ok... one of those moral dilemmas...

[Deleted]

I was shopping today, and without going into to much detail, at the end of a complicated transaction, it turned out i wasn't given an extra 10$ credit. Now i had pointed out the credit when i stepped up to the register, asked about it first, and asked right before the transaction was complete, and he assured me it was, but then it wasn't.

In order to get me the extra 10$ off, the cashier undertook some complicated steps of returns, discounts, repayments... I'm not math dense usually, but it did confuse me, although i swear before i left the store i thought i understood what he was doing.

BUT, when i got home, in a clear head and sitting down with my receipts to add up what i spent and what i was reimbursed, i think i ended up UNDERPAYING about 80$...

Do i now go back and try to sort it out again? Will they penalize the sales person? Do i have to go back to the store in person specifically, as its not the town i usually shop in, we were just in the area for a birthday party... and i'd have to drive at least an hour round trip?...

Thoughts?

[motherto2]

boy, that is a dilema. I don't think I could live with myself, it's not like it was a couple of dollars. I'd call the store and talk to the manager and explain what happened. Maybe he/she will tell you not to worry about it.

[Deleted]

I would wait until the charges/returns are processed to make sure they all go through as stated on the receipts.
My biggest worry is the sales person. I actually think that big business tends to short itself when it doesn't allow its personnel to just handle small issues on their discretion...I asked him if he could just put 10$ on a gift card... but no, there was no way to do that, so he attempts this complicated thing...

[whoisjohngalt]

Oohhh, this is going to sound very cold-hearted, but I am so so tired of dealing with other people's errors. There is no way I can be convinced that any sales transaction in a store can be THAT complicated that instead of $10 you got an $80 credit. Someone somewhere needs to learn basic math skills, so no, I would not be going back. And I also don't buy an argument that we shouldn't expect much from someone making $6 bucks an hour. Again - BASIC MATH SKILLS should be learned by all.

I keep dreaming that one of those days business will realize the losses they incur due to employee's mistakes and may be will train them better

Lena

[jennml]

Jan 8, 2011 19:14:22 GMT -5 whoisjohngalt said:

Oohhh, this is going to sound very cold-hearted, but I am so so tired of dealing with other people's errors. There is no way I can be convinced that any sales transaction in a store can be THAT complicated that instead of $10 you got an $80 credit. Someone somewhere needs to learn basic math skills, so no, I would not be going back. And I also don't buy an argument that we shouldn't expect much from someone making $6 bucks an hour. Again - BASIC MATH SKILLS should be learned by all.

I keep dreaming that one of those days business will realize the losses they incur due to employee's mistakes and may be will train them better

Lena

I concur.

First of all, you reminded this individual several times about applying the $10 credit. If you hadn't caught it before leaving the store, I really can't imagine the clerk or his employer breaking down your door to correct their error. So you would have been out the credit unless you decided to make a stink about it which ay or may not have resulted in any redress.

Second, our mistakes are learning experiences and sometimes learning is painful. The clerk, if they even realize the error, will be punished accordingly and maybe next time he/she will pay attention to their job.

I'm not as vile as I sound. I've been a pushover plenty of times but that's life. Sometimes you're the winner, sometimes you're the loser. Enjoy winning this time. I would.

[dancinmama]

I think I would call and ask to speak to the manager too. First, it was not your error and you'd have to spend two hours (minimum) and gas to correct their error.

Make sure to tell the manager that you are an hour away. If the correction cannot be made without your having to drive back (a CC transaction over the phone), I doubt he/she will bother with it.

[Deleted]

I'm half an hour away, it would be an hour round trip.

It was at a Game Stop (not sure if i could just go to any one?) ... my son traded in 3 games, and his old ds on a new ds xl, cause there were extra credits today that made it worth it... and i re-uped our edge, so there were lots of things on the original receipt that made it difficult/unable to just cancel the first transaction and re-do. I think what happened is that the computer automatically transfered our credits through when he did the return/repurchase, but he didn't realize this, and so manually gave me an 85$ discount, which included the other discounts... when he should have just manually given me the 10$ extra... but still the $ don't match exactly... ?

I am not terribly worried about Game Stop. I know the cashier should have paid better attention... but i'd hate for anyone to get in trouble. If it was even 8$ i probably wouldn't worry, but i guess i should call... but then, maybe it would just go unnoticed and calling will only draw attention to his error?... sliding doors...

Also... this is technically son's purchase. So while he would be absolutely ecstatic at basically trading in his old ds/games and getting a new xl for basically free instead of spending an extra 70$... i'm very aware that this isn't just about my actions, but teaching 'the lesson' of what is the right thing to do in this situation... So i'll probably call...

I think i'm overthinking this too much...

[Deleted]

An $80 credit is not $80. It is more like $1.50 in merchandise cost for the store. I wouldn't worry about it.

[jenna30]

Now i had pointed out the credit when i stepped up to the register, asked about it first, and asked right before the transaction was complete, and he assured me it was, but then it wasn't.

I would just let it go. You made an attempt to correct the situation in the store.

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

I would call the store, speak to the manager, explain that I suspect that I was undercharged, inform them I am from another city, and ask what they suggest? (Chances are they will say "don't worry about it.") But I wouldn't go back, under the circumstances.

[greyscience5]

I used to work in retail at two major clothing chains. When a customer was charged an amount that was inappropriately low, the customer was ALWAYS allowed to benefit from the transaction and the store would eat the cost. The employee was NEVER punished for the mistake. Sometimes the customer would even get a lower price on an item that was improperly labeled for a discount or placed on a wrong shelf.

However, a friend of mine works for a small buisness and the owner makes the employees pay the difference of any mistakes out of pocket. I have heard that this practice is technically illegal but I do not know any details about that.

I think it probably depends on the store you are dealing with. Obviously the moral thing would be to contact the store, but realistically it probably won't make too much of a difference if any.

[so1970]

the lesson to your son is worth more than the $80 and he will remember your honesty later in life.

[whoisjohngalt]

but i'd hate for anyone to get in trouble.

Why? You make a mistake you might get in trouble. No? What is so terrible about that??

I would like a logical and not an emotional answer, please

Lena

[Deleted]

Call the manager and ask him what he would like you to do. Most likely, he will ask you to bring the receipt in "next time you stop in."

On a similar vein but from the other perspective, I will say that we once got an interesting call from the vet. We had just adopted a rescue animal and had put her on heartworm meds. Evidently, they had mixed up and sold many of their clients a 12-month supply for the cost of a 6-month supply. They asked us to return half the pills. We went back and paid for them instead. We also made the point that we really didn't want to buy "returned" pills even if they were in those plastic bubbles.