GOTCHA!

Do you have a Rewards Card, a store Birthday Gift Card or anything similar that has an ending date which is the card’s cutoff date? Are you like this reporter and keep them in your car or billfold so you won’t forget to use it in case you decide to shop?

Do you get catalogs with so much percent off and free shipping by a certain date? These companies know how to work a person’s mind!

Well, this reporter has had enough! The pandemic kept people away from shopping in stores so they advertised savings on your phone, computer, or catalog on how to save with their store Rewards Cards.

I thought that 50% off, free shipping and using my Rewards Card would be great! Not on your life!

After entering all the information that a company needed and using my store credit card, I thought that I was all set.  It doesn’t happen that way, not in this lifetime.  Allow 3 to 4 workdays for delivery of your order, it said.

Well, on April 22, my order was confirmed and soon to be on its way according to my confirmation number.  After the workdays ended, I began to look for my package to arrive.  It didn’t so I had a late brainstorm!  I will track my order online!

I pulled the order information up and then began tracking.  Order was confirmed on April 22^nd, packed and ready for shipping for April 23^rd.

When my order did not arrive, the tracking showed that it had traveled through three North Carolina towns, and guess what? My order is now in Martinsburg, West Virginia.

How could that happen? My order skipped our entire state and went to West Virginia! This was not a big order, but since I used my Rewards and saved on shipping, I figured it should arrive soon.

Well, I began my tracking sometime the next day and it’s still in West Virginia! I’m not mentioning names but it was a reputable company that apparently used a terrible shipper! I suppose that my order spent the night in a nice, cool truck in the delivery company’s parking lot.

On my computer late the following day, my small order (not big, mind you) has arrived in Ashland, Va., back through my state again, and will be delivered on April 28^th.  The arrival date was then changed to April 29^th, and finally, in all caps, YOUR ORDER WILL ARRIVE ON APRIL 30^TH.

Sure enough, my order was placed on my front porch around the middle of that afternoon. I’m just glad that I didn’t need those items ASAP, which I don’t think is possible.

Meanwhile, the company I ordered from is smiling and saying, “GOTCHA”!  We thank you for ordering from us and look forward to more orders from you.

What I thought was a good deal was NOT!  Don’t be fooled by advertisements to save money.  I guess I saved a few dollars but this order turned out to be very time consuming.