r/mildlyinfuriating • u/CBus-Eagle • 1d ago
I'm slightly vexed Kohls is the Worst
I took my son to Kohls because he needed some jeans and underwear. I haven’t been to a Kohls in a couple years because I think their store is always in disarray and I hate standing in long lines because they only have 2 or 3 of the 10 cash registers open.
But my wife had a coupon for 30% so off we went. Their clearance section is impossible to look through because they are not categorized by size, forcing everyone to just walk down the entire rack looking at each piece individually. Then, the hangers that indicate small, medium, large, extra large aren’t even on the correct size clothing, forcing you to read each tag individually.
We gave up on looking at clearance and went over to the regular priced jeans and he found two pair. Grab a bag of 6 Hanes boxer shorts for $38 and headed to the register, thinking the 30% off coupon will get out the door at $100.
After standing in line for 20 minutes, the cashier totals everything up at $138 and my wife hands her the 30% coupon. Their clearance total is $125. I commented that the discount didn’t work properly and the associate states that the jeans are name brand so not included in the sale.
I review the coupon’s fine print and see nothing about Levi jeans being excluded so I ask for clarification. The associate then states that “all high end clothes like Under Amour and Levi’s are always excluded from their promotions.” I asked how we as customers are supposed to know this unless it’s clearly excluded on the coupon. She just said sorry so we left; paying $125 for two pairs of jeans and a 6 pack of underwear.
It feels like deceptive advertising and it was the last time I shop at Kohls.
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u/randomsynchronicity 1d ago
Kohls has always sucked. Their main thing is selling a $50 item for $50, but pretending that it’s discounted from $80, so you feel like you got a deal.
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u/BubbaTheGoat 1d ago
That’s what JC Penny used to do, then they got a new CEO who thought it was dumb and instituted honest pricing instead.
It was a disaster. The people who actually shop at these store love to feel like they are getting a deal, even if the price isn’t actually good.
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u/ImACynicalCunt 1d ago
I was a random autistic 18 year old retail employee at JC Penney’s when we had a big meeting with upper management from out of town to tell us about the new CEO and the new pricing roll out. They were hyping it up. I was just like “hey this is a bad idea, people like the pricing the way it is because they feel like they’re getting a deal.” They all just looked at me funny like how dare I have the audacity to talk. They should’ve listened to me.
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u/Quubey 1d ago
The place I work has particular things that are always at a discounted price. Things would be a lot smoother for cashiers if they didn't have to keep tabs on what is or isn't on sale, and less customers would get angry at the fact that the sale doesn't apply to the particular item they chose, but that "sale" price gives people a dopamine hit or something because they just go nuts for it.
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u/marsnoir 18h ago
This is going to be an unpopular opinion, but when Penney’s announced its new prices the quality of the clothes sucked and the prices were higher than what we shoppers would pay on sale. Sure they might have lowered the ceiling but they also raised the floor, so people noticed and shopped elsewhere. Sure there are those who will gladly pay $60 for a $50 (which was marked up to $85), but that’s not everybody.
I’m really tired of the trope “people like to be fooled”, it is an easy way for business folks to excuse greed. This goes along with the lie that boxed mixes used to have dried eggs in the mix but housewives didn’t buy it because they wanted to feel like they were making something. Again, an element of truth to that… but also have you compared the output of an everything mix against one where you add eggs and oil? Night and day…
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u/Schnydesdale 1d ago
My family and me survived on JCP so I don't think this is a fair statement. You could get whole wardrobes for desirable prices (maybe even a kitchen item or 2). Kohls, however, is odd to me. there's one down the road that's been there forever. No idea how they're in business. We went there once looking for a deal, yet tshirts and pants are well above retail prices.
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u/CrissBliss 1d ago
The JC Pennies story is true though. I believe it turned out their coupons were only “discounts” in theory.
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u/Silver_Middle_7240 1d ago
Don't forgrt the kohls cash that expires faster than theoretical particles.
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u/GirlWhoWoreGlasses 1d ago
Used to be it didn't expire - or at least they didn't enforce it. Discovered people would save it up, buy a big ticket item that usually can't be discounted, so they lost a lot of money. I was ticked when they went to "it's good next week and expires at the end of that week."
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u/ScorpionSpeed 1d ago
That's precisely why I don't shop there. It's incredibly deceiving.
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u/No-One790 1d ago
The tags always claim everything is discounted, certainly doesn’t appear to be so once you get to the checkout, we stopped going
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u/Bluegi 1d ago
It's the JCPenney model. I hate that I like their clothes because it's always a surprise at the register. Sometimes a pleasant surprise, but usually not.
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u/Wise_Neighborhood499 1d ago
Can confirm, I worked at Kohls for a while. Our direct competitor was JCPenney. If you were savvy and knew how to work the system, you could get some good discounts. Otherwise, it was a crapshoot of what the final price would be, even with a coupon.
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u/captainpantalones 1d ago
For awhile there, it was “if you were savvy and knew how to work the system, you could pay what the item was actually worth”. I haven’t shopped there in over a decade so I can’t imagine it’s gotten better but I’m not putting that much effort into not getting ripped off. It’s too many hoops to jump through for roughly Walmart quality clothes.
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u/dehydratedrain 1d ago
Yeah. I remember looking at a toy for my niece that was on sale everywhere for $20. At Kohls it was $50, on sale for $25.
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u/yourHoneyBunnyBear 1d ago
I’ve always said this. How it is EVERY rack in the store is on “sale?” Make it make sense.
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u/umfum 1d ago
Used to work there. They have sales running almost constantly, but they change them often. Then, the opposite happens, and the item is either full price or part of some bogus BOGO like BOGO 1/2 off or BT(wo)GO free.
If you pay attention to Early Birds and Door Busters, you can get some decent deals, but even then some other store likely has it cheaper.
They do put clothes on Clearance all the time, so check those racks for 60% off, and you might get a good buy.
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u/sideeyedi 1d ago
There's usually one that's not on sale, I should know, I always find it.
