| Author |
Across the Fence:  Why you should check your grocery receipt  |
|
|
Canadian farmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
482 Posts
Lori
Ontario
Canada
482 Posts |
 Posted - Nov 10 2007 : 07:09:34 AM
|
Yesterday I grocery shopped in a nearby town, and bought a large order that contained two cans of no name condensed tomato soup, supposed to be 65 cents each. I make it a habit to check my receipt before I head for home, and when I did, I found that one had scanned right, and the other rang up for a whopping $6.99!!! I couldn't make sense of this, so I went to the customer service counter and explained, and when the girl asked to see the two cans, it turned out that they had two different barcodes, but were identical soup! After talking to the manager, it turns out that there was a printing error and the ones with the wrong barcode were supposed to be sent to the Foodbank, but got out on the shelf.
Good thing I checked that tape, because I would have been fuming to find out later I had paid $7 for a can of soup!
My son and my sister are both cashiers at grocery stores, and say they hate it when people stand there and check the tape, but I explained that I know the cashier is just scanning the items, it's the computer that sometimes has the incorrect price. I also do this discreetly near the exit of the store, not right at the checkout! Also, my order is usually so large that I cannot see the first 3/4 of it being scanned, as I'm still loading the belt with items.
Not sure if this practice applies in the U.S., but here in Canada if the price scans higher than is advertised, you are supposed to get the item free, up to $10. If you bought more than one, you get the first one free, and the rest at the advertised price. This is called the Scanning Code of Practice. Yesterday, I did not get the soup free, I suppose because the first can scanned ok. I probably could have argued about it, but it was only 65 cents, and I had to get home so I could get to work later.
Anyway, check your cash register tapes, as I have gotten many free items over the years! I remember one of the prime time news shows doing a feature about this last year, too.
Lori |
|
|
AmyEllen
True Blue Farmgirl
235 Posts
Amy
McPherson
Kansas
USA
235 Posts |
Posted - Nov 10 2007 : 08:07:27 AM
|
I agree about checking those prices. I use the self check out at walmart and stop when something rings up incorrectly. I recently bought 3 costumes AFTER halloween, 2 spiderman costumes and a superman. The should have rung up around 2.50 but came up full price. Now I know that the policy has been that up to a certain price, like you said, it is free, but it took so darn long for them to get it figured out, I had no desire after that to remind them. I just wanted to go home, LOL. 
But I always check and ask and ask again if I am not satisfied with the answer. I try to make sure they know it is not them I am questioning..... Sigh well on that note I gotta run to the grocery store, LOL
Amy
http://lifenkansas.blogspot.com/
|
Edited by - AmyEllen on Nov 10 2007 08:07:44 AM |
 |
|
|
willowtreecreek
True Blue Farmgirl
4813 Posts
Julie
Russell
AR
USA
4813 Posts |
|
|
Firemama
True Blue Farmgirl
1731 Posts
Amanda
Medical Lake
WA
USA
1731 Posts |
Posted - Nov 10 2007 : 09:08:31 AM
|
O geez, good thing you looked.7Bucks for soup? Wowie,I guessI better start checking mine. Thanks for the headsup.
Mama to 2
Your FreckleFaced Farm Girl!!
http://myfarmdreams.blogspot.com/
|
|
|
|
katie-ell
True Blue Farmgirl
1818 Posts
Katie
Illinois
1818 Posts |
Posted - Nov 10 2007 : 12:44:48 PM
|
Wow, after such a huge mistake they didn't refund your 65cents?? I'm amazed that customer satisfaction isn't higher on their agenda. I always try to check my receipts before leaving the store. Many times have caught errors. My first two trips to the new Whole Foods in my area, they double charged me for an item. Caught it before leaving the store the first time; second time didn't see it until I got home. Grr.
Anyway, good for you.
www.youaretoocreative.blogspot.com |
|
|
|
Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
Posted - Nov 10 2007 : 1:10:36 PM
|
Here's a another side to checking the tape!
I picked up a 2 cup crock pot on clearance at Wal-Mart. It was supposed to be $5, but when I got to check-out, it rang up as 10 cents! I jokingly said "I think I should get it for 10 cents since that's what it rang up as!" and they ended up letting me have it for 10 cents! LOL!!
