# Retail Stupidity **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 9, 2019, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retail-stupidity/836807 "2019-07-09T23:58:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2019, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retail-stupidity/836807/241 "2019-07-27T21:16:03Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > “Suspend transaction, send stuff to service desk, send person to car” is our standard method of handling that. Then on to the next person in line. Most of the time they really do seem to have left it in the car. Yup, we have buttons to either void the entire transaction, or save it and recall it later. Then we set their stuff aside and see if they come back to pay for it. Most of the time they do, but a significant portion of them don’t. Either because they left their wallet at home or just decided to leave instead. Not a big deal. ---
**Author:** ![Egnu\_Cledge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/34f0e0/32.png) [@Egnu\_Cledge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Egnu_Cledge)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2019, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retail-stupidity/836807/242 "2019-07-27T21:20:33Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Back when I was in shoe repair the mayor of one of the nearby cities was a regular patron for awhile. Someone tried to pull the “I’m not satisfied and I’m close friends of the mayor” line, at which point the woman behind him in line said “No, actually I don’t know you, but even if I did I’d still tell you there’s nothing wrong with their work and you need to pay them what you owe them.” Yep, she was the mayor. > > Only time I’ve ever seen someone using the “close friends” line get caught with their pants down. That would be awesome. They mayor actually was a regular visitor to our library, but sadly never at the same time as one of her “close friends”. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2019, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retail-stupidity/836807/243 "2019-07-27T21:23:55Z")
chimera : I thought they weighed rolls of coins for accuracy … one industry where after my experiences i think the business and the customers deserve each other is the used video game industry see [http://www.actsofgord.com/](http://www.actsofgord.com/) although I think some of the accounts are selectively told in the 6 years i worked selling used games and systems i experienced 90 percent of this in some way ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2019, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retail-stupidity/836807/244 "2019-07-27T21:24:47Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > > [@Broomstick](#): > > > > Dear customer: Whether or not those clothing items just rung up are on sale or not, they are ringing up full price. Unfortunately, I do not have the authority or the ability to alter the total by nearly $200 and calling someone in the department will not change that. Calling a manager will not change that. The only way to get a price adjustment that large is to go to customer service. No, calling the Store Director will not change it, either - yes, she can authorize it, but the register will not process it. The transaction has to be transferred to customer service to do this. > > My spouse works retail for a large chain, and: > > 1. Yes, the manager and event the clerks there can adjust the price on a advertised sale item. They do it all the time. So, your company, by making them go to customer service is making it needlessly complicated. The problem there isnt with the customer, it’s with your _stores bad policy._ I can adjust a price by up to $5 at the register and no more. A manager can adjust it by 10% at the register, and no more. Whether you consider that good policy or not doesn’t matter, it’s certainly not my choice, it’s what my company decided on. Seriously, I have had people ask for reductions in price in the several hundred dollar range. Does your spouse’s retail chain allow a cashier to knock $200 off a customer total on their own authority? > [@DrDeth](#): > > > [@Broomstick](#): > > > > If I can not identify the vegetable/fruit you are purchasing I can not ring it up. Yelling “IT’S A DOLLAR SIXTY-NINE A POUND!” does not help because it is not the name of a fruit or a vegetable. Our Corporate Overlords have decreed that we can NOT ring up food items with a per-pound price anymore because it gives the computerized inventory fits. Yelling “IT’S A DOLLAR SIXTY-NINE A POUND!” repeatedly does not change this. Yelling “IT’S A DOLLAR SIXTY-NINE A POUND!” louder does not change this. If I do not have the Magic UPC Number I can not ring your stuff up. > > 1. At the register there is a little book, with names & pics of the fruits & veggies and the scan code next to it. If your store doesnt have one of these useful items, then again- \*store policy is bad \*not consumer. Consumer by saying “IT’S A DOLLAR SIXTY-NINE A POUND” is actually helpful with that little book in cases there are several veggies (like organic vs non) that look similar. We actually have a look-up table on our register with the names of all the fruits and vegetables and their four-digit code. It doesn’t have any pictures. It does not have any prices. You are correct, it is moronic, especially since the self-serve registers have very pretty look-ups with color photos and such. But then, this IS a thread about “retail stupidity” and I did not limit it to customers. Feel free to take pot-shots at the company, the owners, and fellow employees/customers. I am absolutely convinced that the people who designed the machinery, the software, and some of the policies procedures not only have never worked as a cashier, I doubt they have ever done their own shopping, either. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2019, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retail-stupidity/836807/245 "2019-07-27T21:31:34Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > chimera : I thought they weighed rolls of coins for accuracy How do you know who put together that roll of coins some random customer hands you? ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2019, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retail-stupidity/836807/246 "2019-07-27T22:32:36Z")
well, when I used to use leftover coin rolls from the arcade the am/pm i frequented had me put them on a scale and they’d put in the type of coin and how much and supposedly the register would beep if it didn’t weigh what a full coin roll would weigh… I did have to put my name and address on it tho they didn’t care where the roll came from just as long as it was the full amount ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2019, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retail-stupidity/836807/247 "2019-07-27T22:34:50Z")
Your average convenience store (or grocery store, or department store) doesn’t have a scale to weigh coins. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2019, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retail-stupidity/836807/248 "2019-07-28T15:54:47Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Haven’t heard it, but my response would be “What makes you think the mayor of this city gets to tell us jack shit about how we run our business?” On Not Always Right there was a story from the UK where someone pulled the, “Do you know who I am? I’m the mayor’s aide,” ploy on a cashier. She might or might not have been, but in any event the town was on the other side of the country. I mean, Britain isn’t that big by US standards, but come _on_! ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2019, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retail-stupidity/836807/249 "2019-07-28T16:49:43Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Had a kid come in about a month ago with his girlfriend and try to buy tobacco. His girlfriend was underage, so the manager who was at the register refused him. He goes outside with the girlfriend, walks in with another friend who was old enough. Didn’t even get to the register when I yelled “NO” and we started laughing at him. Just fucking dumb. I don’t know what the letter of the law says, but if someone has proper ID I don’t see how you can deny the sale just because you \*suspect \*that he may transfer the items to someone underage. Seems like playing guessing games goes beyond the merchant’s responsibility under the law. > [@DrDeth](#): > > “We dont actually carry this set at Nordstroms, so we had to call a different chain to find out what it was being sold for there.” !!!:eek: In other words, they cheerfully gave me a refund on a product they didnt sell and didnt carry. Nordstrom is famous for this. My niece was a top salesperson at Nordstrom for a few years. She has a customer come in with some jeans he had bought there years before. They were well worn. He was returning them because he just got tired of them. They refunded the full purchase price. Nordstrom is, of course, a high-to-luxury store and with their high profit margins they can afford to do this to keep their valuable high-priced repeat customers. We should not expect this from Macy’s or Walmart. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2019, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retail-stupidity/836807/250 "2019-07-28T16:58:11Z")
It’s Friday, after closing time. I’m doing “last cash” ringing up people’s items when the phone rings. Caller tells me she’s outside and “the guy won’t let me in.” I tell her “Yes, the store is closed.” She screams YOU ARE NOT CLOSED. I SEE PEOPLE IN THERE. No, you see people at the register that we are trying to check out. If you go in the aisle, the nice worker will tell you the aisle is closed. I gave the call to the manager. I’m busy counting money and don’t need that shit. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2019, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retail-stupidity/836807/251 "2019-07-28T17:31:13Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > My spouse works retail for a large chain, and: > > 1. Yes, the manager and event the clerks there can adjust the price on a advertised sale item. They do it all the time. So, your company, by making them go to customer service is making it needlessly complicated. The problem there isnt with the customer, it’s with your _stores bad policy._ Many stores treat discounts as rebates, specially when they’re pack-discounts. In some places it’s “ring one bag of chips, it’s €1.20; ring two, it’s €2.00”; in others, it’s “ring one bag of chips, it’s €1.20; ring two, it’s €2.40 and another line saying €0.40-”. The total is correct, but you have to read more than one line. