OT: Cashier Error in our favor....

[caribear]

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.

Yes, and the main reason this happened was because the store clerk was not paying attention to what she was doing. She is the one to blame. Regardless if the OP should go back to the store and tell them about this mistake...the store has bigger issues to deal with....like employees who are not properly charging customers because of their lack of skills, attention to details...or what not. If I accidently charged a customer $0.98 on a charge slip I would definitely notice the discrepancy as I was putting the slip in my till....... as I pay attention to details and value my job.

 

[maxiesmom]

Yes, and the main reason this happened was because the store clerk was not paying attention to what she was doing. She is the one to blame. Regardless if the OP should go back to the store and tell them about this mistake...the store has bigger issues to deal with....like employees who are not properly charging customers because of their lack of skills, attention to details...or what not. If I accidently charged a customer $0.98 on a charge slip I would definitely notice the discrepancy as I was putting the slip in my till....... as I pay attention to details and value my job.

Where I work we have electronic registers, so we don't look at the slips at all, we just place them in the proper compartment. So I'm not sure how it works at an old fashioned store, if they are told to look at slips or not. I would guess not, as many stores seem to want their cashier to go as fast as possible. In any rate someone making a mistake (as we all do at work, none of us are perfect) isn't an excuse for not at least trying to set things right.

Again, the OP just needs to call. They don't need to make a special trip in t the store, they just need to call. I know when we have something similar happen where I work we tell the caller that it was our mistake, they are good. Some people do insist, and we just tell them the next time they are in the store they can take care of it. It is not a big deal, but still the right thing to do is to at least call.

 

[kamik86]

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.

To be honest I have forgotten things that cost me this much or more becuase I didn't want to go back and deal with them. For $9 no I wouldn't have bothered. My work has charged me 5 or 6 different prices for the same item I used to get for breakfast every time... they were all something between $1 and $2 so I never bothered to figure out what it really should be, I just wanted to quickly get back to work and thus didn't even look at how much I was charged until I looked at the change in my hand on the way back...

To be honest there would be a large chance I wouldnt even have noticed an error like this one until I went to see how I did with my budget that month at the end when I went to pay the cc bill.

 

[caribear]

Where I work we have electronic registers, so we don't look at the slips at all, we just place them in the proper compartment. So I'm not sure how it works at an old fashioned store, if they are told to look at slips or not. I would guess not, as many stores seem to want their cashier to go as fast as possible. In any rate someone making a mistake (as we all do at work, none of us are perfect) isn't an excuse for not at least trying to set things right.

Again, the OP just needs to call. They don't need to make a special trip in t the store, they just need to call. I know when we have something similar happen where I work we tell the caller that it was our mistake, they are good. Some people do insist, and we just tell them the next time they are in the store they can take care of it. It is not a big deal, but still the right thing to do is to at least call.

I also work where there are electronic registers....WDW....but I still look at my receipts/charge slips. It is just a subconscious thing that I do with all slips....maybe from all the years I have been working retail. I do pay more attention to those sales over $50...as you only need to sign if over $50 at WDW, but I still glance down and see what the total was on the receipt.

I think the mistake that happened to the OP can happen anywhere. A little mistake can cause a company/business a lot of money.....and while they do rely on their customers to make money....the employees are the frontline for the business.

I am not arguing the moral issue on this subject as opinions vary. The OP needs to do what she feels comfortable with.....if she is still thinking about this issue days/weeks later...then call the store, but if she is fine with what happened...then so be it. In the end it is up to her. I will still value her opinions on the Dis and will not criticize her for her actions.

 

[maxiesmom]

I also work where there are electronic registers....WDW....but I still look at my receipts/charge slips. It is just a subconscious thing that I do with all slips....maybe from all the years I have been working retail. I do pay more attention to those sales over $50...as you only need to sign if over $50 at WDW, but I still glance down and see what the total was on the receipt.

I think the mistake that happened to the OP can happen anywhere. A little mistake can cause a company/business a lot of money.....and while they do rely on their customers to make money....the employees are the frontline for the business.

I am not arguing the moral issue on this subject as opinions vary. The OP needs to do what she feels comfortable with.....if she is still thinking about this issue days/weeks later...then call the store, but if she is fine with what happened...then so be it. In the end it is up to her. I will still value her opinions on the Dis and will not criticize her for her actions.

I don't disagree with you, but I still think that for the cashier's sake the OP should call and let the store know what happened.

