Happy ending to a bad experience...

[can'twait]

We leave for WDW in 11 days - YAY! So yesterday I took a trip to my local Disney Store to get some Disney Dollars for the kiddies. I plunk down $45 in cash on the counter. The pimply teenager behind the counter takes the $, rings the sale and calls the manager to get the Disney Dollars for him. It was 8:00 pm and the place was empty except for the 3 of us. I admit I was watching cartoons while I was waiting. So the manager gives me $25 in Disney Dollars. I said "I gave him $45." She said, "Why would you do that?" I said, "Because I wanted $45 in Disney Dollars." She looks at the receipt and it says $25. Great. That's what I get for watching cartoons instead of paying attention. She started to say, "I'm sorry". I said, "I KNOW I gave the kid $45. Count the drawer." She counted the drawer 3 times and it came out even. The kid emptied his pockets. We searched the floor behind and in front of the register. I double checked my bag. I only brought $45 with me so that I would NOT spend another penny in the store. My bag had $3 for parking in it. They looked at me like I was a scam artist. So, after a half hour, I gave the manager my name and phone number in case they found it, and I left, very upset. I could not prove I had paid $45, and understood why they thought I was lying. I was a cashier many moons ago. I was SO upset all last night and all day today. I have been pinching pennies for this trip and to have $20 to just dissappear really pissed me off.

So guess what happened? When I got home from work today there was a message on the machine from the manager. The computer was wrong last night, and they found that the drawer was $20 over this morning. I could come back to the store any time and pick up my Disney Dollars. Yippeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! So I hauled my butt back to the mall, ran to and from the store and made it out of the parking garage in 13 minutes so I didn't have to pay $3 to park! Ha! It's a little known fact that the mall doesn't make you pay to park if you get in and out in less than 15 minutes. I'm a firm believer in "target shopping", where I go to ONE store with blinders on when the mall is empty, get what I came for, and bolt back to the car in time to get free parking.

Thanks for letting me vent - I knew you guys would understand the value of Disney Dollars.

 

[Luv2trav]

Glad to hear it worked out!!


Your mall charges you to park? That's crazy... I would hate to spend money for the right to spend money.

 

[canwegosoon]

Glad it worked out...I have had to call a couple of customers when I was proving my drawer at the bank...at least the money always worked out in the end.

 

[dandelion garden]

A similar thing happened to me at our Disney Store.

They were out of disney dollars (it was around christmas time) so I got a gift card for $25.00.

After the holidays, took my DS in to use it and was told there was only $20 on it.

I didn't have a receipt so had nothing to back me up. Oh well.

 

[WaltD4Me]

I'm SO glad it worked out for you! I know how you feel, that $20 would have just bugged and bugged me!

Aside from that, I can't believe you have to pay for parking at the MALL?! Wow! - I've been to ALOT of malls in my time and I've never been to one that charges you to park your car so you can go in and spend money!

 

[sk!mom]

Glad it worked out!

BTW- San Antonio also has a mall that charges for parking but if you buy something or eat then I think you get something like 2 free hours.

 

[ButterflyJen]

I'm glad things worked out! Yay!

 

[cascadecupcake]

Yes, I'm glad you got your $20. However, what I can't believe is that they didn't offer you something else for the trouble! THEIR computer was wrong. You were humiliated, then had to make another trip back to the mall. (gas and time aren't CHEAP!) I've been in retail for years and I would NEVER had had a guest come back due to our mistake and not had some sort of nice gesture there waiting for them. Maybe an extra $5DD. Or even something that won't cost them actual cash--25% off your next item purchased. Anything to show you that you are valued to them and they are sorry for the inconvenience.
Again, I'm glad everything worked out in the long run for you OP, and you seem to be very happy with the outcome. But I am disappointed to hear how your Disney Store handled this.

 

[maggiew]

I am glad it worked out for you. I had this happen to me once at the post office where the clerk gave me the wrong change. I walked out then started to put my money away and then realized he was $20 short. So I went back in and had the guy count his drawer. It was near 6 pm so he wasn't happy. But he was $20 over.

Do you think that the boy "chickened out" and put the $20 back in the register later on that night?

Maggie

 

[pyrxtc]

I, too, am disappointed by how it was handled. I never would have left the mall until it was straightened out. $20 is a lot for me so I would have been arguing and making them count the draw over and over again until it was right. Also how does a computer get it wrong?? They physically counted the draw right? The computer says whatever you tell it to say. I would have expected something more too. Did they at least give you a sincere apology??

 

[popeyeohoh]

I would have politely asked them to check their drawer at closing. Making a poor teenager empty his/her pockets like a common thief was rude. Making them close their drawer during business hours was a bit much for $20.00. I would have mailed you the disney dollars instead of making you come back. You got everything you were entitled to.

 

[kelleigh1]

Glad it worked out. I hate that lost money feeling.

As for those commenting on the paying for parking at the mall...not so unusual really, but I guess it depends on where you live. Most of the malls in our area offer free parking, however in downtown Providence, it's a pay garage attached to the mall. And part of the reason is because it is in the heart of the city, right near the train station, convention center and an arena. If it was free, the shoppers would never have a place to park. If you get your parking ticket validated with any purchase, you do get a nice discount. And if you forget to have it validated, you simply show a receipt from anything purchased that day and you pay the reduced rate. In my travels, I have found a fair number of malls that charge for parking...but again, usually when it's a garage and in a large area where non-shoppers could take advantage of the parking.

