Retailers lie all the time, and seldom is it as apparent as the nose on your face. The question of knowing better comes into play. Here are a few common lies that retailers often try and get away with….
• Studies once again suggest that radiation from cell phone usage is linked to brain cancer, lower testosterone rates and migraine headaches. Technology retailers report that the studies are not conclusive. (See the Surgeon General’s report on the harm of nicotine in the early 1960s.)
• Retailers will tell us that they value customers and providing excellent customer service. Like retail math, this is retail English for, “we value sales and selling you something you don’t really need for five times what we paid for it. Please come again!"
• “The extended warranty is for your protection.” This is like the scene in "The Godfather," when Sonny Correlone tells that old barber, “It's not extortion, think of it as insurance.” Consumer Reports Magazine shows time and time again that this “add on” is seldom worth the paper it’s written on. I once purchased an “add on” from Jennifer Convertibles to insure against fabric deterioration with a full FREE replacement, including wear and stains. It cost me $180. When I tried to exercise my claim, Jennifer Convertibles said since I moved I could no longer place a claim on it as the shipping address was different.
• The dreaded “20% off everything already reduced in the department” coupon in bold 14-point font, followed by the “some items not included” at the bottom of the page in 0.4-point font.
These are but a few of the most abhorrent lies perpetrated by retailers—which lies have you heard lately? Something tells me that retailers need to consider rhinoplasty and quick!
–Ron Knoth, Guest Blogger