OT: Cashier Error in our favor....

[declansdad]

If the store owed you over $8 would you just forget about it? Probably not. I bet you would want your money back. Why should this be any different? Sure the cashier made a mistake but that does not mean you should benefit from it. We all make mistakes!!! I would pick up the phone and call.

If it was going to cost me $8 in gas and an hour of my time, yes I would forget it.

 

[IUTBAM]

It was a SCANNING error...the cashier only scanned it....she's not going to get in trouble!

 

[MineMail]

If you have an employer that fires someone the first time their cash drawer is short, you have a crappy employer.

I disagree - that sense of entitlement and "everyone should get a second/third/fifteenth chance" attitude is what makes an employer crappy. Good employers treat everyone equally and fairly while communicating their expectations clearly, like "Don't screw up the credit card transactions." Employers that let incompetent employees go are the ones that keep the business running and are successful. The worst employers are the ones who let the clerks walk all over them and rob them blind in either money, merchandise or time. That usually drives a business under more quickly than hiring a willing and capable replacement clerk.

In most cases, however, clerks let go because they came up short on their drawer are on probation (new/corrective action) or have other work issues such as lateness, absenteeism, etc. The overage/shortage (it does work both ways) is typically the last mistake the person makes.

 

[MineMail]

It was a SCANNING error...the cashier only scanned it....she's not going to get in trouble!

No, the OP never said the cashier scanned the beer, she said the woman rang up the correct amount on the register, but keyed in the wrong amount into the separate credit card terminal. Her register drawer was $9 short and she will get reprimanded or fired. That's too big an amount to go without action.

 

[nmrgrl55]

The cashier isn't going to lose her job over this. Actually, there's no way for the store to really tell what happened (NOT that this makes it right, just true). The beer was swiped, the card was swiped, and the register recorded and accepted $0.98 as the cost of the sale. It's not the same thing as if the cashier charged you $9.80, you gave her $10 in cash, and she gave you $9.02 in change. In this instance, the cashier's drawer would be short when compared to the detail tape... but in the OP's situation, it all occurred electronically. The record for the day would show $0.98 charged, $0.98 paid. FWIW, I wouldn't go back, either. Not worth the time or effort, especially as I am 99% sure the store would say, "Ooops, our mistake. Keep the beer." And yes, I'd sleep just fine.

For the bolded...Not necessarily true. I work at a store and we have to manually type in the amount so the register most definitely could have said 9.80 and the cashier punched in .98. In cases like this we ALWAYS find it in the paperwork the next day. It doesn't happen often but it is a major pain when it does.

 

[kamik86]

I agree that I wouldn't go back to fix it. If it was a place I went all the time maybe since i would be there anyway but not if it would be out of my way. Oh and you would probably get another person that wouldn't know how to handle the situation (if they just take the money now their drawer is high, so what are they going to do with it) so it would just be awkward all around.

Last Christmas when getting some presents for my DH I bought 5 similar items (a set) because they are a set at Target they show as only one line on the receipt. I didn't realize till I got home and looked closely that I was only rung up for 4. (They were on sale and I had my DH's discount so no I didn't know what it should have cost close enough to realize it was wrong, they weren't expensive items). Nope didn't go back and fix it, and its a place we are quite frequently since DH works there. However DH doesn't know how he would "fix" that after so would probably be told not to worry about it. Oh and I know the person who rung me up, he definitely still works there (Target doesn't actually count the drawers at the end of the night anyway, actually the employees don't even have specific drawers so even if they did they wouldn't know what cashier shorted the money, because several probably used it that day)

On a separate trip that same Christmas we went to buy a hate and scarf for my niece. When we go to wrap the presents we realize the hat is not in the bag or on the receipt. I have no idea if we never bought it (dropped it in the store or something) or if we got it free and then lost it somewhere between buying it and wrapping.

My sister also works retail at a place that counts draws, she was significantly short one day > $20 and they couldn't figure out where it came from (IE the .98 beer in the system would give it away in this case that night) so she got suspended for a few days while they investigated but they never figured out what happened. She still works there (and was since promoted).

In college I worked at a palce like this where the register would ring something up programmed for a price then you had to manually put the amount in the credit card thing. Yeah people messed this up all the time. If you messed it up more then 3 or 4 times close together they might take you off cash but for once they wouldn't. I'm pretty sure I punched in the wrong number a time or two without noticing.

