Consumer Law

Stanley Steemer?s 10% discount is no discount at all

By Sam Glover

My mom sent me an e-mail this morning about Stanley Steemer, who she just hired to clean her carpets. As you can see, they advertise “up to 10% off your order total when you schedule online.” Hmm, “up to?” As it turns out, Stanley Steemer has a minimum charge of $99. So my mom’s $65 cleaning job actually cost $99, with no discount.

While the ad may be technically accurate, it is still awfully misleading Who decides what discount applies and when? And how is an online customer supposed to find out how they actually get the discount? As some point, technically accurate advertising can be just as misleading as inaccurate or flat-out false advertising.

Like this:

If Stanley Steemer is going to have a minimum price, they should take 10% off that price for scheduling online, just like the ads says they will.

Full post as published by Caveat Emptor on February 01, 2008 (boomark / email).