Kohl’s Shopping – a good deal?

My wife likes to shop at Kohl’s Department Store, although that seems to be changing. We have one a few blocks from our house – where it replaced a Mervyn’s a few years ago.

Impressions

My impression of Kohl’s is that it is down class from Mervyn’s, not the image I believe it wishes to project. The store layout and placement of product reminds me of Kmart more than any up-scale department store. Its aisles are too narrow and crowded. The “energy-efficient” lighting is just too dark adding to the effect of being in a place where the management does not want you to look too closely at what they want you to buy.

Savings?

I have in front of me the latest of their mail catalogs: Kohl’s – expect great things – save with style. Right.

There is a sticker on the front cover that says: Take an Extra 30% or 20% or 15% off everything – peel to reveal your savings. Let’s see 30%, 20% or 15%, which am I going to save by using a Kohl’s charge card? Peel the sticker. Wow!! 15%!!

Do other people get to save 20% or 30% or is this just a come on? If it is not just a come on, then why do others get to save more than I do? Isn’t my money just as good? Isn’t my charge card just as plastic and subject to the same interest rates as theirs? Why are they charging me more than others? I’ll bet Kohl’s still makes a profit on those 30% discounts – they’ll just make more profit on those of us stupid enough to happily buy with only a 15% discount. What do they think they are a used, or new, car dealership? Or, maybe, the California Lotto (which is actually just an additional tax on people who can’t do math)?

Under the peeled sticker, where it tells me I will save 15%, not 30%, it gives a promo code to use for shopping on-line. BLOOM15. If I shop on-line and type in BLOOM30, will I get 30% off? How about BLOOM100? If I go to the store manager and complain about the 15%, will he or she authorize the 30% discount? Smart shoppers want to know.

Therefore

Awww, the heck with it. I’ll just go across the street to Target. The parking lot is larger and easier to get in and out of, the aisles are wide and the store is brightly lit. They actually seem to want you to be able to see where you are going and what you are buying. Oh yeah, everybody with one of their cards gets the same discount. I’d rather save 5% off a $10 item than save 30% off a like item at Kohl’s that sells for $15.

4.26.2013