It could be too that that cashier keeps messing up and the store needs to know about it.

 

[disneyandme]

If you would contact the store if the situation was reversed (money in their favor), then you should contact the store. If you would let the $9 go if they owed you, then don't call.

 

[bumbershoot]

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.

Wouldn't you sleep better if you KNEW that the owner/manager/cashier had said "oops, our mistake. keep the beer"?

But I probably wouldn't come post about it on this board either

Such a good point.

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.

So glad you caught that too.

Karma evens it all out!

That's not what karma is.

Even if it were, karma might be "evening" things out FOR YOU, but you have no way of knowing if it's evening things out for the stores! Unless this is ONLY happening at ONE store you go to, of course. If it's over several stores, there's nothing "even" going on.

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.
....

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.

You call them and tell them what happened, and *let them figure it out*. You don't have to worry about HOW they'll do it. What's important is that the call/visit be made.

Even when cashiers/owners/managers give you a funny look for doing something that most people woudn't do, it FEELS GOOD. It feesl GREAT to do the right thing like that! To give them the opportunity to figure out what to do, to show them that not everyone is a creep, to show them that you're a decent, caring person. It feels good. I highly recommend it.

The disboards has such morally sound people

It's nice to be around people like that, isn't it? Feels pretty good!

The OP didn't stiff the store.

The OP didn't stiff the store for the time period they didn't know about the to-low charge. The OP is NOW stiffing the store b/c she knows about it.




All of this has reminded me that I have a debt like this I need to clear up! I'm going to go in at a time I figure the owner will be there, and just give them the money (and a bit extra), since I don't even remember when what happened happened. (DH went to buy soup b/c I was sick, and they only take cash but he forgot. The employee was closing up and said he could come back another time to pay, and we just keep forgetting to do that.) They might end up confused, but it'll be in a good way!

 

[.snow.white.]

I couldn't bring myself to read the whole thread, however, I'm guessing unless they did a full inventory of the store before and after the cashier's shift , she would not be short. If the amount rung matched the amount in the register, she will be just fine. Only way it could come up is if she was being watched for intentional underringing, but I'm guessing that a scan mechanism was in place and it was the mistake of the programmer.

Slainte.

 

[MineMail]

I couldn't bring myself to read the whole thread

Now check your guesses by reading the thread, lol. How'd you do?

 

[Princesca]

Oh for pity's sake, it's a 30 second local call. Do something nice for a local business and give them a heads up. Lord everyone in the world today seems so mercenary... imagine if our beloved Disney ONLY ever met its minimum obligation... can you imagine the pages of threads here talking about how theres no more pixie dust and its all about greed greed greed. Times are tough these days... the only way we're going to make it through is by sticking together and being kind to each other.

Its a shame that because one person wanted to suck down some cheap beer some poor kid could have suffered consequences. Yes it was her mistake but we should give grace where we can... especially when it costs so little to do so.

 

[declansdad]

For the love of God people, she didn't rob the store!!

 

[Hannathy]

For the love of God people, she didn't rob the store!!

In a way she did. She knows she didn't pay what the beer was marked.

Now if she called the store and told them and offered to pay and they say don't worry about it then she did the right thing.
Right now she is knowingly "stealing" the stores money for a product she received.

 

[declansdad]

In a way she did. She knows she didn't pay what the beer was marked.

Now if she called the store and told them and offered to pay and they say don't worry about it then she did the right thing.
Right now she is knowingly "stealing" the stores money for a product she received.

No she didn't, she paid what the store charged her.

 

[sam_gordon]

Its a shame that because one person wanted to suck down some cheap beer some poor kid could have suffered consequences.

ummm... no. They didn't "want" to get cheap beer. The store GAVE them cheap beer. AND you don't know WHO would have suffered consequences. What's wrong with suffering consequences if you screw up? Own up to it and take your medicine. You shouldn't rely on others to bail you out.

 

[luvdzny]

ummm... no. They didn't "want" to get cheap beer. The store GAVE them cheap beer. AND you don't know WHO would have suffered consequences. What's wrong with suffering consequences if you screw up? Own up to it and take your medicine. You shouldn't rely on others to bail you out.

WOW, that is kind of harsh! The cashier is human and humans make mistakes. Being honest when a cashier over or under charges your for something is not bailing the cashier out. None of us are perfect.

