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- Look at that sales price!
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- Guess again.
Update: AZADEA were kind enough to explain the process of their pricing. Sales and promotions are monitored by the Lebanese Ministry of Economy. If such a mistake were to be found at their premises, the customer is to get the lower price guaranteed. You can also always consult their costumer service in case you encounter such an aberration.
A friend recently sent two pictures my way of people they know shopping at one of Zara’s shops in Beirut and discovering that they were possibly victims of fraud by a chain that many believed wouldn’t resort to such techniques for profit.
Every year, come sales time, retailers slash prices off many of their items in attempts to lure customers into buying. We all fall for it – what’s better than paying a whole lot less for something that, a few days ago, cost a whole lot more?
Except it seems to be possible that some retailers have reverted to a technique that many of us had only heard of before but haven’t seen: increasing the pre-sales price on an item and then applying the sales discount on that, to maximize profitability on the item to be sold.
I don’t know how long this practice has been going on in their premises nor do I know if other retailers in Lebanon also adopt this fraudulent technique to rip us off of our hard-earned money. What it seems to be, however, is that even shopping in Lebanon isn’t the simple straightforward matter that it should be.
Perhaps it’s a typing mistake, perhaps it’s not. But even international brands may not above bending the law when they set ship over here. Today even our markets are in anarchy. With no control, no safeguards, no monitoring and no regulations, who protects the average Lebanese customer from falling to such practices?
A Separate State of Mind | A Blog by Elie Fares 
Have you checked their other items if that is also the case?
This might be an employee mistake.
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yeah maybe…
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Dear all,
Just a simple NOTE: the original tag price is 55 (or 65, or 85, not so clear in the photo, but ill assume the lowest).
Whether it was 55USD (= 82,500LBP) or 55EU (=110,000LBP), 75,000LBP is still cheaper; which, by the way, does not prove the “rip-off” you claim, but the exact opposite.
I am neither a Zara employee, nor do I have shares at Azadea, but a simple critical analysis would have been good on behalf of the blogger, instead of attacking their reputation in such way. Be careful of a defamation lawsuit from Azadea, if they decide to actually pay attention to your humble post.
🙂
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Defamation? For this? Lol!
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The prices are not set at the shop, they are set at the company and its up to the system to calculate the discount.
This might be an employees mistake like the other comment indicated.
I believe you should have made more investigations or asked someone who has already worked in a retail shop and used their system before posting this.
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Maybe Zara’s employees can be smart enough to comment respectfully with explanations instead of fueling an employee comments war on the blog post and calling the blogger stupid.
In Beirut, real PR is dead.
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This is correct. I worked in retail but not azadea although I know they work almost the same way. It is probably a tagging or typing mistake because the prices are already set and downloaded in the program and once they have sale it is automatically set on these prices. They can’t really rise or lower the prices however they want.
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I’m an employee at Zara store and I’m definitely sure that this don’t happen in our stores.be sure that the original price was printed wrong.ask our regular customers who visit us on a daily basis and they are pretty sure and familiar with our honesty specially with things like that.
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Indeed it could be a mistake, maybe your PR office can explain to the rest of us so that we know how this works and whether this was a mistake of sorts. I am a loyal customer at Zara and such things worry me. But in this comment thread, all I could read were impolite comments to the blogger, instead of a respectful and informative information from Zara’s PR.
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Lak sho hal habal, n7na el lebneneye ma 3ana gher eno nja3den w ni7ke, w hayda mano proof w hayda ghaba Lolll, w akid yalle 7at hal post knows that, bs 3am y7awel ya3mel shi b 7ayeto
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aw yemkin ma3o ha2 masalan?
Ma bijouz tkouno ento mghalebtin w houwe ma3o ha2? Ma betghalebto ento? Shou mfakrin halkon Allah?
