Hypermarket Blues

The strangest thing happened to me at the hypermarket last week.

After paying for my groceries, I noticed that the cashier gave me 2 cents less than what was stated on the receipt. So when I showed her my change, she gave me a surprised look and said, “Oh, you mean you want 2 cents?”

Ok. I know that 2 cents doesn’t buy you very much. In fact, it was even a bit embarrassing to ask for 2 cents. But the fact is, it’s MINE. So why did she assume that I wouldn’t want it?

What irked me even more was when she just whipped it out of nowhere (without opening the cash register) and gave it to me.

I’m sorry, did I miss a little box marked TIPS at the check out counter? Are we supposed to be paying more than what is on the receipt?

There were times in the past when I was given 2, maybe 3, cents less in change. When I asked the cashier for it, he/ she would say, “Oh, I’m out of 1 cent coins.”

“So give me 5 cents then.”

They just shrug and say they cannot, or they have closed the register or give assorted other excuses. Now, what I would like to know is, is this common practice? If it is, why is it common practice?

Furthermore, would the same hypermarket let me pay 3 cents less for my groceries if I was “out of 1 cent coins”?

So, feeling all outraged and shortchanged, I wrote to the store manager. I relayed to him the whole incident and the fact that it had happened several times before.

Before putting the stamp on the envelope, I did wonder whether I should even bother doing it.

Finally I decided that I should send the letter because if I don’t, the management may never know about it. And it they are in cahoots with the cashiers then they should know that customers are not going to take it lying down.

I’m glad I did send the letter because within about 10 days, I received a reply. The store manager thanked me for highlighting the matter to him and assured me that the cashiers will be re-trained on this matter so that incidents like this do not recur. As a token of appreciation, he included a RM20 voucher.

The voucher was totally unexpected. (Best ROI I ever got, if you consider the 30sen stamp an "investment"!) I sent the letter simply to let the management know what was going on so that something can be done about it. Many times we are unhappy with service given to us but we don’t do anything about it other than criticize in private to our family and friends. Why don’t we tell the people who can actually do something about it and make it better? We should!

More likely than not, the management is not even aware of these things and they (the good ones, at least) are very appreciative of customers who come forward with specific complaints.

So the next time you’re not happy about something, inform the right people. You’ll be glad you contributed to doing something right.