Would You Have Paid?

[becka]

I posted this as a poll so people could answer truthfully without being flamed for it.....

I stopped by the store yesterday afternoon to buy two cases of formula for DS. Each case is $44 (he takes a special formula since he is allergic to milk proteins and we have a family history of allergy to soy) for 6 cans. So these two cases are enough formula for approximately 12 days. Needless to say we spent A LOT of money on formula and with a new baby funds are quite a bit tighter than they used to be.

I also purchased 3 $7.00 books. When I got to the register the total rang up to $32 TOTAL! The cases of formula rang up at $4.99 and the kid at the register had NO idea that could not possibly be the right price.

So what do you do? Do you just write a check for $32 and get the heck out of there or do you tell them they made a mistake and your total should be about $90 higher?

[bumcat]

I have been in that situation before and did tell the cashier they made a mistake because it would bother me forever but that's just me. Man, that's expensive formula!

[2disneywego]

I probably would have said something. This has happened to me in the past, and it's a reflex for me to say, "But, that's not the right price".

[glo]

I would say something like, that doesn't seem quite right...Are you sure that everything was rung up right???

I do not think I would just write out the check...would feel to guilty.

[Princess_Aurora]

Okay, let me be the first to say:

RUN!!!!

I would throw my money at him and run out the door as fast as I could! I think of it this way: They made the mistake, not you. It's kinda like when you see something on a rack that's labled $5 but you know it's really like $20. Well, they're the one's that put it with the $5 stuff so that's what you should pay. Kinda the same thing here. If it rang up $4.99, then that's what they want you to pay so I'm not complaining.

Ummm, by the way, where was this? I need to get some formula for my little man too :)

[Mamu]

Becka while we have all had this happen to us in the past. Let your conscience be your guide.

I would tell the clerk. I know how difficult it is when you child needs special formula. My 3rd child needed special formula which I had to order. Yes it was expensive, but we made it through that first year.

We have a program in Ma. that helps families purchase formula and nutritional food for infants and toddlers called WIC. Maybe your state has a program too. I would look into it. Every little bit helps especially if your on a tight budget.

[EROS]

I would have pointed out the mistake and paid the $117. My personal style: HONESTY is ALWAYS the BEST POLICY!!!:) .

If it was YOUR store, wouldn't you want a customer to report such an error???? If one takes advantage of another's mistakes, then one deserves no better in return...........

[Doctor P]

I try to be honest in these situations, and often it is rewarded. In restaurants, I always point out what I have not been charged for (and they often tell me not to worry about, it was their mistake and they appreciate the honesty). I figure if I am going to complain when a mistake is made against me, I should try to be honest when the reverse happens.

[becka]

Well it looks like I am in the minority on this one. I told the cashier that total couldn't be right because each case was $44. When I told DH he was a little disappointed that I didn't just pay the $32 but I told him I would feel too guilty about it.

DH told me that I was probably about the only one who would do that so I had to find out what others here would have done.

[Kallison]

I would have pointed out the mistake. So the kid made a mistake, we all make mistakes. Your gain hurts the overall store profit, which means we all will be paying higher prices to make up for it. There was just an article in our paper from a cashier at the grocery store who handed someone a $100 bill by mistake on a very busy day. She asked if they would please come forward as she received a three day suspension from her job and could not afford it, plus was having some rough times of her own. I also don't believe in keeping money found on the ground. I don't get it when someone is all happy they found a $50 bill, what about the person who lost it? It could be a senior citizen or some 10 year old who has been saving it for a year. Turn it in, sure there is the chance it will be kept by someone else, but it there is also a chance it will get returned to the rightful owner.

[caitycaity]

i definately would have pointed it out. i would have felt really guilty if i didn't.

[Mermaid02]

My son was on Nutramigen for the first year of his life so I know all about expensive formula...... I feel for you guys!

I have been a cashier and believe me I would have pointed out a mistake in MY favor..... so I would indeed point out such a HUGE mistake in their favor..... too bad they didn't have the "if it scans wrong you get it free" policy though!

[Towncrier]

I have been in a similar situation, although I was purchasing a length of chain to repair my kids' swing set. The chain was $1 a foot, and I purchased 20 feet. The cashier rang up the unit price for the chain and didn't multiply by 20. I mentioned it to the cashier, and I believe his exact words were "oh well". So I got a 95% discount on the chain. I suppose that I could have gone over to the service desk or asked to speak to the cashier's manager, but I figured that I had given the store the chance to correct their mistake. And they blew it. You did the right thing becka.

[Serena]

I would have been honest and paid the right amount, but I would have complained about it later. lol Oh man! Why couldn't I be dishonest just for today? :D :rolleyes:

[believe]

I am one that always points out mistakes, even if it means I have to pay more. There have been times when they have just given it to me for what it came up as. One time I was trying to return paint, I had the receipt and everything. I had purchased it on sale, but the individual insisted on refunding me the regular price per can. I must have argued for a good 10 minutes, even mentioned they get someone else involved. Still they insisted...
Last week DH took the girls and I out for lunch. The waitress didn't charge for our drinks. I pointed this out, she said to not worry about it. When she gave us our change, she gave us $1.00 too much...I found her and returned the $1.00. I am a firm believer that if you take money that is not your's...it will disappear another way (unexpected bill pops up).

[SeaShelley]

I've thought about this all morning and I'm gonna have to say I'm in the minority here. I'd of paid the $32 and walked. I've read all the responses and see everyone's point. I'd of taken the break, knowing full well that it would probably not happen again.

[danacara]

Many stores have a policy whereby if an item rings up at an incorrect [lower] price, you get the item at that price.

