should have been a big clue. Always know the fine print.

kuchma2000

just go to Dunnes, Tesco or M&S and look at their offers, if its says "Buy 1 get 1 FREE" that is exactly what it means.

Overheal

Yep and if it said Buy 1 get 1 FREE* that would be another story.

wonderfulname

kuchma2000 wrote: »

just go to Dunnes, Tesco or M&S and look at their offers, if its says "Buy 1 get 1 FREE" that is exactly what it means.

And they will be known to run several buy one get one free offers concurrently, and you will accept that fact and move on, what's the difference here?

kuchma2000

kuchma2000 wrote: »

If you really worked in retail you should know that better than me - all these toy already overpriced and if they were sold at 30% of their on shelf price - retailer would stil make enough profit.

Oh definitely. I know a store that sells two bar stools for €99. They actually seem pretty good value. We've got four of them in my house. The store buys them in at about €1.30 per stool. Crazy mark up (only I seen the €1.30 with my own eyes I'd never believe it, and I don't expect anyone here to, either, to be honest).

You do have to factor in rent, wages, electricity bills, delivery costs, etc. too though, before you can say how much they'd be breaking even at, though.

All these discount made to attract people to buy MORE - as a result happy customer keeps forgetting to check his receipt and that is exactly what every retailer waiting for.

I don't fully agree that stores are using these deals to take advantage of people, though. An unhappy customer is much more likely to voice his (negative) opinion than a happy customer voicing his (positive) opinion.

In the store I worked in for a while, the customer was rarely made feel special or anything, but deals, offers, etc. were always honoured, or refunded if the customer found fault or wanted to return the item/s (within reason).

If there was an offer on the shop floor that didn't exist on the tills, management would usually be happy enough to honour it (provided the customer could display that the deal did exist).


Retail stores, especially the larger ones, just have a lot going on at once, so it can be difficult for staff to be fully aware of all the offers or deals running simultaneously. Add a toy shop and Christmas into the mix and you're bound to get some confusion along the way.

kuchma2000

Overheal wrote: »

Yep and if it said Buy 1 get 1 FREE* that would be another story.

" * " - is always there for T&C, that is not the case, and all items covered would be listed but not stack in one place under the same label, and that monopoly game was placed on purpose so people will take it as "3 for 2".

In the addition to this - I was in the same store buying Puzzle mats and gates for the stairs, and I noticed there was 2 different prices for the exactly the same product, the cheaper ones were stack at the back - and at the front those ones cost more. Can't say it was done on puprose - but looks that way.

kuchma2000

Deleted User wrote: »

...I don't fully agree that stores are using these deals to take advantage of people, though. ...

It is all depends on who's paying and who's accepting payment - I mean you have your own truth and I have mine.

Hard to understand each other when we sit on the opposite sides of the table.

kuchma2000

Deleted User wrote: »

...refunded if the customer found fault or wanted to return the item/s (within reason)...

No complaints to exchange or refund, had one VTECH toy exchanged for a similar one about 7 month after it was purchased (had receipt, but no original packaging)

kuchma2000

Ok guys.

Thanks for your comments and suggestions.

You convinced me - SCAM is not the best name in this case.

Any good suggestions for a THREAD name (NOTE: only word "SCAM" will be replaced)???

kuchma2000

kuchma2000 wrote: »

It is all depends on who's paying and who's accepting payment - I mean you have your own truth and I have mine.

Hard to understand each other when we sit on the opposite sides of the table.

Well in that case, I, and I'm sure anyone else who has ever worked the cash register in any retail job, will happily tell you that the person accepting the payment couldn't give a flying fcuk if you're getting bargains or being ripped off.


Sales assistant sees no difference in the payslip at the end of the week (except in commission-based jobs, obviously), so really doesn't want to know.

Not trying to be rude either, just being honest with you. The chances of anyone of the minimum wage staff in Smyths actually caring about your problems are pretty low. They'll rectify any mistakes they see, and they'll help you along your way, whatever happens during their shift is fair enough, but I don't think many get too involved that they try to rip off customers.

kuchma2000

Deleted User wrote: »

...but I don't think many get too involved that they try to rip off customers...

I didn't say that

kuchma2000

Deleted User wrote: »

... the person accepting the payment couldn't give a flying fcuk if you're getting bargains or being ripped off...

100% agree with that

Del2005

kuchma2000 wrote: »

just go to Dunnes, Tesco or M&S and look at their offers, if its says "Buy 1 get 1 FREE" that is exactly what it means.

I find in the supermarkets that you have to be very careful to pick up the items that are on special offer. Several times I've picked up special offers and when I check the bar code they are different to the offered item but in a similar place, since it's the companies stock on special.

You need to carefully read the offers and make sure your picking the correct items and in supermarkets I've sometimes found the non offer was better value.

smash

I was in smyths the weekend before last and there were a load of toys reduced from 12.99 to 7.99.

