Retail Secrets Shopping Tips Discounts Coupons Promotion Codes: November 2007

Friday

New York Holiday Shopping Tips

Find Today's Daily Deal on Your City's Best Things To Do at Groupon.com!

Hundreds of thousands of people come into New York City during the holidays to shop. And there are certainly very cool things to see and very good places to shop. I commute to New York City daily, so I am in the perfect position to provide some tips to make your holiday shopping in NYC go smoothly:

Shop Monday and Tuesday - Monday and Tuesday are slower days in NYC. For one, Broadway is dark on Monday, so fewer people will be there to see shows. And in general Monday and Tuesday have less people in town. Most people come in Wednesday through Sunday.

Shop Between 10am and 3pm - THOUSANDS of people use the subway system and commuter rails from 7-9am and 3pm-7pm. You will find less crowding on the trains and on the streets between 10-3pm. I overheard shoppers getting on the 4:43 train back to New Jersey complaining about how crowded it was at that time. After 4pm is rush hour and you can count on all mass transit being crowded.

Avoid Paying Tax On Your Purchases - According to About.com "...there is a year-round exemption from New York State sales and use taxes for clothing, footwear, and items used to make or repair exempt clothing, costing less than $110 per item or pair. The exemption does not apply to locally imposed sales and use taxes unless the county or city imposing those taxes elected the exemption." So if you don't need to buy a $115 purse - then don't to save on the taxes.

Matinee Wednesday - People from all over come to save on Broadway tickets and see a matinee. Unless you are going to NYC for the matinee, avoid coming on this day.

Use Mass Transit - Don't bother with a car. Parking is horrendous and parking lots are outrageously expensive. Buy a one day unlimited one day fun pass Metrocard for $. Also, go to the MTA website to see the various discounts you can get around town with a Metrocard.

BONUS RETAIL SECRETS TIP! - If you have time to take in a museum, go to The Museum of Natural History. All though they list prices, they are merely SUGGESTED DONATIONS. If you just want to see the museum, then you can pay whatever you want. It could be $1 or $5 or $.50. Again the prices they list for GENERAL ADMISSION are suggested donations. Don't pay the full admission - unless you want to.

Live Event Tickets in New York

Macy's Best Holiday Ornaments

Thursday

Gifts for Healthly Lifestyles and Green Consumers

Find Today's Daily Deal on Your City's Best Things To Do at Groupon.com!

There was a great article in The Wall Street Journal today about "green" gift-giving. As you all know, global warming is a very serious matter. So it goes a long way if you consider giving "green" gifts this year as many people are passionate about it. Or just do it because it good for the earth.

Here are some ideas for eco-friendly or green gift ideas and stocking stuffers from Gaiam. This is a reputable company, I have patronized:

Oprah's Favorite Things - Eco Friendly Household Cleaners - Gift Set only $18

Eco-Friendly Smart Power Strip only $39

Featured in The Wall Street Journal
Only $18 - Gaiam's Best-selling Eco-friendly Dryer Ball

20% off Deluxe Organic Cotton Flannel Strip Bedding.

$20 off luxuriously soft and incredibly warm Organic Cotton Fireside Throw – Was $94 Now only $74. It’s a classic holiday gift exclusively from Gaiam. Expires 1215.

The same goes for our friends and family who live a healthy lifestyle. There are many gifts you can give that show support for your loved ones way of life.

As seen on Oprah:
Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips DVD

$10 off Yoga Burn Kit now only $19.99

NEW! Gaiam's Pilates Band Kit (Light) - Box Packaging only $13.00. Includes resistance BodyBand and full-length Pilates BodyBand Workout DVD with award-winning Pilates instructor Ana Caban.

BalanceBall?� Chair: The Original Balance Ball Chair

$25 off - Gaiam's Wellness Shower Filter - use coupon AP6P

Special offers on the above:
Get 15% off orders over $100. Use code: AP4N at
checkout. Offer expires 11.30.07.

AP2A: 15% off your purchase of $50 or more
– valid 1129 – 123

AP6P - $10 off $50 - expires 123107

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Monday

Poor Customer Service Complaints Can Yield Profitable Results

Find Today's Daily Deal on Your City's Best Things To Do at Groupon.com!

I had a really bad experience at a major chain rental car office at the San Juan airport in Puerto Rico last summer. I reserved an economy vehicle for my week's stay. The gentleman at the customer service desk asked me if I needed collision insurance for the car. I told him that I was using my MasterCard and my Master Rental insurance would cover that. He then stated to me that we were in Puerto Rico (as if I wasn't aware after getting off the plane) and that the "RULES" were different in Puerto Rico. He proceeded to tell me that my Master Rental insurance would not cover damage should the car be in an accident. He said I would be liable to pay for damages.

Of course after saying this, he told me I could buy the Rental Co.'s insurance for $25 a day. YIKES- I thought this was crazy. I know that Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory and that any of my credit card amenities should apply. I was very skeptical!

Before he made me sign anything, I had some time. I dialed the number on the back of my MasterCard for clarification. The customer support for my credit card provided me with a number to Master Rental. Once I got through, I asked the representative if my credit card rental insurance was valid in Puerto Rico. She replied that Master Rental insurance is WORLDWIDE and that I would indeed be covered as long as I paid the final bill with my MasterCard. The rental agent lied.

My guess is that the rental agents are given incentives when they sell add-ons to customers. This would not be unusual. However, I don't think the agents are told to lie and hoodwink customers.

So when it was time to sign my paperwork, I asked to speak with a manager on-duty. I explained that the rental agent lied to me and I confirmed that my credit card insurance was worldwide. Of course, the excuse was that they don't know the rules of credit cards and they are all different. They also explained that if I opt to use Master Rental that they would not deal with Master Rental all bills would come to me first to submit. I rebutted by saying that I never even gave the name of my credit card and he defintely did not explain it that way. The guy didn't care what I had - he wanted me to believe him so he could get his incentives.

So, I told the manager that I deserved to be compensated because I used minutes on my cellphone to verify that his employee was lying. I asked to be upgraded to a nicer car for free. Of course, the manager agreed and gave me a free upgrade. Yes, score one for me! The ended up renting a Suzuki Fiorenza - it wasn't very powerful. I would go for the mid-size car next time.

When I got back home, I emailed the rental company's corporate customer support and logged my complaint. I thought that the corporate office should know the shady tactics of its Puerto Rico location. Within a few days of my email, I received an email that was very apologetic. It explained it is not their policy to mislead employees. They said because they valued me as a customer, they were sending me a $75gift certificate valid for two years for me to use toward my next rental. My rental was about $230 so this was a nice amount of money to receive back.

The rental company's concern for my customer service experience in the form of a gift certificate for future use will result in me renting from them again. My diligence in making sure that the corporate office knew about my experience led to me getting back money. So the moral is, don't be afraid to ask for something when you feel you have been cheated. And always, email or write (phone calls are not as effective) the corporate office and ask them what they will do to keep you as a customer.