It struck me as insulting to people's intelligence to imply that it's okay to buy such an expensive and important item without consulting the guy it's supposed to be for. A spouse blindly following that commercial could even cause conflict in the household on Christmas day.
I went into the local store looking for a bed frame. They didn’t have the size in needed in stock but said they could order one for me. I said I wanted to check some other stores first to see if anyone had a frame in stock.
Sear’s employee: “No problem, just give us a call if you want to order one and then pick it up.”
A few days later I called to have one ordered. After being put on terminal hold several times I finally got someone to take my order.
“Do you have a Sears credit card?”
“No, I have a regular credit card.”
“I’m sorry, we can only accept phone orders using a Sears’ credit card. You can order one on-line”
“I checked on-line and they want $65 for shipping a $80 dollar item.”
“If you come to the store you can order one using a regular credit card.”
“So you want me to come to the store (one hour round trip) just to show you my credit card? Then I have to come back (another hour round trip) to pick up the item?”
“I’m sorry, that’s our policy.”
I then asked to speak to the manager, who never called back.
Good riddance to a lousy company. They deserve to go broke.
That's what I think when I see the Zales diamond and Lexus new car for Christmas commercials. If it's going to impact the budget, some purchases need to be discussed with your spouse.