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i agree this could happen here and H&M new york used to do this as well as Payless, Walmart and Target
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They sent you pictures? loool How unprofessional! A good blogger must THINK and investigate a little bit further before posting such accusations… I’m soo unfollowing you!
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teb unfollow, aryahlo the blogger… khalass balek w bala habeltak
what if the story was true? What then?
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LOL I can’t believe you Samah, were talking about explaining facts to the blogger ‘like a civilized person’ while you just sent ‘khalass balek w bala habeltak’. You’re just as uncivilized as the person you were replying to.
Anyways before posting a Blog like this, the blogger should’ve investigated more and brought more proof and made sure his story is true. The blogger is being unprofessional by posting: ‘Zara Lebanon Ripping Off Customers?’ and destroying the retail’s reputation while he’s not sure of it.
I would love to know if the blogger went back to Zara, showed them what he has, and listened to what they have to say, and let us know how it goes.
Just so you know. I don’t work at Zara, so don’t start accusing me for being their employee and whatever you said to people before.
I know a lot about this retail and I think this could not be but a mistake because I know they wouldn’t go for techniques like this because they know they’ll lose their credibility. Let me know if I’m wrong.
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Couldnt have said it any better. I completely agree with you.
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Joyce u said my thought ! couldnt explain it better !
Couldnt get why Samah is very Offensive !
Samah do you work for ALSHAYA 😛 ?
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The discounted price is set by the local management on the system based on the original price. The mistake on the tag is done by the employees when they stay up all night for preps. But once the customer gets to the cashier, he is paying the right discounted price. This is exaggerated, lebanese search for anthg to criticise… I would reconsider this article, you should get the right info first.
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This is so silly . At least do some research or a bit more critical thinking .
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um, and what if it were true?
You know what? I advise the blogger to do a thorough investigation, khalass, hotton b rassak and do it. If it turns out bad, kherjon, and if not, you can write a follow up blog post.
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You know whats wrong in our country?
Its people like you..
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Mango,bershka,pull&bear ,h&m,zara ,etc… compagnie d ‘Azadea … sont tous des crosseur et la qualité pas assez bonne et des prix cher …
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Its bullshits… we can never change the original price since it will cost us system damage. Plus we do not do stupid things, go find something else to play.
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Maybe you can explain facts to this blogger (who may be a loyal customer by the way) like a civilized person and in a civilized manner instead of telling him to play elsewhere.
Of course you can do stupid things, you are to God or a perfect entity, enta rouh l3ab gher mahal. I really find it disgusting the way you are defending the brand you work for by saying that you never make mistakes. Dictators and enterprises, same same.
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Actually this is not the first time such things happen in Lebanon. I once bought a dress from a shop (that is also well known like zara) before sale. A month later, the discounts and promotions started. I was surprised to see that the price of the dress i bought pre-sale was exactly the same after sale & it was mentionned on the sale price tag (similar to the picture of zara).
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this is not cheating !!! There are two different kinds of reductions in a monobrand store.. The one that covers the first markup and the second one covering the second one keeping the Net Cost clear among the whole collection plan..
Please before posting and sharing articles, make sure you are aware of the industry rules and regulations.
I am ready to explain in details if someone is interested 🙂
it’s always good to learn something new…
Christine Battikha
christine.battikha@gmail.com
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I experienced something similar to this at a well known store I won’t name a while back. I bought a UFC dvd for 10$, went again around a month later and it was priced at around 25$. When I bought it they weren’t advertising a “sale” or anything like that too. A bit weird; you’d think that something like a DVD depreciates over time not the opposite.
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Seriously? Is this even an article…? They sent pics? And what did you do…?
It’s not enough that this country has to struggle daily due to the shitty situation… we have to fight silly articles and comments like these… Please people…
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“We” as whom?
So you work at Zara, maybe your employers should teach their employees on how to respond publicly to such statements. This “min elo jlede” attitude reflects well on how professional you are.
