On October 24, 2011, a bottle of wine rang up the regular price. A shelf sign said the wine would be discounted $1.00. The person on customer service, as per ShopRite policy, gave the customer the $1.00.
Here’s how I would have handled it:
“Good evening. How may I help you?”
The customer, showing irritation, forcefully placed a bottle of wine on the counter, followed by a receipt. “This wine didn’t ring up the right price. I want it free.”
“Free?”
“Yes, free. It’s called a ScanRite.” His sarcasm was not lost.
“One, a ScanRite applies when a product doesn’t ring up the correct price.” Looking at the receipt, I nodded. “The wine is $9.49. The wine rung up at $9.49. Right price, no ScanRite.”
Waving the shelve sign, he started: “This says –”
“Second: ScanRite, as per New Jersey State law, doesn’t apply to liquor sales.”
“That’s ridiculous!”
“Write your congressperson.”
He pursed his lips. “Well, I want my dollar discount!”
“The wine is $9.49. There is no discount.”
“This sign says there’s a dollar off! I want my dollar!”
Nodding, I replied: “Okay, you want me doing what this shelve sign says?”
“Yes!”
“No problem. Let’s read the shelve sign together. ShopRite Special Value. Check. Save $1.00 on all Fukitall Wine.”
“That’s right! Gimme my dollar!”
“Oh, there’s more here: Offer good through September 8 2011. Unless you have a time machine, no discount for you.”
“The sign says –”
“That’s right. The offer expired.”
“But, but, but – the sign is still on the shelf!”
“That does not change the fact that the offer has expired.”
“Well! I never!”
“Well, you must have.”
“I want to talk to the manager!”
“As you wish.”
The manager would give him his dollar.
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Comments: 83
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I "was" the manager they got. It's still customer service. The customers that yelled and screamed over a couple cents or, a dime that wasn't owed them, were asked to leave - who needs business like that? For some reason, customers that are wrong, don't like being asked to leave.
I'd fight for the dollar. Company policy is to just give it up.
That's why I don't work customer service.
Love the bottle, I wish there were a wine by that name, even if it were horrible I'd still buy it. :) I wouldn't make it one day in customer service.
There's some amazing "logic" to work through in customer service, LOL
In Connecticut, if something scans wrong, to get it free, it's got to be advertised on sale, though we recently got a small Shoprite, so they probably do it differently.
Oh, if someone wanted to go above me, I had my business cards printed with my name, title, store number and the phone number of the main office. They didn't get anywhere there, either. IF they even called.
Simply put: "If an item scans at a price other than the correct price, you get ONE of those items free."
MANY people, even employees, THINK that means: "IF an item scans at a price other than what you think it should be, the item is free."
ScanRite was put in place to ease the concerns of people when stores went to the scan system, with prices no longer posted on individual items.
Simply: IF the price scans what the price should be, no free item. If the shelve tag is incorrect, our policy is to honor the tag price.
Customer service is an interesting spot to be, I only get yelled at maybe once a month because someone's an ass hole and the people around can hear him being one. I had a guy that was waiting for a refund, tell me, I was trying to make him look like an idiot, I told him as nice as a person could, no sir I am not, but in my head I was yelling, I'm not making you look like an idiot, you have succeeded in doing that yourself.
These wine things drive me nuts, the department manager goes off his nut because we can't sell stuff below cost, well when things don't get changed/rung up right (tags removed) then that happens but he yells at others because he doesn't take the sign down.
I had a lady say I was very very nice over a lottery sale because the lady didn't know what she wanted or how to get a ticket, it's those moments I live for, one person knows I'm nice that's all that matters.
As for the name, I think that's a special brand made for the department manager, suits him. LOL
"the First Amendment protects not just political speech, but also commercial speech, which includes, among other things, most advertising and marketing of products and services, as well as the labeling accompanying such offerings. Just as information is crucial to a well-functioning democracy, it likewise is crucial to a well-functioning market. As the Supreme Court recognized over thirty years ago, a “consumer’s interest in the free flow of commercial information . . . may be as keen, if not keener by far, than his interest in the day’s most urgent political debate. Furthermore she informed me that their office accomplishes these important goals in large part simply by ensuring and protecting truthful information in the marketplace. A stores job is not to substitute their judgment for that of consumers or to save them from bad choices; it is to ensure that they get the information they need to make their own choices. We at consumer affairs do this in so in four primary ways. First, we prevent and prosecute deceptive and misleading advertising.; and she stated in factl that a sign that is up even though it is outdated must be honored or the store can be prosecuted for misleading the public and is considered a deceptive practice.
