DVD Sale at TDS

[Sonya in Boise]

Some of those VHS tapes TDS was selling for 10.00 are selling for 10.96 at our Costco. I can bet Costco is making a profit from their sales and TDS was also making a profit from their 10.00 sale.

The thing I dislike and what has made me shop there less and less is the way they handle their sales. The do not have any rhyme or reason to them. At least at Dillards, Mervyns, Target...you know the sale price will be avalible for x amount of days/hours. If it is a clearance product it will be that clearanced until they are gone.

Our Disney Store clearanced their princess accessories 75% off(wands, shoes, crowns....) for 3 days then took down the clearance prices and put the princess dresses next to them. Now they are the Halloween items.

The way the racks are set up is confusing to try to figure out what is on sale/clearance and what is not. And I hate the fact that they are always trying to up sale you something.

I was recently there buying our hopper tickets for our upcoming trip and my daughter was showing me the Belle dress. (I made her one for halloween and she was showing me that it is like hers) The woman who was taking my 450.00 (we also bought a rolling suitcase) looked me dead in the eyes and asked me if I wanted to purchase the dress because it would be perfect for her to wear to Disneyland. This was after she tried to get me to pre order Beauty and the Beast and Monster's Inc.

I hope they get some better organization for thier sales and back off the customers. I don't plan on being there for a while.

 

[mickey4ver]

When they try and get you to make a purchase on TOP of buying your passes at the Disney Store, that is because the stores get no $ credit for the sale of those passes, it is just a convenience given to those that want to purchase them before they leave for their trips. The stores make nothing on the sale of passes, so if you buy one pass at $50 or buy 10 and spend over $1,000, it means nothing to the registers at the end of the day at TDS.

So, yes, those working in the store would like to see people make a purchase that will help out the store for the day.

And also, the DVD mess over the weekend was not an advertised sale, it was considered an in-store promotion, and while it was stopped without the greatest of tact, it just seems it is such a small thing to be whacked out about and say you will never shop Disney again. JMHO They always end up having other super promos and sales and everyone at one time or another gets a great deal while shopping.

I have found that last years styles of the princess accessories were the ones that were clearanced, not the styles that match this years costumes.

 

[Sonya in Boise]

"I have found that last years styles of the princess accessories were the ones that were clearanced, not the styles that match this years costumes."

We bought the tinkerbell wand and from what I could tell it is the same exact one that is now full price at the store.

I agree with what you are saying about trying to get a sale for their store, (I was buying a suitcase) but our Disney Store tries to get you to make a purchase on top of any purchase you are making. There are only so many times I can say "We have the origional Beauty and the beast, thank you, but i don't want to pre order the new one." and it's not just the cast member ringing you up, it everyone of them asking if I want to buy something else. I'm sure it helps them to get more sales and some customers may like it, I just feel tons of pressure, kinda like buying a car at some dealerships.

I will shop there again, I think they have a good quality product and if you can get sales/clearance you can get very good prices, I am not going to be going in there regularly anymore. I know the Manager and a few other cast memebers by first name and they know mine. Besides my daughter would go thru princess withdrawls if I stopped.

 

[CBRorBust]

You know, you can gripe about how CM's try to upsale you all you want until you're blue in the face. But at the end of the day, WE CM's are just doing OUR JOB! We could get fired if we didn't!

Do we know that Beauty and the Beast was released already? Yes. Do we still have to promote our Pre-Sale, YES if we all want to keep our jobs.

To be quite honest, we make minimum wage to do what we do. We could go work at any other store in the mall and make AT least a buck or two more, but why do we go into work everyday and listen to people gripe and complain about how horrible we are because their friends got dvd's for $10 and they didn't. Because we love the company, and we are loyal. Because we are all obsessed with Disney. Because we love our job. THAT'S WHY!

I'm positive I'm going to get flamed for this thread, but you know what? I don't care. I'm standing up for all those CM's who got put through so much this past weekend over DVD's.

Just a note...from my friends CM's at my old store...they were just as confused and still are about the SALE.....it came quickly and went even quicker....they are still trying to make heads or tales of why it was done.....

This is so true. There isn't one person who REALLY knows why Disney did what they did besides those people in Corporate who actually made the decisions. All we at TDS got was an e-mail and a phone call that said to stop the sale.

 

[Sonya in Boise]

"You know, you can gripe about how CM's try to upsale you all you want until you're blue in the face. But at the end of the day, WE CM's are just doing OUR JOB! We could get fired if we didn't!"