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THIS IS VERY TRUE! ALL AZADEA SHOPS DO THIS! ZARA, MANGO, SUNGLASS HUT, they all have sales that are not true sales. they just want the customers to come and think the prices were lowered but they stay the exact same everytime. ALL AZADEA STORES!
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If u can stay up all night to do the pricing, and managing the shops items u can talk… i work in the same company but different brand and this may happend by mistake! Stop judging people!! Go do some research and ask the employees or the managment before u post and share the wrong infos!! Or try to work in this job for only oke week in the sale period and tell if u will not get tired that makes do a small mistakes ! Come on !
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Completely useless blog. how hard would it be to anyone to take a price tag from an expensive piece and stick it on a cheaper one just to make silly blog post!
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Wow, it is nice to see people with critical thinking that is so narrow (this way one feels more intelligent). You probably work for Zara and your think this is the work of competitors. This guy here is a respectful blogger, so instead of shaming him this way, you, as a person who works for Azadea (which I am sure you do), should talk politely and respond with solutions instead of starting this cheap dictatorial verbal war.
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My friend… American Eagle, h&m, j&j and every shop related to these brands does that…
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Whatever the old price or new price is at the end of the day the guy behind the cashier will punch the barcode and it will appear correct no matter what is written on the sticker. Zara never type the price mentioned on the paper it scans the barcode and according to the system discount it will calculate.
This could be a salesperson mistake while sticking the price. Even if they stick a price of 1000 $ it will appear as the original price on the system.
I am a regular zara customer and wanted to clear this.
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interesting, good to know, thank you for sharing…
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Here is something far better about brands…notice how we always pay the same amount of money as people would in Europe? Well, that actually includes a 21% VAT, which is not applicable in the Middle East. In other words, we are paying a tax that is not imposed by our countries and that probably goes into the pockets of whoever owns the franchise in Lebanon or any other country in the Middle East
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very interesting!
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Haven’t you heard about shipping, clearance, customs charges, etc.. or they come flying by themselves to the shop? and what about the 10% VAT rate.
Is that interesting as well Samah??!?!?!
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Dear whoever filed this article along with the complaint. I am a former sales associate of zara. Before judging the little facts you know, try to figure out things about pricing or how pricing procedures go in zara. First of all, the little red sticker is printed out through a special machine made specifically for such pricing tags. There are so many styles of clothes in zara stores that a retailer may come in contact with a misplacement of the sticker on the wrong clothing style. Yes It is unproffessional for such things to happen, but that is not the case of the error spoken in the above article. Each clothing has a barcode that is read by the system. When items go on sale, and the clothing goes under the sensor of the cash register, the system automatically recognizes wether or not the specified item is on sale. If it was on sale it will give out the correct sale price. Therefore no matter what the price tag says, what should be looked at is the receipt of the clothing which will have the correct amount that the customer has paid along with the correct price and barcode of the item. Meaning that there is no such thing as a ripping off procedure going on.
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I had a similar incident with Jack and Jones and they sent me a reply that was not that convincing (I posted the conversation on your Facebook page)
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The same happened to me at Armani Exchange…A week ago I saw a short there that’s displayed price was 85$ I was gonna buy it but said to myself the sales are coming in a couple of weeks and dropped this to then….three days ago i received a message from A/X saying they started a 30% sales so after calculations the short would cost me 60$ but to my surprise the displayed price was now 107$ and after discount it became 81$ !!!!!!!!!!!!
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It’s funny to see how Azadea’s PR sent an internal email to their employees so that they can comment on your article. This is why you see so many people calling the blogger and his blog silly. LOL, it’s similar to how the jews react to Palestinian news online, they all start barking together, shaming the victim and calling the writer an idiot.
This could be a mistake and it may not be. Perhaps it is not a mistake after all, or else Zara and their employees would have responded with a respectful answer, apologizing and saying that they will fix the glitch.
