My Question of the Day for 16 February 2010 – UPDATED
My Question of the Day: You’re next in line at the grocery store, and you have a cart full of groceries that should last you/your family for the next three weeks. You put a few items on the belt, but the cashier tells you he/she’s closing after the next customer. As you’re gathering your items off the belt, the store manager comes up and tells the cashier that he/she is going to have to work for two more hours because his/her relief is having car trouble. The cashier is obviously unhappy about having to keep working, but he/she instructs you to go ahead and put all your items on the belt.
When it’s your turn, the cashier begins overriding the prices of all your items. You’re stunned to see the cashier ringing up each item for at least 90% less than the actual prices. When he/she is done, your total grocery bill is about one-fourth of what you were expecting to spend.
What do you do?
My 2 Cents: As tempted as I would be to just “look the other way,” I’d have to request to be charged the posted prices for my items. Like some of you said, I would consider this a dishonestly of which I don’t want to be a part. It would be different if I didn’t know it was wrong. Since I know what the cashier is doing is wrong, I’d have to intervene and at least make it right for me. My position is “pay what you owe.” It doesn’t matter if it seems fair or desirable. Yes, groceries are expensive, along with everything else. If you think about it, you had no expectation of being discounted in the first place. In this situation, don’t forget karma, the law of reciprocity, you reap what you sow. All that still applies.
I see this as theft, and theft always affects even those who don’t steal. Prices on everything goes up to offset the costs from the stolen items. Security gets tighter. It’s harder for other folks to find jobs because of the added scrutiny. It’s not a win-win for anyone.
I think the worse part for me would be allowing the cashier to think I believe what he/she is doing is OK, because I don’t say anything. Many people do wrong, because no one asks them to do right. You don’t have to chastise folks to get them to do what they already know is right. You simply have to be the subtle reminder that not everyone is looking for something for nothing.
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Take a few moments to check out the tweets from Twitter on this subject:
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treschic67 This happened B4, my daughter said it was stealing, so I took items back the next day & said they were rang incorrectly.
TankaBar_JasonD I would ask if there was something wrong with the register. I would let the cashier take time to calm down and re ring me up.
JoshDamage Id ask her y everything was so cheap. If she gave me a reply indicating she wanted to screw the store I gather my stuff and go
PROTECTED TWEETER If that damn cashier hooks me up. I take my groceries to car as if I paid full price! Get her name, call back l8r give her tip!
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The commentary doesn’t have to end!
Please feel free to continue to add your comments below.
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I would ask the cashier are you sure all this on sale. I had that happen one time it was a lot of stuff but the manager got so frustrated she couldnt void out some items she just threw it all in the bag and said here to keep her line moving.
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LikeDislikeI would be tempted to run out but is a few dollars going to help me? I understand the cashier is angry so I would try to play it cool and ask if he/she rang it up incorrectly. I wouldn't tell the manager only because the cashier would get into loads of trouble but I certainly would ask the cashier to ring my items up again.
dreamzz12{at}Aol{dot}com
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LikeDislikeNo, seriously. Tell us how you really feel. I'm getting the sense that you're on the fence about this issue. Haha. Just joshing. Thanks for your input, Ri-Ri.
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LikeDislikeThat is theft, plain and simple. I would not be a party to it, and the manager should be made aware. I would have no mercy on the cashier…they should be grateful to even have a job in this economy! Fire em!
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LikeDislikeI'd ask the cashier if he/she realizes that I'm being charged the wrong price. If they continue, at that point I'd probably say thank you and give him/her a tip for being nice to me.
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LikeDislikeHaha. He didn't actually win the gift card. He's just got two entries in the monthly drawing. What can I say? He comments almost everyday and he comments on more than one question/poll sometimes. It ups his odds of being chosen. That, however, is not exclusive to Rahsheen. Everyone can increase their chances of winning by leaving well-thought-out & relevant comments.
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LikeDislikePay whats on the receipt and bounce. Not.my.problem.
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LikeDislikeI'll explain it when I get to heaven, but for now I'm gonna bag it up, pay cash & head home w/ my bounty. Ok, knowing me I'd prob call the store when I got home…anonymously that it.
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LikeDislikeyou won a gift card 2 weeks in a row? hmmm. are you, Faydra, and the cashier involved in some kind of crazy scheme to keep me from an Amazon card?
but still, good answer. (wait, does that mean I endorse you to win over my comment?)
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LikeDislikeI would politely ask the cashier to charge me the full price of what I owe. Anything else is stealing – period. If she refused I would have to get the manager involved. May sound harsh but, people who steal contribute to the prices being so high to begin with – and, it's wrong!
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LikeDislikeI'll ask the cashier why he/she is giving me a discount. I'm sure that he/she will come up with a good reason and I'll take the groceries right to my car. If the cashier says that they're just angry because they have to work two more hours, I'll ask him or her to think about having to work a little more is worth losing your job, especially in this economy.
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LikeDislikeWhy should I assume the cashier is doing anything wrong? Maybe I'm the 100th customer of the day and they forgot to shoot off the confetti and balloons. Maybe the company I'm shopping with is big on customer service and the cashier is giving me 10% off for holding me up.
Regardless, I would ask the cashier what the deal is first. My actions from there would depend on the answer.
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LikeDislikeI think the cashier's actions are completely wrong. I would love to say that I'd reject her angry “rebellion”, but in all honesty, I'd probably take my groceries & walk. I'd be grateful that someone was having a bad day & did a favor for me. Food is expensive these days & I'm job searching. 90% off of my food would be a blessing regardless of how I received it.
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LikeDislikeLength is not a problem. That is the whole point of having the blog; so people can expound as much as they like. I appreciate you taking full advantage of it. Thanks for your input.
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LikeDislikeI'm not even going to lie. I'm going to pay cash for my groceries, bag them myself and keep it moving.
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LikeDislikeI would ask him to rescan my groceries at the correct price and hope the cashier realizes they were acting out in a horrible way and will check themselves. I would do this in the kindest, most sincere way in the hope someone who obviously feels used would realize they have a friend. (meaning I would try to get them to resolve the situation without having to call their manager and get them fired)
While I do feel conflicted that the manager should be made aware of possible theft, I would have to put my faith in God that the simple act of compassion would guide the cashier to do the right thing. (then again I might slowly make my way out of the store just to see if they did undercharged the next customer)
I may sound cheesy and out of touch with reality, but I truly believe so many people behave in an unacceptable manner because they are “screaming” to be heard. Maybe I'm speaking too much from experience, but I used to be very antisocial and would cut people with my words – until someone absorbed the cuts and helped me realize I was pushing people away to avoid being hurt myself. I wasn't evil or unworthy of love. I just was too hurt to see what I was doing.
As humans we HAVE to reach out to each other. As a Christian (and if you are religious, most likely this applies to you too) I feel obliged to be there for them (whether giving a dollar to the man outside my corner store, giving a kind word to the lady struggling with her normal (meaning over-active) kids at the store, or simply smiling at the person who just cut me off in traffic (ok, smiling does not require the use of any fingers…)
Sorry for the long answer (especially for my first) but I KNOW how much your life can improve once your basic need to feel love is met.
Love to all
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