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u/Ok_Stable7501 1d ago
Except the ones that have something you want to buy. Those are the excluded from the sale every time.
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u/drumstix42 1d ago
Amazon does this a lot too. ESPECIALLY during black Friday/Cyber Monday season. Highly recommend third party price history trackers and to not trust the embedded Amazon one that uses their AI or whatever they're calling it.
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u/izthatso 1d ago
I ordered a high chair as baby shower gift from Kohl’s website. 2 months later the high chair still wasn’t delivered (I tend to order shower gifts or wedding gifts right away when I receive the invitation, that way I don’t forget), it kept saying that the chair was damaged and the carrier had taken the chair back. I was never offered a replacement or a credit. Finally I called Kohls and was told I would receive my refund within 90 days, the sales associate acted like I should have known about this corporate policy. The only problem was I didn’t have a gift for the baby shower. That night I ordered the high chair from Amazon and it was delivered the next day. Kohls did a fine job of training me what an incompetent company they are. The good news is a received the refund after 90 days. It’s now been over 730 days since I’ve set foot in Kohls.
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u/Medium_Particular_18 1d ago
Last Christmas my mom got me a kitchen aid from Kohl’s. It’s not just the basic kitchen aid. It’s very nice and was very expensive. I brought it home and it didn’t work. So I took it to Kohl’s. I just wanted a simple exchange. They told me they didn’t know if they had any in stock and I would have to go look. So I went and searched the store, they didn’t have any. I went back up to the register and told them. They told me that actually their exchange policy would have me order a new one on my card, and when it came in I could get a refund. This was a $700 machine and rent was due in a couple days and Christmas just happened. I did not have $700 to spare. Also they stopped selling it online. So basically my only option was to return it.
Kitchen aid ended up resolving the situation. But I’m still mad at Kohl’s. My mom, grandma, and I used to be avid Kohl’s shoppers. Now all 3 of us boycott that stupid store. Genuinely hate that store because wtf kind of stupid ass policy is that?
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u/g0ldilungs 1d ago
I was gifted a Sephora gift card by my son’s grandmother that was compromised before it hit the shelves.
Because when I went to use it, there was no money on it.The history indicated that it was literally used online in some random country like 3 hours after the purchase time.
The absolute lack of resolution from anyone in that store- Sephora, Kohl’s, and beyond was ridiculous.
I myself manage in a retail space and it’s been my career for 12 years.
I wasn’t letting that go because at the end of the day, you all had compromised cards on the shelf and someone was robbed because of it.It was finally handled- months and several phone/email correspondence later.
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u/hexH2O 1d ago
About 15 years ago my son needed new shoes. Went to kohl’s. They didn’t have his size but they had a new kiosk that let you order from their warehouse, or whatever, and it would ship to you or the store. I entered everything in. It said purchase not completed. So I tried again. Same thing. I did it once more thinking I was missing something and just didn’t catch it the first two times because I was young and new to this format. Didn’t go through so I gave up and went somewhere else.
Turns out, kohls charged my card THREE times for the shoes. Never received any and kohls refused to refund my money because they couldn’t verify anything with the new kiosk. I even went in and talked to the manager (I know, but I was on a super tight budget and that was just wrong). They couldn’t help because they said they had nothing to do with the kiosk and I had to go through corporate. I was never able to contact a real person at corporate because all the numbers I found were useless.
Fuck kohls. Never went there again
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u/Cough-on-me 1d ago
Something similar happened to me at Kohl's too! They kept telling me my card was declining and ended up charging me 4 times!! I was going back and forth with my bank and Kohl's over multiple days, it took over a week to be reimbursed for their mistake. They suck!
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u/Rhodin265 1d ago
I hope you requested chargebacks.
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u/hexH2O 1d ago
I didn’t even know that was a thing back then. It was my first debit card
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u/insomni666 1d ago edited 6h ago
Ah, they don't do chargebacks for debit anyway. So you were just screwed.
Edit: okay, everyone can stop telling me how they did a chargeback on their debit card lol. I didn't expect this many people to see this. I guess it is possible, though in my 15+ years of debit card experience with a half dozen banks, I've never been able to do one, so ymmv.
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u/Lolamichigan 1d ago
Not exactly true, I did a chargeback once over 20 years ago and it was definitely a debit card backed by visa. Also online or over the phone if you don’t tell the merchant it’s a debit card they just punch in the ‘visa’ numbers and don’t really know.
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u/DeathByOrgasm 1d ago
They do. It’s just a much slower process. A company is more inclined to go after their money than your money.
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u/ashieslashy_ 1d ago
You can depending on the situation. My husband and I had to do a chargeback for $700 when a hotel charged us twice for the room we were staying in. Yes I know, we should have used a credit card, but we thought “what’s the worst that could happen?” lol. It took a good bit of time, but the bank investigated and gave us the money back.
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u/catinapartyhat 1d ago
It's absolutely fine to ask for a manager for something like this. You're not complaining for the sake of it. The store took your money, did not provide goods, and the cashier couldn't help.
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u/Flukie42 1d ago
talked to the manager (I know, but I was on a super tight budget and that was just wrong
There's nothing wrong with talking to the manager. That's what they're there for.
I'm sorry this happened to you though
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u/PatriotRDX 1d ago
The employees hate it too! Never know when someone might pull a gun or something over this cause people are actually fucking insane.
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u/AppleTStudio 1d ago
I used to shop at Kohls ALL the time back in the early 2010s. Their deals were always insane and their clothes fit me! My entire closet was Kohls. I’d buy 5 shirts for $25 and they’d last years- worst case they’d be moved out of my closet and into my pajama drawer.
But in the last 10 years or so, their quality has gone down and their prices way up. I can’t even find good graphic tees anymore like I used to. They’re just horribly uncomfortable printed images of memes or something obnoxious like “shut up I’M GAMING!” And those shirts are like $20 A PIECE!