I realize this is part of the job and I don't take it out on the cast member. I have written/e-mailed disney about this to let them know my feelings. I still don't like it. It makes me shop there less and less. If my daughter wasn't a princess fanitic it would be seldom, where right now it is once a month. Down from weekly.

I do know when we first started shopping there (2 yrs ago) they would offer to help you, tell you about a sale, leave you alone to shop, then offer something during check out. But the past year, it takes 5 minutes of listening to their sales/good deals before I can even start looking around and 3 or 4 sale pitches during check out. I would like to see it go back to the old way,with out feeling like there was someone following me around and encouraging me to buy everything my daughter showed interest in.

CBRorBust-I'm glad you love your job and love Disney so much. Disney is our number 1 vacation spot and we enjoy it all very much.

 

[CM Tinkerbell]

I am a TDS CM. I didn't work on Friday and the only reason I found out about the sale was from these boards. I would have loved to get in there as well to pick up some DVD's that I've been thinking of buying, but I couldn't get there during the day. Then later on, I found out that the sale had ended from these boards as well.

Some people have compared TDS to other stores with unadvertised sales, but I beleive we are at a slight disadvantage over some of those stores. For instance, if JC Penney's decided to run an unadvertised sale on a specific item at some point in the day, the people who were in the store at the time would have been able to take advantage of the sale. If they decided to end the sale after a few hours due to lack of product or some other reason, the person coming in later on would most likley not have known about it.

We have the disadvantage of the internet and how quickly news of these unadvertised and advertised specials get spread so quickly. There may be a JC Penney's message board where thousands of JC Penney's lovers visit every day, but I have never heard of one. Therefore other stores would not receive such a backlash for an unadvertised sale.

Just remember that most of us TDS CM's are just like you. We are there because we LOVE Disney and want to be a part of the Disney company. We are told to be a bit more "sales" oreinted then the tradition of the old Disney Store and beleive me, I would LOVE to just be helpful and answer questions from quests looking for something in particular without letting the guest know about our latest pre sale or promotion. But like another CM posted, if we don't, we get in trouble. Trust me, a simple I'm just looking or I'm not interested will definitely be sufficient to prevent any further "pushiness" on my part. I don't want to be pushy. I just want to be helpful and try to keep a bit of the ol' "magic" at the Disney Stores.

If you used to love the Disney Stores and don't any longer for one reason or the other, let them know, not the CM's at the store, but the head honchos who are responsible for these changes. We learned from writing about EE that sometimes, they really do listen.

 

[Kaelyn]

I also am a CM, and I love my job. I was trained in the old way of total non-pushiness, but when the stores became a liability to the company fiscally, we had to start pushing a little more. TDS started with a service mentality, but we have to support outselves. We can't provide a service that costs billions of dollars to the company supporting it, and no sane, rational guest will expect us to. That's where what you all think of as pushiness comes in.

Do I like it? No. Do I do it? Yes.

I believe in my store and I believe in my company. I want my store to make money and be profitable. I also want my guests to be content with the level of service that all of us are providing. I understand that people are unhappy, but the level of expectations on the part of the guest have really changed. I can't tell you how upset I am everytime I hear a guest say "I'll just wait until it is on sale." I feel that guests have been conditioned to wait for the sale, and that only adds to their unhappiness when what they want isn't on sale or when it is no longer in stock when it is.

I tell all my guests: The number one rule of shopping at the Disney Store is buy it when you see it because it won't be there when you come back.

DVD sale: case in point.

The Disney Store is still a wonderful place to be - for shopping and for working - and I feel bad for all the people who get so upset that they cease to enjoy the overall experience.

I think that it is time that we CM's stand up for ourselves en mass. Please stop pushing us around. We can't do anything about it. We're not the buyers, and we're not the marketers. We're the sellers. We all sincerely hope that every upset guest contacts the powers that be and complains to them. We often have the same complaints. But don't yell at us anymore. We have to smile and be nice to you when we are on stage in costume, but you don't see the tears that flow backstage. You don't hear the angry words that we share with each other.

If you don't like it, do something about it. Something productive.

Complaining to us is about as useful as moaning on this board to everybody else.

 

[musashi]

Well said, Kaelyn. As a CM, I have to agree with everything you've said. I could be making more money in any number of jobs, but at the sacrifice of not loving what I do.

