How much incorrect pricing are you willing to tolerate/let go?

Shelflife

Aldi and Lidl carry a fraction of the products that the other supermarkets do so their product file is easier to manage, they also have no local suppliers who flash products and don't tell the shop.

Not excusing it, just trying to explain.

Corruptedmorals

I worked EPOS in a large supermarket/department store but luckily it was drapery and non-food. Every fortnight I had to scan everything and there would be at least 5 errors- pricetag not changed to reflect (higher) actual price. It's one of those things where you're always up against the system, customers will get to the till and get the lower (actually incorrect) price before you get to that item. That is multipled so much with grocery because there are loads of price changes every day, offers beginning, offers ending. They have more staff than non-grocery but the sheer volume they have to get through and the fact they have to print out labels too means they're always behind. Not to mention the big problem understaffed stores are, which is why people are noticing it more now in the last few years.

Is it a scam? No. It's a combination of understaffed stores and poor management. Is product placement under offer signs intentionally misleading? Possibly, but it's more likely to be crappy stock rotation. 'We're out of 2L, stick the 3L there'- no mention of the sign for 2L. The 'from' is a common one. Plenty of people though do not read signs properly. 'Offer on DIET 7UP' so that means all 7UP. The best one I ever had though was a buy one get one free box of chocolates offer..customer did not want two boxes and wanted to know could she just take 'the free one'.

Don't blame the checkout girl, be polite about it. Not suggesting people are not polite but it's just that they don't have any responsibility for the error, most always they only work on checkouts. The only half decent way to register a complaint is head office. It's a tough one though, they're understaffed because sales are down. Dumping your trolley at the checkout acheives nothing except make people who already have fairly miserable jobs have a slightly worse day. You inconvenience the queue, since your shopping has to be voided out by a manager and taken out of the way. You inconvenience the people who have to either put non-perishables back, or write it off as waste. Increasing wastage- increasing overheads- increasing prices. Obviously prices are centrally controlled, but waste is a central problem. You'd be better off pushing the trolley to head office and wedging it in their doors as a protest.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

I have to admit every item in our weekly shop could be wrong and I'd never know. I pick them off the shelf, put them in a trolley, place them on the checkout, put them in bags and go home. I could not catch the prices as they are scanned through nor remember what each should be, nor be bothered checking till receipts afterwards.

ScottSF

It doesn't happen often but it does happen for sure and I always ask for a receipt and point out incorrect pricing at the til. Usually they have to check the shelf before they can fix the pricing mistake, but in Donnybrook Fair they always trust that I'm telling the truth. This is superb customer service but of course it can be abused easily.

Mistakes happen and I am fine with that, but the major issue for me is when they are not fixed in the computer. When I flag a pricing error the checkout person should make a written note of it and promise to fix it not just for me but for everyone. I have never seen or heard any indication that the price will be corrected in time for the next customer. Is that just a lack of training and proper business policy? Hard to say...

dudara

I am part of a consumer survey panel where I scan every item of grocery shopping at home. This means that for every shop, I get out the receipt and scan through my items. I've been doing this for several years now, and I rarely find pricing errors. I shop at a pretty wide range of stores (M&S, Tesco, Aldi, Lidl and local) and the error rate is extremely low. I mainly put this down to the fact that I check the T&Cs on offers before putting them into my basket.

The odd time I do find an error, I will head back to the store. I did have an error recently at M&S, but I spotted it at the till, and Customer Service sorted it out in no time for me.

Just my two cents worth.

Corruptedmorals

ScottSF wrote: »

It doesn't happen often but it does happen for sure and I always ask for a receipt and point out incorrect pricing at the til. Usually they have to check the shelf before they can fix the pricing mistake, but in Donnybrook Fair they always trust that I'm telling the truth. This is superb customer service but of course it can be abused easily.

Mistakes happen and I am fine with that, but the major issue for me is when they are not fixed in the computer. When I flag a pricing error the checkout person should make a written note of it and promise to fix it not just for me but for everyone. I have never seen or heard any indication that the price will be corrected in time for the next customer. Is that just a lack of training and proper business policy? Hard to say...