They used to have great deals for cheap dress shirts and ties. Not anymore.
They even took out the Amazon return center from my store. Now, it’s basically empty.
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u/Affectionate_Yam8475 1d ago
Same. They had a specific fit of jeans that just worked for my ratios. Unfortunately they also were built very badly and inevitably ripped along the same pocket. Only pair of pants I've ever had that did that to me, and Kohl's sold it to me 5 times 🫠.
Eventually I switched to old navy, but they never fit as well, they just never wore out.
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u/AppleTStudio 1d ago
Ugh Old Navy makes me look fat. I don’t know what it is but their shirts make me look like I have small shoulders and a big belly, and their jeans give me thunder thighs… but they are a better deal than Kohls these days 🙃
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u/Norimakke 1d ago
What I hate is their BS pricing. "This sweater is originally priced at $115. But lucky you! It's on sale for 60% off!"
First off, no one was ever going to pay $115 for that cheap ass sweater. It's probably not worth the $46 you're trying to get for it now. So don't insult my intelligence trying to convince me that I'm getting a great deal.
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u/kendrickwasright 1d ago
So true. It's also impossible to tell what the price of anything actually is in that store. Aside from the shady pricing model, their clothes are crap. I got suckered into a $20 impulse buy and after 2 washes the fabric is pilling and sticking to itself. And I always hang dry my clothes, so that's literally just washing on cold TWICE with no dryer
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u/blasecomments 1d ago
jc penny tried to get rid of that stupid pricing scheme and they almost went bankrupt. it turns out people are that stupid.
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u/mishutu 1d ago
I hate Kohls. Everything is ugly and depressing and the employees at the one nearest me don't know what the hell they're doing. They used to have cute stuff years ago but now it's just disorganized and lame
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u/iehdbx 1d ago edited 1d ago
They used to have some nice clothes. Another company that Csuite is failing by not hiring more people with enough hours to man the store. I stopped shopping there after digital tags.
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u/InsideHuckleberry671 1d ago
I hate the place, but I try to keep things organized and help people as often as I can 😮💨 do not reccomend
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u/mishutu 1d ago
I appreciate people like you. I hope you've had a lovely weekend! :)
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u/FibroMom232 1d ago
I agree. I used to shop there regularly years ago until all the women's clothes got really ugly and the material so thin you can see through it!
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u/MrsPottyMouth 1d ago
I went to Kohls last year for the first time in years because I needed some dressy pants (I don't do skirts as it is and it was cold out) for a funeral. I remembered Kohls as being a good place to get business-casual ladieswear--reputable brands and decent quality at decent prices. Everything was flimsy and either old-lady clothes or trashy stuff branded with has-been celebrities' names. All the nicer stuff I remembered was gone. I ended up going to the Maurice's across the parking lot.
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u/Parisian_Nightsuit 1d ago
Yes! They used to have some great sweaters at Kohl’s back in the day and I got a super cool coat there I still wear in the winter sometimes. I haven’t been to one in years, but I stopped buying a lot of regular retail when they all started treating women’s clothing as dumpy looking paper-thin-but-actually-plastic crap that fits on the body horribly and charged higher prices for the privilege.
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u/ElectricFrostbyte 1d ago
Disorganized is an understatement. Kohls is an utter shit show and has been since I was a child (though I’m clearly not very old). I hated going there and I won’t be sad to see it fail.
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u/mishutu 1d ago
Lol your comment made me laugh because my best friend and I have been avid Kohls haters for years. It really is a rotten place and the lighting is somehow dim and depressing but also makes my eyes sensitive if I'm in there too long. I feel like I'd be so depressed working in such a drab store
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u/ElectricFrostbyte 1d ago
Yes!! Too many people seem to like Kohls! I have issues with lights and the low ceilings in Kohls make it so much worse. I really just don’t see the point in the store. Dillards, Nordstrom and even Macys all do the same shit but better and the store isn’t completely trashed. I never understood the idea of a micro department store, but I live in an area with a thriving mall so.
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u/ElectricalMolasses91 1d ago
I had a Kohls credit card about 10 years ago. There was a charge I did not make on the statement so I called them. They opened a fraud investigation, so I did not have to pay. They then said they would replace my stolen card. The new card they sent was THE SAME EXACT CREDIT CARD NUMBER. So I called back and said that card was compromised and to cancel it. I sh!t you not the sent a 3rd one with the same number. I had to cancel it again. Complete dimwits.
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u/ButterscotchFit8175 20h ago
They are notorious for their coupons excluding just about everything anyone would buy.
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u/summerfunone 16h ago
To be fair, all retailers have exclusions, probably the same brands are excluded at Kohl’s. If Levi’s/Nike/Adidas, etc permitted coupons at any given retailer all the other stores would lose sales and tick them off. And “cheapen” the overall price point. No premium brand would let that happen, so, no coupons for those national brands.
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u/mentalcasket 1d ago
Someone also just posted a video to Instagram in the same vein. She was back to school shopping for her children, trying to stick to a budget, and she sees the total ring up less than expected. The cashier asks if she'd like to sign up for the Khols credit card, she declines. The total is then brought up $60!! The price on screen was what it wouldve been if she had signed up for the Khols card!! Just how is that not deceptive?? Fuck Khols man
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u/awitchiguess 1d ago
The worst part of this is corporate knows people hate this and they make sure teenagers at the register are on the receiving end of abuse.
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u/Bitter_Trees 1d ago
My one friend used to work at Kohl's and she said management pushed them to sell those credit cards aggressively. It's been a hot minute but I think she said they used to even have to meet a quota for it.
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u/LeatherRebel5150 1d ago
That’s the basic “assumptive” approach. They assume you want whatever credit card/loyalty program, etc and ring you up as if you were using every available program so that you can “see what you’re missing out on”
Gamestop is pretty infamous for this as well
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u/skaidral-1992 1d ago
Showing the cardholder price before she agreed makes the higher total feel like a penalty for saying no.
