When you shop ‘Spar’,check your Bill before you go too ‘Far’!
Mangaluru: This kind of shopping experience at a grocery/department store has happened in the past quite a few times, and it has happened again -I am talking about being overcharged for items that have on sale or priced low. I was over-charged twice at EasyDay store (now closed), and then once at Auchan (now name changed to Spar)- and just a couple of days ago I had the same situation at Spar store inside Forum Fiza Mall-Mangaluru. Have you ever left a grocery store or a departmental store, gotten home, looked at your receipt, and realized you were over-charged? I’m guessing that you have… and if not, it’s probably because you never look at your receipts! And you better believe that whether you are buying a huge cart-load of groceries from the supermarket, a few things at the mini-market, clothing from the mall, or even dinner at a restaurant…Shopping at various big chain grocery stores like Big-Bazaar, Spar (which was once ‘Auchan’), More, and EasyDay, I have experienced discrepancies in prices on the store receipts. Since then I have been always checking my receipts before I leave the check-out lane or before I exit the store.
I always check my receipt before I leave! I know this might sound overly “cheap” but I’ve been burned too many times. And once I’m home, a few rupees doesn’t really seem worth a trip back to the store. However, when I’m right there, only a few steps away from the service counter, it is worth it for me to explain the errors and collect my well-deserved refund! All of these savings were simple cashier mistakes, items that didn’t ring up according to the advertised price, or errors due to the store employee who didn’t the right price in their system. It really DOES pay to check your receipts! Have you had similar experiences with being overcharged? Did you catch it… and did they refund your money?
Mistakes happen and the easiest time to correct them when shopping is while you are still in the store, either at the register or customer service desk. I am not saying that the store management or the employees are intentionally trying to charge or dupe you by over-pricing-it could happen to anyone due to hurry-bury or non-alertness or carelessness. We should all know that everyone makes mistakes, and we need to correct them. When checking out items at the cashier’s desk, always look at the screen to ensure that you pay the right price for the right number of things. There have been times that items are on sale, and they aren’t reflected during checkout. Bring this to the attention of the cashier, at this time is much easier than coming back at a later time. Also, when you’ve bought multiples of the same item, some cashiers unintentionally miscount, and you end paying more for what you’ve actually bought. Even after all this, still look at your receipt just to make sure.
Are you being overcharged for groceries? I have that experience because I have been overcharged quite a few times for my groceries or other items.That is why I now check my receipt before leaving the store instead of when I get home. I buy a lot of thing on sale and often times the store employees have not entered the sale prices into their computers. Another reason is just carelessness on the part of the check-out person.
On 29 March evening shopping at Spar inside Forum Fiza mall, I bought a few things including few cans of Mortein mosquito killer spray which were on promotion sale – a can costing Rs 84 was being sold for Rs 42 – and I grabbed three cans. While checking out I quickly noticed the price showing up as Rs 82 for each can on the screen- I quickly alerted the cashier – for a while he stared at me like I was wrong- but he was kind enough to run to the aisle and check the advertised price. Hew came back and did the price adjustment- I saved money. Another item over-charged was on jeans pant that was priced Rs 799 but was marked 40% off. But when checked I realized there was no 40% discount given, only 30%. For Rs 799 at 40% discount it should have been Rs 319.9 discount, instead, Rs 239.70 was discounted off Rs 799, with a final total of Rs 559.30. When trying to clarify this issue at the customer service desk, the store employee made up some stories that the 40% discount was placed on a wrong shelf. Oh well, I said “That’s Bull@#@@?”, and left the counter without any further discussion.
Please take a minute to look at the cash register price display device or check your receipts. It could be worth your while. Watch the display screen at the register as your groceries are being rung up. If you are overcharged, speak up. Before you leave the store double check the receipt and make sure that the prices were correct. If you catch the mistake before you leave the store you can quickly get a remedy at the service desk. The majority of all mistakes are not in your favor. Always watch the cash register as your purchases are rung up for scanner errors.
I don’t blame the cashier fully, but he/she should also be alert when the items are on sale. There is a fault also on the management side too on such kind of sale items, instead of changing the price on the system, they apply a small yellow sticker somewhere on the item, which the cashiers have to make sure they see it and punch in the amount said on the sticker, and not scan the product. But I have a suggestion for the management or manager in charge of ‘Spar’ store next time they have such kind of special sale on certain items, they should apply the special priced yellow sticker right on the bar code, so that the item won’t scan and also it alerts the innocent cashier too. This would also save all the hassles a customer has to go through if they notice that they have been charged a different price than the advertised sale price.
In conclusion, all I have to say is that no matter where you shop for your groceries, clothes, food, medicine etc, but always make sure you check your receipts before you leave the shop/store or, at least, check them when you get home. Mistakes by store clerks/management do happen, it’s our duty to bring to their notice their mistakes so that they will serve you better next time. Until then, keep “Shopping”, but Keep “Checking” your sale receipts?