Almost always, they don't fix the price because there's nothing wrong with it. Prices are electronically updated every day before the shop opens, which affects the tills, computers and all scanners. The errors lie with the signage. Offer signs not taken down in time, lower price reverted to normal or just plain the wrong price displayed. When they fix the price at the till they have to manually override it, because it's wrong. They are obliging you by offering you the price displayed under the item. They don't have to do that and the till was not mistaken.

ScottSF

When they fix the price at the till they have to manually override it, because it's wrong. They are obliging you by offering you the price displayed under the item. They don't have to do that and the till was not mistaken.

I don't believe the signs are wrong 100% of the time, but yes I agree the signs are the problem a majority of the time.

HOWEVER, is it not the law in Ireland that you have to honour a price listed on the shelf or on the product? I have no idea. In the US it is the law that if there is a retail price listed whether correct or not, a consumer has the right to pay that price.

LowKeyReturn

ScottSF wrote: »

I don't believe the signs are wrong 100% of the time, but yes I agree the signs are the problem a majority of the time.

HOWEVER, is it not the law in Ireland that you have to honour a price listed on the shelf or on the product? I have no idea. In the US it is the law that if there is a retail price listed whether correct or not, a consumer has the right to pay that price.

Prices are an indication of what the retailer will accept, an invitation to treat, not an offer to sell. It's a different once it's gone through the till however, if there was one price and you were charged another. The display does cover them somewhat but most would provide a swift refund nevertheless.

P. Breathnach

It interests me that almost every case I have experienced has been that I was asked for more at the till than was indicated by in-store price information (yes, I'm one of those odballs who is just as ready to draw attention to an undercharge as to an overcharge).

I'd be more sympathetic to the cock-up theory if some of the errors were in my favour. There are a couple of retailers who have lost my business because I am convinced that they systematically overcharge.

Corruptedmorals

Well, it's often the case in non-food when sale items are missed and left in a full price area or sale items are reduced further than the tag indicates. But more unlikely in grocery, they tend to be very vigilant with putting up signs at the correct time to drive sales, not so much with ensuring they go back to normal when the offer/lower price ends.

I can't speak for all supermarkets but I am speaking for the 'because we're Irish' one. That is exactly how they operate and all price changes are done electronically before the store opens, in a batch file sent from head office. It's as important to check that has gone through as it is to remember to open the doors at opening time. It is almost always the case that the signage is wrong. Lidl/Aldi don't have this problem because their prices remain much more static.

Sulla Felix

Sulla Felix wrote: »

I can't remember where, and it might have been a dream (yes, I dream of retail stock control solutions) but I could swear I saw a shelving system with integrated oled displays that linked to the EPOS. Think it was in America, was more than a little bit impressed.

Seen some of these in Carrefour Belgium recently. Have no idea why we don't use them.
In my shop with 30,000 products there will be around 3000 label changes per week. Increases, decreases, ending offers, new offers and comparisons. And alot of these products will be in two places, promo and regular section. Good staff are hard to find so if even half a percent are missed, thats 15 per week

Corruptedmorals

I'm sure we'll introduce that at some stage. I'd say they'd balk at the initial setup cost but it would save in the long run..particularly Tesco with that offer they do when you bring up an error to customer service. They also won't need EPOS staff anymore, though that is a negative thing too of course. If it has reached the UK then maybe in the next 2 years..

The_Conductor

Corruptedmorals wrote: »

I'm sure we'll introduce that at some stage. I'd say they'd balk at the initial setup cost but it would save in the long run..particularly Tesco with that offer they do when you bring up an error to customer service. They also won't need EPOS staff anymore, though that is a negative thing too of course. If it has reached the UK then maybe in the next 2 years..

They do have wifi live in most stores now (well, Tesco, Superquinn and a lot of the Musgrave multiples)- all they need is a unique identifier (aka MAC address) for each sale tag on the shelf, and bobs-your-uncle, off you go.

It would have a high enough initial cost- however, they've already invested in technology in this area, capable of supporting this development- and unusually for the likes of Superquinn- they're not actually developing the tech.

With respect of the double the difference that Tesco suggest- they're not honoring it anyway- despite it being on the sign behind the customer service desk. It looks good- but its pretty meaningless.