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u/gladysk 1d ago
You need a PhD in Mathematics to calculate deals there.
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u/ZamielVanWeber 1d ago
The fact that my father loves Kohl's and has a PhD in Patterns and Systems only makes this more accurate. IDT he shops there any more, though.
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u/ZombieeChic 1d ago
My mother and I call it "Playing the game". You really have to watch the sales to get the best deals. We loaded up on shoes earlier this year. Adidas, Nike, Skechers... All for $12-$25. They were marked down plus, they had another percentage off that week that worked on top of the sale and you got more Kohl's cash than usual. I don't necessarily like shoe shopping, but the deals made it fun. I'm set for years.
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u/LaRoseDuRoi 1d ago
My sister and I have 6 kids between us, and we used to play the Kohl's game to get school clothes every year. I think our best ever was getting over $500 worth of clothes for under $100. You have to watch the deals, shop the clearance racks, and stack the discounts and Kohl's cash, but it can be so worth it!
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u/cadmus1890 22h ago
Kohls somehow manages to specialize in bad moods. I worked there as a young adult. I have no positive memories, but the ones I do have:
Shifts spent on a distant cash register, which I dare not step away from, with roughly one customer per hour.
Spending more than an hour looking up products in the office that might match a small plastic ring I found on the floor, because nobody dared to throw it away in case it was inventory.
Taylor Swift's "Teardrops on My Guitar" roughly every 75 minutes.
The loss prevention guy always acting like he was chasing someone down and really was just leaving the store for a while.
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u/thatsanicehaircut 1d ago
as the daughter of a Kohl’s cult member, I know their system of discounts and kohl’s cash inside out. Most big brand names are excluded and you have to study their ads/flyers carefully to learn what is or isn’t part of the sales and cash stuff. It is a horrible maze of rules in tiny print, etc. I hardly go there anymore except for some fave brands or athletic wear likes. I had a bad experience w/ an employee stealing my points from a program they had a few summers back. I hate their HORRIBLE website more than anything though … the navigation is the worst there is and they’re too cheap to fix it.
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u/reallyfuckinon 1d ago
Oh god the website had me wanting to toss my Chromebook into the sea
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u/Commercial-Co 1d ago
That being said, deceptive advertising on coupons is illegal
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u/sallysal20 1d ago
I remember kohls being on the news for their fake sales a while ago but nothing seems to have changed.
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u/genteel-guttersnipe 1d ago
I had a Kohl's wedding registry years ago and it was a nightmare to navigate. I foolishly thought their website would be improved all these years later. Nope... recently tried to look up sheets and bedding sets last month and got so annoyed I just went to Walmart.
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u/Trophtoaceish1998 23h ago
If the cashier can say "always excluded," the coupon can say it before checkout.
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u/weiphsumchuk283 1d ago
Their coupon system turns shopping into a scavenger hunt where the prize is finding out what does not qualify.
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u/Arisyd1751244 1d ago
I’ve only ever gone once. My dad was being released from the hospital after a heart attack and I needed to buy some new bedding because he was going to stay with me a bit.
I was in line forever and my total was $45. I gave the cashier $60 (3 $20 bills). The older lady ringing me in took the money and put it in the cash drawer and closed it. I asked for my change and she said that she only had $20s in her drawer and called the next customer who also paid cash and needed change. I told her I wanted my $15 change and she owed the other customer $10. She said that she’d need to call a supervisor.
It took forever for the supervisor to get there and she was chitchatting with the cashier while myself and multiple customers at that point were demanding our money. It took almost 2 hours to go in, grab a comforter set, pay and leave on a Tuesday afternoon.
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u/cheesecakemelody 1d ago
I’ve been in retail for a decade and I love finding stuff I’ve never seen before. How absurd
Cashier should have asked a manager for change eons ago if they couldn’t make $15 happen, and second, she NEVER should have taken the next customer until your change was settled. The screen clears saying how much is owed once the drawer closes and now it’s a mental tally game of who is owed what
I’m genuinely appalled that you had that experience
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u/arizonadirtbag12 1d ago
From right off a coupon on the website:
COUPON EXCLUSIONS: Not valid on price adjustments; payments on a Kohl's credit card account; taxes; shipping or handling fees; gift cards; Kohl’s Cares® cause or other charitable items; Sephora at Kohl’s; and/or any other categories and brands of merchandise identified as coupon ineligible. COUPON-ELIGIBLE BRANDS: Look for signs in store, ask an Associate, or find a complete list at kohls.com/details. Brand eligibility may vary by promotion.
And if you click that link it will take you to a page that lists all the eligible brands. Levi's isn't on it. Levi's is never on it. Not at any store.
I worked at JCPenney twenty years ago, had customers raging at me for the same shit. Levi's was always excluded from coupons.
Similarly, if you ever take a coupon into Guitar Center or go in for a big holiday promotion with a general "30% off store wide" promo? Applies to everything except Fender, Gibson, Yamaha, Boss, and every other brand you've ever heard of. What does it apply to? Hell if I know.
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u/DirectionSweet2091 1d ago
I used to work at Kohls and it was my least favorite part because the coupons are incredibly misleading.. and customers got PISSED and really nasty to me over it :,)
Unfortunately you need to read the fine print on the back of the coupon for exclusions and also check the fine text under the pricing signs since it'll say if an item is excluded.
Fun tip, when at the register, if something has a > next to it, it means it's excluded from the coupon.
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u/IceIceFetus 1d ago
The best is when you find Levi’s on the clearance rack when they are running the 50% off clearance promotion. I got a cool pair of the cinch waist jeans for like $25 from that promo, as they’ve yet to create any brand exemptions for it!
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u/pot-bitch 1d ago edited 1d ago
and/or any other categories and brands of merchandise identified as coupon ineligible
This is so infuriatingly vague.
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u/Babybleu42 1d ago
Plus if you google the shit you buy there it’s always cheaper somewhere else. I haven’t been there in 20 years. I miss Mervyns.
