1. A couple of weeks ago, I heard about the one-day Oprah deal where if you mentioned the right coupon code, Payless Shoe Source would give you 50% off your entire purchase, no exceptions. So Miriam and I went to Payless, bought five pairs of shoes, and paid $30 total. I later returned one pair which brought the steal of a deal down to four pairs for $27, but still. These cute little shoes for Magdalena didn't cost me $19.99. They were on sale for $7, so I paid $3.50. I was, and am, pretty excited about that.
However, at the last minute, I noticed that the coupon had expired just a few days before. I went ahead and asked the sales lady at the store if they would still honor it, even though I was sure she would say no, and sure enough, she did. Oh well. At least there was still the gift certificate, right?
To my surprise, while I was browsing a few minutes later, the sales lady sought me out in the store and told me that actually, they'd be happy to honor the coupon. It was only a couple of days out of date, after all, and they were willing to make an exception for me. I couldn't believe it. It would have been so easy for her to just let it slide, even if she had found out from her manager in the meantime that the coupon could be used. I would never have known. But she made the extra effort to ensure I had a good experience at their store.
Anyway, it was a difficult decision since they have about a million more products than I remember seeing last time I was there, but I finally settled on some lotion and lip gloss(es). Normally, the items would have cost about $35. With my gift card and coupon, I spent all of $1 and change, for sales tax. I was so happy to get so much value out of my present!
The best part is that when I handed over my $1, the sales lady (actually a different one from before) didn't look down on me or act all snarky, as sometimes happens, just because I was doing my best not to spend my own money. She was very pleasant and really did everything she could to make my experience a good one.
Hooray for two good shopping trips!