Supermarket SCANNERS RIP YOU OFF Nationwide Nationwide
Supermarket Scanners are a great technological breakthrough, but they increasingly are resulting in consumer rip-off. Two things are going on here. First, because of employee laziness and managerial indifference, the wrong labels are on the shelves for the respective items. Supermarkets are too often "accidentally" leaving a lower sale price (from weeks or even months ago) on the shelf, duping you into buying the product.
The second and far more nefarious thing going on is INTENTIONAL mislabeling. Example and proof: Big displays at the ends of aisles with a superabundance of one product and a sale price displayed on a sign are designed to feature the sale price of the specific item and sell that item. The scam usually is NOT an advertised item (advertised in the paper for example), but is just a big, in-store promotion. Problem is, when you get to the register, it rings up at the full price and if you don't catch it, you overpay (they can't ever be accused of false advertising, by the way,since it was an in store promotional sign). Supermarkets are money making enterprises and they have realized the $$$ making potential of this display scam (aside from their garden variety wrong shelf-tag price scam).
Case in point. My local supermarket recently had a big, in-store, end-of-the-aisle promotion of potato chips. Big sign, 12 oz. bag 99 cents. At check out, it comes up $2.99! Supermarket policy: you get the item free if the scanner is wrong. But WAIT! The supermarkets have figured out that even if 2 out of 3 people catch the problem, they still make money!!! (2 people get it free and the third unwittingly pays $2.99 which is the same as seeling 3 bags at 99 cents each which is a money making price to begin with).
Buyer beware, I have been shopping for years and see the trend toward rip-off with these scanners. Classic bait and switch but in this case, they switch the price, not the product. For years, county and state "Weights and Measures" have certified the accuracy of produce and meat scales, gas pumps etc.
They now need to begin certifying the accuracy of shelf pricing. Remember, the scanners themselves are 100% accurate (as long as they're reading the bar code), it's the price labels on the sheves and the computer programming of the scanner where the human error and criminal activity is occuring.
Ron
Springfield, New Jersey
U.S.A.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Ron
Anytown,New York,
U.S.A.
Problem has gotten worse
#3Consumer Suggestion
Mon, February 21, 2005
The problem with supermarket scanner rip-offs has actually gotten worse since 2003. Many supermarkets have now eliminated their "scanner accuracy policy" which used to hold that any item mis-scanning was free to the customer.
Two of my local supermarkets have eliminated the scanner accuracy policy and the best you can hope for is the lower price if that. In most cases, you'll be told that the higher price is the final price - take it or leave it.
The customer who complains gets rolling eyes from cashiers - and incredibly - cooperative jeers from those behind you in line who often yell "just pay it" so they can get on their way. What perfect pansies for supermarkets who have engineered the overcharging scheme. Also, the rebuttal from the supermarket employee saying "in store specials are handled totally on the store level, price changes do not come down from the division."
No one is claiming they come from the top down. They are "in store" as indicated and are just as much money making engines as are policies that do come from corporate headquarters such as the elimination of the scanner accuracy policies. Likewise, no doubt this honest employee ascribes all the wrong labels to honest mistakes and the like.
Nonetheless, don't you think the supermarkets laugh all the way to the bank since these honest mislabeling mistakes translate into profits? Of course they do.
It's a win-win for the supermarkets. Higher price prevails and scanner accuracy policies have all but disappeared. Weights and measures where are you?
Rob
Tallahassee,Florida,
U.S.A.
No Conspiracy
#3Consumer Comment
Mon, March 08, 2004
I have worked in the grocery industry a long time and would just like to clear a couple of the points you make up. The first instance of out of date sale tags on the shelves does often happen, most of the time due to employees not doing their jobs or honest mistakes. There are thousands of tags in every grocery store so it is not unrealistic to think that every now and then a tag will come up missing or the person hanging the tags will make a mistake.
On the issue of in store specials, you are absolutely right that many times the in store specials scan wrong. It has nothing to do with a money making scheme however. In store specials are handled totally on the store level, price changes do not come down from the division. Many times the Manager will make a display and hang the sign of the item that is to be on sale before letting the scanning administrator know about the price changes. The fact that it is done on the store level drastically increases the chance for a screw up.