The incident in question occurred at approximately noon on July 6 at the Frederick branch of Ashley%u2019s Furniture. My fiancée, her mother and I were shopping for furniture. We spotted a dining room set that was marked at approximately $349 that included a glass top table and 4 chairs. The sales associate, Jose Ortega, was very courteous and pleasant. Unfortunately, when Jose went to ring up the sale his manager, Mark Wauhop, did not allow the transaction to occur. I politely asked Jose if I could speak with his manager. When we spoke to the manager he said that there was a mistake and he could only sell the piece for $478. My response was that it is misleading and unfair for him to advertise one price but refuse to sell it at that price. My fiancée%u2019s mother even offered $400, but Mr. Wauhop rudely declined and walked away.
As an aside, my fiancée and her mother are Chinese-born, Asian Americans who were speaking Mandarin to each other during the interaction. Mr. Wauhop did not seem to take kindly to this and was very rude and disrespectful during his interaction with my fiancée and her mother.
Nonetheless, I requested the number to their corporate offices and the names of the sales representative and store manager to which the staff obliged. I asked Jose if I could have the original sticker price so that I may take a picture of the price tag for evidence. Regrettably, Jose tried, but his manager refused to give us that piece of evidence. We then asked Jose if we could speak with Mr. Wauhop again, but he refused to speak to us.instead of making a scene, we cordially walked away and decided to voice our frustrations both to their corporate offices and the Better Business Bureau.
I also want to make it clear that Mr. Jose Ortega was very pleasant during this entire ordeal. His kindness in the face of a difficult situation was admirable and he deserves praise. However, Mr. Wauhop was unfriendly, unprofessional, spiteful and unethical in his actions.
We would like to be allowed to, at the very least, buy the furniture at the marked price of $349. Also, we would like a sincere apology from Mr. Wauhop for his rudeness, lack of professionalism, unethical actions and childish behavior.
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