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u/devenld 1d ago
Same, Mervyns was great. Kohls took over where the Meryvns used to be & I've never bought anything from there.
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u/Reference_Freak 1d ago
I worked at a Mervyn’s. It wasn’t great; it was the direct ancestor of everything everyone is complaining about Kohls for. The pushy credit card begs, the discount to get to a fair price scheme, the boring house brands, the disorganized store with insufficient staff.
The only thing different is that Mervyn’s didn’t survive to the coupon/cash/app phase of retail.
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u/SoapyMacNCheese 1d ago
It’s because Kohl’s whole schtick is to make you combo their perpetual sales, their mailed out coupons, and their constantly expiring “Kohl’s Cash” rewards so you feel like you get an amazing deal and keep coming back.
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u/Fancy-Surprise-2654 1d ago
It’s super annoying to be asked 10 times if I want to get a Kohls credit card. I don’t shop there primarily because their employees push it so hard.
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u/realityseekr 1d ago
Usually they dont bug me about the card more than once but one time I went this lady was aggressively pushing the cards on everyone. The couple in front of me had to say no like 3 or 4 times because the lady kept asking. They even said theyre trying to get rid of their debt yet the woman kept asking. Then I got stuck with her and had the same thing happen. Like lady we dont want the damn credit card.
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u/Entropy355 1d ago
I had an associate tell me I would “get her in trouble” if I didn’t sign up for their customer program or whatever. SUPER hard sell. She honestly tried to guilt me into it. Just awful place to shop.
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u/Talkatoo42 1d ago
Just remember, anytime a service worker does anything weird or annoying it's probably because they got yelled at.
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u/MustangJackets 1d ago
I worked at Dillard’s 20 years ago and I got sent to a “bootcamp” because I wasn’t getting my credit card quota. After 6 months, I got a pay cut because I wasn’t making my sales quota (working opening shifts on weekdays in the Juniors dept while all teenagers were in school). It was a terrible system and I quit as soon as I got the paycut.
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u/peridot_mermaid 1d ago
I hate my current job because of upper management. Several months ago they tried to make us ask every single person coming in for a ticket for their phone number and home address (which is already in addition to their name, zip code, and email that they don’t wanna tell us for understandable reasons 🙄). That “suggestion” lasted all of one day as all of the staff agreed we were not going to ask, and explained how it’s a dumb idea.
I fully expect it to be made official policy at some point, and that’s when I’ll be starting all my transactions with “I’m required to ask this”
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u/britt_leigh_13 1d ago
Worked at target in college and yep. We could even get in trouble with secret shoppers if we didn’t ask.
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u/SugarHooves I'm sorry, what?! 1d ago
I feel so bad for people working the register in Target. But once I had a supervisor check me out and he was beyond pushy about the credit card. I told him no, he asked again. I told him I had bad credit, he said I never knew, I might get approved. I said that I did, in fact, know and another inquiry on my report would just make my score even lower. He said they don't do a credit check. That pissed me off. If applying didn't have any impact on your credit whatsoever, then fine, ask customers about it. But they are asking people to take a small ding on their credit and if they don't ask, they get written up. Fuck that nonsense.
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u/IronicHeights 1d ago
I worked at a Kohls over 10 years ago. The managers were always on people about getting people to sign up for their credit cards. They had numbers they had to hit. So of course the break room had a leaderboard. The associates who were near the top of the leaderboard seemed to always get special treatment from management. It was an easy college job for me, I’d sit in the shoe room and play temple run on my phone.
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u/tinyari3s 1d ago
worked there for 5 years, around 2011–2016. they literally decided our .10 yearly raise based on this shit. not to mention all the praise and special treatment if you got sign-ups. things did get “better” when i got off POS full-time, but they still expect you to ask everyone and meet a certain quota. i worked in shoes, too! then i became the women’s supervisor and all hell broke loose for my sanity 😭
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u/Fragrant-Avocado-553 1d ago
Honestly, if someone tried that hard after I decline more than once I'd probably tell them to void the sale if they try it again. I know retail sucks. I worked in it before. Directly making a customer's mood worse is bad choice to make, both for the company and the employee.
The manager that likely pushed the employee is not going to be pleasant even if that extra push was successful an extra time or two... I'm absolutely jaded from my time, but I just did the work I had with the time I had and tried to not be an ass to the customers. If there was some things left to do at the end of the shift, well I guess there wasn't enough people on shift or hours given. Tough.
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u/fleurmage 1d ago
Several years ago I was in line to check out at Kohls, and there was an employee with a clipboard pushing the credit card HARD on people in line. After probably the 5th no from me, explaining that I hardly ever shop there, the employee said “oh that’s ok!” and started FILLING THE FORM OUT FOR ME. Actually said “I’ll just start this for you and you can sign it! What’s your address?” Yeah how about no. Haven’t willingly shopped there since. My mother in law sometimes requests specific shirts for gifts and I hate every second in the store.
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u/Effective-Revolution 1d ago
I worked there and hours can be cut if you don't sell enough cards. It sucks for us too.
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u/Fancy-Surprise-2654 1d ago
I know it sucks and most of the time if you say no thanks the employee will drop it. The manager at this location must seriously bully their employees because they are really persistent about it.
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u/Humboldt-Honey 1d ago
They would micromanage the people at my store to ask all the questions.
I got in trouble for not circling the savings once.
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u/Affectionate_Pop1586 1d ago
I just tell the cashier that I already have their card, but i wont be using it today. I don't, but it seems to end the conversation right then.
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u/MorningCoffee6 1d ago edited 1d ago
It’s harrassment. I say “no” firmly and exactly one time. When the employee continues to push, I just stand there and look directly at them and don’t respond. I don’t care if it makes them uncomfortable. It makes ME, the CUSTOMER, uncomfortable when they don’t take no for an answer.