DubTony

ScottSF wrote: »

I don't believe the signs are wrong 100% of the time, but yes I agree the signs are the problem a majority of the time.

HOWEVER, is it not the law in Ireland that you have to honour a price listed on the shelf or on the product? I have no idea. In the US it is the law that if there is a retail price listed whether correct or not, a consumer has the right to pay that price.

That's right. The price on the shelf does not form part of a contract, and a retailer can simply refuse to sell the product at the displayed price. Having said that, stores can be fined up to €3000 for EVERY incident of incorrect pricing.

Tesco Knows ... http://www.thejournal.ie/tesco-fined-for-misleading-pricing-247857-Oct2011/

gowley

The_Conductor wrote: »

None.

On a point of principle I bring it to the attention of the customer service staff.
Most weeks I get 10-12 Euro back from Tesco- on one occasion I got over 200 Euro back.

The customer service staff in Maynooth know me well at this stage- and while they do check the errors I report- they are prompt and if there is any delay at all, don't keep me waiting.

On an average shop- I will notice 3 to 4 items at the incorrect price- sometimes by a ridiculous margin (e.g. Bassetts Liquorice Allsorts priced at 1 Euro, charged at 3.99 (and I bought 10, as they were such good value)).

They seem to have abondoned their double the difference and/or the product for free in Tesco- and simply give you back the difference between what you pay, and the price on the shelf. I've queried it several times- and have been told, its no longer applied (despite it being on the poster behind the customer service desk). This was by numerous staff members- including the Compliance Manager (whatever her role is).

Sigh.......

I can count on one hand the number of times I've been overcharged in Aldi or Lidl (and when I was- the manager came out, apologised profusely, and gave me the products gratis).

The customer service in either of our German multiples, eclipses the surly, arrogant, obnoxious behaviour I've come to expect from the other multiples.

200 euro back on one shop. id love to know the details of that shop.

The_Conductor

gowley wrote: »

200 euro back on one shop. id love to know the details of that shop.

Tesco. They had a special on large tins of de-icer at 49c a tin.
It was August. I legitimately believed it to be accurate- given the time of year.
I cleared the shelf- all 25 tins.
I also bought a 3D Bluray player (which I'd been saving up for, clothes and my regular weekly shop- which included a lot of frozen stuff.
Entire bill came to EUR 250 or so. The check-out operator insisted it was accurate, and if I had an issue to go to customer service.
I went through the bill item by item- and found the deicer had been charged at 4.49, not 0.49. I had compared the detail on the shelf tag to those on the can to make sure I had the right one. The Manager was called. I walked with her back to the hard-ware section and showed her where I got it. She agreed- it had been an offer months previous, and for whatever reason the tag hadn't been changed (at least this was the explanation). She wanted to know why I bought all 25 tins- I explained where I live and how much I go through- and invited her to check my previous purchases of it during winter months. I have no idea whether she did or not. Anyhow- she told me I was 100% correct- brought me to the desk and asked for my credit card- and credited double the difference back onto the card.

Tesco Naas.

I'm not fond of Tesco Naas- its too big- its all well and good stocking everything- but if you can't find things, its a bit self defeating. I have to hand it to the staff though- they're far more courteous than the staff in other branches.

I was quite surprised that no-one else had stocked up on de-icer @ 49c a can- I thought it remarkable value (though not an inaccurate price- given it was being cleared in August).

I've still around 10 tins left- thanks to the mild winter we had- doubt it'll last me to Christmas though, this time round. On the lookout for some more de-icer, if I can find it at a reasonable price.

wmpdd3

I knew it was naas before I read the second line of your post.

The company policy is double the difference, end of. But i'm sure the duty manager isn't making up their own policy, must come from the store manager.

there's a list of reason codes for overcharges and the ask fall under about 10 different reasons. Most common are, item packed in wrong place or customer put i'm wrong place and pre priced product. Most issues can be managed out of a store if its run right.

danjo-xx

Why did they ask..... why did you buy 25 cans, even if you were going to sell on, thats neither here or there or any of their business.

Soundman

I'd say they were asked why they bought so much in case they knew full well that the offer had expired and were just chancing their arm at availing of the double the difference refund. That or just curiosity.

