Unfiltered Story #207204

(At our store, we have our own price tickets on items. Clearance stickers go on top of the bar codes on the price tickets. Each item has its own identification number, and cashiers must check that the numbers on the original ticket and the clearance sticker match, to prevent ticket switching.

A customer comes up to my counter with a buggy full of items, all of which are “final clearance,” which means once at that price, corporate will not allow them to be marked down again for any reason. After removing the hanger and sensor from the first item, I notice that the item numbers on the ticket and clearance sticker do not match. Policy states that I must remove the incorrect sticker and do an item lookup to see what the price actually is.)

Me: I’m sorry, ma’am. The clearance sticker on this ticket does not actually go with this item. Let me look this up so that I can tell you how much it actually is.

(The customer instantly becomes irate.)

Customer: How do I know that you’re not just taking that off so you can charge me more and make more money?

(A bit stunned by her reaction, I try to explain to her how the numbers on the ticket and clearance sticker need to match. She looks me dead in the eye and says,)

Customer: I don’t care about the numbers.

(Shaken, I continue the rest of the transaction in silence. Once I have finished ringing up the last item, she demands to see my manager. I call my manager over, who also confirms that the item numbers need to match. The customer makes a disgusted noise and throws the article of clothing at me.)

Customer: Well, I don’t want this. I’m not paying that much.

(She purchased 28 items for about $112 USD. That’s about $4 each. Quite a few of the items were worth about $40-$50 each normally. It was obvious she was purchasing the items for resale. The item she didn’t want to pay extra for? An $8 shirt which was originally about $40.)