Bait and Switch is So Yesterday

July 31, 2016

      

When I was in school I learned about a sales tactic called “Bait and Switch.” A company would advertise a product at a low price; then when the customer came in, the salesman would plug a more advanced model for a much higher price. Sometimes the advertised item wouldn’t even be in stock.

That’s happened to me a number of times, most recently this morning. And judging by the remarks of a fellow customer, she’s experienced the phenomenon a number of times also.

  

I don’t think that retailers have caught up with today’s shoppers. These days when they whet our appetites for a must-have, and then can’t deliver, we won’t be content with a rain check, or a substitute. These days we have recourse.

It’s called Amazon.