Ooh, I am so irritated! I had to run to the store this morning to pick up a couple of birthday party gifts. I went to our big grocery store, the one with low prices but where you have to bag your own groceries. The one where I refuse to buy meat because on two different occasions the meat coolers were not working, and they were selling chicken and hamburger that was room temperature. The one where I complained to the meat manager and the store manager and no one seemed to care or take the meat off the shelves.
I don't really know why I would expect any better.
So because it was convenient, I ran into this giant store and went to the toy isle. I found a cute little Matchbox car set that folds up into a carrying case and I knew my 4 year old little buddy would love it. There were 2 sets, a construction set and a dino set and we chose the dino set. It was $12.98. We picked out the rest of our purchases and went to the checkout. The dino set rang in at $16.98. So I politely told the cashier about the price discrepancy. She immediately calls someone on the floor to find the item. The person on the floor can not find it, so I jog back there and point it out. Apparently the item numbers do not match, the descriptions match but neither item number matches.
I jog back to the checkout and the cashier agrees to ring it in at $12.98, but informs me (when I ask) that the 'Checkout Scanner code of conduct' does not apply to transactions where the item numbers do not match. Therefore I do not get my item for free (up to a value of $10). I question this because there is no item that matches the number they have on the shelf tag, the tag is just completely wrong. The supervisor comes over assuming she is needed to do the price adjust and when she is told by the cashier that she already did that and we were just asking about the item for free she just says no. When I start to speak to her to explain my point, she just walked away from me. So. Bloody. RUDE.
I had no problem paying the correct price for the item. My issue is that stores do not care about scanner price errors, they make lots of money from these errors because most people do not catch them. When you come to the checkout with a cart full of groceries it is almost impossible to catch price discrepancies. The code of conduct is there to help protect customers, reward them for being on top of things and help stores to pay more attention to ensuring these errors are minimized. Why on earth doesn't the item number on the shelf tag match the actual item numbers? Has the store found a loophole so that they don't have to reimburse customers for the stores mistakes? The store made a mistake regardless.
Anyway, I hate rudeness in customer service people. Especially those in charge. The supervisor left the poor cashier to deal with me while she just walked away. I tried to be polite and the cashier was more than accommodating, but she shouldn't be left to deal with a disgruntled customer that she has no authority to help. That is the job for managers/supervisors. And this one did not do her job. Rude Rude Rude.
Rant over.

OOOH! Wait! Not quite done ranting yet! I just hopped over to Tracey's blog and she wrote a post about another sticky issue. Not buckling your kids into the vehicle! This one really gets me. My dh ran into the registry office this morning and I was sitting in the van waiting. I looked over and I see this vehicle pull into a spot in front of the Doctor's office. A woman immediately hops out of the backseat with teensy baby in her arms. The baby is all wrapped up in a blanket and was obviously not buckled into a carseat. Why??? Here is a newsflash: You can not hold onto your baby and protect her if you are in an accident. The laws of physics do not allow it. Buckle your kids up! Put them into a correct child seat. and Buckle them up.
I wanted to scream out my window at this lady. AARAGH!

Phew! K, I am done.

In other news, it is a lovely and sunshiny day and I feel fine. I am driving out to the airport this afternoon to pick up my dad and I am looking forward to the long drive, cranking the tunes and soaking up the sun. We had a terrific visit with my sister and her family and watched lots of great hockey this weekend. Have a great one.

Comments

  1. Rant away....they are in the wrong and you had all right since the scanner did nto work to get your refund.

    RUDE RUDE RUDE...what ever happened to being hapy for our business????

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  2. Ugh... I hate poor customer service. Especially when it's THAT poor.

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  3. grrr. This makes me so mad.

    I once stood in Home Depot for more than 30 minutes trying to sort out a price discrepancy on two shelves I was buying. This gave me plenty of time to read their scanner policy, which I insisted they honour. They were so rude about it, treating me like I was trying to take advantage of them. Um, yeah, it's YOUR policy!

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  4. Isn't it great to have the blogosphere to vent to?? It makes me feel so much better afterwards...hope you did, too.

    And, btw, I agree with both your rants. ACK!

    Heidi

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  5. I know what store you're talking about and I refuse to shop there for exactly those reasons. It's a pile of crap.

    Your rant was spot-on, dude.

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  6. Oh, this would have made me a RAVING LUNATIC and I'm afraid I would have run after that manager! This sort of thing is just unacceptable - it's their job to get it right - it's what they do - SEE THINGS FOR A PRICE! Now I'm going to rant if I'm not careful - take care - Kellan

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  7. Rude people suck! I totally agree with you. I've had a similar situation happen, but I got so mad I walked off without paying (leaving the items there of course).

    And the seatbelt thing is probably my NUMBER ONE PET PEAVE!!!

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  8. I worked in retail for a while and I was always taught that if the store made a mistake, the customer got the cheaper price of the item, or was compensated in some way for their aggravation.

    We get calls quite often from motorist complaining about a car loaded with kids not strapped in. I have my own opinion about the seat belt law, but I do agree that parents neen to be more responsible

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  9. I have such an issue with poor customer service these days - it makes my blood boil!

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  10. I don't blame you for ranting at ALL!!! I have had more than my fair share of issues and you are SO RIGHT! They really don't care. I feel scammed.

    Oh, and as for the mama not buckling in her baby . . .WOW. We do a double, triple check before ever even pulling out of the drive. Why oh why . . .

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  11. Whenever we go the store, it is hubby's job to unload the buggy, while I watch the prices. Wal-mart is the worst! They used to have the free policy, up to $3, until they were giving away too many things!

    And good for you for not saying something to the person holding the baby in the backseat...I have yelled at people, and will probably continue to do so. If they want to be unbuckled, that's their own stupidity. But kids, especially the little ones, can't choose for themselves. Ohh..I'm getting angry just thinking about it!

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