SmartPak's bad math: "25% off" isn't! Minor update, p. 5

[red_mares]

[QUOTE=SillyHorse;8014386]
SmartPak is doing it exactly right. The price to you and everyone else is 20% off. As a USEF member, you get 5% off that price. I can see where you and others might think otherwise, but you are still getting an extra 5% off.[/QUOTE]

No, they’re not. The math does not equal 25% off.

When I worked retail it was something to learn that 20% + an extra 5% =/= 25%. Look at Macy’s or Penny’s Sunday ads - they ofton say something like up to 67% off total & specifically don’t just add up discounts. If SmartPak doesn’t know this, I would be shocked. It’s not a mom & pop, start up organization. They know how things are supposed to be done.

[SuckerForHorses]

There are some folks on this thread who need to retake their basic math course from high school! :lol:

[IFG]

I am with MVP. Bottom line, the banner at the top of my screen says 25% off. If they do the math wrong, they are guilty of false advertising, and it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. It may be a small amount, but it leaves you feeling like a friend cheated you.

[OveroHunter]

If they are advertising 25% off to USEF/AQHA members, not 20% plus an additional 5% which could be construed as being correct by SP, then they are clearly falsely advertising their sale… Which is illegal.

It’s pretty cut and dry. I hope they take a look at this thread and stop pocketing the extra 1%!

[Lord_Helpus]

This is a wonderful topic for a freezing cold, snowy, stuck in the house day. But it hardly warrants the Atty General of Mass’s attention.

This math problem is similar to:

The item was $100, now it costs $50 – so it is 50% off.
But if you then increase the price by 50%, it only costs $75.00. To get back to $100, you have to increase the price by 100%.

I am in my 60’s, and this has made me crazy for many decades now. Even though I understand the math, I still have to do it, step by step, in my head to make sure I am getting it right.

[red_mares]

@Lord Helpus;8015813

This is a wonderful topic for a freezing cold, snowy, stuck in the house day. But it hardly warrants the Atty General of Mass’s attention.

It does merit a letter to SmartPak suggesting that a letter to the Attorney General may be forth coming.

This isn’t a huge deal, but there’s no reason for it. Only shady retailers do this & SmartPak makes a huge deal about how customer friendly they are.

[roamingnome]

[QUOTE=IFG;8015773]
I am with MVP. Bottom line, the banner at the top of my screen says 25% off. If they do the math wrong, they are guilty of false advertising, and it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. It may be a small amount, but it leaves you feeling like a friend cheated you.[/QUOTE]

Exactly. They offered me the actual 25% off my order, probably to get me off the phone/chat… And are ‘looking in to it’. I asked if I would hear back about this- “sure”.
I didn’t push it with the CS reps, because ya, they probably don’t know how to do the math, but I would surely hope that marketing 1) isn’t that dumb 2) doesn’t think WE are that dumb.

[roamingnome]

[QUOTE=IFG;8015773]
I am with MVP. Bottom line, the banner at the top of my screen says 25% off. If they do the math wrong, they are guilty of false advertising, and it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. It may be a small amount, but it leaves you feeling like a friend cheated you.[/QUOTE]

Exactly. They offered me the actual 25% off my order, probably to get me off the phone/chat… And are ‘looking in to it’. I asked if I would hear back about this- “sure”.
I didn’t push it with the CS reps, because ya, they probably don’t know how to do the math, but I would surely hope that marketing 1) isn’t that dumb 2) doesn’t think WE are that dumb.

[roamingnome]

[QUOTE=red mares;8015836]
It does merit a letter to SmartPak suggesting that a letter to the Attorney General may be forth coming.

This isn’t a huge deal, but there’s no reason for it. Only shady retailers do this & SmartPak makes a huge deal about how customer friendly they are.[/QUOTE]

Exactly, I’d be happy with them saying 24% off or 5% off THEN 20% off that for a total of 24%! But no.
It just makes me wonder how much money they’ve ‘pocketed’ with these deals in the past. I know for sure my two large orders around Christmas (20% off plus 5% USEF) were not in fact 25% off, as advertised…

I’ve used Smartpak since 2004, with Smartpaks being delivered monthly since then, plus all of the ‘stuff’ I bought on top of the supplements. Makes me sad that they’re ‘cheating’ like this.