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I dont understand why you keep replying to every comment on this blog. With all due respect, if you dont like the way people respond then deal with it elsewhere. To begin with it is the blogger’s mistake to post such a blog without being completely and entirely sure of it. Therefore, it is normal for people to respond in such ways because Zara and AZADEA are known for what they are; and they definitely dont do such acts. Also, I can assure you that an email was not sent because AZADEA is a huge company and wouldnt really waste its time on sending its employees an email “to respond to a blog”. And no one should be appologizing, they all have the right to post such comments because the blogger is accusing zara of false acts which is completely unprofessional; therefore, the only person that has to fix “a glitch” is the blogger himself my dear.
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Bro the article is biased, lacks proof reading, and a bit of research wouldn’t have went a long way too, oh does this blogger even proof read before posting ? (COSTUMER) lol
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First samah you should be the last person to talk about respect ,please do read yr comments before you talk (barking,balekbw bala habeltak,,, ) so plz learn about respect first ,second do u work? Cuz if u do than u should never underestimate the work of others- I get it you have all the right to suspect a fraud but as all people told u about the issue and that the tag are automaticaly entered on the cash register than no1 could fool you,unless you are used to small shops but big franchise companies such as azadea are obliged to follow certain prices by the franchiser that is if you know what franchise means otherwise google it-so any mature person and respectful blog could of just asked for a manager and investigate before you try to ruin a big reputation for such company-im a loyal customer for all azadea shops therefore I got mad to read people who do not know anything about this industry talk in such way- Ask first than talk (lesson of life) hope that someday when do smth wrong in ur job u wont have the chance to reply .such mistakes are normal as I see it cuz they have lots of items to price at night.so get over it and get a life
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this is a definitely a mistake, a shop like Zara has its credibility and they do not rip people off.
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Chill people it can happen (i dont work for any of the companies AZADEA ALSHAYA….) it might be a mistake and it might be not true also ! If we are talking about Azadea employees w balabala teib what if someone from a competing company did this just to give us bad image !
I buy from Zara since forever and it never happened to me !!!
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Actually, this practice has been going on for a long time. I used to be a Zara customer in Lebanon a few years ago, and I would always find the mentioned price tags during sales. It shouldn’t surprise us that some people in Lebanon are capable of deceiving the customer. Thanks to the blogger for bringing this issue to light, and instead of attacking him personally, the wise thing to do would be to check the facts and then leave a constructive reply on this blog.
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Well the same happened to me at uterque…A bag original price before the sale was at 229,000L.L after sale the original price jumped to 399,000L.L
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This happens not only at ZARA but also at Mango…apparently at all AZADEA chain.
To be more precise i sent an email on December 20,2014 to the email mentioned on the piece of paper they also hang with the bill complaining to Mrs. Rania Ghossoub about a similar case at Mango. she is so professional that she didn’t either bothered to answer back, clarify or explain about the case. You people need to go elsewhere to see how to make sale and clearance!.
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Sorry about the date, it is on December 20,2013
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it’s seams to me that all the people here replying on Samah are even employee or some mangers but let me say this non of you people are truthful Lebanese people are not that stupid to believe any of AZADEA company as there prices where reaping of all Arab people
and therefor we do not believe in your sales neither any other Lebanese sales u just switch the price up and they you go to your Sale what the hell this company’s thinks
I would like to tell you SAMAH that you should stop posting on the blog cause i think they are all lying to us and they wont stop giving excuses.
money talks and it wont bother them also neither the government
bi kill bassata mafi 3ana ra2abe la 3ala sales wala 3ala ghayro
so ma7adan ba2a yfassir aw ywadi7
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First of all, any blog post remains what it is: a BLOG POST written subjectively by people entitled to have their own opinion, share experiences and criticise others.
However, a blog worth reading is one that provides valuable information to others.
Is this post doing that?
I’m not so sure.
And why is the blogger and this SAMAH caracter desperately trying to fuel negative advertising aimed at the credibility of one of the largest retail companies in the region?