As to Shop Rites pric scan guarantee policy, since each store is a franchise, each individual store has there on policies on getting. But this is my stores policy "Our ScanRite Policy states, “If the price of an item scanned at the register is higher than the shelf price, you will get one of that item free up to $10. If the price of an item is greater than $10 and it scans higher than the shelf price, we will take $10 off your order and charge you the shelf (lower) price for the item.” There are exclusions such as items prohibited by law (milk, tobacco products, alcoholic beverages and prescription medication, etc.), system/power failures, any item manually entered by the cashier, and human error situations.' And for two reasons this wine would not be free one it is alcohol and second the shelf price is not the sale price.
But absolutely this costomer should get the $1.00 for the reasons stated above.
"The store counts on people picking up that bottle at the sale price then most people dont ask for the $1."
The tag was mistakenly not removed, not left up intentionally.
I suspect some people buy crap, not because they want it, but because it's tagged wrong and they think they're getting over on ShopRite. I mean, when someone has a $200.00, the cashier comes to the item and the customer calls out. "Eh! Eh! Eh!"
Sometimes I enjoy a funsie with two hunting bagels.
I would think, Tory, at a farm stand, many people would think barter is the order of the day.
Or, he could have been flirting with you.
I didn't laugh at that one, but I did outright laugh at the woman before him who asked, "If these sweet potatoes aren't sweet enough, can I return them?"
And yes, a lot of people think that you can barter. I usuually just tell people "I don't set the prices, sorry." But this guy's response was, "Come on, you can do it!"
He was an older man, but I guess that doesn't rule out flirting.
Gonna go eat some more funsies...
Yeah, New Jersey. Old guy. He was flirting with you.
"I had to argue with someone yesterday who kept trying to convince me to randomly give him a discount for funsies."
"I had to argue with some a@#hole yesterday who got up in my face to randomly give him a discount for the f@#k of it."
New Jersey: Where the government sends sailors to learn cursing.
Is it crappy? Yes. But, that's the way it is
I said: "I understand that this tag has expired, but I'm willing to honor the price on the tag, even if the tag price is actually higher than the current regular price."
He changed his mind.
The store policy, as I've stated, is to honor any posted price, even if that price is in error.
I grew up in a dime store, more or less. My dad spent a good deal of the period between 1950 and 1973 owning various dime stores. My dad reached a point in his last five years in the business where he stopped working on the floor. He was afraid he'd throw too many people out. When I was in college I had long hair and dressed in an out of the mainstream way. I can't count the number of times when I was standing behind the cash register that people asked me "Do you work here?" Once I told the woman, "No, this is a robbery. If you remain calm you'll be OK." Fortunately she had a sense of humor. Once my mom had a run in with a woman who wanted a coat for 50% off because she said she got it off a rack of coats with a half off sign. My mom said, "I'm sorry, that must have gotten on the rack by mistake." The woman said, "I can make you sell it to me for that." My mom, very quietly but firmly, said "How?" She was a nurse and had had advanced training in dealing with angry people.
Then there was my brother and the woman with the bathing suits. We were clearing them at the end of the summer at 25% off. She had two and wanted 50% off. My brother argued for a while about the arithmetic and got disgusted. He said "Why don't you get four and get them for free?"
"It's great to be an animal that reasons. We can make up a reason to do anything we wish to do." Ben Franklin (in response to someone challenging Ben's eating of a fish, Ben being a vegan).
The 'reasons' people make up to justify stealing is amazing.
I hate people. I really do.
I didn't get fired, Kasey, I kept getting promoted :)
Once, at Giant, the shelf price on turkeys said .69 cents a lb. My turkey scanned at .89 cents a lb. even with my "club card". It was a twenty dollar turkey. The manager gave it to me for free. I rarely have to ask there. They just do it because it's policy. At Safeway the same people who are too lazy to change the shelf stickers take it personally if they have to give you an item free.
by the way, I'd like a case of that wine. There's some people on my holiday gift list who deserve that something "special".
That could be pretty funny.
As with any supermarket, we're understaffed and over worked.