In one of those weird “I was looking for something else” discoveries I found this interesting article on the ACCC web page relating to false advertising by Zamels Jewelers. http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/1070709/fromItemId/142 Now I’ve never shopped at Zamels, but I am sure many Canberrans have. It makes for interesting reading. For example;
“The court found that, by using statements such as “$99 $49.50″ or “Was $275 Now $149″, Zamel’s represented to consumers who were unaware that they could obtain discounts outside Zamel’s sales periods that they would save an amount being the difference between the higher and lower price if the items were purchased during the sale when that was not the case.
In each instance alleged by the ACCC, the court found Zamel’s had either not sold the items at the higher price, or had rarely sold them at the higher price, in a period of 4 months immediately prior to the sale commencing.”
What many businesses don’t seem to realise, is that when the general public find out about these sort of scams, trust in that business plummets. I for one simply won’t trust advertising by Zamels again,instead that report will come to mind when I hear or see their advertising. I figure it will only be a matter of months till they start to feel the fall out from this in terms of lost sales and requests for refunds from customers who were ripped off.
When will businesses learn that ripping off a customer for short term gains is bad business? Gaining loyal customers who stick with the company may lead to slower profits, but they’ll be steady for years.
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