2 days later I went in to get them and the price had gone back up for the christmas rush

ch750536

I did a price comparison between Amazon, Toys r Us and Smyths for the kids stuff and Smyths won by about 5% on Amazon and a whopping 12% on Toys r Us. Op, you have to read the offers beyond the headline to get the full value of them.

Shane-KornSpace

That Asterix ( * ) after "3 for 2*" means there are terms and conditions. Smyths did not rip you off.
if something has an asterix after it, always look for the terms and conditions as it always refers to certain items only

jockeyboard

This is pretty weird that you would think !!!!!SMYTHS!!!!!! is trying to rip you off. I actually laughed reading some of your posts. :eek:

Smyths is a fantastic Irish toyshop. It is competitive with its pricing and has a great selection.:)

I have three kids and have shopped many times there. My youngest still had a few bits 'santa' had to get for him, however we were all struck down with flu so I ordered online late sat eve.

The whole order arrived first thing this morning, and guess what?? I am really happy with items and the price I paid and I wasnt !!!!!!RIPPED OFF!!!!!!!!!

You should relax and have your self a merry little christmas.:pac:

Nothingbetter2d

why are you buying monopoly or connect 4 anyways... most kids think those games are crap.

wmpdd3

The only issue I had was when buying some baby stuff, the same products did have different prices on them. I bought 2 head huggers, they scanned at the higher but the person reduced them straight away to the lower price when she saw that was the price on the other one.

dudara

Nothingbetter2d - If you have nothing helpful to add, then please don't contribute

samina

My latest experience with smyths lately didn't impress me either. I was heading north bound this week so was pricing around. One particular toy I was after is £61.99 in the smyths over the border and €91.99 here. I emailed them to ask them why the huge difference in price as I would buy as much as possible here. Most of the time prices between both are quite similar I always found so rather than haul them all the way and state of economy etc I buy them here. Their answer was vat and other overheads. That much of a difference in price is just milking us if you ask me because I have never seen a difference like that between their stores before.

kuchma2000

Nothingbetter2d wrote: »

why are you buying monopoly or connect 4 anyways... most kids think those games are crap.

I used to play with my friend all the time - thought my kids would like it too.

Dodge

kuchma2000 wrote: »

I used to play with my friend all the time - thought my kids would like it too.

They might do. Don't listen to any body who says "most kids". Some kids like reading, some like playing football, some like playstation, some like board games

You know your kids better than some anonymous internet poster

borderlinemeath

smash wrote: »

I was in smyths the weekend before last and there were a load of toys reduced from 12.99 to 7.99.

2 days later I went in to get them and the price had gone back up for the christmas rush

And you think that is Smyths fault? :rolleyes:

I presume Smyths are like every other large store and have offers running between certain dates. These dates are usually printed beneath the offer heading. Usually something along the lines of "Offer ends on 15/12/11"

If you had checked you wouldn't be so put out. Smyths don't telepathically know you're coming back to get them week after next.

smash

borderlinemeath wrote: »

And you think that is Smyths fault? :rolleyes:

I presume Smyths are like every other large store and have offers running between certain dates. These dates are usually printed beneath the offer heading. Usually something along the lines of "Offer ends on 15/12/11"

If you had checked you wouldn't be so put out. Smyths don't telepathically know you're coming back to get them week after next.

No, it just said prices slashed. I wouldn't mind but some of the toys in the range were still half price.

Like their 3 for 2 offer

kuchma2000

Dodge wrote: »

They might do. Don't listen to any body who says "most kids". Some kids like reading, some like playing football, some like playstation, some like board games

You know your kids better than some anonymous internet poster

My kids do not have game console - I don't think this is the most important thing.

Board games good because it is not just for kids - whole family can play.

dudara

The discussion of board games is not relevant to this topic.

dudara

BillyBobs

In Smyths Carrickmines today they have a Vtech electronic world Globe with each country having a raised highlighted button with their countries name on it sadly Ireland and england are on the same button and listed together as

"The United Kingdom"

I said it to the manager that this was highly insulting she agreed it was out of order but refused to take them off the shelves.

The really mind numbing thing is this toy is probably sold all over the world.

wmpdd3

I'm need to find out if I am able to leave college (one year plc) and claim social welfare ?

He would probably lose his job!

Write to Vtech, its just the software, it could be easily changed.

themadchef

BillyBobs wrote: »

In Smyths Carrickmines today they have a Vtech electronic world Globe with each country having a raised highlighted button with their countries name on it sadly Ireland and england are on the same button and listed together as

"The United Kingdom"

I said it to the manager that this was highly insulting she agreed it was out of order but refused to take them off the shelves.

The really mind numbing thing is this toy is probably sold all over the world.

It's the Vtech company you'd want to email about something like that. Not giving some poor manager in Smyths grief about it. Sure she is just doing her job, the manufacture of toys is nothing to do with her.

Did you expect her to say "right away sir"?

Email the company and let them know their mistake. They might not have considered it, it may well have been drafted by someone who never heard of Ireland . I doubt it was an intententional insult on the part of Vtech.