Their Clearance Scam Is As Clear As Ever

(We have an older regular customer who is notorious for peeling clearance stickers off of items and slapping them on full-priced merchandise. She does this primarily with cosmetic items. The dead giveaway is the fact she puts the stickers over the barcode, which we never do. Even if an item is clearanced, we still get full credit for it. We can’t get any credit if we simply ring it as an open department beauty item, which could be anything from professional hair care to cotton balls. She’s been caught shopping with a clearance sticker on each finger, looking for items to put them on, and she’s been caught opening big bags of candy and stuffing handfuls in her purse. Every time she gets caught, her defense is, “I didn’t do that!” and, “I don’t know!” and, “Those aren’t mine!” We warn everyone about our clearance policy routinely. The sticker is placed visibly on the front of the item, and the price is already adjusted in the system. If a mascara has a sticker on the front for $1.50, the register will scan it for that price. It’s VERY rare a price change gets by the head of the cosmetics department, and again, in order to receive proper credit and keep our inventory straight, we NEVER put stickers over the barcodes. One this particular occasion, the customer greets me and starts loading her stuff on the counter. I start scanning and sure enough, I find a pair of hair clips with a $1.49 clearance sticker over the barcode on the back of the package. I simply peel it off and scan the clips, which are a very popular style and not going to be discontinued anytime soon. They come out to $3.99, and I drop them in the bag before scanning her other items.)

Customer: *watching the transaction on register like a hawk* “Those clips were $1.49.”

Me: “No, they weren’t.”

Customer: *huffy* “Well, then, I don’t want them. I’m not paying that much.”

Me: “No problem.” *takes the item off* “Is this all for you today?”

Customer: “No, I want [most expensive Pack of Cigarettes] and I want it in this bag.”

(I grab the hair clips and stuff them in my pocket, as she’s also been known to stuff her rejected items in her purse when the cashier’s back is turned. I retrieve the costly cigarettes. They come out to about $7 and change, with tax. I also put it in the bag she requested.)

Customer: *takes her change after I finish the transaction, and roots around in her bags* “How much did this cost?” *shoves an item at me*

Me: *glances at her receipt and reads the price*

Customer: “Humph. What about this?”

Me: *does the same thing again*

Customer: “And just where are my cigarettes?”

Me: “In the bag you told me to put them in.”

Customer: *looks in said bag once more, mad that she couldn’t trip me up a fourth time, and proceeds to storm out the door*

Me: “Have a nice day!”

(We still can’t work out why she’ll buy our most expensive cigarettes, but paying full price for cosmetic items is just too much.)