My Two Cents

I’m going to qualify this entry by saying right off that as a general rule I like JC Penney. We have managed to buy quite a bit from them over the years, most of it household and decorative items.

Almost always we’ve been happy with what we’ve gotten. Since we do get things there with some regularity, we are ALWAYS getting mini-catalogs from them, emails offering free shipping (followed up with postcards doing the same), and sometimes even phone surveys.

So, when the latest little sales flyer came and the mother found something she wanted – quickly producing a free shipping postcard that had arrived a day later – I thought nothing of it. The free shipping, however, was on an order of $75 or more. The mother thought it was $50. (Her item of choice was $49.99.)

“Well, I could get a new rug for the kitchen,” she says. OK. Whatever. I place the order online. Before I can finish, I get one of those nasty little red notes.

Your order amount does not qualify for free shipping. Huh? I stare at the screen. My order total: $74.98.

Two cents under. Seriously? You’re going to withhold a discount over TWO CENTS? Most places give you leeway when you get within a coin or two. Apparently, JC Penney is not one of them. Angered by their pettiness, I canceled the order.

But, this was the mother’s order. And she decided she wanted the rug. So she got the next size at $10 more. “Sucker,” I told her, glad that it wasn’t me paying for it. Because if it had been, they’d just have been out of a sale.

And that's my two cents.