In the end the PP and everyone who shops at that store will end up paying for the "cheap beer." It is just like shoplifting, it is considered store shrink and store shrink cuts into store profit, when store profits go down the prices have to be raised. It all adds up.

The excuse that "if I call no one will know what to do anyway" is a poor excuse. I work retail and we know what to do if a customer has been undercharged. Just call and find out, if they don't know what to do at least you tried.

 

[roar15]

The OP did not try to defraud the store, did not use deceit, tuck the beer under their coat, or put a different price tag on it. They trusted that the store was capable of charging them what they were supposed to ... the store screwed up, the OP didn't notice it until later. They didn't come here to brag, they posted to say "hey, maybe if you aren't in the habit of getting a receipt, you should start."

"JUST CALL"..... Ok, so you (everyone who thinks this is THE answer) want to call and let the store who screwed up the charge to your credit card while you were there standing right in front of them try and correct their error with your credit card info over the phone?...... good luck with that.

They screwed up, I don't notice until later and that it is for $9..... I'd sleep just fine. And yes, before someone brings it back up, I have been shorted by one retail store or another several time and not bothered to go back. I wrote it off as a loss (and NO, not on my taxes) and so can they. Now, if I give the cashier a $10 bill and she hands me change back for a $20 (has happened more than once)..... absolutely I bring it to their attention and let them correct it. I've even had to argue with them before they've accepted the fact that they gave me too much in change. If you say you would use your gas and time to drive back to a store for a $9 mistake, or be foolish enough (in my opinion) to offer them your credit card info over the phone...... good for you, pat yourself on the back. But don't call the OP a thieving cold-hearted shoplifter.....

 

[djm99]

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

Thank goodness I'm not you!

 

[sam_gordon]

WOW, that is kind of harsh! The cashier is human and humans make mistakes. Being honest when a cashier over or under charges your for something is not bailing the cashier out. None of us are perfect.

In the end the PP and everyone who shops at that store will end up paying for the "cheap beer." It is just like shoplifting, it is considered store shrink and store shrink cuts into store profit, when store profits go down the prices have to be raised. It all adds up.

The excuse that "if I call no one will know what to do anyway" is a poor excuse. I work retail and we know what to do if a customer has been undercharged. Just call and find out, if they don't know what to do at least you tried.

MY comment was harsh, but equating the OP to a "shoplifter" is OK?

I don't think anyone is saying they wouldn't bring up the issue at checkout if they noticed. The point is it is days or weeks later.

I've gone through drive through, ordered, taken my bag of food, gotten home and found out they put extra fries in the bag. I guess that's "shoplifting" too? I've also gotten "stiffed" on my drive through order. I guess I should call the police because the store "stole" my money. No, I didn't bother to go back or call. It wasn't worth the couple dollars.

I would like to know... those saying they would go back to the store (not during another trip, but solely to pay the $9), would you do that for $8? $7? $5? $0.50?

Personally, when I'm signing a credit slip or hitting 'ok' for a debit card, I make sure the total on the slip/screen matches what the clerk told me.

 

[declansdad]

WOW, that is kind of harsh! The cashier is human and humans make mistakes. Being honest when a cashier over or under charges your for something is not bailing the cashier out. None of us are perfect.

In the end the PP and everyone who shops at that store will end up paying for the "cheap beer." It is just like shoplifting, it is considered store shrink and store shrink cuts into store profit, when store profits go down the prices have to be raised. It all adds up.

The excuse that "if I call no one will know what to do anyway" is a poor excuse. I work retail and we know what to do if a customer has been undercharged. Just call and find out, if they don't know what to do at least you tried.

No it isn't, the op paid what she was charged. Shrinkage is used for more than shoplifting.

If mischarging for one case of beer cuts into the stores profit to the point where they need to raise prices, they have bigger issues than one cashier who charges the wrong amount.

 

[maxiesmom]

"JUST CALL"..... Ok, so you (everyone who thinks this is THE answer) want to call and let the store who screwed up the charge to your credit card while you were there standing right in front of them try and correct their error with your credit card info over the phone?...... good luck with that.

As someone who has worked retail for over 20yrs, I can tell you that it would be just fine for the OP to call. This sort of thing happens way more often than stores would like. It would not be held against the OP at all. Many people just take back their change without looking, or sign their credit slip without paying attention. No good luck is needed. The OP calls, 99% of the time they will be told they are fine, no harm done. But at least the store knows the cashier was not taking money out of the till, and that they need a reminder to be more careful. Win win.