Ill have to go with Beth, Lani, CBrain and the others on this.
Ive been building and, naturally, buying model kits since 1983 (I started young, hehehe). STC (it wasnt known then as such) was one of the hobby shops I went to. All that time the only discount I could remember was P3 slashed off from the price of a Hasegawa F-4K/M. No, I didnt make a mistake. Three pesos. But Im not complaining.
Slowly, over the years, I decided not to buy from STC entirely. Im not a rich man, but to me the discount is only secondary. Customer service is the prime reason. Its not very good. And to me this is important.
I have to disagree with some of the posts made apparently in defense of the store. Yes, the salesclerks are not authorized to give discounts, but is the store owner authorized to mistreat customers? Ever heard of stories where customers are told "di naman pala bibili, eh"? Well, this author was one of those on the receiving end.
Beth is right. We should talk about these things. Its called "Consumer Rights." If people have gripes about a merchant, he or she has every right to complain. The fact that there are only a few stores in the country does not mean we have to learn to live with the merchant's character; its just so sad. We have free enterprise. And the customer is always right.