Smart or dumb?

[M_Six]

We were in JC Penney yesterday and my g/f bought a dress that rang up as $10 more than it should have. The cashier "returned" the dress and rerang it at the proper price. However, there was a notice clearly posted on the cash register that said if anything rang up at the wrong price, JC Penney would give you a $5 gift certificate. Personally, I wouldn't have even asked as I KNEW it was going to be a hassle and I couldn't wait to get out of that store. I HATE JC Penney. It's always too hot and they play the worst music, but I digress.

In any case, I was thinking that the $5 gift certificate idea was dumb. The idea behind it, as I see it, is that ANY mistake by JC Penney should be compensated for monetarily. This is the whole stupid premise behind all the ridiculous lawsuits in the US. "Mistakes" don't happen any more. Anything that doesn't go perfectly MUST cost the offending entity some cash. Hence stupid lawsuits.

On the other hand, the gift certificate idea does increase the chances of a customer returning and buying more stuff, probably at more than $5. So there is some validity to the offer, although I still feel the attitude it fosters does more harm than good.

So, smart or dumb?

[Telexen]

I wouldn't have bothered either...it would have been much more of a hassle than it was worth.

What can you buy at JCPenny that's $5? And why would you want to spend even more money on another item they could ring up wrong.

[M_Six]

...it would have been much more of a hassle than it was worth.

You're right, it was. My g/f figured if JC Penney was willing to give money away, she was willing to take it. Of course the cashier had no clue, so off she went to find the manager. The manager showed up and it took the cashier 10 minutes to explain the situation. Then the manager had to run off to handle something else, so we had to wait for her to get back. At that point I left to go wait in the car. Finally my g/f came out with her $5 certificate. I was not a happy camper. I would have paid JC Penney $10 if it meant I could get out of that store 10 minutes earlier than we did. I still have the stupid song I heard there playing in my head.

I'm with you, M_Six. My wife will go back and get refunds on bread that was scanned at the wrong price! She buys bread on special (say 99 cents) when normal price is say $1.20. If she checks the docket when she gets home, and the it's been scanned at the regular price instead of the sale price, she takes it back and gets her refund.

To me, the extra bother, hassle and time makes it not worth it. But she has spent her life getting over self-esteem hassles, so now she is VERY confident in her rights. And she makes everyone else very aware of it!

Cheers
Mick

[RedFury]

LOL Mick, sounds like OVER confindence!

Not a bad thing though, at least she didn't make YOU go get the 21 cents back.

M, look at it from the store's point of view:

1) The cashiers are probably warned not to make mistakes and a mistake probably counts against them. So they try to be more accurate.

2) In the long run, it makes it faster for the customer as cashiers tend to be a little more alert

3) The store "walks the talk"

4) A good way to get the customer to come in again

5) here the music ain't so bad, but they do play catchy tunes which linger in your head for 5-8 hours after

Bottom Line: Though I don't go to JCP that much, $5 is $5.

[angelcat]

As far as I know, in the US, there is a law that says that if something rings up as more than the posted price, they own you not only the differencein cash, they also own you 10 times the amount up to $5.

For example, I found an electronic Roledex that has a sticker on it saying $1.97, but the actual prce that rung up was $19.97. They had to pay the difference, which was $18, AND $5 dollars more as well.

AC, what store might that be?