 

[branv]

You were absolutely justified in how you handled it, except for one thing, you were way too nice about being the one to go back up there to pick it up They should have offered to mail it, and they DEFINITELY would have been paying for my parking if I had had to come all the way back up there. Considering how much gas costs to drive back up there, and how embarassed you had to feel, I agree that there should have been some thing extra for their mistake.

I was once on the flip side of that, had a customer scream and I mean SCREAM that they'd given me a 20 when I knew it had been a 10 (I was one of those anal people who always balanced perfectly at the end of the evening ). The funny thing is that my drawer had just been cleaned of big bills by the manager, so my manager was able to tell the guy "take a look, there's not even a 20 IN here." Clearly a scam artist, since all he bought was a packet of 30 cent pop rocks....what adult goes into a Blockbuster for just pop rocks?

 

[kelleigh1]

That reminds me...when I worked retail back in highschool, we were trained that you never put the money into the drawer until you counted out the change back to the customer. You set it on the ledge of the register (out of customer reach) and then gave them their change. That way, if they tried to say they gave you a $20 instead of a $10, you could verify what they actually gave you.

 

[can'twait]

Thanks everyone!

The thing is, it WAS closing time and the place was empty except for the 3 of us. There's no way the kid could have mixed my $ up with someone else's because nobody else came to the register while we were waiting for the manager to get the Disney Dollars. I really think it was an honest mistake on the kid's part, but it's possible he took it and put it back later after I made such a big deal over it.

Yes, $3 to park is a CRIME! The mall is in a metropolitan area and you have to pay to park in the attached garage. It's a high end mall so they just put the screws to you, figuring if you are going to shop at Nordstrom and Crabtree & Evelyn, $3 to park is nothing to you. I also agree that if you spend $ there you should be able to get your parking ticket validated or at least a discount on the parking. I think Nordstrom's validates, but I've never stepped foot in that store! The poor man's mall on the other end of town charges .50 per hour to park but they closed their Disney Store last year, so I had no choice but to go to the high end mall. If I knew I wasn't going to make it out in time I definitely would have asked them for the $3. I was just happy that I got my $20 back, and my excercise for the night because I literally sprinted back to the car! Getting more upset and demanding free goods wouldn't have done any good at that point. At least they admitted their mistake.

Besides, who cares, I'm going to see Mickey in 10 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!! Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[kelleigh1]

If Nordstrom's has a coffee/snack bar, you might be able to get away with a small purchase there and getting your ticket validated. I believe there's one at the Providence mall and that's what my friend always did. Although now there's a Dunkin Donuts cart in the mall too, and they'll validate it with any purchase too so it's where we always stop on our way out.

 

[Chicago526]

Thanks everyone!

The thing is, it WAS closing time and the place was empty except for the 3 of us. There's no way the kid could have mixed my $ up with someone else's because nobody else came to the register while we were waiting for the manager to get the Disney Dollars. I really think it was an honest mistake on the kid's part, but it's possible he took it and put it back later after I made such a big deal over it.

Yes, $3 to park is a CRIME! The mall is in a metropolitan area and you have to pay to park in the attached garage. It's a high end mall so they just put the screws to you, figuring if you are going to shop at Nordstrom and Crabtree & Evelyn, $3 to park is nothing to you. I also agree that if you spend $ there you should be able to get your parking ticket validated or at least a discount on the parking. I think Nordstrom's validates, but I've never stepped foot in that store!

This makes sence if it's in a metro area. People would park in the mall to get free parking and then go someplace else downtown, and not shop in the mall at all. Then when real mall patrons look for parking spaces, they'd all be full. So the $3 fee is cheap enough not to scare any mall patrons away but keep the cheapskates out.

 

[PaulaSue]

After all that they should have gave you a little something extra for all the trouble.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

That reminds me...when I worked retail back in highschool, we were trained that you never put the money into the drawer until you counted out the change back to the customer. You set it on the ledge of the register (out of customer reach) and then gave them their change. That way, if they tried to say they gave you a $20 instead of a $10, you could verify what they actually gave you.

yep & you would also say "45 out of $45" this way the customer knew you were getting what she gave you .. and if there was a difference, it would be cought then. now you are lucky if someone can count back change, they rely too much on the computers to tell them what to give back.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

I would also like to add though, even though you were telling the truth, there are scam artists out there that do this, and that is the reason why they couldn't just hand you over the difference. They did have to wait until closing to see where the error was. Had they just handed you the difference, they would have been in big time trouble had you been a scam artist. So don't take it out on them totally, they are doing what they are suppose to be doing. If you put yourself in thier shoes, you will see exactly what I am saying. I have been on boths sides of that & neither is a good one. You must always wait until closing & the draw is balanced out. You were lucky they counted it three times while you were there (even though it still didn't find it), they were under no obligation to do that. When you are in retail, you would be surprised at the scams that people pull off...such as distracting the manager & cashier, store seems dead, you go in as a team..you distract the other grabs items & no one sees it.. I am in no way saying that you would ever do that, what I am saying is that there are low life's that do & unfortunatly for you & the store, they must think that way. I am happy for you that it did work out.
Also a note on parking & paying at Mall's, there is the one mall in Orlando that does it on I-Drive that I know of here. I am originally from NY & there were Malls there that did it...and that was over 18 years ago! My then local downtown shopping area even had parking meters in front of the stores & in parking garages... or you can pay by the month (better for you if you worked down there)