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2019, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retail-stupidity/836807/252 "2019-07-28T17:36:58Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > I don’t know what the letter of the law says, but if someone has proper ID I don’t see how you can deny the sale just because you \*suspect \*that he may transfer the items to someone underage. Seems like playing guessing games goes beyond the merchant’s responsibility under the law. _ **WRONG** _. We are absolutely legally required to deny sales of tobacco and nicotine products to people we suspect will transfer them to underage persons. If person A comes in, attempts to purchase tobacco and doesn’t have a valid ID or is underage, we cannot legally sell them to person B who then comes in to purchase cigarettes, if only because we suspect they are purchasing them for the person who cannot legally purchase them. This is the Law and it comes with very serious consequences for both us as individuals and our company. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2019, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retail-stupidity/836807/253 "2019-07-28T18:20:00Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Many stores treat discounts as rebates, specially when they’re pack-discounts. In some places it’s “ring one bag of chips, it’s €1.20; ring two, it’s €2.00”; in others, it’s “ring one bag of chips, it’s €1.20; ring two, it’s €2.40 and another line saying €0.40-”. The total is correct, but you have to read more than one line. Not at that store. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2019, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retail-stupidity/836807/254 "2019-07-28T19:25:30Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > I don’t know what the letter of the law says, but if someone has proper ID I don’t see how you can deny the sale just because you \*suspect \*that he may transfer the items to someone underage. Seems like playing guessing games goes beyond the merchant’s responsibility under the law. Actually, during training we were told the law not only _allows_ us to deny the sale of alcohol (and tobacco and lottery tickets) when we suspect it is being purchased for a minor, it _requires_ it. Fact is, we can disallow sales of alcohol to anyone for a number of reasons: suspected trafficking to minors, drunk customer, high customer, etc. We are not required to sell anyone alcohol and since doing so can open us up to liability there is some incentive not to sell it in edge cases. The problem being, of course (aside from diverting it to minors) that if you get yourself eff’d up on your way home your heirs might sue us. Penalties for helping a minor obtain alcohol _start_ with 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine from the legal system and go up from there, and an immediate and permanent loss of job working for my employer as well as a life-time ban on being rehired. Scream at me all you want, if I think you _might_ be buying alcohol for a minor it’s not worth my loss of job, freedom, and money. My employer WILL back me up because I have seen it happen. Ditto if I ask you for valid proof of age (which is very similar to but not exactly the same as proof of identity) and you don’t have it on you. The legal system has no mercy on sellers of alcohol. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2019, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retail-stupidity/836807/255 "2019-07-28T19:27:08Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > It’s Friday, after closing time. I’m doing “last cash” ringing up people’s items when the phone rings. Caller tells me she’s outside and “the guy won’t let me in.” > > I tell her “Yes, the store is closed.” > > She screams YOU ARE NOT CLOSED. I SEE PEOPLE IN THERE. Well, clearly she mistook the employees for _people!_ [/sarcasm] [/snark] 😃 We get to skip that most days of the year because the store I work for only closes on Christmas. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2019, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retail-stupidity/836807/256 "2019-07-28T20:44:26Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Actually, during training we were told the law not only _allows_ us to deny the sale of alcohol (and tobacco and lottery tickets) when we suspect it is being purchased for a minor, it _requires_ it.[…] > > Scream at me all you want, if I think you _might_ be buying alcohol for a minor it’s not worth my loss of job, freedom, and money. I have never worked for a business that sells alcohol so I am not familiar with how much liability you carry. Thanks for the information. BTW I don’t recall screaming at anyone. