Grr... up on the house roof - rant, rant, rant!

[Rath Darkblade]

So I was in the supermarket this morning getting some groceries. Cool. I don't know nobody, nobody knows me, I browse the shelves, pick out a few things, and head for the self-checkout thingamabob.

One of the things I picked out was 100 grams of almonds, as a healthy snack. The way this works (and this is important) is that I grab a plastic bag, fill it with however much I want, put the back on the scales and punch in the code for almonds, and it prints me out a sticker with how much the almonds weigh. It says 100 grams.

Imagine my surprise when the self-checkout thingamajig doesn't read the sticker properly, so I ask the supermarket chick what's wrong. She tries scanning it again a different way, and tells me that the self-checkout thing is wrong, and that I should pay for 200 grams.

Well, this annoys me. Why does one of their scales says 100g, and the scale at the checkout says 200g? And why do I suddenly have to pay twice the price, as if it's suddenly my fault? So I throw down the almonds and tell her, "Well in that case, I won't take the almonds and how do ya like that?!"

Then she starts accusing me of trying to - in effect - steal 100g of almonds, by taking 200g but only paying for 100g. This annoys me even more. I just scanned nearly $20 of groceries, and now I'm accused of being a thief? She concludes her tirade by saying that she would take the almonds over to the other scale and check out the price. I'm so sick of the whole thing by now, that I tell her, "Fine! Go for it!"

Long story short, they let me pay for 100g because "the other scale was faulty". No apologies for accusing me of theft... no nothing... which really pissed me off. I swear, if it wasn't the only supermarket around, I'd go somewhere else. I probably buy something between $30-40 of groceries there every single week, and now they're accusing me of trying to steal three stinking dollars' worth of f***ing almonds. Go figure.

All right, I've ranted enough. I feel better now.

[Collector]

I would have asked to see the manager.

[DeadPoolX]

I probably buy something between $30-40 of groceries there every single week

I'm just amazed you can buy enough groceries for a week at $30-40 in total. For Maia and me, the price is rarely under $100 (often more) unless we're just doing a quick shop and getting just a few items.

[Rath Darkblade]

I would have asked to see the manager.

I would have done the same, except I was in a bit of a hurry. Never mind now... I'm just confused and annoyed that I would be accused of theft.

I probably buy something between $30-40 of groceries there every single week

I'm just amazed you can buy enough groceries for a week at $30-40 in total. For Maia and me, the price is rarely under $100 (often more) unless we're just doing a quick shop and getting just a few items.

Heh, well... I live by myself, so my bills are naturally lower because I only pay for what I consume. I also try to be frugal because for a long period (maybe 10 years?), I was working contracts, so I was often employed only for a few months and then unemployed for a few months. As a consequence, I had to learn to cut corners and save money where-ever I could.

[Maiandra]

There is a real trend against customer service these days. Even if she had thought you were trying to scam them, she shouldn't have said anything without checking it on another scale first, just to be sure.

I think that giving people the benefit of the doubt is highly underrated. If more people did it, it would go a long way in making life in general more positive.