It turns out Harry Potter had more than a little in common with his jerk of a father. (And yes, James Potter was a jerk — Yahoo! Answers says so!)
Meanwhile, on Diagon Alley…
![Notice from The Green Witch Re discount...Please do not embarrass my staff by asking for discount. If the prices could be lower, they would be. Therapists who shop regularly and consistently at the shop may receive a discount on their products that are relevant to their business but not on any other goods. Any discount given is purely at the discretion of myself and is a priveledge [sic], not a right. Demanding discount simply angers both me and Maggie — after all, do you ask Tesco for discount because you shop there every week...I think not. Thank you, The Green Witch](http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4107/4959948954_4ed5c1bc22_b.jpg "Notice from The Green Witch Re discount...Please do not embarrass my staff by asking for discount. If the prices could be lower, they would be. Therapists who shop regularly and consistently at the shop may receive a discount on their products that are relevant to their business but not on any other goods. Any discount given is purely at the discretion of myself and is a priveledge [sic], not a right. Demanding discount simply angers both me and Maggie — after all, do you ask Tesco for discount because you shop there every week...I think not. Thank you, The Green Witch")
related: Do these stilettos match my broomstick?
extra credit: How P-A Harry Potter fans deal with junk mail
extra extra credit: We Are Wizards [hulu.com]
69 responses so far ↓
#1
PinkPlaidRibbon
Lol, the first one is creative, though definitely P.A.
The second one…I’m guessing is a small local business? Sounds like it. Though she kind of contradicts herself. Therapists may get a discount if they shop there a lot, but you won’t even if you shop there every week like Tesco’s. Maybe they should start a loyalty card.
Also, am I the only one curious what kind of business this is that sells frequently to therapists for business purposes?
Feb 12, 2013 at 1:46 pm rating: 90
#2
Roto13
I’d be like “Oh, man, why do these people have to stick Harry Potter into every damn thing? Now I have to buy some bowling balls to throw around.”
Feb 12, 2013 at 2:02 pm rating: 90
#3
Headset Hellion
I don’t think the second note is passive aggressive at all. It’s a clear and concise response to customers who mistakenly believe they are entitled to a discount. I think it’s awesome that the shop owner refuses to allow their employees to be bullied.
Feb 12, 2013 at 2:50 pm rating: 90
#4
The White Clouds of Opium
The Green *itch.
Feb 12, 2013 at 4:11 pm rating: 90
#5
SeeYouInTea
Maybe Hagrid isn’t at home and left Buckbeak to dogsit Fang? They are very sensitive about their weights as it is.
Feb 12, 2013 at 4:12 pm rating: 90
#6
it's naptime
When I read the title of this post I immediately thought of Harry Dresden, not Harry Potter.
Harry Dresden is very much a wiseass.
Feb 12, 2013 at 4:58 pm rating: 90
#7
Beatus Mongous
That does it. I’m getting my discount at Tesco right now, dammit. I support them all the time, so I’m entitled to a discount. After all, I could go elsewhere, right?
Feb 12, 2013 at 8:02 pm rating: 90
#8
Silence
I’d be more concerned about Hagrid’s hairballs clogging the plumbing than I would about his footsteps.
One doesn’t -have- to choose the lower apartment, after all, unless Vernon and Petunia co-signed your lease.
Feb 13, 2013 at 1:28 am rating: 90
#9
Nope
I hear the 2nd note writer about discounts. People ask for them all the time at my job and we don’t do discounts and so I have to tell them that every time and it gets old and repetitive. Then they like to chew me out over it, like I set the policy. 99% of the time, the person answering a phone or e-mail has no control over company policy. Yelling at them accomplishes nothing. If you want results you need to speak directly to the manager/president/CEO/owner. If you don’t like their prices, don’t shop there.
Feb 13, 2013 at 10:48 am rating: 90
#10
Macca
My boss once told me that he got in a big hissy fit with a large retailer’s manager over an expired coupon for $1. His argument was “it’s such a piddly amount, why didn’t they just give it to me!”. I couldn’t help but point out that the manager must have been thinking the equivalent “it’s such a piddly amount, why does he want it so bad!”.
I mean, on top of the fact that I had to remind my boss that he was not a special snowflake that deserved to use coupons whenever he wanted regardless of the rules. He was a casebook bad customer, with the “never coming back here again” (he went back), and the “but I spend so much money here” (no you don’t). Maybe I finally talked sense into one of them.
Feb 13, 2013 at 1:19 pm rating: 90
#11
shepd
Oh, I ran my own store for 5 years and I had to really wrestle myself not to write a note like that. I had one guy come in with just barely enough command of the English language to demand a “cash price”. I’d had more than enough attempting to converse with people who know only the words “cheaper” “best price” “less”, so I gave up and wrote the price already stickered on the box on a piece of paper and I said “There you go”. He repeated he wanted “better price”.
So I crossed it out and wrote it again.
This went on for 30 minutes (it was at the least busy time of day). I filled the entire page with crossed out identical prices. He then paid the price on the page and went on his merry way. Frankly, I’d rather he’d have just left. For the $10 “profit” on a $100 item, it just wasn’t worth it.
This same scenario (without the paper) would go on day after day, week after week. It isn’t all that hard to get a job that pays $20 an hour around here–they’d do better working for a living than wasting their time like that. I should know, sold the store because it was only making me $10 an hour to work for someone else for twice that.
The freedom was awful nice, though.
Feb 13, 2013 at 4:20 pm rating: 90
#12
Roxanne
I totally agree on the second post, I work as an escort and customers constantly try and haggle my fixed rates (despite the fact this is clearly pointed out). I could probably stand it if it was just a cultural thing and the odd foreigner but plenty of white well off guys do it too. It’s annoying because it’s disrespectful and it implies you’re product isn’t worth it’s price. Especially irking is ‘Well you better be worth it’, ‘other girls charge this’ go see them then! I love my job but when I get this attitude it makes me bite my lip, I understand people can’t always afford things but if that’s the case they should save up like the rest of us. Being a pain in the neck is only going to get you less genuine service when you pay the orginal price anyways. I’ve had two guys purposely turn up at my house with the wrong fee! Yet when it comes to buying some crisps from Tescos most people don’t even care if it costs more than elsewhere even for the same brand.
Feb 13, 2013 at 7:15 pm rating: 90
#13
FeatherBlade
Wizard, n. – from the Old Morkorkian “wys-ars”, literally one who, at bottom, is very smart.
Feb 14, 2013 at 11:20 am rating: 90
#14
Jessi
I work for a pretty well-known retail chain (well, in the U.S. and Canada, anyway) and it’s amazing how many people ask if we can give them a discount because, “we shop here all the time.” Never once has a person who actually shops at my store on a routine basis uttered that line. The last customer who said it to me said it while I was surrounded by three other full-time associates and the store manager. That’s four of us who work between 36-40 hours a week, plus the manager who, since he’s salaried, pretty much never leaves and works about 60-70 hours a week.
None of us had ever even seen this person before.
My store isn’t stingy about giving out discounts, either. When you act like you’re entitled to one, however, it makes us far less inclined to give you one.
And when you threaten to go to the competition, we really hope you mean it, because they’re more expensive than we are, and you’re more than welcome to take your crappy attitude to them.
Feb 14, 2013 at 9:47 pm rating: 90
Comments are Closed