Price matching

Every September, Walmart Canada has an anniversary sale. The deals are usually similar to the ones on Boxing Day, but this year they weren’t that exciting. For the fifth year in a row that I can remember, the Pyrex glass containers were 50% off.  The Jumbo boxes of Pampers diapers were the best deal in my opinion.  However, I needed size 4 for my toddler and I couldn’t find that size in two different locations.  Frustrated, I mentioned to a sales associate in the baby section that there didn’t seem to be any size 4.  She said that Walmart was going to extend the diaper sale for one more week and that they would probably receive more shipments.  When I explained that I was pretty busy and couldn’t keep coming back to the store to check, she made me an offer I couldn’t refuse: she suggested that she could sell me any size box of Pampers they had on the shelf but price matching the unit cost of the sale diapers (i.e. Price divided by the number of diapers in the box equals the unit cost).  I was shocked.  The Real Canadian Superstore advertises a baby price match guarantee (Text 58888 and they will send you an SMS text every Thursday night) using a unit cost calculation, but this was Walmart, where they don’t exactly go the extra mile.  It did take about 10 minutes at the cash register for the cashier to page the associate and get the calculated price, then to page her supervisor to turn the key for a price override.  It was time well spent because now I don’t have to return just to check on the availability.  I frequently price match using competitor store flyers but this was the first time I’ve received a unit cost price match.  Rule of thumb:  Don’t be afraid to speak up, but always be polite.   You may be pleasantly surprised at how helpful a sales associate can be.