Unfiltered Story #197529

I am working on the floor and I get paged to the checkouts for a price check. I go to the area where the item (in this case a roll of shelf liner) is and the customer follows. I find the spot on the rack where the liner is located and begin matching the UPC to the one the customer saw on the price tag.

Me: “Ah, I see the problem. You grabbed the wrong one. It’s the 11×15 roll that’s on sale. You picked up the 18×24, which unfortunately is still regular price.”

Customer: “What? That’s ridiculous! Are you sure?”

Me: “Yes ma’am. See, look here.” (I show her the different UPC numbers)

Customer: “That’s just stupid!’

Me: “I’m sorry ma’am. You can take the one that’s on sale if you want.”

Customer: “No. I’ll just get a different roll.”

She begins to search the rack for another roll that she likes. She picks up another roll.

Customer: “How much is this one?”

I consult the tag on the shelf.

Me: “That one is the same price as the original roll you picked up, the regular price.”

Customer: “This is just so confusing! I thought they were all on sale.”

Me: “No ma’am. This week it’s only the rolls with the blue tag that are on sale. All the rest are regular price.”

Customer (staring blankly at the rack): I thought it was for all of them.

As she walked back up to the counter, I stood dumbfounded. How could anyone assume that a sale tag under one item means that everything on the rack is also on sale, despite each product having it’s own tag?