Borders Rewards a Loyal Customer

I hate being deceived, misled, and/or lied to, especially by a corporation. I wrote a review of the Kobo reader for Borders, in exchange for which I received a promotional coupon worth, in the words on the coupon, "25% off the list price of any one item" to thank me for being a loyal Borders customer. Ah-ha, I thought: I'll buy myself a Kobo reader as the first one I bought was a gift for a close friend. The Kobo used to cost $149.99, but the price has been lowered to $99.99, making it a good bargain and competitive with all the other readers on the market. With the 25% discount, I decided to treat myself to the extended warranty package that costs an additional $49.99.

I went through the on-line purchase process as this promotional coupon is "valid through 3/8/2011 online only," even though I hate purchasing anything on-line. I entered the promo code, but the discount was not taken when I trudged my way to the check-out process. Thinking that, perhaps, I had entered the number in error, I redid it with the same result, so I called the 1-800 number to ask why I was not receiving the "25% off the list price of any one item."

"Ja-nay" answered the phone in a heavily accented voice; when I asked her to spell her first name, she replied, "J-A-N-E." I clarified with her that her name is Jane, she is working off-site, and she has limited understanding/usage of English. I asked my question, even though I was pretty sure she could only recite from the script she has been provided. She confirmed that the sale price of the Kobo reader is now $99.99, but the original list price is still $149.99, so I cannot apply the promo coupon to the Kobo reader. However, I told "Ja-nay," the warranty package is $49.99 and not discounted, so I want the 25% promo to be applied to that one item. Her response: the discount does not apply to e-readers or to any associated products.

That is NOT what my coupon says. Ironically, I received the coupon for an ereader product, but cannot receive the discount associated with that purchase for another ereader product?

When "Ja-nay" affirmed for me that a discount does not apply to ereaders or the warranty package, I told her that means not only will I not be making this purchase, but I won't be returning to Borders for any other purchase because ... that's dishonest, deceptive, and disrespectful of the consumer. When you declare bankruptcy, you need to look at your total business practice, not just the cash flow. When you hire employees who do not speak even basic English, such as "Ja-nay," and all they can do is confirm your dishonest business practices, you may want to look beyond the bottom line to the customers who help you keep the doors -- or, in this case, the website -- open.

Borders, you just lost another "loyal" customer.