The_Conductor

Soundman wrote: »

I'd say they were asked why they bought so much in case they knew full well that the offer had expired and were just chancing their arm at availing of the double the difference refund. That or just curiosity.

Well- I've used between 12 and 15 so far- I guess I've around 10 left. I always stock up on winter things- I've also 50kg of salt for next winter, and 2 snow shovels that I got for next to nothing.

mikemac1

Tesco Ballyfermot has 3 beers for 7 deal.

And down in the bottom of the yellow labels in tiny writing is the expiry date of the offer.

So I grab my three beers and the till rings in around 9 or 10 euro which I pay and then head back to the shelves and check again and sure enough the offer ended two weeks ago.

So why is the promotion label still on the shelves??

I know I am wrong and I should be getting out the magnifying glass to check expiry dates. But if I see a product on the shelves and labelled as promotion then I guess that's exactly as it's advertised, on promotion.

Tesco Ballyfermot are not sly and it's not deliberate. It's just that their management are clowns.
Staff are good though

They also tend to put two different price labels out for the exact same beer.

Or stupid things like Steak & Kidney pie 1 euro, special offer 2 for 2.50 :rolleyes:

Aisling Murphy

Hi Merch,
Absolutely, and its genuinely shocking how often it happens. I check every receipt now, and do it within sight of the cashier so I don't have to go through the palaver of re-queuing when I inevitably find the overcharge. I would estimate conservatively that I am overcharged 1 out of every 3 times if I'm buying a small basketful of goods and 1 in 2 times if its a large shop (trolley). Tesco have a policy of refunding you the amount overcharged and the same amount again, but you have to point it out to them. Their policy is on a large printed blue board close to the entrance on the wall. That means if something is marked down from €3 to €1.50 and you're charged €3 for it, then you're refunded €3, so essentially you get the item for nothing. It has happened to me dozens of times. Most Recent refund was a large tub of Vanish Powder supposedly half price (€4 instead of €8) I was overcharged charged €8 on the purchase of 2 tubs of it. I was then refunded the €8 and the same amount again. I went home with €16 worth of Vanish stain remover for free just because I checked my receipt. I advise everyone to always check theirs

sdanseo

The price on the shelf is an invitation to treat, or in common English, an invitation to make an offer, which you do by bringing the item to the till.

If the price on the shelf is wrong, there is no requirement for the retailer to charge the displayed price. Most however often discount as a goodwill gesture.

Consumer Information Act, 1978 Section 8 (1): wrote:

A person shall not publish, or cause to be published, an advertisement in relation to the supply or provision in the course or for the purposes of a trade, business or profession, of goods, services or facilities if it is likely to mislead, and thereby cause loss, damage or injury to members of the public to a material degree.

There is a fine for misleading advertising, which is where pricing errors are deliberately designed to mislead the customer. However as quoted above there has to be some manner of material damage or loss to the customer, which an invitation to treat, misleading or otherwise, is incapable of inflicting. It would be a different story if the mispricing can be proven to be deliberate, in which case it would be classed as an unfair commercial practice under the meaning set out in the Consumer Protection Act, 2007.

Consumer Protection Act, 2007 Section 41 (2): wrote:

(2) A commercial practice is unfair if it—

(a) is contrary to one or both of the following (the requirements of professional diligence):

(i) the general principle of good faith in the trader’s field of activity;

(ii) the standard of skill and care that the trader may reasonably be expected to exercise in respect of consumers,

and

(b) would be likely to—

(i) cause appreciable impairment of the average consumer’s ability to make an informed choice in relation to the product concerned, and

(ii) cause the average consumer to make a transactional decision that the average consumer would not otherwise make.

As a general any store will probably try to refund the difference / charge the lower price. However there are some cases where genuine errors can't be discounted as staff simply don't have the authority to do it at store level, even with the say-so of a manager, and it that case it has to be politely explained to a customer that it was a genuine mistake and they have to take that at face value and decide whether or not they wish to purchase the product at the correct price.