Bottom line, there's a reason we work where we do...

Because we love Disney.



MUSASHI

 

[Sorcerer]

Yahoo Kaelyn, I could not have said it better myself!

I understand that this is a forum where everyone can air their frustrations...much in the way that the CM board is there for us to air ours. But Kaelyn raises a very important point: voicing complaints to CMs at TDS is no more productive than complaining here. Home Base DOES NOT listen to us. We cannot help the decisions that are made. Please call or write to corporate headquarters...you can find an email address at disney.com or a CM at your TDS would be happy to give you a toll-free phone number.

There are many of you here who do treat your CMs with the respect they deserve, but there are many others who are happy to criticize and slander, not realizing that their words could be read by CMs from their store (when you post something about "your" TDS and we can see where you live...it's not difficult to figure out which store you're talking about...and I can almost guarantee a CM from your store is registered on these boards whether you're from Kalamazoo or the middle of Asia)...that makes it personal.

 

[baileybrad]

CBRorBust,
I really don't think that anyone should flame you for telling the truth. I am glad that you are proud of your job. I am sorry that you only make minimum wage. The amount of money that a corporation as big as Disney is should pay, from my general experience, its castmembers in their DS more. Anyone who would rag on an employee in a store who is just doing what the company is directing (stopping a sale in midstream) is flat out wrong. I still think that in many Disney has lost touch with many of their customers by operating in the matter that was demonstrated by the handling of this DVD offer. Is is something to get all that upset about, no, but Disney seems to be slumping when it comes to customer service by dealing with folks from up on high.

Our family really enjoy the Disney Parks, but we stopped being obsessed with the company several years ago.

 

[LIFERBABE]

Making a scene or being rude to a store employee is never acceptable. I have read very few posts in this thread that state such.
When the CM told me the sale was cancelled, it was not the end of the world and Xmas will still come and I will have plenty to be thankful for.
The sale was mishandled.
As far as upselling goes I was forced to do it also or lose my job. So I understand.
I don't think the intention of this board was to blame CM's and one of the main reasons I did not force the issue of the sale and how it was handled is because I didnt want to subject the nondeserving CM to conflict.
I knew there would be a backlash from those same women that push their kids in front of yours to see characters and parades at the parks. Nothing material is that serious. I did email Disney about my concerns.
Disney is not being held accountable because they have something we want. We continue to coddle them and make excuses and beg for the privilege to give them our money. Pretty soon at the rate they are going, we won't even have to visit the parks. Just send them $5,000 and they'll send us a "magical" brochure of what Disney used to be!

 

[Poohnatic]

I'm sorry that people feel pressured, but as I tell my cm's

"We're not the 'Disney Museum', we're the Disney STORE". Please keep in mind that we're in business to sell merchandise. Yes, some people are more high pressure than others (gosh, I can't tell you how many other stores I go look around in in my mall and I'm hounded way more than my cast ever would), but let's give you a scenario:

You come in, we greet you, don't tell you about the deals and you make your purchase and leave. For this example, you bought your son a Buzz Costume (38.50) and your daughter a Minnie mini bean bag plush with a necklace (9.00). You debate ordering Beauty and the Beast, and decide not to do this today. Total purchase (47.50, plus tax)

You get home, your best friend went to a different Disney store, where she bought a Buzz costume and hood (45.00), three mini bean bags(15.00) and preordered Beauty and the Beast (19.99 DVD). she tells you she got a free treat bag and flashlight with the costume purchase, three mini bean bags for 15 dollars and she got a 10 dollar gift card for preordering the movie. In addition, the CM helping her separated out the mini bean bags into another purchase to use the gift card, so the net cost was 5 bucks, plus tax. So her total bill was 70.00, but she got the hood (you had no accessories), the tote and treat bag (if purchased, 20.00), 2 more Mini Bean Bags and a movie. Is that worth the extra 22.50? To some people, yes.

Would you be annoyed that:
1.50 more halloween items would have got you the bag and flashlight?
You spent 9 for one Mini Bean Bag, and she spent 15 for three? If you net it out, she got 3 for 5 dollars?
She got a gift card because her movie purchase and other purchases were over the minimum to qualify for it?
The CM's tell you about any of these offers?

Or would you say "oh, she got some great deals...how cool). Our experiences as CM's is that the average person would call and chew us out that they didn't get the same deal on the same day.