You don't get a medal in heaven for being honest in this situation, but if you are the type who would think about it every time you fed the baby, it's probably not worth the guilt. I definitely don't think that God punishes you for taking the discount by sending you other bills - I just don't think that's really high on the God Priority List. If he did, he would also be nailing the store for that 100% markup they charged you in the first place. ;)

Princess Aurora, pull up the car, babe! I would've been right behind you out the automatic doors with my cheap formula. ;)

[helenabear]

I remember one time I was buying several pieces of luggage and a few other things from a store. The lady who rang me up wasn't paying attention and neither was I so when she scanned in a carry on, it didn't ring up properly. I didn't notice until I was halfway home that my total was nearly $70 less than what it should have been. When I got home I compared the receipt to the prices on the tags and sure enough the carry on was rung up incorrectly. I went all the way back to the store just so I could pay the difference. I just didn't feel right knowing that they lost out on so much money. So I would have done the same thing in this case as well and would have pointed out the wrong price.

[Redmic]

You cannot be an honest person and do dishonest things. I am an honest person and any time I have been in a similar situation I have always alerted the clerk to the error.

[danacara]

Originally posted by Redmic
You cannot be an honest person and do dishonest things.

Lot of black and white in that world

[EROS]

DANACARA, when you get to the B. school at Harvard, I want you to take one of our Ethics courses;) ;) ;) ;) .

Hey, the same mentality permeated ENRON and WORLD COM..............if "we" can get away with it, who cares????:confused: :confused: :confused: . Individuals run corporations. If we choose to be dishonest in our personal lives, how can we expect the corporate sector to be any different????:confused: :confused:

Answer: We can't:cool: :cool: :cool:

[JerseyJanice]

It would depend.

If the store were one where I got consistently poor service or had been ripped off by in the past, you bet I'd be out the door and spending the difference elsewhere.

And Dana is correct. Many stores have a policy that if a scanned price is incorrect, you get the item for free or at the lower price.

[tc]

I would have alerted the cashier to the mistake. Actually, I have done this, both for mistakes in my favor and against. It's a lot easier to live your life that way. I know there are a lot of grey areas in this world, and I have learned the hard way that it's not always black and white, but in this instance, I don't see any grey. You are being dishonest by not alerting the cashier. Whether you think that's right or wrong, that's your opinion. But, in my opinion, dishonesty is wrong. But, that doesn't make you a bad person, just a person who did something wrong, IMHO.

[kejoda]

I cannot tell you how many times I've gone to the grocery store and they didn't ring up something in the basket. Everytime I go back to pay for it they say don't bother its our fault. I had a friend once that forgot the turkey at the bottom of the cart. When she called the store to have them look for it they couldn't find it but gave her one anyway. They say this if good PR and they are so right.

You should get the formula for the price it rang up for but the store should be the ones that make that decision.

[Sheree Bobbins]

You did the right thing, Becka.

[DocRafiki]

I honestly can't say what I would have done, but it's great that you pointed it out!

I often get to the cashier and get a total that was less than I expected. But, since I mostly shop in outlets, I always just figured that they missed marking the discounts on the tags... that happens all the time. I never think of it being a mistake. I usually say, "Oh! Cool!" and they just smile. :) I think I would have been pretty sure that formula was a mistake, though.

I agree the decision should be up to the store. A loss like that is a big deal to a small business, but a high-volume store might not find it worth their time to correct it.

[Disney Doll]

I'd have pointed out the mistake, because I have been in that same situation in the past and pointed out the mistake.

I drew out money from the bank one day to go on vacation(I think I was about 22 or 23 years old).When I got home, I realized that the teller had given me $200 too much. I went back to the bank, and there was that teller, with the head teller, frantically counting and adding etc as she sat at her window. I went up to the window and gave her back the money. The head teller told me I was nuts to return it because since it was cash, they'd have had no way to figure out who had gotten the money, and no one would have known. My response was "I'd have known." In certain cases, right is right and wrong is wrong, and there is no gray area. I am not so black and white in all areas of my life, but taking or keeping something that doesn't belong to me is wrong.

[Kermit]

I'd have mentioned it. I've been in similar situations before, and I always say something. Usually people are very surprised that I was honest. One time a bunch of people in my department at work went out to eat together. The poor waitress had to do about 15 separate bills for all of us. When she brought me back my change, she gave me the $10 I had given her plus my change. I immediately pointed it out, and she was so grateful.

The way I figure it is that if they had overcharged me, I'd definitely mention it. So it's my obligation to point it out when they under charge me. Whether they choose to do anything about it or not is up to them.

[AF Brenda]

I had a similar thing happen ages ago. I had a bunch of diapers on the bottom of the cart, and the cashier didn't see them. I shop for one month at a time, so the bill was big and I didn't notice it until I got home and I was checking the receipt. I took one bag back and told them how many I had taken home. They thanked me profusely, and I just wrote out the check.

Grocery stores work on a very low profit margin, right around 2%. To make up $44 in merchandise, they would have to sell $2200 worth of other merchandise.

[Mom2Em]

I tried to vote to break the tie but I was told my action was invalid or some such thing...

When I looked it was 26 for $32 and 26 for $117...

I would have told the cashier... I have been in the same situation before... when I was given change once, the clerk gave me my $$ plus my change... I didn't notice until I left the store... I turned right around and took it back... the funny thing is the cashier's boss was right there, so the cashier got mad at me... I guess because I pointed out an error... oh well, I was able to sleep that night :)

[wdwpluto]

Something like that happened to us at Target. We tried to explain to the cashier and she just looked at us like "huh?" She had no clue what we were trying to say. She was so not the brightest bulb in the world. So we gave up, paid and went on our merry way. We figured that WE TRIED to do the right thing, so no guilt. :)