Failure to offer Student Discount

Kung Lao · 09-10-2014 4:55pm #1

Hi, not sure if I have a valid case here but I recently paid €500 upfront for a course of laser beauty treatments (6 treatments over a number of months). After paying for the service I looked up the company's Facebook page out of curiousity and on this page I saw a student discount offer for 10% on all treatments. This offer was not on the company's main website and it was not offered to me prior to purchase. Naturally on my next visit I raised the issue and I was informed that the offer does exist and I could have availed of it prior to purchase but that there was nothing they could do about it now as I had already paid the full price. I felt very annoyed by this as a €50 discount is a significant saving and I think it should have been offered to me.

Is there anything I can do about this? My instinct is saying no as I presume a student discount offer is entirely at the discretion of the retailer and the onus is on me to ask for one. I normally would do this in clothes shops, etc. as there usually is a discount but would never have expected a discount for this type of service.

Edit: I note this piece from the National Consumer Agency website section on special offers:

"In the case of special offers, the retailer has discretion as to how to display such offers, but what is being offered should be clear and unambiguous to consumers."

davo10 · 09-10-2014 5:02pm

Kung Lao wrote: »

Hi, not sure if I have a valid case here but I recently paid €500 upfront for a course of laser beauty treatments (6 treatments over a number of months). After paying for the service I looked up the company's Facebook page out of curiousity and on this page I saw a student discount offer for 10% on all treatments. This offer was not on the company's main website and it was not offered to me prior to purchase. Naturally on my next visit I raised the issue and I was informed that the offer does exist and I could have availed of it prior to purchase but that there was nothing they could do about it now as I had already paid the full price. I felt very annoyed by this as a €50 discount is a significant saving and I think it should have been offered to me.

Is there anything I can do about this? My instinct is saying no as I presume a student discount offer is entirely at the discretion of the retailer and the onus is on me to ask for one. I normally would do this in clothes shops, etc. as there usually is a discount but would never have expected a discount for this type of service.

It was offered through their Facebook page, you didn't avail of it by showing your card. It's like a student offer at the cinema, if you show your card when paying, you get the discount but they don't assume every young person is a student. Did you get a discount already by paying all up front? If not, why did you pay the full amount rather than paying for each visit individually?

Kung Lao · 09-10-2014 5:17pm

I'm aware of how a student discount works. It just appears to me to be a covert way of advertising the offer i.e. on their Facebook page as opposed to the main website or instore.

Beano · 09-10-2014 5:27pm

Kung Lao wrote: »

I'm aware of how a student discount works. It just appears to me to be a covert way of advertising the offer i.e. on their Facebook page as opposed to the main website or instore.

Or maybe they wanted to drive people to their facebook page.

slimjimmc · 09-10-2014 6:11pm

Kung Lao wrote: »

I'm aware of how a student discount works. It just appears to me to be a covert way of advertising the offer i.e. on their Facebook page as opposed to the main website or instore.

Covert is a strange way to describe it.
Advertising through Facebook is quick and easy, and free. Facebook is extremely popular and because users can share updates with other friends and get notifications, a message can spread like wildfire.
Their website on the other hand may be a static site with no user interaction. It's likely they outsource the maintenance of their website and that may cost them every time an update is made.
Nothing covert about it, probably just more effective.

If you had seen the advertisement and were denied the offer despite qualifying for it then you may have a case but on this occasion you simply missed out on an opportunity. It's as simple as that.

davo10 · 09-10-2014 6:17pm

Kung Lao wrote: »

I'm aware of how a student discount works. It just appears to me to be a covert way of advertising the offer i.e. on their Facebook page as opposed to the main website or instore.

Nothing "covert" about Facebook. They offer it, it is up to viewers to avail of it.

Did you get a discount on normal rates by paying all up front?

Kung Lao · 09-10-2014 11:38pm

What about offering the person the discount after the fact? Why is it impossible for a retailer to do that?