For your information, i am not currently, nor have i ever been an employee in a retail company – i thought of clearing this up since everyone seems to think it matters here; although i really doubt that employees at Zara or other shops would find enough motivation, reward or personal gratification in defending the company – so it really does not matter if you are an AZADEA staff.
Is it the trend now in Lebanon to instigate viral wars on successful lebanese companies? It seems that Lebanese only now realized the power of social media and are trying to show the world they know how to use it…. such wasted energy in my humble opinion, when social networks could have easily been the tool used for political whistle blowing and promoting awareness against corruption, abuse etc.
Instead, as always, lebanese with a moderate understanding of modern media and a mediocre motivation to improve their living environment, fire up against minor issues to feel powerful.
In any case, if my eyes are not deceiving me, the picture of the tag reads that the barred price is 75,000 LL and the new SALE price is 49,000 LL . While behind the red sales sticker is the original price – 65,000 LL. Now correct me if am wrong…. but isnt 49,000 (the discounted price) LESS than 65,000 LL (the original price) ??
and with some basic math, we deduce that the tag creating such a mess on this blog is probably attached to an item discounted at 25% .
Seeing as ZARA and every other retail company goes through discount stages (up to 30, up to 50 etc. ) it all looks perfectly normal to me.
And if, you feel you did not pay the right price for your item, why not go back to the shop to complain? why not send AZADEA’s customer service an inquiry?
And to really cover all possibilities, if experts working for the aerospace industry can make mistakes, why not Zara’s staff after a night long inventory and pricing that can sometimes last from dusk to dawn?
After all, ERRARE HUMANUM EST.
Really no need for such a heated debate on such a puny issue. But since heated deabtes are what some seem to enjoy on this blog.. let’s talk about child abuse.
“Let us not wonder at the brightness of a light bulb and ignore the flames of the sun”
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This is NOT a mistake, i saw this at zara too many times, on several items, i took pictures of them years ago with an old phone, but did not have time to do anything about it, thank you Samah, finally someone else did it, i will try to find the pictures and push forward your article.
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I faced the same problem at mango.
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.
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You seriously singled out Zara concerning this practice. I have seen this at so many retail stores. Whether it’s true not I don’t think the writer of this blog should of been so quick to single out Zara.
Haven’t you ever seen those store fronts with 75% discount plastered all over the front display. This isn’t something new in the industry.
Like it or not you will never really buy anything but at a profit for the company or retailer involved.
Another point to consider is the original price could of been 79,000 L.L and the price listed under of 65,000 L.L was a previous discounted price.
I really feel the writer of this blog was quick to rule that Zara was ripping its customers off. Not a good job of investigative reporting by all means.
Next time dig deeper and write a blog you can be proud of not full of holes and hear say.
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You seriously singled out Zara concerning this practice. I have seen this at so many retail stores. Whether it’s true or not I don’t think the writer of this blog should of been so quick to single out Zara.
Haven’t you ever seen those store fronts with 75% discount plastered all over the front display. This isn’t something new in the industry.
Like it or not you will never really buy anything but at a profit for the company or retailer involved.
Another point to consider is the original price could of been 79,000 L.L and the price listed under of 65,000 L.L was a previous discounted price.
I really feel the writer of this blog was quick to rule that Zara was ripping its customers off. Not a good job of investigative reporting by all means.
Next time dig deeper and write a blog you can be proud and not so full of holes.
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First of all, any blog post remains what it is: a BLOG POST written subjectively by people entitled to have their own opinion, share experiences and criticise others.
However, a blog worth reading is one that provides valuable information to others.
Is this post doing that?
I’m not so sure.
And why is the blogger and this SAMAH caracter desperately trying to fuel negative advertising aimed at the credibility of one of the largest retail companies in the region?
For your information, i am not currently, nor have i ever been an employee in a retail company – i thought of clearing this up since everyone seems to think it matters here; although i really doubt that employees at Zara or other shops would find enough motivation, reward or personal gratification in defending the company – so it really does not matter if you are an AZADEA staff.
