Old Navy Ethics

It's funny how disappointment works, somebody you care about or respect does something that you don't approve of, and rather than get angry you feel this numbing pain like an awful truth was just revealed. For me, disappointment is one of the worst emotions I can feel, some respect is lost and I can't bear the thought of associating with them for a while. Disappointment crossed my emotional threshold today.

My Old Navy is currently having a clearance event in which all of our clearance is an additional 50% off the clearance price. It's an event that stirs a community. Throughout the year, people constantly come into the store and ask when the next clearance sale will happen. So this event is what it is, an event. When it happens, word spreads quickly as the lucky few in the beginning call their friends, who call their friends who then call their friends, until the traffic in the store is so high that it can be difficult to navigate.

This event also brings in the people who want to take advantage of our generous price adjustment policy, which allows someone to bring in their receipt and receive a price adjustment on merchandise they purchased within a 14-day period. Except this time, and from what I was told by a manager, we were never supposed to give price adjustments to anyone during these clearance events unless it was on full priced merchandise. Nowhere is this information posted for the customer. Not on any of the signs we have littering the store, and not on our return policy clings we have at the register counters. In fact, the price adjustment policy clearly states, "We offer a one-time price adjustment when an original sale receipt is presented within 14 days of the date of purchase."

This raises some ethical questions. Should a company be allowed to temporarily change a public affecting policy whenever it is in their best interest? When temporarily changing a policy, is it the responsibility of the company to notify the public of the change? Without any notification of a change, should the company be held to its posted policies?

After thinking about these questions for a few minutes I concluded that it was unethical for Old Navy not to allow price adjustments on clearance merchandise. I spoke to my available manager about this and his only retort was about how it would affect our raises. I replied that I was no longer eligible for a raise so that didn't bother me. This quick conversation left me concerned that a leader in my store is willing to forgo ethical behavior because it might affect his raise.

For a company so committed to the "customer experience", I'm surprised that Old Navy would institute this pseudo-policy without at minimum a sticker, notifying customers of the change. My disappointment lies within a company that would rather make a quick buck than instill public trust; trust it needs now more than ever. My disappointment lies within people willing to take part in unethical behavior because they are either too afraid to speak up or they see how much they can gain over the short term.

I never would consider myself the poster child for ethical behavior, but I always strive to make the right decision. Here, a right decision by my store could have been made and wasn't. And so, I sit here with that numbing pain, hoping that it will go away within the next three days so I can walk into that store glad to be there. I have a feeling I won't.