Sometimes you just have to stand up for yourself or spend a good number of days angry at yourself for not speaking up. If you’re wondering what I’m talking about, it was my Supermarket run over the Weekend. I’ve complained before about misleading or wrong price tags on products.
You pick something up thinking it’s a certain price only to get to the checkout counter and learn that it costs way more than what you were led to believe. Because you don’t want to draw attention since there’re usually several people waiting in line, you suck it up and pay even when you know that it will hurt your budget for the rest of the week!
It’s annoying and I know sometimes other shoppers are to blame for moving products around or even switching tags but I wish the Supermarket staff did a better job making sure products are rightly tagged.
Last week, I fell victim yet again and I have to say I’m proud of myself for finally finding the courage to ask the cashier to "remove” the overpriced item. It was actually a toy I’d meant to give a friend’s kid and I in fact double-checked the price before throwing it in the basket. You know how you usually have a rough estimate of how much you reckon your items will cost by the time you’re ready to check out? I did too and was kind of shocked when the cashier told me how much I had to pay.
I fished around my purse for more money and reluctantly handed it over, all the while wondering why the amount was so high. Like I usually do, I went over the receipt and soon enough, saw why.
It was the Teddy Bear. Nearly three times the price on the tag in the aisle. I don’t know what it was that day but I decided I wasn’t having it and so I calmly walked back to the cashier and asked if he was sure what he had charged was the actual price.
I think it was just my lucky day because he wasn’t rude and in fact offered to go back to the Toy Section to confirm the price. It didn’t match the barcode price and he actually apologized for the error.
By this time, there were about three or four other people waiting to be served, probably wondering why this woman had picked up items she couldn’t afford, which wasn’t really the case but at that point, I didn’t even care. It’s not like I know them or they know me, I reassured myself.
The cashier refunded my money and issued me a new receipt. I couldn’t believe it. Thank God I had the nerve to speak up and thank God for the cashier who acted professionally because he could have made a scene or simply refused to take the item back. Not your typical refund but close. Next time I visit that Supermarket, I’ll give him a tip!