Is it the trend now in Lebanon to instigate viral wars on successful lebanese companies? It seems that Lebanese only now realized the power of social media and are trying to show the world they know how to use it…. such wasted energy in my humble opinion, when social networks could have easily been the tool used for political whistle blowing and promoting awareness against corruption, abuse etc.
Instead, as always, lebanese with a moderate understanding of modern media and a mediocre motivation to improve their living environment, fire up against minor issues to feel powerful.
In any case, if my eyes are not deceiving me, the picture of the tag reads that the barred price is 75,000 LL and the new SALE price is 49,000 LL . While behind the red sales sticker is the original price – 65,000 LL. Now correct me if am wrong…. but isnt 49,000 (the discounted price) LESS than 65,000 LL (the original price) ??
and with some basic math, we deduce that the tag creating such a mess on this blog is probably attached to an item discounted at 25% .
Seeing as ZARA and every other retail company goes through discount stages (up to 30, up to 50 etc. ) it all looks perfectly normal to me.
And if, you feel you did not pay the right price for your item, why not go back to the shop to complain? why not send AZADEA’s customer service an inquiry?
And to really cover all possibilities, if experts working for the aerospace industry can make mistakes, why not Zara’s staff after a night long inventory and pricing that can sometimes last from dusk to dawn?
After all, ERRARE HUMANUM EST.
Really no need for such a heated debate on such a puny issue. But since heated deabtes are what some seem to enjoy on this blog.. let’s talk about child abuse.
“Let us not wonder at the brightness of a light bulb and ignore the flames of the sun”
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Its just a mistake !! I work at zara and it’s the most honest company!! + we don’t decide the prices the mother company in spain does!! So don’t make a big deal ya lebneniyeh ya mfazlkin mnih l2ayto mawdou3 for ur daily posts!!
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Dear readers, this is what’s going on all over lebanon, not a printing mistake, this is not the first time for zara nor for others. And i did it for many times to tell the seller, look i know you increased the price before reducing it again, because i checked the price before the sales, and i compaired the recent and previous pfcr
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Not just Zara, gap too. I think the same tactic is used in all azadea stores. I bought pants from gap last week and checked the old price tag in the dressing room before buying. They increased the price from 95000 to 115000 and put it at 58000 as a sale price. I bought the pants anyways. It is a smart marketing strategy though. And I definitely agree with those saying it might be an employee mistake the new tag was not properly stuck. I have pictures like the ones here that I’d be glad to share.
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The average lebanese customers..what a joke.
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8342/061/310
Go to Zara website and check the price of the item.
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Its so interesting reading this blog. Everyone defending Zara is an employee, period.
I am a customer and I know from personal experience after waiting for sales.
Mango, Zara and all azadea have the WORST SALES, it is fake. it is playing on ur mind.
The other stores (AL SHAYA) like EXPRESS H&M and American Eagle HAVE REAL SALES.
Azadea trick people into thinking that the prices are lower and then bring clothes from 100 years ago to sell cheap in the sale.
THis is personal experience, no sale at zara or mango is even close to an al shaya sale
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Companies should train their employees not to get involved with online complaints because it is not their place to handle online costumer service. All the Zara employees that commented on this post made things worse, made the customers angrier and possibly caused the loss of loyal costumers due to their meddlings.
With my clients, the number one rule we train employees on when it comes to social media is NOT to get involved in online customer complaints and pick fights with them. In cases where this happened, the employee is automatically FIRED to preserve the reputation of the company. I hope Azadea or Al Shaya takes similar action to preserve their own image because employees shouldn’t be igniting fights with customers and bloggers.
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The price put before is not clear if it is a 65 or a 85 and it happen that the one putting tickets ofbsale on the card was mistaken with the itrm.is not that big issue to do a scandal from it
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