KMART HAMILTON'S 'TREASURE HUNT' PROMOTION IS JUST STAFF ASKING CUSTOMERS WHERE THINGS ARE
Prize for finding the missing air fryer is, reportedly, the air fryer at RRP.
Kmart's Hamilton store has launched a school-holidays 'treasure hunt' that appears to be a coordinated attempt to locate stock missing since June.
Shoppers arriving Saturday were handed a photocopied list and told to report back if they found anything on it. One Anko blender. Sheets in queen. A towel with a pineapple on it. There was no prize. Staff confirmed there was no prize.
Hamilton East mum Kelsey Rewiti, 34, said she twigged when the clue for item four was 'possibly homewares, possibly the carpark, honestly your guess is as good as ours'. "Found a candle behind the kids' pyjamas," she said. "Handed it in. Girl at the desk nearly cried. Said it'd been logged as shrinkage in July."
Another punter, Dylan from Frankton, located a $29 bath mat behind the returns trolley and was thanked with a verbal 'ka pai'. "Thought I was getting a voucher aye. Got a ka pai and a nod. Cooked."
A Kmart spokesperson said the initiative was 'a fun way to engage the community with our product range' and would not say whether staff invented it out of desperation. Store team leader Megs — who does a cracking flat white at the Chartwell Columbus, unrelated — said only: "We've found the blender. We have not found the sheets."
The hunt continues through Sunday. The pineapple towel is still out there somewhere!!
More yarns from Gore Retail Ruckus
Know someone this is about? Send it to them.
Reader Letters
★ JoannePetone
Honestly, it's just a piss-take!
★ Garry (Halswell)
This wouldn't have happened in my day. Back in the 80s, we had real promotions with actual prizes, and nobody slacked off trying to find lost stock. Standards have certainly slipped, and it's a disgraceful reflection of the shopping experience today.
rhonda_retro
@Garry (Halswell), not everything was perfect in the 80s. We had some right messes of our own to deal with!
adventure_karen
Mate, I love the treasure hunt idea! It's like doing Kmart's stocktake for fun. Found a curtain rod in the gardening section last visit. #adventure
frustrated_fiona
Are you kidding me? They’re using customers to do their job now? Typical corporates, cutting costs wherever they can!
laughing_liam
Mate these Kmart promos are a laugh!
★ Margaret_F
Margaret here. Oh, Gerald would have had a word or two about this nonsense. In our day, youth today wouldn’t get away with such slipshod operations.
cynical_sam
@laughing_liam Considering the effort you put in, I'd expect more than a laugh. Kmart should be paying us for search parties!
savvy_shay
Bloody smart way to fill the shelves without more staff!
Spotted something like this in your area?
Send us a photo and a sentence. We'll write the article.
SUBMIT A YARN →Free. Anonymous if you want. Takes 60 seconds.