Unfortunately, you can't have your cake and eat it, too. If we don't try to sell you items, you don't hear about the great deals that we sometimes offer. It's a double edge sword, and we'll err on telling guests that might get annoyed, then not telling a guest and having them get mad that we didn't tell them about a deal.

Suzanne

 

[mom2boys]

I stopped in TDS on Sat to pick up a couple of DVDs for Christmas. I asked the CM about the $10 DVD & she told me it ended suddenly & that they were very surprised. I politely expressed my disappointment, gathered my boys & quietly left the store. No sense taking it out on some poor CM with no controll over the situation. Actually, I'd like to thank Disney for saving me from spending. My boys watch too much television anyway.

TDS marketing has made it so easy for me to walk right by TDS at the Mall. I used to make a special trip to the mall at least once a week just to visit TDS. Since I only have male children, a store full of wands & princess outfits doesn't hold much appeal. I suppose when TDS starts shutting down stores marketing will scratch their heads & wonder why.

As for the EBAYers & other resellers, even my grocery limits purchases of sale items to 6 per customer. It is clearly printed in all ads & on the store signage. Perfectly acceptable.

 

[maleficent1959]

You think it’s rare when guests take it out on cast members? Let me just share with you a few of my guest experiences from a 4.5 hour shift last night.

There was a woman who was upset that she had not gotten her free flashlight and candy tote when she pre-ordered two movies. Knowing that there were two days when it could be any $40 purchase, not just Halloween, I told her when the sale started and asked if she had just made the purchase. Oh yes, she said and got out her receipt. I was willing to do a price adjustment until I saw that she purchased her movies on August 23 – long before the sale started. She demanded the items anyway, I told her no and she then yelled at me and left the store.

Another woman claimed that she had purchased a Belle costume with all the accessories and didn’t get her flashlight and candy tote. She didn’t have a receipt to prove that she purchased them, let alone that it was during the promotion, and insisted that I just give her a tote and flashlight since she was there. I said if she would bring her receipt showing that she was, indeed, shorted I would be glad to give her the items then. She marched out, announcing that she was never shopping in our store again.

Another man came up to as I was ringing and wanted The Lion King on DVD. I explained that it was part of the Platinum Collection, was coming to IMAX theaters and that it would be out in October 2003. He went on an expletive-filled rant about Disney and the Disney Store (in front of children no less) and left. I only hope he doesn’t come back.

Another guest was angry with me when I asked her children to come down out of plush mountain. She said to leave them alone, they were just playing. Sure, and when they twist their ankle on the interior shelving who would she blame then? And I’m sure guests want to buy plush that’s dirty from some kid’s shoes.

Another lady upbraided me because we didn’t sell shoes, crowns and boas to go with the costume she wanted to purchase for her 6-month old granddaughter. Who would put these on an infant?

Then there was the man who was never going back to Disney because they raised the prices on passes (yes, he was buying passes) and went on a tirade about how things “used to be,” the “stockholder” (who isn’t?) who complained that the Disney Store was making his stock go down and just what were we cast members doing to ensure that his investments were solid, the parent who let their child throw up in plush mountain and didn’t tell anyone about it, the woman who I had to ask to please not lay on our giant Sully plush (she took it out of the wall bay) then had to listen to how it was our fault because she was tired and we had no chairs…

And this is all in addition to the usual "there’s too much of this, there’s not enough of that.” If I hear "the movie is cheaper at Wal-mart" one more time I think I'll scream. Do us all a favor and go to Wal-mart so you can save three or four cents.

And this was just me in one night. My manager has her own inspirational stories. Maybe it was a bad night or whatever, maybe I didn’t notice the sign on my back that said “please abuse me” but I sure didn’t feel like being a part of the Disney Magic anymore by the time I left.

 

[eeyore0062]

Kaelyn... you said everything very well... thank you for speaking on behalf of all of us.

Poohnatic... great examples... thanks for breaking everything down!

Maleficient.... gosh sounds like a nightmare... hope your next shift goes better!


As for me, I love working at the Disney Store because I get great joy from the looks on the kids' faces when they come in and see Mickey, the giant screen, that perfect princess dress. I love interacting with the public, and I just enjoy people. I obviously don't work there for the money aspect. I personally will try not to irritate you, but I will let you know what specials are happening, so you don't miss out on something in which you may be interested, as Poohnatic said. Please, if you don't want to hear what I have to say, politely let me know... but don't ignore me, put your cell phone to your ear the entire time you are in the store, or snap my head off. We, as castmembers are people trying hard to do our jobs well to impart some of the magic we still find in Disney to you and your little ones. We do respect the fact that sometimes you just don't want to hear about our specials, and just come in so your kids can look around, or perhaps you have had a hard day yourselves, and just don't want to be bothered, however we aren't mindreaders...

