target managed to do it

yes, tarjhay has made my shitlist for having a stupid, stupid policy.

last week was their 'baby sale', so i went in to get a carseat/stroller combo and a pack and play. once in the store, i chose a different carseat/stroller combo than i originally intended to buy - it was less bulky, less gender-specfic, and about $40 cheaper than the other set - without being on sale. and yes, i will say i was cheerfully helped by a couple of associates - the combo wouldn't fit in a shopping cart, so they loaded a flat cart for me (combo is also unwieldy when you have a huge belly), wheeled it up to the register, and helped me put it in my car.

i remember seeing something odd about the listing on the combo i purchased, so i brought it up on target's website a couple of days later. and then i see that the combo i've paid $99 for is now $69. i fire up the printer, document the new price, and head over to the store.

that's when i get told that it is not at $69 at the store, it's still $99, so i can't have a price adjustment.

problem in my view is that the website says "$69.99," and right underneath that says "also in stores." both in nice red text. nothing indicating that this is a web-only special. excuse of target store supervisor and person from 1-877 number: "prices may vary by location," in much smaller print a good distance from the price. also, i would only be entitled to a price adjustment if the item was in the weekly printed flyer, which this wasn't. (does this mean if the physical item in the store had a lower price than last week, but wasn't in the circular, no price adjustment??)

target, don't be stupid. don't encourage your customers to use your website for product research and then not match prices on items available online and instores. it sets up your customers to be disappointed, it sets your store associates for confrontations on a pretty dumb policy, and in general it just leaves a bad taste in the mouth.