This article on Smart Spending tells about how Donna Freedman got an extra $3 off of five backpacks at Office Depot that were already on sale. Here it was a question of what the coupons were actually good for — Is it good on sale items? On more than one item? — and Ms. Freedman won, getting five backpacks for $2.40 apiece, a 20% discount off the loss-leader price of $3 each. Also, it seemed from her description of what transpired that the employees were interpreting the ads and coupons in more than one way.
Looking for more durable options than those seasonal school-sale specials? If you’ve got a kid who treats their backpack like it’s meant to survive a rock concert, a camping trip, and a small tornado—all in one week—then you’ll want something built tougher. While department store deals are fun to score, they don’t always hold up past winter break. That’s where customized, heavy-duty gear comes into play. For serious durability, this military backpack manufacturer offers a level of construction that goes way beyond your average zipper-and-nylon combo. With reinforced seams, load-bearing straps, and material that’s made to take a beating, these backpacks don’t just survive the school year—they might outlive the textbooks.
Well, I had my own opportunity to argue with the cashier today at Food Lion, except it was for someone a little more pedestrian: the wrong price rang up on my canned beans. I bought eight cans of beans — four cans of black beans and four cans of pinto beans, which I know you were asking yourself — and they rang up $0.67 when the price on the shelf was $0.62.
So we're talking all of forty cents here.
I had already waited in line for a few minutes behind a woman with a full cart, and there were four carts behind me. The cashier was more than willing to help me out with checking the price on the beans, but she would have had to go back herself to check the prices. (They were short-staffed.) I told her that it was all right and that I wasn't going to hold up everyone else for 40 cents if I could just explain it to customer service later, which I could.
I paid the higher price for the beans, took my receipt over to the assistant manager (who was packing groceries) and he went back to check the price for me and fixed it right there.
It was a little bit easier for me to get the cash back because I was using my gift card, and so there was no need for them to charge back a credit on my credit card. They just handed me the 40 cents and I was on my way.
When I was trying to get the 10% stimulus deal on my gift card purchase, I held up the line a little more, though, because it seemed like what the cashiers were telling me was in direct contradiction to what was posted on their cash register. At times, also, I felt as if they were making up the policy as they went along, and it was only after corporate informed them of the proper procedure that they helped me out.
But this was for $60.00, not $0.40. A little more money on the line.
It doesn't matter how much is at stake, though: If I choose to argue with the cashier about it, anyone behind me gets out of the store later than if I had just kept quiet. And I think it's that way by design: Peer pressure from the customers behind you encourages you to keep things moving. The question then becomes: “Is the amount of money I'm arguing about worth inconveniencing the people behind me?”
What I found out was that $60.00 was worth arguing about, but $0.40 wasn't worth it. (At least it wasn't worth making everyone else wait.)
That's a pretty big range. How much would you fight for in the checkout line?
For me, a lot depends on the attitude of the cashier. Usually I'm using a lot of coupons, so if I have problems with coupons it is often a human-created problem. If the cashier is rude or otherwise acts like I'm doing something "wrong" by paying with coupons, I'll tend to politely argue even if it is for only .25, because someone else who uses coupons might face that same problem and be afraid to argue, and if they put the coupon out there it is meant to be used. I generally will apologize to the people in line behind me though.
If it is a simple price mistake, or the cashier has a nice attitude about the coupon problem, then I usually won't argue unless the problem is at least $1 (unless of course there is no one in line behind me).
I recently had this issue as well at Harris Teeter (Northern Virginia & elsewhere). The tuna was marked on sale ($5.99/lb) at the fish counter but rang up at regular price ($8/lb) at the register. We didn't even realize this until walking out the door. When we went back to talk about it with customer service, they not only fixed the problem, but gave us the entire price of the fish back! So at least if you're a regular shopper there, dispute up and down anything that comes up funky. We ate like kings on free tuna that night.
I rarely will argue about a price in the checkout line — I have just never felt that it is really the place to do it. You're absolutely right that when you argue in the checkout line, you are costing others time. Plus, at most grocery stores, they have to call someone else to go look, slowing down both the check-out line and customer service.
I would do exactly what you did — walk right on over to customer service and have them take care of it. Its what they are there for, and they'll often be far more apologetic than the cashier.
If it's less than a dollar or so, I usually won't argue. I agree with the Coupon Artist, too — attitude matters! Rite Aid cost me $3 the other day, and I fought pretty hard to get it back…
This is one reason I like the "self checkout" option that some stores now have. If I see something that makes no sense, the "cashier" who can check it is me….this works because almost always, there's no one behind me in line.
What does hack me somewhat is when I use a cashier line, the cashier makes a mistake, they can see they made a mistake but there's no quick way to fix it. I really don't think customers should have to wait in the customer service line because of a cashier's error that the system won't let the cashier fix. And often, there's a twenty minute line at the customer service counter….
It's not the employee's fault and you shouldn't take it out on them, but I think you have a valid complaint to offer a manager.
Cathy Sykes
http://www.moneytospare.net
I will also mention it to the cashier if the price comes up wrong. It takes only a minute or two for someone to check it, and it's not like it was MY error. Plus, in my grocery story they ALWAYS give you the item for free if it rings up wrong.
What I hate are people in front of me who pull out their checkbooks when the cashier totals the purchase instead of entering the payee, sign and date the check and the cashier scans the purchases.