To our guests, thank you for making our day just a little brighter... a smile, a thank you, or even just an acknowledgement goes a long way, and we certainly do appreciate it... Without you, we wouldn't be here!

 

[PatriciaH]

I feel for anyone working in retail I did it for many years in New York. Want to see some tough customers? Try any store in NY city at Christmas time! Lines out the door. People angry because you personally made them wait It is a really tough job being on the front line at any company. I was also a receptionist/office manager at an internet company. Guess who got the brunt of it when e-mail was down. I think it is so unfair to take it out on someone that has no control over what is happening. As long as the customer is being treated fairly and with respect, they have NO right to take out their unhappy lives on the staff.

 

[skiwee1]

Gosh, I'm so surprised at the whining going on in this thread. So some people didn't get in on the UNADVERTISED sale. So what! I missed out too but it isn't the end of the world. They had every right to end that sale when they felt like it. I do believe that most stores have a clause about sales end when quantities are gone or even limited. Maybe TDS had a limit on what to sell? I worked in a retail store before and we did just that. We held unadvertised sales to clear out SOME inventory to make room for more. We didn't want to empty our shelves though. Sometimes we hoped to make it to the day we said the sale ended but sometimes we couldn't do it. Big deal! To the CMs, I could not put up with the rude people you do. Thank goodness I no longer have to work in retail as I'd have to slap some nasty customers around.

 

[baileybrad]

Reread the posts, 1 more time. None of the posters verbally attacked or overly whined to the frontline sales folks. The question was (same question that the in-store personnel appear to have) why was a particular sale stopped in such an odd fashion by corporate.

Are some customers rude to sales folks? Surely, they are. Do people in frontline retail receive unwarranted abuse from some customers who think that they are owed something for nothing? Absolutely.

None of that means that people are not allowed to offer opinions when Disney corporate handles something, in the opinion of the poster, poorly. If that is whining then so be it. That whining most likely got Surprise Mornings reinstituted.

 

[skiwee1]

Originally posted by baileybrad
Reread the posts, 1 more time. None of the posters verbally attacked or overly whined to the frontline sales folks. The question was (same question that the in-store personnel appear to have) why was a particular sale stopped in such an odd fashion by corporate.

Are some customers rude to sales folks? Surely, they are. Do people in frontline retail receive unwarranted abuse from some customers who think that they are owed something for nothing? Absolutely.

None of that means that people are not allowed to offer opinions when Disney corporate handles something, in the opinion of the poster, poorly. If that is whining then so be it. That whining most likely got Surprise Mornings reinstituted.

I don't believe I said anything about anyone attacking the CMs. I did say that I would have to slap some rude customers though. As far as whining about getting magic morning back, is that is what's happening here? All this whining is to get them to put some CDs back on sale for $10 because some folks missed out on a good deal? As far as why they stopped the sale quickly it is obvious. They were unprepared for the onslaught of people coming in to get the deal. I'm sure Disney didn't expect it to spread like wildfire over the internet and only hoped to clear some merchandise that had been sitting. Apparantly the job got done quicker then anticipated and the sale had to end earlier. What is so difficult to understand? I'm happy for the ones that got the bargains! I'm always happy someone got a great deal!

 

[baileybrad]

No, the "whining" is called an opinion. Everybody is allowed to have one on these boards without it being referred to as whining. The one constant in this thread is that the majority of folks believe that the sale was not handled in a very good way. Some, however, apparantly think that is okay to have a sale scheduled for a preset length of time and then to just stop it when you have reached a certain level of sales (not when you have sold out of an item, or the time for the sale has elapsed) and just arbitrarily shut it down. I have never heard of any business doing such a thing but then again I wasn't able to figure out the whys and hows of this sale without being privy to the inside scoop as some of the non-TDS employees have been able to do.

I defer to the TDS employees as to what they think might have occurred. Their opinions carry a ton of weight with me. Do I care that some folks weren't able to purchase a DVD for $10, not really, and as most have said neither do they. What I care about is that Disney Corporate can't even properly manage a simple 2 or 3 day sale on some DVDs.