[SillyHorse]

[QUOTE=SillyHorse;8014386]
SmartPak is doing it exactly right. The price to you and everyone else is 20% off. As a USEF member, you get 5% off that price. I can see where you and others might think otherwise, but you are still getting an extra 5% off.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=red mares;8015741]No, they’re not. The math does not equal 25% off.

When I worked retail it was something to learn that 20% + an extra 5% =/= 25%. Look at Macy’s or Penny’s Sunday ads - they ofton say something like up to 67% off total & specifically don’t just add up discounts. If SmartPak doesn’t know this, I would be shocked. It’s not a mom & pop, start up organization. They know how things are supposed to be done.[/QUOTE]
If you had read the whole thread, you’d know that when I wrote my response, it wasn’t clear that it was being advertised to USEF members as 25% off. Once that was made clear, I agreed that SmartPak was incorrect.

[seabreeze]

[QUOTE=red mares;8015836]
This isn’t a huge deal, but there’s no reason for it. Only shady retailers do this & SmartPak makes a huge deal about how customer friendly they are.[/QUOTE]

This is the crux of the issue. SmartPak’s marketing hinges on the customer believing that they are “one of us.” SmartPak has encouraged–over and over–customers to “trust” them. If that’s how they’re going to market their business, then, by golly, that’s how they better run their business. Plain and simple.

[horsepoor]

I don’t hold SmartPak to a different standard because of how they market themselves. No matter what business was doing the funny math, I’d want to call them out on it as it is just plain wrong.

[IFG]

BTW, the banner changed on my Smartpak page today. No longer says 25% off.

[Jealoushe]

in the future - SmartPak has a surcharge for anyone with a user name on CoTH - LOL

[SuckerForHorses]

[QUOTE=Jealoushe;8017716]
in the future - SmartPak has a surcharge for anyone with a user name on CoTH - LOL[/QUOTE]

:lol:

[roamingnome]

[QUOTE=IFG;8017710]
BTW, the banner changed on my Smartpak page today. No longer says 25% off.[/QUOTE]

Well the sale is over so that makes sense!

[netg]

I emailed and got a response back that in order to make it come out properly they usually turn the USEF (or whatever organization) into a higher percentage so it equals 25% when it’s stacked discounts, and apparently this time it didn’t happen so they are refunding the difference to me.

[mvp]

[QUOTE=netg;8018190]
I emailed and got a response back that in order to make it come out properly they usually turn the USEF (or whatever organization) into a higher percentage so it equals 25% when it’s stacked discounts, and apparently this time it didn’t happen so they are refunding the difference to me.[/QUOTE]

I don’t think this mistake is limited to this sale. It has happened on my invoices every time they have offered stacked discounts. That’s one reason I don’t buy during these sales too much anymore. I’m tired of the mistake which I couldn’t just correct with the CS rep at the time I placed the order. I never wanted to go to the trouble this is taking.

Well, I’m doing that now. I’ll update you guys tomorrow. You should be seeing some money back if you bought during this most recent sale at least.

[SuckerForHorses]

[QUOTE=mvp;8018922]
I don’t think this mistake is limited to this sale. It has happened on my invoices every time they have offered stacked discounts. That’s one reason I don’t buy during these sales too much anymore. I’m tired of the mistake which I couldn’t just correct with the CS rep at the time I placed the order. I never wanted to go to the trouble this is taking.

Well, I’m doing that now. I’ll update you guys tomorrow. You should be seeing some money back if you bought during this most recent sale at least.[/QUOTE]

They will probably only make the corrections to the people who noticed it and complained :lol:

[zippyrider]

[QUOTE=SuckerForHorses;8019038]
They will probably only make the corrections to the people who noticed it and complained :lol:[/QUOTE]

Probably.

Math is math. They should correct themselves. I have found their inability to calculate discounts correctly incredibly annoying. I also find it irritating how --in other sales – so many brands are not included AND they don’t disclose this! One sale email listed all the excluded brands (and it did not say anything like “other exclusions may apply”). When I tried to check out, nothing in my cart qualified for the sale, even though I thought I included only appropriate brands. So frustrating!

I think a big issue for SmartPak is how so many people felt blown off and that their complaint wasn’t validated or taken seriously. That’s a big no-no.

Man, I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning!