Retail Store Wrong Price Ticket Placement

Hi, I am an employee at a retail store and I had a bit of a predicament today and would like to hear your opinions. I would just like to state beforehand that my manager was not physically present at that exact moment as we are currently undergoing some administrative issues so I could not consult my manager regarding this issue at that exact moment. I wont further comment on the lack of an authoritative figure representing the store but these were the circumstances I had to work under at the time.

To start off, a customer brought two of the same products to the till and I scanned and processed the sale as normal. After the price was rung up, the customer immediately stated a much lower price. I was completely certain that this product was never sold at such a price because it would be sold at 10% of the original price if I processed it. As our store isn't particularly big, I walked the customer over to the products so they could point at the price. Once I saw it, I realised someone had knocked down a price ticket of a different, much cheaper item and placed it over the item in question. Kudos to the random passer by for even bothering to put the ticket back but they created a lot more trouble by not reading the ticket and just putting it over any random item. Once I saw this, I apologised to the customer and pointed out the error. I highlighted that the ticket describes a completely different product, different brand and different price and referred them to the correct product that the ticket refers to. There were also 3 other hooks full of stock of the exact same item in question right next to the one with the wrong ticket, with the correct ticket, product description and pricing.

I apologised and stated that it was unfortunate that the ticket was knocked down and placed at the wrong place and stated that I could not honour that price. I believe the incorrect ticket would have been placed there for no more then two hours at that point as I had done check through of the store earlier and this was the first customer to notice. In regards to the sale, it was only two items but it would have been a 90% markdown.

This is where the real confrontation starts, the customer looks quite displeased by now and refers to consumer law saying that I must honour pricing errors. I am already completely familiar with issues regarding pricing errors as the store has had a few issues with typing in the wrong price onto a ticket for an item that was on sale and we had to honour them but immediately fixed it afterwards. There were also issues where we have had items with the same brand placed onto the wrong hook and we decided to honour it as the price difference wasn't too extraordinary. But in terms of honouring items with completely different brands and product descriptions due to misplaced stock, either by a different customer accidentally or deliberately or a store employee due to negligence, my manager very rarely does this by highlighting the differences of the product in question and the description on the ticket. There are cases where my manager honours it anyway due to the customer throwing a tantrum and just to get them out of his hair.

In my case, for selling an item at 10% of its original cost, I refused to process the sale at that price and as I commented earlier, I could not consult my manager at the time. The customer then starts rambling on about contacting the ACCC and comments on my ineptitude as an employee. He writes down my name and takes pictures of the product ticket and its placement and states that he'll be reporting my name to my store headquarters and this whole ordeal to the ACCC. As a closing statement, my manager was not present for the rest of the day and I had no opportunity to consult them regarding this issue.

I would just like to hear out your opinions in regards to this and if I acted in the wrong. Anyone with experience with consumer law that can comment would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

TL;DR, There was a wrong ticket on a hook that had a completely different product, brand, price and description on it then the product in question. A customer threatened to report me to hq and the incident to ACCC after I refused to honour it. My manager was not present at the time and I was the only store representative that dealt with the issue at the time.

Comments

  • +10

    dont let the customer bully you
    threatening accc over what a simple pricing error

    you can also refer customers to the clause that states pricing errors dont have to be honored under terms and conditions however you went above and beyond offering a 10% off amount off retail price

    i dont see his case standing up in any form with the accc when

    1. the item retail price will be checked by accc against the current market for example 799 tv sold for 79.99 common sense is going to tell you theres a a stuff up just like the iPhone 6 $1 officeworks website error they didnt even offer us a voucher but refunded us 2 weeks later, the customer i think tried his luck with ripping you off the system flagged it end of story

    you offered to take 10% off

    just another scumbag trying to rip off the little guy

    id say you did the right thing

    you said sorry you offered a discount
    end of story

    what were the items in question btw as this isnt in your OP

    • Hi, I didn't actually offer a discount to calm down the customer. I just apologised and stated the difference in the pricing. After he threatened me, I did offer them a 5% discount much later which I didn't state in my post after they took photos just so they would leave the store and not cause a ruckus which they did not take.

      The customer was insistent that I was in the wrong as they had worked retail before but I specifically outline the completely wrong ticket present on the item. By that logic, I could throw a bunch of high value items into a bargain bin, call over an employee and force them to honour it.

      The item in question were around $120 headphones. The wrong ticket was a $10 earbuds of a different brand.

  • youve followed all correct guidelines

    id suggest you bring up a price comparison site and compare other retailers in the market

    hes trying to put one over you
    someones obviously changed the tag (maybe even the customer and trying to take you for a ride)

    offered a discount for his trouble and didnt take it tells me two things

    1.customer is a pain to deal with doubtful he will go to accc with no actual case behind him

    2.wanting to try and fool the system and got caught out then made a scene

    3.technically you dont have to honour genuine price errors and most vendors have fine print that outlines that and what management would do to rectify those issues

    id run it by your manager why someone elsr wasn't there is beyond me but its his issue now if the customer actually goes ahead with his accc threats

    • +3

      Thanks, I guess this is just one of those classic tales from retail. I do rightfully believe that the customer had no legal backing over his accusations which is why I stood by my actions and didn't quarrel any further regarding this. Just good to know that it was an empty threat and I can move along.

  • +1

    You were correct because it was not a pricing error. The displayed price he saw provably did not refer to the item he brought to you for scanning. Therefore it was not a pricing error. Sometimes it works the other way. Three years ago I discovered all TDK earphones in my local BigW were scanning for $2, so I treated our grandsons.

  • +1

    ACCC will laugh at him.

  • +3

    Make sure your Manager knows the full story in case he gets a phone call. At least so he has a heads up and he is also prepared.

    But you were fine, customer was stupid, or they did it on purpose

  • +3
    1. you were right
    2. tell the manager what happened (in 30 words or less)
  • +1

    There's a sobering lesson in this about due diligence for retail employees.

    Whilst a small percentage of the populace will try to rort price errors (looking at you, OzBargainers), if your stock people are doing a half-arsed job & putting things in the wrong places, it also inconveniences genuine customers, who shouldn't have to resort to reading fine print & product codes to make sure you guys aren't screwing up…so just put yourself in their shoes for a moment.

    • how do you know the stock staff messed up
      clearly the ticket was moved by a customer in this case for a completely different item

      at the pos its when it flagged a completely different item and price

      sounds like the system caught it in time to me

      • how do you know the stock staff messed up

        Occam's Razor…

        clearly the ticket was moved by a customer in this case for a completely different item

        Yeah, clearly a conspiracy here, pretty sure it was Colonel Mustard in the Conservatory with the lead pipe. :)

    • I'm 90% sure we've had customers "adjust" signs in the cool room at my previous job.

      When the product on a popular item mysteriously jumps $10 less during the day with no other staff around, well you know…occams razor.

      We also used to have magnetic sign on the wall which were never updated. The same guy everyday would refer to the sign and get the lower price, so afterwards i cracked the shits and pulled it down (left the magnetic pieces stacked above eye level in the cool room). The next day the magnetic sign with the price was mysteriously installed in the cool room wall. After that i took the magnetic pieces and put them in the drawer next to the till.

      • +2

        100%. At my store customers have been known/ caught stealing current special tickets and returning to the store a week later, and putting them up again once the special is over so that it seems like a price error and get the item free.

        • My god, that is clever, although very dishonest. (I am not condoning the cleverness)

  • +1

    I hope the customer was not an Ozbargainer. I think you were fair and customer was having a whine about it.

  • +3

    Definitely agree with suggestions above to inform your manager, just in case they get a complaint - so they know the whole story.

    You weren't wrong… the reasonable customer would understand that they read the wrong ticket for the item and leave it as that, at least, that's what I would do. Don't let yourself be bullied by horrible customers and stand your ground, firmly but politely.

    At the very least, you can refer to this event for future job interview questions… what did you do when you were in a particularly difficult situation…?

  • +3

    You did the correct thing.

    1st rule of retail: the customer is rarely, if ever, right.

    And for all you know, that particular customer could have switched the price tags trying to rip off the store. It's not unheard of to have this sort of nonsense happen.

  • Unfortunately sounds like an retarded OzBargainer to me. What they have argued is not a price error but an error of judgement on their behalf. Just because the pricing for another product is placed closer to the one they wanted does not mean they can attempt to take advantage of the situation.

    Anyone with common sense would not of even attempted to argue about 'incorrect' price of item.

  • +3

    Ok guys fess up. Who was it?

  • +1

    Does the price ticket have the item name/description? If it does, then you shouldn't have to worry, it wouldn't even be considered pricing error, just bad stock/price ticket placement.

  • Poetic justice would be if this jerk (the customer) owned his own store and had someone pull this stunt on him!

    • +1

      Maybe OP should've followed him out to the carpark and stuck a "free car to good home" sign on his vehicle.

  • You were in the right. He can report you all he wants and nothing will come of it.

    The big chain supermarkets have that policy whereby they'll give you a product for free if the price is wrong or whatever but that's their own decision independent of actual laws.

    There's nothing the ACCC/ACL/whatever says you're obligated to honour a pricing error.

    If there was, someone could walk into JB hifi, "accidentally" put a $10 tag in front of a $10,000 TV and then have a friend return a couple of hours later to "stumble upon" this mistake and reap the rewards.

    Some customers just suck - don't let it ruin your week :D

  • +1

    Meh this is just simple contract law, something you will learn in any introductory law course in university. The customer brings the item to the register and that is an "offer". The retailer (you) has the choice to accept or decline (which you did).

    Tell the customer to get stuffed. No store is perfect and immune from pricing errors.

    • Contract law is not the only law applicable in here though.

      From ACCC :

      Multiple pricing - price displays

      Sometimes a business may have two different prices on display for the one item. A business that displays more than one price for the same good must either:

      • sell the goods for the lowest displayed price, or
      • withdraw the goods from sale until the price is corrected.

      To me, it depends whether the misplaced price ticket is considered a valid 'displayed price'.

      And even then, the business does not have to sell at lowest price if they can withdraw the goods from sale. As long as they don't use this method for intentional misleading practice.

      • +2

        That's Not Applicable. The price the customer was trying to achieve was that of a completely different product.

        • Correct, otherwise someone could just an item and place it in another ticketed space and then demand the lower price. Given the ticket had the descriptions on it, thats the end of the story

        • Yep, like whatI said earlier, if the ticket price has the item name/description of the earbuds,then it wouldn't be considered as a valid display price for the headphones.

  • +1

    Yeah you did the right thing. If there's no description/the description matches, then you have to give it to customer at that price. Though really, if it's $120 headphones and the price is $10 with no description, as a customer, they should have used common sense and asked. It's just too big a difference!

    You apologized, explained it and did the right thing. If you have given it to the customer at that price, then you are at fault to your employer. And you don't have obligation to give it to customer because the description clearly says different thing.

    Don't worry. But remember to explain everything to your manager so he/she knows what exactly happened!

  • +1

    Nah no stress, it happens all the time. People are sometimes too stupid to have a read of the item description and actually match it up to the product.
    If the price tag has a product name & description, no worries. This guy ain't got no case behind him, I'd even go as far to say that ACCC should fine him for being excessively stupid. He's one of those people that are like "Oh look! I found an iPhone in the $2 bargains bin, here I come with an case against the store!" Stupid customers sometimes.

    But good on you, stuck to the number 1 rule of retail. The customer is almost never right.
    Just explain what happened to the manager, you've got nothing to worry about!

  • By the way OP, did this matter come to anything?

  • I thought you were going to say that you gave in and sold it for 10% of the price and now your manager is blaming you. You're fine.

  • I agree with the mob.

    The ticket clearly stated a specific product. Just because it was placed incorrectly doesn't make it misleading because the ticket clearly states the product. Ultimately it would come down to the words on the ticket if it identified a product not just a type of product or brand name.

  • you did the right thing. I wonder what your manager had said?
    if the customer was going to try to bully you, just take you details down and get the manager to contact them.

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