Discount Disconnect Leads To Markdown Meltdown
We’re running a big week-long sale. Every item has two stickers: the original price and the new discounted price with a big “NOW” label.
Customer: “How much is this?”
Me: Points to the bright yellow NOW sticker. “It’s $43.”
Customer: “How much is 55% off $43?”
Me: “No, the 55% off applies to the original price.”
Customer: “How much was it originally?”
Me: Points directly at the crossed-out original price tag. “That.”
Customer: “So that’s how much it is?”
Me: “No. That was the original price. The discount brings it down. It’s NOW $43. That’s the price you’ll pay.”
Customer: “But it says 55% off.”
Me: “Yes. 55% off the original price makes it $43. The sticker literally spells it out for you.”
The customer stares, still confused. I silently question the public school system. Later, I go to my manager.
Me: “Can we just put the sale price on the stickers instead of the before-and-after? It would save us all some headaches.”
Manager: “But then how will the customers know how good a deal they’re getting?!”
Me: “Trust me, they don’t know anyway. They don’t know anything.”
The next day, the manager has to cover checkout for a sick coworker. He gets hit with the same endless, looping questions about ‘original vs. now.’
By the end of his shift, he looks like he aged ten years.
For the next sale, every sticker just shows one number: the sale price.
