Trouble Is Stewing

I finish ringing up an older lady and she sees on the register’s screen where her Brunswick stew rang up more than she thought.

Customer: “There’s a sign back there that says that stew is $2.99.”

Our store policy is to go check for the sign or tag that the customer said they saw to make sure if it’s in the system right or if the customer is right.

Me: “Okay, I’ll go check. I’ll be right back.”

I get there and it rang the correct price but beside the item is one that is sold out. The tag on the shelf does have $2.99 on it. I know I should probably check to see the name of the item but it has been a long day, I am getting off in less than ten minutes, and it is on the bottom shelf which means that I would have to bend all the way down to read the name, so I don’t.

Me: “It is $3.69. There was an item right next to it that’s sold out; that was $2.99. I can take the stew off if you don’t want it.”

Customer: “Then what was the item that is sold out?”

Me: “Some other brand of beef stew that was sitting next to it.”

Customer: “What brand?”

By her tone, I can tell she’s basically accusing me of lying about the sold-out item.

Me: “I’m not sure. If you want, I can show you the tag.”

Customer: “Fine, just take them off.”

We have to call the manager-on-duty to take anything off unless it was the last action performed, so I call her over the intercom.

Me: *To my manager* “This lady saw the wrong price tag for this—” *points to cans* “—and I need you to take it off.”

Customer: *To my manager* “I saw a sign that said it was $2.99, but he told me that it was for an item that’s sold out, but he couldn’t tell me the name of it.”

Manager: “I’ll go check when I take this back.”

My manager takes the cans of stew off and takes them back to the shelf. The customer pays for the rest of her groceries.

Customer: “If it’s sold out, you should take the signs down.”

Me: “It’s a shelf tag. We need those to order items and to keep the space open on the shelf. I’m sure we have more of that item coming in tomorrow since it’s sold out, so we need to keep it on the shelf.”

Customer: “Oh… Well, I guess we were both wrong.”

She then left. I still have not figured out what I was wrong about, but I did find out what that item was the next day when I walked by it, fully stocked on the shelf.