‘Price Check, Aisle 12!’
Upon entering an establishment that is part of a multi-national chain of supermarkets, you would think that they’d want to sell you food items. Not necessarily so.
Okay, so I’m meandering up and down the aisles in the supermarket (where the name begins with ‘T’, ends in ‘O’, and rhymes with ‘Let’s go.’), and I happen to take a look at the reduced price items. As the value of the US Dollar continues to plummet, I find myself looking at these shelves more and more. And what to my wondering eyes did appear?
Yippee!
My joy was not that this lovely brand of coffee was found in the reduced price section, but rather that it’s residing in the store at all! Never have seen the decaffeinated version in a supermarket in this country. O happy day! And look, there are three packages sitting there!
A Bit of Historical Background Diversion Ahead:
Because Husband-Will and I enjoy a blissful cup of cappuccino at the end of our day, we naturally reach for a decaf version, being desirous of sleep during the nighttime hours. Our only option has been…
While we like Illy well enough, it is only available at Avoca and comes with a pricetag of 7.99euro for 250 grams….that’s 8.8 ounces…only a little more than 1/2 pound. Eek. But as we practice frugality other areas, this is a well-deserved luxury, or so my rationalisation goes.
So, with great gladness and joy I take my three treasures to the checkout. And then the conversation goes something like this…
Cashier: ‘I don’t think these are reduced since there isn’t a little yellow sticker on it.’
Me: ‘That’s okay, I’ll pay the full price if necessary.’
Cashier: ‘Someone might have put them on that shelf as they walked by.’
Me: ‘Fair enough. If you’ll ring it up, we’ll just see how much they are.’
Cashier: ‘Uh oh. The price isn’t in the files.’
Me: ‘Well, perhaps somebody can get a price for them.’
Cashier: I don’t think we’ll be able to sell them to you.’
Me: ‘Um, I’m sure someone in the store will know a price for them, if you’ll perhaps ask.’
Cashier: ‘Are there other ones on the shelf?’
Me: ‘No, these are the only three.’
Cashier: ‘Well, they’re not supposed to be here then since I don’t have a price for them.’
Me: ‘They’re not supposed to be here? Aren’t they considered food? Isn’t this a food store?’
Cashier: ‘No, the price is not in the computer system.’
Me: ‘Yes, I realise that. Who might know a price?’
Cashier: ‘If I don’t have a price, I won’t be able to sell these to you.’
Me: ‘Right, and which manager might be able to help us with this?’
Cashier: ‘Well, it’s got to be somebody in the coffee and tea section.’
Me: ‘And are they here? Nearby? Within calling distance? Shall I get them?’
After a few more rounds of futile scanning and realising that the price hasn’t magically appeared in the system files, another employee walks by. And of all things, this person happens to understand the intricacies of the coffee and tea section. Glory be!
Over she walks to the coffee aisle. There she picks up a comparable coffee. Back she walks to the checkout lane. And yessir, a precious price rings up on the computer system. You’d have thought it was rocket science…
Oh, and the company tagline? ‘…where every little helps’.
Cheryl, if you lurve coffee that much, just been into my local Yankee Candle Shop, now don’t know if you do the candle thingy BUT they have new ones in and one is Roasted Coffee…well the little tartlet which are the ones I buy you know you stick them in the top pot and tea light underneath and the oil melts…well my house is now filled with the most delicious aroma. Ots gorgeous. Thank you for your lovely comments on my blog. Teresa
13 Apr 2007 at 10:18 am
AAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!! Some peoples children! You wonder how they are standing upright. I confused a cashier last night by giving him $20.10 for my order that came to $17.03. He rung in $20.00. Kids these days can’t do math either.
At least you have your precious decaf!
13 Apr 2007 at 10:51 am
hi Cheryl,
exchange your coffee for any even slightly exotic fruit and veg (such as chinese leaves, celeriac etc. - I mean, come on, the way those look - are they really edible? very exotic at least over here in the west!) - and yep, that can happen in stores such as s…r. v..u too! sometimes I am lucky and the far overpriced celeriac isn’t recognized as such and put in as a swede (well, they are both brown on the outside…:)) - good for me! but sometimes it’s made worse when the cashier thinks it’s so ugly it just has to be a yam(the name on their list they know least about probably) - then the prize miraculously doubles in no time! you just cannot expect people working in the business to know what’s what - your only hope is that they’ll learn eventually - in the next 20 years or so! and look on the bright side - you might even be able to teach them a thing or two about it (i.e. if it sticks to their brains at some stage) still - enjoy your lavazza while it lasts:))
13 Apr 2007 at 12:27 pm
I’m looking forward to hearing what happens when you go back for more!
13 Apr 2007 at 1:52 pm
I don’t think I can risk getting any more. Was happy to escape with what I had!
13 Apr 2007 at 3:59 pm
Heh, Cashier’s next job will be in a call center, I’m sure.
13 Apr 2007 at 5:06 pm
Ha…ha…ha…great story, Cheryl. The cashier must be related to “you know who” from “you know where”. Whatever happened to customer service? Btw, that supermarket has an unreliable computer system, there is always an error on my receipt…and I always point it out to the manager…we are on a first name basis now.
13 Apr 2007 at 9:24 pm
Another coffee lover! Good stuff. Enjoyed your story. Last year I was able to vacation in Ireland, lifelong dream of mine and had a bit of trouble at one of the local markets. Same problem, different item. The foibles of the young and inexperienced.
14 Apr 2007 at 1:59 am
Being a vegetarian makes it even more fun, especially when you frequently special order things (our market’s great for that). Then there’s always the joy of explaining why you’re walking out with 6 blocks of Tofu (”because that’s all there was”), then explaining that you EAT the stuff (”every morning for breakfast”). Sigh.
Can you mail order your coffee? I know, I’m a freak: I order mine from Alaska. But … well, when you like it, you do what it takes, I guess.
Regarding the company tagline: where every little WHAT helps?
14 Apr 2007 at 5:37 am
Customer service in this country is horrible. I am still shocked at the level of nonservice and roudness of people working with the public here. It is nice to go back home and be shocked at the level of service (in a good way). As a fellow Yank, there seem to be a lot of us this side of the pond, we could probably organize some sort of “importing” of critical items.
Also, at least your grocery store has food. I’ve been to my local one and they were out of staples like bread!!! How can a grocery store be out of bread (because they were too cheap to restock during the weekends and we shop on a Sunday).
14 Apr 2007 at 11:07 pm
At least she spoke English! And you managed to get your coffee. That’s a really good ending.
Maybe next time she will know better?
PS I love your spring photos.
15 Apr 2007 at 9:37 pm