We all know that it’s important to keep an eye on your items as they are getting rung up at the grocery store in order to catch the all too common errors. Sometimes this is a little easier said than done, at least for me. First I thought that knowing the prices was the primary issue. My solution was to note the price of each item on my grocery list as I picked it up. Then I realized that my memory was the least of my problems.
I roll up to the checkout line with the best of intentions but there are so many jobs to be done there. First, I have to unload all my groceries onto the conveyor belt. If I have more than just a couple of things, the checker is ringing them up before I’ve finished unloading my cart, so I miss all the items at the beginning. Then I have to run my card through the reader and punch all the buttons, making me miss all the items in the middle. Finally, because, “I brought my own bags” seems to throw the bag boy completely off kilter, I have to sack my groceries, making me miss the final items. The only alternative I can see to this problem is to make everyone in line behind me wait while I get myself situated and am able to watch the girl ring up my groceries. Then they will have to wait again while I run my card and then again while I bag my items. This I will never do.
My next solution was to check the prices of all the items on my receipt after I got through the checkout line, either at the front of the store or in my car in the parking lot. If I catch a .40 over-ring, a substantial error on a can of peas, is it worth .40 to me to bring it to someone’s attention? So far, it hasn’t been.
I haven’t been able to think of any other solutions and I’m hoping you’ll be able to help me! Do you keep track of the prices of your items as they are scanned at the grocery store? How do you deal with all the “jobs” at the checkout line and still keep an eye on the register? If you find an error after you leave the store, do you go back?
I asked about this on Twitter. @ByJane said she always goes back, for overcharges, undercharges and spoiled food. @ClaireMoylan said she went back once when she was charged $9 for a $1 item. I’d go back on that too! But a .40 error on a can of peas represents a 50% overcharge. Do you look at the percentage or the actual dollars and cents when you’re making that decision? One of my sisters left me a note on Facebook saying she probably wouldn't go back but she does try and watch and catch any errors in the checkout line.
I'm serious, I can't figure it out. How do you do it??
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14 comments:
As a business owner, one of the things that I keep in mind when pricing my services is opportunity cost. For me $0.40 on a can of something - even if it's a 50% or even a 100% overcharge, is not worth the time (not to mention the gas) it would take me to go back to the store and get the $0.40 back. I suppose I could put the can in the car and remember to take it back then next time I went or if I happen to drive by the next day, but it's just not worth it to me. My general rule of thumb is anything under $1 isn't worth getting fussed about.
You know, BF and I always check grocery prices and he has an amazing memory so he doesn't even need to note down prices any more about the (same) things we buy all the time.
I always check the prices of what *I* like to buy (milk, chocolate, ice cream, eggs, yoghurt) and we double check before we leave.
If it's $0.40 overcharged, they legally by law, have to refund you the entire amount and give you the food item for free if it's under $10.
We've gotten a lot of free food lately...which tastes better than paid for food :P
Am I the only one who can't seem to pay attention to the actual scanning? That seems to be my problem! FB - I've never heard that it's a law to give you your item for free and a refund if they overcharge you, must be a Canadian thing!
I try to keep a q&d running total in my head as I pick up groceries. Then, if the check out is more than my mind total, I double check the receipt. If there's a mdiscrepancy, I tell the cashier. Several grocery chains have a policy of giving you the item free (except for wine) if it rings up incorrectly. For three months I got a pack of Torillas free each time I went to Publix. I wonder how many folks bought tortillas during that time and didn't notice the 30% discrepancy?
I add my groceries on paper as I go so that kind of helps me remember the prices. Then, I look for a busy checkout line so I have time to unload my cart before they start on mine. If I catch it at the register, I call them on it. If I miss it, I just let it go.
@Jen - I like th idea of picking a busy checker so you have time to unload your groceries. Somewhat counter intuitive but a great idea. Maybe I'll try that. Thanks!
I have this problem, too! As I'm often running to meet the school bus, I don't always have the time to quibble about prices. Also, my regular stores do not have a "get that item free" policy. Like you, I look at the price, not the percentages.
I understand that there are millions of products and it is hard to keep the prices straight but it is so frustrating!
I stand in awe of people who are able to pull this off at the cash register. Now & again I see a shopper staring at the register's screen, evidently keeping track of what's going up there. But there's NO WAY I could check the prices against my shopping list as the cashier is entering them. In the first place, I couldn't possibly remember the prices. In the second, to check them against a list (supposing I remembered to write each price next to each item in my list), I'd have to lift all the goods out of my cart in the order in which they appear on the list!
I have seen people push their carts out of the way when they through the checkout and then stand there checking each item against what they believe to be the price. If you caught that 40 cents there, yeah: it definitely would be worth asking for a refund. Remember: if the 40 cents represents a 50% overcharge and the store overcharges 100 customers, it adds up to a pretty big rip-off of the public. Would I drive back to the store and demand my money back? Probably not.
Once at a small local store I was charged 3x for 1 item and I did go back. Since then, I've noticed that this store often tries to overcharge me! Pretty sneaky. I like the store though, so I still shop there and just keep an eye on them.
At the grocery store, I watch where I can. If I see a discrepancy going against me, I speak right up. If it's in my favor, I'm embarrassed to admit that I usually don't! I figure it probably all balances out.
To me its about the "principle" I notice errors in my receipt about 80 or 90% of the time in grocery stores. (rarely in department stores) This is not an exaggeration. It almost seems intentional. I don't think its fair that the store makes thousands of extra dollars for each 25 cent mistake. (when multiplied by all the customers) There is a major problem with grocery store pricing errors. Even though its most likely un-intentional, I think it borders on criminal that these stores make so much extra (I've noticed that its rarely an issue that an item is cheaper than advertised)I don't think its fair that customers have to stand in line again to fix the mistake. Customers should be compensated for their time. This would serve 2 purposes, making it right with the customer, and creating a deterrent for the store to not do this again. If a customer shoplifts, they will be punished. When the store steals (even if its a "mistake" it is still wrong) they are not punished, and have no real reason to change anything.
@romansten9 - I'm with you, I think it's the fault of non entering the items into an ever increasingly complex computer system or entering them incorrectly. Just because it's a mistake doesn't make it any less frustrating or problematic. Thanks for stopping by!
The penalty needs to fall to the store, and not the consumer when you get overcharged. Who wants to take the time and cost to get a forty cent refund? Every state needs a law like Michigan (when I lived there, I carried a copy in my purse!). There, if you're overcharged, you get 10X the amount back, up to $5.00 which makes it a little more palatable to take the time needed to fix it.
Wow Tina, that's a great law! It might make the stores work a little harder to get things right if they were penalized like that everywhere!
Trust me grocery store errors on pricing are not intentional. This is what I happen to do for a living. One person pricing an entire storeis hard work. Most pricers also have other duties like signs and vendor receiving. Grocery stores do not like giving away items for free, and it is not on purpose. Most mistakes come from computer problems or a sign that was left up by mistake. So thank you for telling us a product is wrongly priced, so we can fix it asap. Trust me, sounds easy, but when you have 3000 items going on sale and a list of other duties in a 8 hour period mistakes happen.
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