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u/EbbOwn303 1d ago
Do you know why they push the credit card so much? I use to work at Kohls when I was younger and got to see all the behind the scenes. This situation is even more fucked up when you learn about "empowerment" which each cashier has the ability to give you up to 20% or $50 off before they need to get a manager. So that cashier could have given the discount, but didn't want to.
But to the real point I was trying to make. Empowerment was a great example of why Kohls pushes those cards. They are really big on discounts because they don't actually care about selling clothes. They are a credit card company. They make all their money off the interest they charge.
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u/redsowhat 1d ago
They don’t issue their own cards anymore, it is Capital One now. Presumably they get something from this arrangement too.
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u/Competitive-Outside8 1d ago
Yes, they were able to fire all the people who were involved in the credit card nonsense, let a more efficient scam artist run the show, and probably connect just as much money even after paying out the professional scam artist.
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u/yavanna12 1d ago
All retail company’s push their brand cards because they don’t have to pay the 3% surcharge on it when someone uses their own card versus a different card. So they make more profit if you use their card, no matter what bank is currently financing it (capital one I believe is what kohls uses)
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u/Dr_Dee_Merit62 1d ago
That is one of the things that REALLY pisses me off about Kohl's. Their coupon policy is wack.
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u/getmorecoffee 1d ago
I worked at Kohls for a while in the late 2000’s. Riiiiight around the time that they decided that the best way to cut costs was to cut payroll.
It has only gotten more bleak with time. I honestly can’t believe this company is still in business. If it weren’t for Sephora and Amazon I don’t think they would be.
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u/NeedsItRough 1d ago
I've only ever gone to Kohl's a handful of times in the last ~15 years and they were all to return things to Amazon so that tracks.
I do usually walk around for a bit after I do the return but everything is so damn expensive I never end up buying anything, even with the 10% off coupon or whatever that you get for doing the Amazon return
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u/Lucky-Mushroom-Dog 1d ago
I think it's insane that Hanes boxer shorts are priced at $38.
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u/Key-Ad-9847 1d ago
Last time we went they had one register open and all the others were self service. Couldn’t for the life of me figure out how to take off the anti theft tags from the clothing myself. Seems dumb on so many levels
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u/SpacePirateWatney 1d ago
When i go to Kohls…it’s to drop off my Amazon return.
Actually I stopped going to Kohl’s when staples started accepting returns.
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u/Lance_Goodthrust_ 1d ago
Yeah, those coupons used to work on just about everything, but that changed 2-3 years ago. Same thing happened to me and the fine print says it's only Kohl's branded merchandise now (or however they worded it) which means almost nothing gets the discount. I just throw those coupons away these days since they are pretty worthless. They really thought tricking their customers this way would help future sales somehow, but they've lost at least $1-2k from me in the last few years since it pissed me off so much I just go anywhere else now. I really wonder how well their sales are since the change. Once you break people's trust, it's hard to get them back. And the stores are often looking shabby these days too.
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u/chypie2 1d ago
they lost the plot long ago, it's a shame. It was one of my favorites 20 years ago.
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u/Atomicnes 1d ago
i don't think that's a kohls thing, if i'm remembering it right brands like levis and such want to protect their "brand image" so third party coupons don't apply unless they agree. but the coupons are pretty sweet for the store brands. i needed some items for a cosplay im gonna do on halloween so i found some light gray khakis, then used the kohls cash from that and a coupon to get a turtleneck for $2.50
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u/cheesecakemelody 1d ago
Exactly, the brands set their coupon policy. Usually the ones that opt to be excluded are the ones that don’t accept coupons at any stores besides their own.
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u/PizzAveMaria 1d ago
This is true, basically those companies see themselves as "elite brands" that want to set themselves apart from "bargain brands" and don't allow discounts. Many have agreements with retailers that they can not sell current in-season items below a certain amount, which is why they can't accept coupons for items from that company
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u/headface1701 1d ago
I hate that place but my snobby sister loves it. She registered there for her wedding. She'd just moved a thousand miles away to be with the guy so none of her friends could go, I knew the wedding would be sparsely attended. I asked her what she wanted and she said a certain small appliance. She doesn't cook so I don't even know why she wanted it.
I looked at her registry and knew the damn thing was way overpriced. I bought it at target for a third of what kohl's was charging.
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u/hokielion 1d ago
They got you in the store thinking you’d save money on something you needed. You waited in line, too. Sunk cost…so when they tell you there’s no discount on the expensive item you needed, you felt like the best option was to spend money you weren’t planning to spend and feel happy that at least you got what you needed.
Now you’re able to think about it and are (rightfully so) annoyed. You won’t return (or at least know not to expect a discount on name brands).
What they didn’t count on is you posting on Reddit. Now I and lots of others won’t fall for this. Thank you kind stranger. Sorry it went down that way for you and hope your next shopping trip is one with an unexpected sale.
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u/SaltyElephantBouquet 1d ago
My mom has the typical boomer obsession with Kohl's. I have to explicitly tell her not to go to Kohl's for certain things because she'll get bamboozled. She wanted to buy my kids an ice cream machine for Xmas and asked us to choose one for her to buy (+1 point for Mom), then went to Kohl's and bought the outdated previous version of the machine we told her to get, and paid more for it than she would have for the brand new model literally anywhere else, because that was the only one Kohls had and why would she shop elsewhere? 🤦🏻♀️
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u/RealMullido 1d ago
I used to work at Kohls.
Theres a whole bunch of stuff thats "excluded" from any kind of coupon. If it makes you feel better, theres literally nothing anyone can do. Cashiers can manually discount stuff and managers can give bigger discounts with a "key turn," but if somethings excluded you just cant change the price at all. So its not like anyone there was being obstinate.
This wont make you feel better, but I can 100% absolutely guarantee you beyond a reasonable doubt, its in the fine print on the coupon. I've had this conversation a trillion times.
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u/Suckerforcats 1d ago
I'm a 40's F and the women's clothes are frumpy as hell. I go maybe once every other year when they have their fleece long underwear on sale and that's it.
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u/TheOkaySolution 1d ago
THANK YOU!!!
