ok, apparently this guy was buying meat at a store and noticed there was a pricing error and apparently took advantage of it via a Michigan “real” pricing law was he an asshole for doing so?
After having looked into the pricing law, he’s an asshole. He didn’t just take advantage of the error - that would be buying all the prime rib at the incorrect price. He made it a point not to correct the error at the checkout (which is what I normally do if I think the scanner is wrong) , specifically to get the $5 per item “bonus” by complaining after he paid for the items. The purpose of that law was to punish stores that overcharged people. It was not to enable people to buy all the prime rib at a clearly incorrect price and get 6 roasts worth over $140 each for $12.99 each.( and the fact that he took a photo means he knew it was a mistake) What he did was perfectly legal , but the fact that’s it’s legal has nothing to do with whether or not he was an asshole.
Let’s face it. Taking advantage of the error, regardless of how much or how little one saves from the intended price, is being a jerk. If you notice the error, then you should point it out to the appropriate person who can fix it. But that’s just my take on it. OMMV.
Omg what a dick. Accepting the legally offered price in exchange for goods from a multi billion dollar supermarket chain. How this society’s morals have collapsed!
Errrr no. Definitely 100% not the arsehole.
The manager on the other hand…
I don’t think this is a Michigan thing, right? I thought it’s pretty much universal that if you advertise something (via a price tag) for a particularly price, that is a legally binding offer to sell it for that price. If you screw up and write “each” instead of “per pound” that’s on you
Just because it’s legal, 'ol hoss, sure don’t make it right.
For those who didn’t read past the headline, I’ll point out the guy was willing to cancel the entire sale after the manager said an employee might lose their job. The customer was not willing to be the cause of somebody getting fired.
The store made the error and the customer capitalized on it. That doesn’t make him an asshole.
The manager was an asshole for threatening to fire somebody because a customer legally capitalized on the store’s error. Credit to the customer for being willing to back down when the manager unnecessarily escalated the situation to this level.
At the very least, if you’re going to do it, don’t publicize it. He knew what he was doing was wrong. His claiming to be doing it to benefit a “veteran’s group” comes off as a ham-handed attempt to justify it.
The guy knew it was a major error and took advantage of it. What he did was morally wrong. He’s an asshole who deserves a lifetime of similar treatment from people like himself.
I’ll bet anything the manager is an absolute nightmare to work for. Report it to corporate.
Ethically, I don’t see how this deliberate act to exploit an obvious error differs from any other theft. The fact that you can get away with the theft on a legal technicality doesn’t change that. The fact that you are stealing from a big corporation doesn’t change that.
You can take the view that stealing food from a corporation is okay, but don’t pretend that this is anything other than theft.
Not correct, at least not in many jurisdictions such as UK. I don’t know about Michigan, it is possibly different there.
A legally binding contract consists of four elements:
- A party makes an offer.
- Another party accepts the offer
- valuable consideration (some sort of payment) must change hands.
- Both parties must have capacity, i.e. be of sound mind.
When a customer takes an item to a checkout, the customer is making an offer to buy. The store is legally entitled to reject the offer.
When a store displays goods for sale, it’s not an offer as defined in contract law, it’s an invitation to treat.
In Texas, so far as I understand it, a retailer can’t charge you more for an item than what they’re listing as the price. In 2001, I went to a store and saw they had the Playstation 2 game SSX Tricky selling for $20. This was a new release, at time when new releases were $50-60 a game, and I couldn’t believe my luck. I took the game to the cashier, who spoke with the manager, and he told me the game was mispriced. But the cashier sold it to me for the $20 it was marked as while the manager went and corrected the price for the rest of the games.
In general, at least here in CA, they are not responsible for a typographical error.
I’d say the guy, by taking the $5 part, was an asshole. Getting the meat at a discount wasn’t so bad as it was for a good cause.
Michigan (as I would imagine a great many states do) has a Consumer Protection Act. So maybe not a basic contract question.
Anyway, the store or someone employed by it screwed up. The customer isn’t the asshole for taking advantage of a mega store. Now, if the store or its management really fires someone over it, on the other hand, well, then the store just might be the asshole.
Don’t want customers walking away with obscenely good deals for your mistake? Don’t make mistakes. Somehow, I am sure the mega store will be just fine.
I didn’t read the manager’s comment as a threat – maybe a guilt trip on the customer or maybe worrying out loud.
Corporate will probably praise/reward the manager. Corporate is not your friend, it’s there to make money.
Not sure exactly how my store would have handled it. Pretty sure whoever mis-priced the meat would not lose their jobs… for a first offense (if this was a habit of the employee yeah, maybe). But for some items we have quantity limits, which would also limit the damage from this sort of mistake.
While this may have been technically legal the customer knew it was a mistake and that was not the intended/correct price. And the customer didn’t just pick up one prime rib, he took them all (which might mean no one else gets any that day, and the employees have to put up with customers bitching about an empty shelf). Saying “oh, I’ll give it to a good cause” doesn’t make it OK. Charities are not there to dump your ill-gotten goods. He knew it was wrong, hence the attempt to defend his decision.
I 100% don’t believe him when he says he would have given it back and somewhat disbelieve him when he says they are going anywhere near a veteran’s charity. These are selfserving weasel justifications.
That being said, I can’t blame him for taking advantage of a loophole, the store was at fault and he took advantage of it. I’d have probably done the same thing.
It reads like he was an opportunist, which is a much more interesting word.
My impression is that the manager was referring to him losing his own job. Not sure if that’s what you meant by “worrying out loud.”
Thanks for the informative post, @Peter_Morris.
- As I said, Michigan has a consumer protection act, so I doubt very much that this would merely be a contract case.
- Why frame it as a customer offering to buy and a store accepting? It seems to me more like the store, by displaying a price label with a product, is offering to sell by displaying the product with a price label, and the customer is accepting that offer unilaterally by completing the purchase.
But, again, this discussion about contract formation should be moot (or at least of secondary importance): doubtless the consumer protection act will have something to say about a merchant who displays product for a price, and then demands more than the sticker price at the register.