Alee
The amazing one handed typist! One hand for typing, one hand to hold Nora!
|
|
|
|
CountryBorn
True Blue Farmgirl
1545 Posts
Mary Jane
New York
USA
1545 Posts |
Posted - Nov 10 2007 : 5:34:55 PM
|
We went to the Wal-Mart Superstore when it opened. We decided to try some of their turkey at the deli. I checked and the bill was enormus. They had charged us $88.88 for a pound of sliced turkey! I really checked the check out slip after that!
MJ
There can be no happiness if the things we believe in are different from the things we do. Freya Stark |
|
|
|
MsCwick
True Blue Farmgirl
775 Posts
Cristine
Farmville
Virginia
USA
775 Posts |
Posted - Nov 10 2007 : 9:58:30 PM
|
I seem to remember Dateline or 20/20 doing an episode or a warning about Walmart and how much money they make off of either cashier error or barcode error. I have gone in there and bought 3 things, and in the back of my mind, I know they will come to say...17 dollars, and when it came to 23 I just figured I was wrong, and then I thought and thought, and by the time I was almost home, I pulled over, checked the receipt and went straight back to the store. Turns out I was charged for three garden signs instead of two. The cashier remembered, because the one was chipped and I asked for a discount. But the Customer Service girl had to call and verify that I only really bought TWO. Grrr....Then today, I went grocery shopping, and the girl realized when she scanned the item, it registered in the computer twice. Her and the bagger were then talking about a guy who bought a pair of boots, only to get home and find out he was charged for three pairs of boots......
Thats crazy to think how many people don't realize how often or how badly they get ripped off...
Cristine
Do what you can, with what you have, right where you are. - Roosevelt
 |
|
|
|
Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Nov 10 2007 : 10:04:46 PM
|
I am a chronic reciept checker. I tally up my stuff as I shop and then if it seems off at all I check before I leave the store for sure. I have found alot of errors..the bigger the store chain it seems the bigger and more often the mistakes!!!
Jenny in Utah
Inside me there is a skinny woman crying to get out...but I can usually shut her up with cookies
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ visit my little online shop at www.auntjenny.etsy.com |
|
|
|
KYgurlsrbest
True Blue Farmgirl
4853 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4853 Posts |
Posted - Nov 12 2007 : 05:49:39 AM
|
Funny you should mention the whole barcode thing...Actually, a friend of ours worked for a graphic design company that designed bar codes for all of the Procter & Gamble consumer products, in all markets....he actually made a mistake in his design, and noone ever caught it, and it was put on a product in the South American market--it made the item cost a LOT less than what it was supposed to, and P & G had a great loss...needless to say, he lost his position, but it's very interesting where the "mistake" sometimes begins!!! Like you mentioned, 2 totally different barcodes!!!
In our Kroger stores (which I have incidentally stopped shopping), if something rings up incorrectly, they do give you your money back, however, it happens SO often, and it's such a hassle because the service desk is always so busy, that I just stopped shopping...16 year old kids checking your stuff out really don't care, and certainly don't know what the cost of something "should" be, so it just takes more time than it's worth!!!!
"She was built like a watch, a study in balance ... with a neck and head so refined, like a drawing by DaVinci"...
NY Newsday sportswriter Bill Nack describing filly, Ruffian.
http://www.buyhandmade.org/ |
|
|
|
Hideaway Farmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
1553 Posts
Jo
Virginia
USA
1553 Posts |
Posted - Nov 12 2007 : 07:03:56 AM
|
Invariably, when DH does the Wal-Mart run for us (closer to his workplace than mine so I rarely step foot in the place) he gets double-charged for an item. He's constantly watching the clerks to make sure they don't ring up an item an extra time.
Jo
"Wish I had time to work with herbs all day!" |
|
|
|
kissmekate
True Blue Farmgirl
890 Posts
Kate
Delano
Minnesota
890 Posts |
Posted - Nov 12 2007 : 9:19:11 PM
|
That happens to me a lot.
I try to go to cashiers who are at least my age or older. I hate the young kids that check out stuff at the store. They not only don't care and ring stuff up twice, but they throw my painstakingly picked out expensive produce like it is a basket ball or something.
Someone my age or older knows how expensive groceries are and tend to act a little more respectful about it.