Meteoric

sdeire wrote: »

There is a fine for misleading advertising, which is where pricing errors are deliberately designed to mislead the customer. However as quoted above there has to be some manner of material damage or loss to the customer, which an invitation to treat, misleading or otherwise, is incapable of inflicting. It would be a different story if the mispricing can be proven to be deliberate, in which case it would be classed as an unfair commercial practice under the meaning set out in the Consumer Protection Act, 2007.

It's happened to me, more than once, that there is a coloured tag on the shelf indicating (in the two cases I'm sure I can remember) that a Liquitab detergent and certain daily dog chews were on special offer on the multipack, implying it was a better deal, but if you took the "reduced" price of the multipack and the price of the smaller pack multiplied by the number of tabs or chews you get, the smaller packs are better value, is this not intention to mislead? Should I be reporting this to someone?

The_Conductor

Meteoric wrote: »

It's happened to me, more than once, that there is a coloured tag on the shelf indicating (in the two cases I'm sure I can remember) that a Liquitab detergent and certain daily dog chews were on special offer on the multipack, implying it was a better deal, but if you took the "reduced" price of the multipack and the price of the smaller pack multiplied by the number of tabs or chews you get, the smaller packs are better value, is this not intention to mislead? Should I be reporting this to someone?

Pretty normal.
They will also include a price per metric unit on the shelf tag (e.g. a price per litre or a price per kg) in addition to the price for the individual packet/bottle/box that you may be buying. It pays to check what the cheapest method of purchasing is. The larger boxes and/or the multipacks- are not necessarily the cheapest option. If you don't exercise a modicum of common sense when shopping- you will inevitably get caught out.

Tesco were pulled up by Fair Trading on this in the UK- but entered a defense that the supplier had a discount in operation on the smaller unit- which Fair Trading said was an acceptable defence. It featured on BBC's Watchdog last year (if I'm feeling bored I may try to find you a link later). It is apparently widespread though- and continues to be reported across all the supermarket multiples- though its not as prevalent as it used be.

charlietheminxx

col.in.Cr wrote: »

In my local Super Valu this is happening me all the time

Mine too! To the point where I avoid going there now.

Meteoric

The_Conductor wrote: »

Pretty normal.
They will also include a price per metric unit on the shelf tag (e.g. a price per litre or a price per kg) in addition to the price for the individual packet/bottle/box that you may be buying. It pays to check what the cheapest method of purchasing is. The larger boxes and/or the multipacks- are not necessarily the cheapest option. If you don't exercise a modicum of common sense when shopping- you will inevitably get caught out.

Tesco were pulled up by Fair Trading on this in the UK- but entered a defense that the supplier had a discount in operation on the smaller unit- which Fair Trading said was an acceptable defence. It featured on BBC's Watchdog last year (if I'm feeling bored I may try to find you a link later). It is apparently widespread though- and continues to be reported across all the supermarket multiples- though its not as prevalent as it used be.

The reason, in all cases I've noticed, that I did the maths and checked the price, was that the special offer label did not give the price per unit, or whatever, so I had to work it out myself, I did and found the price difference. Beginning to think I should check their unit calculations myself where they give them

The_Conductor

Meteoric wrote: »

The reason, in all cases I've noticed, that I did the maths and checked the price, was that the special offer label did not give the price per unit, or whatever, so I had to work it out myself, I did and found the price difference. Beginning to think I should check their unit calculations myself where they give them

Do it. Some of their calculations seem to like something out of the Twilight zone. The episode of Fr. Ted where Ted is saying to Dougal about the car being big- but the cow being far away- comes to mind. Some of their comparisons are just weird- 3 pack of large yellow onions 1.29 equivalent to 4 Euro a litre. I don't know- perhaps someone decided to puree them?

Chocoholic84

col.in.Cr wrote: »

In my local Super Valu this is happening me all the time

Yep they are quite bad for it.

I remember I got charged €2 more extra on mouthwash that was on special offer - only looked @ receipt when I got outside and went back in, they gave me full refund on the mouthwash, so fair play for that!

hfallada

In fairness you cant blame the shop assistants. Working €8,65 with no pension or any benefits isnt a great motivator. I find German supermarket employees to be the best and never really make mistakes with pricing. Maybe because the staff are paid €11,60 an hour, have a pension and given paid holidays. You can expect quality staff if they arent paid a decent wage