Oh, you don't like this atrociously cut shirt in this awful pattern? Perhaps you would be interested in it in one of our other 23 prints!
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u/RipleysHeart 1d ago
Omg!!! I have had it with Kohls too. Was there Friday. Had the 30% off coupon. Scanned it. Lady saw I wasn’t paying with my Kohls card and fast as lightning canceled the sale and told me I would only get 30% off with their credit card. I told her I didn’t have a card with them. She pointed at her screen and said that ‘you most certainly do!’ She said we could look up the card. Just to prove her wrong I went through the process. And wow. No card. As I told her. She then said oh well I still can’t give the 30%, but if you sign up for a card I could give you 40% off. What kind of fucking scam is that?!? She said she already had my license and SSN from looking to see if I had a card so it would just take another minute. I was like fuck no. She then offers 20%, some store coupon she had. I had the 30%. I wanted the 30%. Told her to keep the stuff. Fucked off from there and went to Old Navy where they too tried to entice me with some bullshit percentage off to get their credit card. I’m sticking to the thrift store from now on. /end rant
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u/that_weird_hellspawn 1d ago
This isn't just Kohl's. I worked at Target and any time we had $X off if you spend $Y, a lot of the major brands would be excluded (which they do include in the small print). But still, Legos, Levi, Nike, etc must have some kind of brand deals that don't allow it.
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u/ColoradoDanno 1d ago
This is the answer. All the major labels prohibit coupon use, so it doesn't devalue the brand
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u/StrangeShaun83 22h ago
In the 90s and early 00s when I was in high-school it was one of my favorite stores. I've taken my kids there recently and it's awful!
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u/rubypana 1d ago
kohls has gone downhill. they don't even carry pantyhose anymore. like damn I know ppl don't wear them as much anymore but to be told to "go to a department store" at a store that is supposed to replace the department store was the last straw for me
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u/cheesecakemelody 1d ago edited 1d ago
The coupons say exclusions apply, and the exclusions are stated on the sign on the shelf you’re looking at. It’ll say “ineligible for promotion” or “eligible for promotion”.
They can’t state which brands are excluded on the coupon because the brands (Levi under armour Skechers etc) are always changing if they want to be excluded or not. Kohls doesn’t have anything to do with who wants to allow their coupons. Skechers used to be included, but then they backed out.
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u/Obvious_Pause5766 1d ago
While doing an Amazon return, I noticed a bunch of broken down boxes and since I was in the process of moving, I asked a Kohls associate if I could take a couple. She said no, they belong to the company. I said, "oh sorry, I didn't know you reuse them." She told me they don't, they were going to be thrown away, but since they belonged to Kohls I couldn't have them.
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u/Atomicnes 1d ago
it's silly but the inane policies are the ones the petty fascist managers in retail love to punish people the most over. so i don't blame her even though it's obviously a silly policy
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u/Obvious_Pause5766 1d ago
Oh, I don't really fault her for it. I've worked retail
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u/zerostar83 1d ago
My "Never go back" moment was a black Friday deal for bedsheets. $120 regular price for microfiber bedsheets, on sale for $30. An amazing deal! I went to a Kmart immediately afterwards for more shopping, and had found the same sheets, regular price $30, black Friday sale $20. I never trusted anything from Kohl's ever again for pricing. It already seemed to be a dying store thing, them having 40% off signs in half the store with overpriced items. It was almost as bad as Babies R Us in terms of pricing.
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u/BootlegOP 1d ago
The associate then states that “all high end clothes like Under Amour and Levi’s are always excluded from their promotions.”
Are we just going to ignore that they think these brands are “high end”?
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u/DrunkUranus 1d ago
It's no Armani, but honestly, not everybody can afford Levi's. If that feels goofy to you, I guess you're lucky
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u/cheeze_whizard 1d ago
Anything that isn’t kohls brand is “high end brands excluded from their promotions”
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u/poopyshitballz 1d ago
Kohl’s used to be good, now they suck. Most of the clothes look like stuff I donated 20 years ago.
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u/Lazy_Assistance6865 1d ago
One year I got hired to work black friday at Kohls. I didnt need the job. It was just one shift from like 8pm to 2am thanksgiving night. I got there no one knew what was going on. They had me sign in on a piece of paper what time I got there. Gave me a name tag with a label maker name on it and sent me down to move clothes from the changing room back to the racks. But there were already 2 other people doing that so I just kinda wandered around and straightened up clothes on display. Then I realized no one cared because no one knew who I was. So I left, went home and slept. Came back at 230 to sign out and left my name tag. I got my whole pay a week later
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u/JCBashBash 1d ago
I feel so vindicated reading so many other people talking about hating Kohl's. My mom would drag me and my sister's there for hours because of Kohl's cash and it always felt like such a scam and a hassle
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u/greatproficient 1d ago
I refuse to go to Kohl's or any store than has its own currency system. Just put the goddamn price on the tag, don't make me download Kohl's cash or Kohl's coupons or the Kohl's app so I pay $15 for a shirt instead of $25. Fuck that.
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u/pfifltrigg 1d ago
There's definitely a fine print somewhere about Levi's being excluded. I remember that one from years ago. I wish they'd mention it on a sign by the Levi's but it's just in a long list in tiny text online. To be fair Target had a similar thing with a long list of brands excluded from coupons. $38 for 6 pairs of Hanes underwear also sounds insanely expensive to me though.
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u/Felicia_Delicto 1d ago
I would have just walked out; no pants, no payment, no goodbye.
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u/AdditionalSoftware79 1d ago
Back in the 2000s I remember everything was marked down and often I wouldn’t even know it until at the cash register. I wouldn’t have like 10 things being ready to pay $250 and it would be like $75. Now when I go I have like 3 things thinking it will be $125 and it’s $200 or something.
