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Anders Falkum is one of many who react to Elkjøp’s customer treatment in relation to sales.
Good deal, Anders Falkum thought when he saw the price of a Samsung Galaxy S20 4G in Elkjøp on a Saturday last year. It was reduced by NOK 1,700 to NOK 5,990.
True, it was sold out online, but according to the website, it was available at Elkjøp Phone House in Lambertseter in Oslo. It was Saturday after Black Friday and the offer would last until Monday.
When he got there, there were several lined up in front of him.
– Everyone asked for a product in which they had a campaign. They all left without a product, says Falkum.
But the store had the phone and Falkum received confirmation that he could get it at the advertised sale price. The clerk picked up the phone, scanned it, and the price appeared on the cash register screen. Then something strange happened:
– When I was about to “empty” the card, the seller said: “I’m sorry, but I can’t sell this at this price. You can get it at regular price.”
Also read: Energy should have 2000 extra crowns for a service that Arne had not asked for
– unprofessional
The campaign ended at 3 p.m., and it was now 5 p.m., the clerk thought, although the ad said the campaign was valid until the following Monday.
Anders Falkum confronted the clerk that the phone was on sale as of Monday and that the store had it. Then they told him to go away.
– I asked to speak to his boss, but then it turned out that he did not dare to call.
The seller repeated that Falkum had to pay the regular price, stood with the phone in hand and said that the campaign was over. Falkum left the store in surprise.
– I experienced the whole session as very funny. If they no longer had stock of the product at the right price, why did that price go up in the terminal and on your screen?
The following Monday, Elkjøp’s customer service stated that there were a limited number of offers and that this was the reason why the mobile could not be sold at the stated sale price. Falkum has yet to receive an explanation as to why this price was displayed at the terminal. You have now submitted the case to the Norwegian Consumer Agency.
– This is not professional. I hope such a great player behaves decently with customers, says Falkum.
Canceled reservations
In an article in Nettavisen before Christmas, former Elkjøp and Power employees said that promotional products are actively used as bait to get people to stores and sell them something different and more expensive.
Also read: Former employees at Elkjøp and Power say: – An extremely cynical industry that never wants the best for the customer
After this, we have received many inquiries about situations similar to what Anders Falkum describes here. This is some of what customers have told us:
- Reservations are canceled without prior notice
- Products are suddenly out of stock
- Deliveries are postponed even if the stores have the item in stock
Feel free to tell us here if you want to tell us about the customer service that you think is reprehensible, either in electronics chains or in other stores.
I’ve been waiting six weeks for a product that the store
Another customer who contacted Nettavisen had ordered a soundboard from Elkjøp, the price of which had been reduced by NOK 6,000. The delivery time is delayed several times, although many stores have the product:
– When I have contacted them to order the product, I get the response that all items purchased on Black Friday should be shipped from the main warehouse, even if my closest Elkjøp, which is a mile away, has the product.
The customer states that 38 stores have the product that they will not receive until mid-January, and writes:
– I can’t understand that this is law.
– Unusually poor customer service
Jo Gjedrem, department director at the Norwegian Consumer Agency, cannot comment on Falkum’s experience in Elkjøp or the other case specifically.
– But if the store has the product, it’s at least unusually bad customer service not to sell it. If they have brought people to the store and cannot deliver the product at the listed price, they must do something active to deliver the product as soon as possible.
The Marketing Law still allows a lot as long as the information to customers is clear, explains Gjedrem, who believes that lure offers are generally less common now than before:
– You have the duty to provide information so as not to drag customers to the store in false premises. For example, in the case of a very limited number of units, this should be clearly stated.
It is also a well-known tactic to use a limited number as an argument to attract customers to stores, says Gjedrem.
– But if you can’t deliver a product, you need to try your best to reduce the problem for customers. Giving incorrect information about whether or not an item is inside can be misleading or illegal. But often, these cases are primarily about customer service.
Also read: Elkjøp ads had fictitious previous prices
– The point is not only to prevent sales
In previous articles on Nettavisen, Elkjøp (and Power) have denied that employees tamper with inventory or that sales of promotional products should be restricted.
Several sources with insider knowledge of the business say something different. They describe intense activity to sell anything other than the products on sale:
– What we do is move the merchandise from “warehouse” to “warehouse b” in Elguide (a very widespread customer system). It hides the item from the website, so it cannot be purchased online or in store.
This calls for a source by far from different positions in sales and sales management, from the two major electronics chains. After the sale, promotional products that should not be sold at all are extra profitable, says the source:
– The point is not only to prevent people from buying it. Promotional items tend to have a better purchase price, so we earn even more money from them after the campaign. Here’s how you turn potential losses into good profits.
Also read: Races against the widespread price trap at Elkjøp and Power: – Worthless and misleading
– Measured in “upselling”
Another former employee with several years of experience from each of the two chains confirms that the promotional products will be kept:
– In the weekly campaign meetings, what is called “upselling” is analyzed. These are the products that you will sell when someone wants the promotional products. They offer a better margin, so it’s measured by how good you are at selling them, the former employee tells Nettavisen.
Campaign brochures are only published on paper. They do not exist digitally, for fear of being lost, says the ex-seller, who explains this with a large number of employees, great secrecy and confidentiality promises in final agreements.
– It was the maximum number
According to Elkjøp’s communications director, Madeleine Schøyen Bergly, there was a good reason why Anders Falkum was not allowed to buy the Samsung phone at the sale price:
– It was a completely ordinary advertising campaign where the principle of first-come, first-served is applied, write in an email and elaborate:
– The complaint refers to a Samsung S20 4G and the ad clearly shows that we only had 2,500 phones at the indicated price. When the customer came to the store to buy, we had already sold over the maximum number, and when that happens, the advertising campaign is “digitally turned off” and therefore the customer is informed that the campaign has ended.
– But the customer here was told that the store had the item at this price a few minutes earlier. The offer price went up at the terminal. The employee did not say anything about the maximum number of (even though it was in the ad), which is also impossible for the customer to know the votes. Is it okay to deal with the customer then not give the customer the price that goes up in the terminal?
– On the Saturday after Black Friday, we reached the maximum number for this phone. The product was then immediately removed from our promotional pages and prices were updated simultaneously in all our store systems. Everything takes place automatically and digitally, so the reason why the price should be left in the corresponding store described in the case here is unfortunately difficult to find out now in hindsight.
– Several former employees have told us about campaign meetings and campaign brochures with clear “upsell” instructions, and that these brochures are only available on paper. Can you confirm or deny that Elkjøp provides vendors with those weekly campaign brochures with those instructions?
In a regular campaign week, Elkjøp offers several hundred products. Of course, our employees must be well informed about these to help our customers in the most efficient way possible.
Therefore, the 4,000 employees receive information and continuous training on campaigns and products digitally via the intranet, according to Schøyen Bergly.
– In sales, we work in the same way as most companies. When you buy a television, you may want a system that provides even better sound than the standard version. This is how we make sure customers who want it get products tailored to their needs.
– Here we made an obvious mistake
But the electronics chain apologizes to the customer who has seen its ordered product available in 38 stores, but is instructed to wait for the “main warehouse”:
– We have obviously made a mistake here. Of course, the customer should have picked up the product himself at the store. We should have paid for the regular order and placed a new order at the convenience store.
However, Schøyen Bergly emphasizes that delivery time issues due to the corona pandemic present additional challenges with delayed products across Europe.
The online newspaper has also asked Elkjøp for comment on allegations that products are hidden in stock and that promotional products are being held until the sale price is no longer applied. Elkjøp has not responded to these questions.
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