Yeah I wouldn't be worried about it. Besides if the boss wants to fire people for making these kinds of mistakes, well she DID make the mistake. So why should if the customer was honest and brought it back later or not make a difference in that?

 

[willowsnn3]

I agree with this.

I wish I could say I was surprised at how many people are saying they wouldn't call and at least point out the error because the amount is so small, but sadly I'm not.

Since when is whether you do the right thing or the ethical thing dependent on the amount in question?

Is this what you tell your kids? Suzy accidentally gave you a nickel too much change at her Kool aid stand, it is only a nickel you don't have to tell her.

If it had been a car that she got for $980 instead of $9800 would that be above the thresh hold for doing the right thing?

Again since when does doing the right thing have a monetary minimum?
My conscious doesn't work that way.

Well said. My conscious would haunt me over even that 'small' amount.

 

[kamik86]

Yeah, I don't get that either, it's just a phone call to try and make good on money owed. The DH verbally agreed to pay $9.80, not 98¢. I wonder if they'd make the trip if the error wasn't in their favor, though? It's a pretty one-sided life, expecting everyone to handle their money correctly, getting upset if the error isn't in their favor, but not willing to deal with it when the error isn't in their favor.

In retail, being over/short is a sign of carelessness and is usually viewed suspiciously as potential fraud/theft. Coming up $9 short on a drawer that started with $50 and ended with $150 is definitely suspicious and a small business owner is within their rights to dismiss someone for that. I know several teens that lost their first jobs because they were short on their drawer. One kid was fired after they saw him take money from his pocket and put it in the drawer to cover his shortage. The manager assumed he had stolen the money from the drawer during his shift.

In this economy, losing your job is really difficult. Many teenagers and young adults say even a cashier's job is hard to come by because competition for work is so difficult.

So ok I call, and maybe even get the same girl so she would have some idea of what I'm talking about. What does she do? The only way they could take the money at this point is by credit card, if the system allows them to do that without ringing up a sale, and then there drawer is going to be off again.

If its not the same person they definitely aren't going to want to do this...

I'm going to ask all the people I know that work retail at different stores what the store would do with this.

Oh however if the store called me for the rest of the money (and I didn't have to drive down or it would be on my way) I would have no problem paying. I just don't want to have to explain what I'm trying to do and be looked at like I have 3 heads for trying to pay this.

 

[KBoopaloo]

Just to clarify: the OP said the credit card was swiped and the girl typed in the wrong amount. She never said the beer itself was swiped, so it's not a pricing error in their system, so the "right price or free" policies are irrelevant. Most small businesses don't have the credit card system integrated with their registers, so the clerk has to ring up the sale as a credit payment, then manually put through the charge on a separate terminal.

The knowledgeable people who are saying the kid's going to come up short on her drawer are probably correct. The girl rang up the $9 on the register, which is how she knew what the total was, but then charged 90¢ on the credit card terminal. As a result, she will come up short at the end of the shift when they reconcile the credit batch against her drawer's credit payments.

Many small retailers will dock or terminate an employee who makes a mistake like this, especially if it's been an ongoing issue. Reliability is critical and fraud is real.

The OP should check her credit card statement again because it is possible that the error was reversed and the correct amount recharged after they identified the error.

Ethically, it's up to you as to whether you think you got a bargain or you took advantage of someone's error. I think it's the latter and I certainly wouldn't be bragging about it. The OP made the point of saying she posted this because of always checking receipts, but she also said she "didn't feel like" making good on it. I would.

I was hoping someone would post this explanation. As someone responsible for cash/charge settlement at a small place with a system with a non-integrated cash register and credit card machine, this is a mistake that could easily be tracked back to the clerk. Would I fire someone for this kind of mistake? Not likely, but it would be noted in their file.

 

[djm99]

The disboards has such morally sound people

 

[fax290]

Years ago in Disney I bought a nice scrapbook from the gift shop that cost $30. I bought it on our last day while we were waiting for ME and because I had bought a bunch of other stuff with it I didn't realize until we were about to leave that the cashier had typed in $3 instead of $30. I was 18 at the time and honestly felt like I won the lottery getting this nice item I was splurging on for three bucks. In retrospective I couldn't go back to correct it if I wanted to.

Anyway since then I have worked in retail for 7 years and can tell you that mistakes happen ALL THE TIME. People come in on a weekly basis with items that scanned twice (because the scanner is constantly active anything that sits under it for more than a second gets rung up again). We always apologize and remove the item. Every once in awhile there is the person who comes in to tell us that they recieved something we did not charge them for. We thank them and ring them up for the item.

