So we went to Zellers at West Edmonton Mall yesterday to look at dresses for Lydia and her cousin for the weddings we’ve got to go to this summer. My mother-in-law went to pay, and the cashier (no name-tag, but the receipt says operator number 1897326 at store 294) told her she could save 20% if she applied for the store credit card. Never mind that the lineup was growing because they’re always kind of slow and lacking in open tills at this store, apparently she’s got to ask everyone this, regardless of how much their order is for or whether it makes sense to fill out a credit card application to save 20% on a pack of gum or whatever.
So my ever patient mother-in-law fills out the application, at which point the cashier tells her that ooh, actually, none of the items you’re buying are eligible for saving 20% off, so it’s regular price. Fine, my mother-in-law says, then I’m not interested in the credit card, and she tears up the application. At which point the cashier tells her that she can’t do this, as the application is store property, and if she’s got a problem with it she’ll have to wait for the card to come in the mail and cancel it (hey, at least the postal strike is ending tomorrow, right?) My mother-in-law asks to speak to a manager. So down comes the manager, who snatches the torn application from her and repeats the line about the application being store property (never mind that it’s covered in personal information that is not the store’s property).
What I want to know is how they can decide that as soon as information is on the form that there’s no backing out, even before the form has been submitted to them. Is that even legal? Never minding whether it’s worth fighting with a customer about. They must really be hurting for credit card applications if they’ve got to get them through trickery and by force.
