You may have seen in the news that Sharper Image recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and is basically up for sale. I got a little worried that a store credit I have with them will be worth nothing very soon….so I was on SharperImage.com tonight attempting to use-up that old credit I had from some merchandise I returned a few months ago. I finally found a couple of products to buy, and saw an insanely frustrating error message when I proceeded through their online checkout:
Your Gift Card, Reward Card or Gift Certificate was purchased before February 19, 2008, and therefore redemption has two conditions: It must (a) be redeemed in full and (b) your purchase must be for twice the card’s value. Your order total is currently $248.87 which is less than twice the card’s $256.40 value. Please add $263.93 to your order to use this Gift Card, Reward Card or Gift Certificate.
I have never heard of a store requiring you to purchase DOUBLE the amount in order to use your store credit! What an excellent way to piss off customers! Anyway, it’s not surprising that Sharper Image filed for bankruptcy protection. The few experiences I’ve had with this company have been terrible.
**update** Below is an email reply I received from Sharper Image customer service about this…
Thank you for your email.
We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this matter has caused you. Please be advised that on Tuesday, February 19, 2008, The Sharper Image commenced a case under chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the United States Court for the District of Delaware. The company intends to continue to conduct business as usual while it devotes renewed efforts to resolve it’s operational and liquidity problems and develops a reorganization plan.
Due to our filing for bankruptcy, at this time, we are only able to accept merchandise certificates in line with the following policy:
1. This policy is purely voluntary. It applies to all Gift Cards, Reward Cards, Gift Certificates and Merchandise Certificates issued prior to the Company’s petition for protection under chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code (February 19, 2008).
2. If you choose to redeem your card, you must purchase merchandise equal to twice the current value of the certificate to redeem the card.
3. If you choose to redeem your card, you may not redeem the certificate partially. Certificates must be redeemed in full.
4. How does it work? If you have a $25 card, you must purchase at least $50 to be able to use the certificate.
5. A Customer who does not wish to redeem his or her certificate as part of this program may have a priority claim in Sharper Image’s bankruptcy case. In a bankruptcy case, priority unsecured claims get paid prior to general unsecured claims, although there is no assurance of payment. Information about filing a claim and claim forms can be obtained on the following website:
http://www.kccllc.net/sharperimage
or by calling the following number: 1-800-344-5555.
6. Sharper Image is working diligently to be able to honor the certificates without condition in the future. A Customer who does not use his or her certificate as part of this program may be able to use the certificate without condition in the future, although Sharper Image cannot guaranty this result. This policy is subject to further order of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.
7. Certificates may not be accepted at stores that are closing, unless notified at the particular store to the contrary. If you do not live near a store please contact us at either of the numbers listed above or visit our website at www.sharperimage.com.
If you would like to apply your Certificate to an order, please feel free to place an order on our website at www.sharperimage.com or call us at 1-800-344-4444 and one of our associates would be more than happy to assist you.
We appreciate your patience in this matter.
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to serve you. If you have any further questions or comments, you are welcome to contact us again at any time.
If you are looking for a quantity of irregular cat hats, look no further. Gotta love Craigslist.
There is a variety of 14 different hats total. I just hope you and your pet can find as much joy in these hats as me and Snowman once did.
Hello. I have a big box of used cat and kitten hats that I have collected over the years for various occasions. As of recently my cat, Snowman, is no longer living and thus I am forced to get rid of these precious memories. I would not feel right asking money for them so I am offering the whole box for free. There are many styles from formal to cute and funny.
If you like to browse, search, research, invest, snoop, compare - anything involving residential real estate (I DO!)…These websites below are my picks for the current 6 best real estate websites, in no particular order. Am I missing any?? [Read more →]
If you work in sales at all, here is some Monday motivation…remember: “second prize is a set of steak knives”! I swear, this classic clip never gets old!
Here are some choice quotes from this scene:
–
Blake: We’re adding a little something to this month’s sales contest. As you all know, first prize is a Cadillac Eldorado. Anybody want to see second prize?
[Holds up prize]
Blake: Second prize is a set of steak knives. Third prize is you’re fired.
–
Blake: You got leads. Mitch & Murray paid good money. Get their names to sell them. You can’t close the leads you’re given, you can’t close shit, *you are* shit, hit the bricks pal, and beat it, ’cause you are going *out*.
Shelley Levene: The leads are weak.
Blake: “The leads are weak.” The fucking leads are weak? You’re weak. I’ve been in this business fifteen years…
Dave Moss: What’s your name?
Blake: Fuck you. That’s my name.
[Moss laughs]
Blake: You know why, mister? ‘Cause you drove a Hyundai to get here tonight, I drove an eighty thousand dollar BMW. *That’s* my name.
–
Blake: What’s the problem, pal?
Dave Moss: You -
[correcting him]
Dave Moss: Moss. You’re such a hero, you’re so rich, how come you’re coming down here wasting your time with such a bunch of bums?
Blake: You see this watch? You see this watch?
Dave Moss: Yeah.
Blake: That watch costs more than you car. I made $970,000 last year. How much you make? You see pal, that’s who I am, and you’re nothing. Nice guy? I don’t give a shit. Good father? Fuck you! Go home and play with your kids. You wanna work here - close! You think this is abuse? You think this is abuse, you cocksucker? You can’t take this, how can you take the abuse you get on a sit? You don’t like it, leave.
–
If you missed this gem of a post on Google, check it out. Is public opinion beginning to turn against Google? Maybe not, but it’s nice to finally see a few more criticisms of the company lately vs just constant praise in the press/blogosphere.
Okay, lots of you out there keep freaking out about how cool Twitter is, so I figure I better get with it and at least give it a real shot for a while and learn how to use it and stuff. If you use twitter, please follow me!
If you’re applying for a new job, or emailing anyone anything important to be considered for some sort of internship, opportunity, investment, etc.. please do not use an email address that is something like “SexyChick42″. I mean, seriously, if someone is looking for signs of professionalism, which email do you think would get more serious consideration: the email/resume from “SexyChick42″ or the email/resume from “Jane White”? I spent some time today screening and deleting emails from a number of people like “SexyChick42″ for a job opening, and I was almost laughing at how unprofessional some of the applicants seemed! When all you’ve got is 1 chance to make a good impression with that opening email, it is probably worth taking a few minutes to set-up a new free email address.
