John Lewis changes Never Knowingly Undersold pledge
John Lewis has changed its Never Knowingly Undersold pledge to include “more than just price.”
It has changed the wording of its 86 year old price pledge and could refuse to price match other retailers on a range of goods where it offers a longer warrantee than competitors.
The department store chain has previously promised to price match products that are priced cheaper elsewhere and return the difference.
While it will still match competitors on price, the value of the warranty will now be considerered as part of the comparison.
The terms and conditions for the Never Knowingly Undersold pledge on the John Lewis website have changed to read: “Our commitment to value is about much more than highly competitive prices, it´s about all those extra things that are worth a lot – like expert and impartial advice…”
“If you see or buy a product from us and find it cheaper with a high street competitor as long as their service conditions are comparable, such as delivery charges and guarantee terms, then we´ll match that price”.
A John Lewis spokeswoman says the policy has not been changed, but that information on the website has been “amended” to “clarify its position”.
In a statement the department store says: “Never Knowingly Undersold is our commitment not just to price, but also to quality and service – it is for this reason that free warranties and delivery charges are also taken into account. We found that there were inconsistencies in some of our shops when our Partners (staff) were considering an item for price match, with the like-for-like premise not always clear. In September 2010 when we applied Never Knowingly Undersold to the online retail space it seemed an appropriate time to clarify our position (for both customers and Partners), which we did with customer leaflets in all our shops and amended the information provided on our website.”