Recently a woman came in the store to give us back a pair of $1300 earrings she was accidently given in her bag with the stuff that she was buying. We were shocked. She said she couldn't sleep with the guilt on her mind. She was given a 25 dollar gift card for her honesty because you know not everyone would have done the same.

And as far as associates getting fired for being 2 dollars short. Not the case where I work. Not even the person who accidently gave away $1300 earrings was fired. Infact you do not even have to sign to acknowledge a shortage unless it is more than $5 in one day. And the only time an associate will be fired for being short is if management watches the secuirty tapes and sees the person actually take the money. We can sign for being $100 off in one day and not get fired (as long as they see we didn't steal it).

I wouldn't worry about it. Like you said if you noticed while you were there... different story.

 

[MineMail]

So ok I call, and maybe even get the same girl so she would have some idea of what I'm talking about. What does she do? The only way they could take the money at this point is by credit card, if the system allows them to do that without ringing up a sale, and then there drawer is going to be off again.

If its not the same person they definitely aren't going to want to do this...

I'm going to ask all the people I know that work retail at different stores what the store would do with this.

Oh however if the store called me for the rest of the money (and I didn't have to drive down or it would be on my way) I would have no problem paying. I just don't want to have to explain what I'm trying to do and be looked at like I have 3 heads for trying to pay this.

It's pretty easy - you call and ask for the owner/manager, then say "I was charged 98¢ for a $9.80 purchase on (date). I don't want the clerk to be in trouble - it was a simple mistake and she was very nice." The manager either lets it go if he's already written the loss (and the clerk) off, or he appreciates your honesty and wants your patronage in the future.

If he does want the money, you can write a check or he can take your credit card over the phone and ring up just the credit difference. As I said before, he may have already issued a charge for the difference onto the card to correct the error. The amounts for credit sales on the credit card batch will be higher than the drawer count for that shift, but it offsets that shortage. As someone else said, he still has to deal with the employee's mistake, hopefully with training and procedures rather than suspension or dismissal. She should have caught the error before the customer left the store. That can't continue to happen - she must be held accountable.

Doing the right thing is not as big a deal in time and expense as the "take the money and run" posters have made it out to be, lol. To me, using laziness as an excuse for not paying the correct price would make me more inclined to look at someone as if they had three heads than an honest customer saying "I have a strange situation..."

As for the Target employee that couldn't figure out what to do about getting a five-for-four discount, that's just silly. Common sense says that you just tell the truth and pay for it next time you're at work. Customer Service can take care of it - take one off the shelf, ring it up, then put it with the returns for that department.

I like the earrings story - that honest act definitely deserved a reward - wow.

 

[Jaime4004]

What is said above me is true. I am at more places that ring on the register, then it is required to punch the amount in manually to the CC machine more than not.

As for...



My wife works retail. She works where she works because she was able to schedule 5pm to close. This way, she is sure to be home for the kids when they get off the bus. When the kids are sick, she is home. She is able to do all the motherly/household stuff by herself without the hassle of kids in tow, needing to do in a hurry because kids need showers, homework, dinner, bedtime for school tomorrow. If she was fired for something like this, she then ends up somewhere that is more restrictive. The kids now come home to an empty house which they are young, but can do it if need to. We just don't want it done on a regular basis every day. She would have to call off work when the kids are sick, so would be job hunting all the time with being fired from 40some call offs a year (20 days absent from school per kid.) She would probably be fighting to get the no-school days off and from experience, the new job would stupidly schedule her on no-school days, more call-offs, more job hunting from being fired for call-offs. Summers she would have to flat out quit because of the lack of working with her schedule of needing to be home all day when school is out. North, south, east, or west, everything is about 30-40 miles from us. She has 75% chance of ending up north, east, or west where she now has to drive to work in whiteout blizzard conditions, 50% chance on Interstate 80, which just had a family killed in a 30 car pile up when a trailer overturned and crushed her car.

Yes, it could be life-altering.

Thanks for that, it's one of the funniest posts I've read in a while.

 

[DisMN]

I'm surprised so many people are saying that it's no big deal and to just keep it. I've seen quite a few threads here about someone getting shorted and that's always a big deal and the people say that they're "fuming!" or "I'm sooooo angry!"

Driving all the way back to the store? There's an easy solution to this problem. Hasn't anyone ever heard of the Post Office? Check the phone book, call them and get the managers name and the store address. Envelope. Your preference of money to be returned. A stamp. Done.