The normal payment option is upfront. You can choose a pay as you go option which works out more expensive. I was told the student discount would apply to the upfront payment in any event so I don't understand the relevance.

ben.schlomo · 10-10-2014 12:00am

Kung Lao wrote: »

What about offering the person the discount after the fact? Why is it impossible for a retailer to do that?

The normal payment option is upfront. You can choose a pay as you go option which works out more expensive. I was told the student discount would apply to the upfront payment in any event so I don't understand the relevance.

They could give it you, but I dont see why they should, in fairness its your mistake for not mentioning it, they've not done anything wrong bar not bending over for you.

former legend · 10-10-2014 12:14am

Kung Lao wrote: »

What about offering the person the discount after the fact? Why is it impossible for a retailer to do that?

The discount is there to entice you in. If you've already bought and paid for the service, there's no real reason to give you a sweetener.

They might have done it as a goodwill gesture in the hope you'll come back again in the future, but no obligation to do so.

Get Real · 10-10-2014 12:18am

Have to agree with the other posts on here.

While it is unfortunate that you couldn't save 50 euro this time round, there's nothing really that can be done, unless its entirely at their discretion.

You didn't display your student card at the time/ ask if there was a discount before paying. Once you found out, naturally its a nuisance to know you could have saved money, but you can't backtrack then.

It'd be like buying a cinema ticket full price, and going in the next day with your student card looking for money back for the film you saw.

You were happy enough to pay the price in one go, but its a pity they didn't have this advertised on their own website/instore.

Then again, student discounts are advertised in a targeted way, so if I didn't see an ad for a student discount in a gym in the Irish Times, but later saw it in a college newspaper, thats just the way it is. It may just be targeted towards specific readership/area, also may be a way of figuring out how effective their FB advertising is doing.

So if the offer is exclusive to FB, and x amount per month avail of it, they can decide in the future to market more heavily on FB/ create a loyal base of customers on there, similar to codes that Just Eat give out exclusively on FB etc.

davo10 · 10-10-2014 5:30am

A business's aim when advertising discounts on Facebook is not to provide all services for less money to everyone who walks through the door, it is to garner additional business from a different target group by enticing them with a lower price. And to drive readers to their Facebook page/keep them returning to it.

Not many potential customers in the target group, in this case students, are able to afford a luxury treatment which costs €500. All other customers pay the normal price. Without showing your ID and asking for the discount, you are one of "all other customers" so why should a business take less money from you?

OP, like everyone on here has said, it's up to you to find the info and avail of the offer, caveat emptor. The title of this thread should be "student fails to avail of offer"

Firewalkwithme · 10-10-2014 5:43am

If you can afford to pay 500 euro on laser beauty treatments I doubt you went cold and hungry regardless of any student discount.

dudara · 10-10-2014 10:22am

Cartoon_Head - Please stay on topic. Your post is not helpful.

dudara

Kung Lao · 11-10-2014 1:23am

Wow a lot of negative comments on this thread. Ok I'm at fault for not presenting a student card at the time of purchase but I just thought it was handled poorly by the business. They could have reimbursed the discount. It's kind of like "you didn't ask, we didn't tell you, but now that you know and already paid, tough sh1t".

I don't think its analogous to compare this to a cinema ticket purchase as it's an ongoing course of treatment. As another poster has mentioned, it would have been a nice good will gesture as I will be returning over a number of months to complete the course of treatment. I technically have not received the full benefit of the purchase until the course of treatment is completed.

As regards this being a lot of money to throw on a "beauty" treatment, it's actually a treatment for psoriasis on my back which is a medical condition. It's only available in these beauty clinics. It's obviously a lot of money to me which is why the discount would have made a big difference.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 11-10-2014 8:44am

There are deals all over the place for holders of student cards and various discounts cards like INTO cards. But the businesses can't ask every customer if they have a card. It's up to you to ask. You didn't do your research until after doing the deal. Tough but not a fault of the business. You research first and pay later.

Failure to offer Student Discount

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