Tonight’s episode of buyer beware comes from….

Famous Footwear. Went in today to use my gift card. I had been there several times before (I usually paid for my purchases with Paypal there. Something that will come up later). So today, I go in & look for a good pair of Columbia footwear. Normally, they have a buy 1, get 1 half price, so I also selected a pair of K-Swiss trainers (as well as the Columbia’s). I knew this was more than my gift card, but I figured I could paypal the rest. Go up to checkout, and give them the gift card. They ring me in. I give them my gift card. They ask me how much is on it, And I said there was $100. She said there was only $52.41 on it. Red Flag #1. But I roll with it, since I had also gotten 15% off for joining the rewards program. I then said that I’d like to use my paypal. And that’s where the probem started. The creen didn’t advance to where I would enter my phone number, and the other employee basically told me that I wasn’t going to be using my paypal that day. So I decided to fuck it, and told them I didn’t want to make the purchase. Now, any cashier capable of rubbing two neurons together would be able to figure out that you just hit the void key. Nope. Not these two people. Nope. They were going to have to ‘cash out’ my gift card and give me another one. I told them to forget it, and I walked out. The overall ‘vibe’ I got from my experience was that I wasn’t welcome, and even though they have my money, I can’t have my product.

So, I’ve asked Famous Footwear to have their district manager explain to me:

1. I want to know why my gift card only had $52.41 on it, and I want to see the entire purchase history of it. And this is for the old card, not the new one that they were going to load it onto. I smell a rat.
2. I need an explanation as to why they no longer accept Paypal. I have the paypal app and pin set up, and I was flat out told that I couldn't use it on this purchase.
3. I need an explanation as to why the 2 employees at the register are not adequately trained. And specifically why the store manager allowed this to happen, and why specifically he/she will still have a job here.
4. I need an explanation as to why I wasn't welcome there. It seemed like I was a burden there, and it was just easier for me to just eat my losses and leave then to keep being told no and to jump through your hoops for a simple purchase of two pairs of shoes.

Now, it’s not the loss of the gift card that really bothers me. It was a gift from my brother, and this is a case where it is the thought that truly counts. But there is a reason why he got it for me, and he is not happy that I’m getting jack shit for it…

Famous Footwear, I’ll leave it your imagination to figure out where you can shove your gift card and your excuses.

BTW, suprisingly I was able to find the exact same shoes on Newegg. Who knew?