Ok, well, this saga goes on for me! The news is good, but... now I don't know for sure WHAT I have coming to me!!!
So, can anyone give me definitive answers on what the sale pricing for the Cinderella necklace, bracelet, and tiara were?
Here's how things went:
As I said, I had called the Chicago store to try and hunt down a set after I found out the NY store didn't hold a set, even though I knew from on here that it looked like all the stores were out of the tiaras. Sure enough, they had the necklace and bracelet, but not the tiara. The woman I talked to there said she would hold the necklace and bracelet and try her best to try and find a tiara for me.
Meanwhile, I waited until after Michelle at the NY store was in to call back there and talk to her. Like Lulu, I found Michelle to be pretty casual about the whole thing, but I questioned her every step of the way. When she said she just found out that they weren't allowed to hold them, I asked why she didn't let me know that. She said I didn't leave a phone number, and I said that yes, I did, because she was supposed to call me back when the sale started to actually sell the pieces to me. She said oh, well, she couldn't find the number here, but that they still had the sets.
????
I said, "What? I was told when I called this morning that they were all gone, that the sets were all sold." She said, "Well, I'm looking at some right here." I said, "So you have the Cinderella necklace, bracelet, and tiara in the store?" She said, "Well, no, but we have a tiara." And that's a set? But ok. So I said, "I'll take it."
Then comes the next problem. She tells me to wait a minute, then comes back on the phone.
At that point, she tells me her manager has told them they can't do phone sales either! Then she starts whispering. She tells me her manager leaves at 6, and they can do a 24-hour hold on an item, so she'll put a hold on it, and to call her back after 6, and she'll sell it to me then. Ok.
So I call the Chicago store back. I get told that they weren't able to find a tiara for me, and I tell them that's ok, I was able to find one, and I will take the necklace and bracelet. They take all my information, but they aren't able to give me a final total, because it's busy and the woman isn't able to get to the register. She tells me she'll call back later with it, but she never does, and when I call back, she again can't get to the register because it's being used, but she'll call back. It goes that way the rest of the day, and I never get the call back. I end up spending the entire weekend wondering if THAT order actually went through or not.
Back to NY - I call after 6. Michelle's manager is gone. She takes all my information and tells me that what she'll do is put the tiara away, and she won't actually ring up the sale until Monday (this is Friday) so that hopefully her manager won't notice it. She says I'll get the sale price, and that the tiara will then go out on Tuesday, and hopefully, her manager won't fire her.
I spend the rest of the weekend periodically checking my credit card on-line to see if I get charged anything from either store. Finally, on Monday, a charge dated on Friday for $97.65 from the Chicago store showed up.
I've been checking since then, and thought that Michelle had let me down again, but this morning, I saw that a charge for $42.58 from the NY store had gone through on Monday.
So, obviously, I will have a necklace, bracelet, and tiara! YAY!! Now the thing is.... the $97.65 from the Chicago store seems like more than I thought it would be for just the bracelet and necklace. In fact, from what people here were saying about the prices, that's about what I was figuring it would cost for all three pieces.
So, did I just underestimate the cost? Did the Chicago store charge more, or not give as good a sale price on those particular pieces? Or did they perhaps end up having a tiara they didn't sell, and go ahead and add it to my package as well? Would that be the right price for all three?
Guess I'll find out sometime in the next week or so. And if they did charge more, and it means I paid closer to $150 than $100 for the whole set... well, it's a little more than I planned on, but it still isn't bad for all three pieces, so I won't complain.
And if I do have an extra tiara, then I guess I'll get to work out something with someone here on the board... at what it cost me plus shipping, of course. Though I have to admit, seeing the prices these things go for on e-bay is tempting, but it's more important to have it go to someone who was trying to get it the way I was, and didn't get it!
And to be fair, if it turns out I do have an extra, since Lulu was the other person who had the problem with Michelle at the NY store with me, she has first dibs... if she doesn't want it, then we'll go from there. But don't count any chickens yet - I haven't even gotten the packages yet!