Don't miss out on a blessing, just because it isn't packaged the way you expected. ~MaryJo Copeland |
|
|
|
Linda Houston
True Blue Farmgirl
538 Posts
Linda
Lake Charles
Louisiana
USA
538 Posts |
Posted - Nov 14 2007 : 1:52:29 PM
|
I needed this reminder to take care of my business. I started checking my receipt, so after this post I will become a careful shopper again.
A word about young workers. they seem to be "Bothered" my their jobs, which means us. I am not going to accuse all young workers of this, because I have known really responsibile workers; however, the majority that I run in to are not in to Customer service. I will begin looking for the older women--that is a good point. I need to keep abreast of the posts, and take advantage of your wise words
Linda H. |
|
|
|
Lavendar fields dreamer
True Blue Farmgirl
1032 Posts
little monkeys mommy
washington
USA
1032 Posts |
Posted - Nov 15 2007 : 12:56:18 AM
|
jeez i have checked some receipts but havent been as good about it lately, i will be retraining myself to check things out again.
lavendar girl |
|
|
|
Miss Bee Haven
True Blue Farmgirl
4331 Posts
Janice
Louisville/Irvington
Kentucky
USA
4331 Posts |
Posted - Nov 15 2007 : 06:47:22 AM
|
Kroger's here is bad, too, Jonni. But I think the worst overall for me has always been Walgreen's. It's hard to watch while I'm checking out, because even when I use coupons from their ads, they charge tax on the 'before coupon discount' price, so the total is always higher than I think it's going to be. And they make it very difficult to get your money back - I have to get out of line and go to another place and explain it all over again. I think they just hope people will just go away and forget it in frustration. And recently, they installed an apparatus to automatically give you your change back and positioned it way at the end of the counter where you have to take three or four steps to get to it. They hand you the bills and the receipt, but you have to walk away from them and remember to pick up your change.
"If you think you've got it nailed down, then what's all that around it?" - 'Brother Dave' Gardner |
|
|
|
MustangSuzie
True Blue Farmgirl
634 Posts
Sarah
New London
Missouri
USA
634 Posts |
Posted - Nov 15 2007 : 09:16:44 AM
|
If I can't watch every item as it is rang up I make a point to check the receipt before I leave the store. Most of the time I take a calculator while I shop so I have a good idea of the total I am spending. If I don't do that then I make a fairly good memory note of roughly the price of each item. I got a free econo size bag of toilet paper the other day at a store. Their "special" price hanging on the shelf said 4.99 and it rang up 5.99. Really all I wanted was my $2 back that I was overcharged, but the policy was if you buy two and they make a mistake you get one free. woohoo!!! It pays to watch your pennies. 
Blessings....
Sarah
www.mustangsuzie.blogspot.com
|
|
|
|
Ronna
True Blue Farmgirl
1891 Posts
Ronna
Fernley
NV
USA
1891 Posts |
Posted - Nov 15 2007 : 9:49:38 PM
|
Alee....when something comes up at a way too low price, the item was supposed to be pulled from the shelves, claimed out and destroyed. At Kmart, when it goes to a penny, they can't sell the item and it goes to claims for disposal. They still got a dime for the crockpot, better than nothing!
I watch the prices all the time. My local grocery store is very bad about not having the sale price for produce in the computers and there's an error just about every time I shop there. Last time I did, though, someone had marked a whole basket of mark down stuff 15 cents. Big dog food cans, a half gallon of apple juice, spices, all sorts of things. Yes, I filled my basket with everything I could use and told someone I knew about it and she bought most of the rest. Good bargains and most of it wasn't damaged other than a label coming loose or such.
At one of the Walmarts yesterday, I bought some already bagged on the vine tomatoes, sign said $2.84 each and it rang up at $2.84#, which was probably correct. Not what the sign said, though. It took about 15 minutes for the customer service manager to go check that I was right. As I left the store, I realized the girl rang it up as taxable when she redid it, but I wasn't about to go back again. My ice cream was already melting and I just wanted to go home. Food is not taxable at the grocery stores in NV, though I know in some states, the entire bill is taxed.
Getting the item free if it scans wrong is sometimes a huge hassle, depending on the store. Gotta watch those receipts, no matter where you shop.
Ronna |
|
|
| |
Across the Fence: Why you should check your grocery receipt |
|
Why you should check your grocery receipt