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u/LastDitchTryForAName 1d ago
Man, I just had a couple of great experiences at Kohl’s. I went in about an hour before closing l did a quick walk through. Found about six dresses I thought I would like (I have a couple of weddings I’m attending as a guest coming up). Tried them all on and found three that looked great. Bought them and got some Kohs cash. Came back a week or two later (when I could use the Kohls cash) . Found a top I LOVED for $45 and got it FREE with my Kohls cash.
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u/secret_identity_too 1d ago
I agree, I love Kohl's, but it's annoying that the big names (Levi's, as mentioned in another comment, and Nike) are never eligible for coupons. I do love the Sonoma brand stuff, though, so I'm always happy walking out of Kohl's.
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u/gothiclg 1d ago
That’s honestly why I’ve refused to go there for years. Their coupons and sales are never clear enough and the store always looks like a hurricane went through it.
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u/ludicristi 1d ago
And every item is stocked in a few random sizes!!! Like okay my son will wear that shirt… oh wait, he’s not a S(4) or a XL Long (16L), guess he can’t have it.
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u/Popular-Drummer-7989 1d ago
Kohls in Florida have no prices anywhere. You have to bring your items to the checkout to discover your prices. Never again.
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u/monstermack1977 1d ago
I only use Kohl's for one purpose. They stick the special hoodie I like. So every few years I'm there grabbing a new one.
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u/Beginning-Match2166 GREEN 1d ago
I went to Kohls and grabbed 2 pairs of shoes because when I scanned them....WITH THE KOHLS APP...it showed they were both $40 each. So I got to the register and the manager said my phone is wrong because they were ringing up as $80 each. I'm like it's not my phone. It's your company's app! He refused to give them to me.
I just left and contacted Kohls Corporate. I told them the deal, showed them the pictures, and they sent me the shoes. I was like "please send them to the store so I can go pick them up." I want that asshole manager to see me when I go pick up the discounted items he refused to sell me.
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u/urnbabyurn 1d ago
For half my life, I thought it was a plumbing fixtures store.
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u/tworaspberries 1d ago
I get so much cheap stuff from kohls. I shop online then use their bucks and pickup. I haven't actually shopped in the store in 20 years.
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u/Individual_Ad_2372 1d ago
So I had a sales person show me where it says that the coupon can't be used. She walked me to the electronic signs by the products with the price and at the bottom it will say-not coupon eligible or something like that. I was getting some khakis, not jeans and the coupon says JEANS which they apparently consider khaki's jeans. Alas the electronic sales price sign said not coupon eligible.
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u/affectionateanarchy8 have fun at HEB loca 1d ago
Kohls is overpriced for subpar clothing, always has been. Their levis are the cheapest quality Levi's like worse than what you'd get at Dillards or Macys. It's almost as bad as Goody's used to be
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u/LukeSkywalkerDog 1d ago edited 1d ago
Kohl's was a lot of fun when it first opened – maybe 20 years ago? You could get good deals in the stores were pleasant. That slowly changed and I haven't set foot in there for at least 10 years. I'm really shocked they are still open at all.
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u/urnbabyurn 1d ago
They follow the Michaels and Hobby Lobby business model of making prices ridiculous and then having “sales” making them reasonable. But it then requires making sure you shop at the right time and buy the right things and use the right coupons. Unless you game it, you are basically paying stadium food prices for Ross quality crap.
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u/CharleyNobody 1d ago
Yeah, kohls used to straight up give card holders 30% off and free shipping once a month. No deceptions. Then they changed and I’ve rarely shopped there since.
Like it lists the price on the web page as $100, then they take 15% off, so the “final price” is $85, plus $9 shipping handling, and then sales tax on $94.
So you figure that when you put the 30% coupon in your cart, the cost will be $70 plus shipping & tax.
But when you put the 30% coupon in your cart, retail price suddenly becomes $128 instead of $100. You thought you were going to pay $70, but you’re actually going to pay $90. Plus $9 shipping and handling, plus the tax on $99.
No thanks, Kohls. And they also jack up the prices when it’s time to use your Kohls cash.
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u/LukeSkywalkerDog 1d ago
Yeah, it's a scam. When they opened their store down here like 20 years ago, it was a wild rodeo of big coupons and discounts. The customers were happy and so were the employees. The store by me some years ago cut their floor space in half and now that space is rented to another shop. It has a very sad and depressing atmosphere.
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u/georgecm12 1d ago
Kohl's opened their first department store in 1962. They expanded into Illinois from Wisconsin in the late 80s, further through the midwest in the 90s, and nationwide in the early 2000s.
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u/Nurse5736 1d ago
times a million. I actually have $$$ to spend, but also haven't been in prob. 10 years. their coupons are virtually worthless on anything most people would want.
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u/skEet-Pete 23h ago
Not sure if anyone has mentioned this yet, but always check underneath “clearance tags” at Kohl’s. I have found several items in my local store where the clearance price was somehow higher than the original price?? Wanted to get myself a Levi’s bomber jacket, I noticed the clearance seemed kinda high so I peeled back the clearance sticker and it was actually priced about $15 cheaper. The cashier worked with me that day, but I’ve had my fair share of disappointing experiences there. Not to mention, the prices are absolutely outrageous for generic underwear/bras/socks. I honestly don’t understand how they are still up and running aside from their connection to Amazon and their decent shoe sales.
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u/Ecstatic_Tiger_2534 1d ago edited 1d ago
I'm in Kohls often because it's the most convenient Amazon return option for me so sometimes shop around using the $10 off $25 coupon they usually give you.
Number one frustration is that most brands you'd actually want to buy are not coupon eligible. But for next time, the easy way to know if something is eligible is to check the pricing tags on each rack or shelf – they mark if the brand is coupon eligible or not. It is mostly just Kohls-owned brands or smaller brands you've never heard of. I've picked up cheap seasonal dish towels, placements, or knick knacks.
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u/cocococlash 1d ago
The only time I go to Kohls is when I have to use the bathroom right now.
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u/todddobleu 1d ago
The Kohls by me is an Amazon return desk with a large clothing/perfume/weird toy store attached to it.