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2019, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retail-stupidity/836807/257 "2019-07-28T20:56:11Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Scream at me all you want, if I think you _might_ be buying alcohol for a minor it’s not worth my loss of job, freedom, and money. My employer WILL back me up because I have seen it happen. Ditto if I ask you for valid proof of age (which is very similar to but not exactly the same as proof of identity) and you don’t have it on you. Same in the UK. That reminds me of a kinda crazy, kinda cool customer I had once. A lady and accompanying young guy come in, and get some groceries. He walks over to the alcohol section (next to the tills) grabs a beer and puts in her basket. They come to the counter, I ask both of them for ID. The young guy grins and pulls out his, showing he turned 18- legal age here- just a few weeks earlier, so I allow it, but the lady starts inflating… ‘WHAT? I’m buying it, not him! I’m his MOTHER! If I want to buy my son a beer, it’s none of your business how old he is, I’m perfectly allowed to give it him!’. I explain that actually, yes, she is allowed to give her son a beer even if he was underage, but I wouldn’t be legally allowed to sell it, knowing it was for someone underage. But he’s not underage anyway, so no problem. Son gives me an apologetic look, says ‘Mum, she’s just doing her job. I have ID, it’s fine!’. The lady glowers at me, and starts to unload the rest of her stuff, gradually getting calmer, then suddenly stops. ‘I’ve been thinking. My 15 year old daughter was staying at a friend’s last month, and her friend’s Dad took them out and bought them alcohol. I was furious. I can’t really complain if staff ask for ID in that situation and also complain if they don’t, can I? I’m being really unreasonable, aren’t I? Sorry about that’. I think that’s the only time I ever had a customer realise what they were doing, stop, and apologise, mid crazy. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2019, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retail-stupidity/836807/258 "2019-07-28T21:04:41Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > I have never worked for a business that sells alcohol so I am not familiar with how much liability you carry. Thanks for the information. > > BTW I don’t recall screaming at anyone. Wasn’t referring to you in particular, sorry if that was unclear. I was having a flashback to a customer undergoing an “alcohol emergency” and various other sorts of lunacy associated with the legal drug known as “alcohol”. People can get VERY upset when you say no… ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2019, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retail-stupidity/836807/259 "2019-07-28T23:53:22Z")
I agree with **Chimera** and **Broomstick** , above. You (the customer) do not have a right to buy alcohol. Alcohol is a controlled substance, the purchase of which is attached to certain conditions imposed by the state which must be met by the purchaser. If you do not meet those conditions, such as providing proof that you’re at least 21 and not under the influence, you don’t get to buy alcohol. The seller, who is acting as an agent on behalf of the state, must be satisfied you can legally purchase alcohol before they can sell it to you and must refuse service if you legally can’t make a purchase. I used to work in alcohol sales. One night a woman and a young boy of perhaps 12 approached my counter. The big walked up to a cooler, took out a can of beer, and put it on the counter. I told the woman, “I can’t sell you this beer.” “Why not?” “Because I watched the boy get the beer out of the cooler and put it on the counter.” “But I’m buying the beer.” “No, you’re not. The law is quite clear. The boy got the beer out of the cooler. I have to assume it’s for him. I’ll be glad to ring up anything you have that isn’t illegal for me to sell to a minor, but I’m not selling you this beer.” The woman and boy left in a huff. The boy might just have been trying to be helpful, but I don’t know that. Get mad all you want. In fact, the angrier you get, the more it enforces my decision. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retail-stupidity/836807/260 "2019-07-29T16:40:18Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > We get to skip that most days of the year because the store I work for only closes on Christmas. Like you’ve never turned off your OPEN sign, had a customer come on line, tell them you’re closed and they say “Well, when I got on line your light was on. Can’t you take me?” We do not take American Express. We have never taken American Express. Yet people tell me that must be a new policy, as they used American Express in the past. One woman told me “Well, I use AmEx at every other branch of your store. I don’t know why you’re the only one that won’t take it.” The next time I saw the store’s owner, I told him the story and asked in a very snarky voice “Why are you the only store that doesn’t take AmEx?” He laughed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retail-stupidity/836807.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retail-stupidity/836807.md?page=14)