So, can anyone give me definitive answers on what the sale pricing for the Cinderella necklace, bracelet, and tiara were?
Here's how things went:
As I said, I had called the Chicago store to try and hunt down a set after I found out the NY store didn't hold a set, even though I knew from on here that it looked like all the stores were out of the tiaras. Sure enough, they had the necklace and bracelet, but not the tiara. The woman I talked to there said she would hold the necklace and bracelet and try her best to try and find a tiara for me.
Meanwhile, I waited until after Michelle at the NY store was in to call back there and talk to her. Like Lulu, I found Michelle to be pretty casual about the whole thing, but I questioned her every step of the way. When she said she just found out that they weren't allowed to hold them, I asked why she didn't let me know that. She said I didn't leave a phone number, and I said that yes, I did, because she was supposed to call me back when the sale started to actually sell the pieces to me. She said oh, well, she couldn't find the number here, but that they still had the sets.
????
I said, "What? I was told when I called this morning that they were all gone, that the sets were all sold." She said, "Well, I'm looking at some right here." I said, "So you have the Cinderella necklace, bracelet, and tiara in the store?" She said, "Well, no, but we have a tiara." And that's a set? But ok. So I said, "I'll take it."
Then comes the next problem. She tells me to wait a minute, then comes back on the phone.
At that point, she tells me her manager has told them they can't do phone sales either! Then she starts whispering. She tells me her manager leaves at 6, and they can do a 24-hour hold on an item, so she'll put a hold on it, and to call her back after 6, and she'll sell it to me then. Ok.
So I call the Chicago store back. I get told that they weren't able to find a tiara for me, and I tell them that's ok, I was able to find one, and I will take the necklace and bracelet. They take all my information, but they aren't able to give me a final total, because it's busy and the woman isn't able to get to the register. She tells me she'll call back later with it, but she never does, and when I call back, she again can't get to the register because it's being used, but she'll call back. It goes that way the rest of the day, and I never get the call back. I end up spending the entire weekend wondering if THAT order actually went through or not.
Back to NY - I call after 6. Michelle's manager is gone. She takes all my information and tells me that what she'll do is put the tiara away, and she won't actually ring up the sale until Monday (this is Friday) so that hopefully her manager won't notice it. She says I'll get the sale price, and that the tiara will then go out on Tuesday, and hopefully, her manager won't fire her.
I spend the rest of the weekend periodically checking my credit card on-line to see if I get charged anything from either store. Finally, on Monday, a charge dated on Friday for $97.65 from the Chicago store showed up.
I've been checking since then, and thought that Michelle had let me down again, but this morning, I saw that a charge for $42.58 from the NY store had gone through on Monday.
So, obviously, I will have a necklace, bracelet, and tiara! YAY!! Now the thing is.... the $97.65 from the Chicago store seems like more than I thought it would be for just the bracelet and necklace. In fact, from what people here were saying about the prices, that's about what I was figuring it would cost for all three pieces.
So, did I just underestimate the cost? Did the Chicago store charge more, or not give as good a sale price on those particular pieces? Or did they perhaps end up having a tiara they didn't sell, and go ahead and add it to my package as well? Would that be the right price for all three?
Guess I'll find out sometime in the next week or so. And if they did charge more, and it means I paid closer to $150 than $100 for the whole set... well, it's a little more than I planned on, but it still isn't bad for all three pieces, so I won't complain.
And if I do have an extra tiara, then I guess I'll get to work out something with someone here on the board... at what it cost me plus shipping, of course. Though I have to admit, seeing the prices these things go for on e-bay is tempting, but it's more important to have it go to someone who was trying to get it the way I was, and didn't get it!
And to be fair, if it turns out I do have an extra, since Lulu was the other person who had the problem with Michelle at the NY store with me, she has first dibs... if she doesn't want it, then we'll go from there. But don't count any chickens yet - I haven't even gotten the packages yet!