Always low, not often right

Something is rolling at Wal-Mart. But I don’t think its their prices, I think its Sam Walton rolling over in his grave.

Tonight Wal-Mart proved to me yet again why it is the sick man of retail. I went to Wal-Mart to purchase a few items. First I bought some video games and was over charged for one of them. I brought it to the attention of the cashier who after checking the tag consulted a manager and corrected the mistake. Cost me five minutes but saved me $10, plus tax. Actually, it didn’t save me anything, it just prevented me from being overcharged.

I then pick up another four items and make my way to the front. At the front express lane I notice Pepsi’s on a display rack for 4.98 a 24 pack. I pick up a diet and a regular and take my place in line right by the Pepsi display.

When the cashier checks me out I notice that the Pepsis ring up for 5.98 each. I bring this to the attention of the cashier and she calls for assistance (regardless of the fact the display is less than 10 feet away and clearly shows that I’m being overcharged).

The “assistance” arrives and tells me that the Pepsis are indeed 5.98 and that the display is wrong. The vendor has messed it up and it isn’t their fault. So they charge me the 5.98 anyway.

I’m not upset but nor am I pleased. I’ve bought eight items and have been overcharged on three of them. Not a great percentage. I go to the front and ask for a manager. A manager arrives and I relay to her my recent experiences. She tells me what the other lady told me; that it was the vendors fault and that the Pepsis are 5.98. As we talk, I point to the sign which is now 20 feet away but very clearly visible: 4.98.

Now for the kicker. I bought Pepsis from that exact same display case 10 days ago (I just rechecked my receipt and they did charge me the right price) and was charged 4.98. After suggesting that they tell someone of these problems and fix them the manager offered to have me wait for a few minutes so I could get in another line and get my $2 back. I declined and left.

It wasn’t about the $2. First of all they never took responsibility for the over priced soda. They blamed it on the vendor who had mislabeled the sign – even though a week earlier it was right. Second it brought into question their whole pricing scheme. If they messed up on two items out of seven (one item being purchased twice) how much have I been overcharged by them in the past decade? Third when I bring an obvious overcharge to a cashier, manager or any retailer they don’t need to argue with me or prove to me that they are right. What about the customer always being right? Fourth, I pay attention to my receipts and what I pay. Most of Wal-marts customers have less money then me and are often immigrants who will pay whatever they are told to pay. In my experience people with higher educations, ergo more money, are the ones who pay more attention to what they are charged.

So… it makes me wonder whether such overcharges are par for the course with Wal-Mart? And finally, when the mistake is brought to their attention by someone (and I had just come from a wedding so I looked like … well I could’ve been important as far as they knew) and they don’t immediately fix it, and only reluctantly offer to charge the correct price, I’ve gotta wonder why? Why not overcharge? If caught make it right. If not caught pocket the difference. Where’s the incentive to not overcharge?

Which brings me to Kroger. There is a reason I shop at Kroger for all the things I need that they carry. For all other items I go to SuperTarget. The only time I go to Wally World is when I need something that Kroger doesn’t have and Target is closed. Anyway, when Kroger overcharges me (which they have – and admittedly overcharging is going to happen due to the nature of the computerized beast) they give me that item for free. The times when I’ve been overcharged and bring it to their attention, I get the item for free, they don’t argue with me AND they fix it in the computer so that the next person doesn’t get the same item for free. Now that is accountability to their customers. Wal-mart isn’t accountable and that is a problem.

But now that I’ve done my public service announcement, I shall try to make the problem that is Wal-Mart occur less in my life. I won’t be so naive as to say I’ll never shop at Wal-Mart again, instead I’ll approach it as I do an enema. Sometimes it has to be done, but I avoid it whenever possible.