If you can't do that you make up the difference when you go back next time and if you don't plan to go there again..........really truly the Post Office IS still in business.

 

[DisMN]

If it was going to cost me $8 in gas and an hour of my time, yes I would forget it.

As per my earlier post......one quick phone call (far less than an hour of your time) and 1 envelope (0.01 cents), the stamp (what are they now? 40something cents?), the money you stiffed them and you don't even have to physically go to the post office these days. Ya just leave the mail clipped to your mailbox and the mailman takes it away for you.

Yup. Tons of money and time.

 

[MineMail]

Just a followup to the Target 5-for-4: the cashier drawer wouldn't have been short because he only rang up four items. The fifth one is what the industry calls "shrink." It will be caught when the periodic inventory is done and the store will be held accountable. (Your husband doesn't know this and he works in retail? I guess he doesn't work a drawer?) If Target doesn't do drawer counts, they probably should start, lol.

The cashier who sent you out of the store with an unpaid item is definitely at fault and had you been stopped by security, you would have been accused of shoplifting. The clerk could have easily gotten off the hook by blaming you.

When a chain store misses its shrink target (no pun intended) by a big enough margin, the corporate parent sends in staff to find out where the items are going. That's usually when loss prevention changes are made, supervisors are moved around, and managers are replaced. The staff usually has to attend meetings or training to increase their awareness and compliance with measures.

 

[declansdad]

As per my earlier post......one quick phone call (far less than an hour of your time) and 1 envelope (0.01 cents), the stamp (what are they now? 40something cents?), the money you stiffed them and you don't even have to physically go to the post office these days. Ya just leave the mail clipped to your mailbox and the mailman takes it away for you.

Yup. Tons of money and time.

I don't keep stamps at my house, very seldom do I have an envelope and there is no mailman the comes to my door.

The OP didn't stiff the store.

 

[maxiesmom]

It's pretty easy - you call and ask for the owner/manager, then say "I was charged 98¢ for a $9.80 purchase on (date). I don't want the clerk to be in trouble - it was a simple mistake and she was very nice." The manager either lets it go if he's already written the loss (and the clerk) off, or he appreciates your honesty and wants your patronage in the future.

I work retail, and this is what you need to do. Most likely you will be thanked for calling, and told to consider the cheap beer a nice extra. However they will now know the cashier is not stealing from them too.

I too am a bit suprised by all the people people who are saying to shrug it off. Most people wouldn't shrug off and error that costs them $9, yet supposedly it is ok for the opposite to happen?

Next time someone posts about the high cost of good these days, everyone needs to remember this post. Things like this cost us all money when they happen.

 

[pixiewings71]

Just a followup to the Target 5-for-4: the cashier drawer wouldn't have been short because he only rang up four items. The fifth one is what the industry calls "shrink." It will be caught when the periodic inventory is done and the store will be held accountable. (Your husband doesn't know this and he works in retail? I guess he doesn't work a drawer?) If Target doesn't do drawer counts, they probably should start, lol.

The cashier who sent you out of the store with an unpaid item is definitely at fault and had you been stopped by security, you would have been accused of shoplifting. The clerk could have easily gotten off the hook by blaming you.

When a chain store misses its shrink target (no pun intended) by a big enough margin, the corporate parent sends in staff to find out where the items are going. That's usually when loss prevention changes are made, supervisors are moved around, and managers are replaced. The staff usually has to attend meetings or training to increase their awareness and compliance with measures.

Target does drawer counts, just not until the following day. I worked for Target for quite a few years, that was one of my jobs.

I work retail, and this is what you need to do. Most likely you will be thanked for calling, and told to consider the cheap beer a nice extra. However they will now know the cashier is not stealing from them too.

I too am a bit suprised by all the people people who are saying to shrug it off. Most people wouldn't shrug off and error that costs them $9, yet supposedly it is ok for the opposite to happen?

Next time someone posts about the high cost of good these days, everyone needs to remember this post. Things like this cost us all money when they happen.

I would handle this error the same way I would handle one that was not in my favor, the next time I went to the store I would let them know. I do it all the time, I don't have the time (lately) to make an extra trip, I'm working 2 jobs and volunteering for my daughter's marching band....not a lot of free time in there

 

[Bob NC]

The disboards has such morally sound people

I couldn't live with myself after making that kind of sweeping generalization!