Tesco misprice policy discussion area

Rave

<quotes from two seperate posts, just to be clear>

spa2k wrote:

They are not customer services errors, they are simply the staff in the frontline who have to deal with certain "persistant" customers.

There's a very big difference between persistence and rudeness though.

Your reply typifies the kind of attitude that is often faced in stores..."it doesnt take a genius"..."you have the numbers emails" and "if someone tried hard enough"..this insinuates that a) staff don't have intelligence and b) staff don't put in any effort. When one is confronted with such negativity interest is soon lost.....try a more postive approach and more help would soon be forthcoming.

His attitude to Tescos in this discussion does not necessarily reflect the way he treats staff instore. In this thread (and in the others) there are numerous examples of customers asking for refunds being on the receiving end of some fairly extreme rudeness and hostility, and it's reasonable to assume that some (possibly most) of those people were polite about asking for their refund.

I see your point about being civil though. For what it's worth, I worked in retail for 3 1/2 years and as a result I always make a point of being friendly and polite to shop staff, because I've been on the other side of the counter. On the five occasions that I've asked for an overcharge refund in Tescos I have been met with an attitude that could best be described as indifference- no hostility, but no particular enthusiasm for giving me the refund or apologising for the misprice. Fine, I'm getting something for free so that's good enough.

Fact: In a large store there can be over 7000 price changes PER WEEK, every one has to be done manually and there are checks in place that happen to ensure that these are completed. Every price integrity department is audited on a very regular basis. There is no corporate conspiracy and no intent to overcharge anyone deliberately.

If Tescos are changing 7000 prices a week, then clearly they are doing this to maximise their profit. The vast majority of misprices reported here seem to arise because of temporary reductions in an item's price (so that either old stock is charged at higher than the ticket price, or that new stock comes in at a higher price than the promotional ticket). If Tescos simply set a price on an item that consituted a fair mark up on the wholesale price, and stuck with that price until such time as a rise in the wholesale price meant they had to charge more, then the level of price changes in store would be far more manageable. If they did that though, I daresay that their profits would be far less than the £1bn or more a year they currently make.

I guess what I'm trying to say here spa2k is- what is the point you're trying to make? If it's simply that the misprices that regularly occur are probably not the fault of store staff and that we should be polite and treat them with respect when asking for our money back, then I wholeheartedly agree.

If it's that the misprices are not Tescos fault and we should not take deliberate advantage of their stated policy, then I wholeheartedly disagree. This site is about being an educated consumer and playing companies at their own game. Tescos didn't become the largest retailer in Britain without using every trick in the book. I would imagine that most details of the store layout are planned down to the last detail using theories of retail psychology etc. and the 7000 price changes a week are all part of the grand scheme to squeeze as much money as possible out of their customers. The point that we keep coming back to is that by posting misleading price information Tescos are actually breaking the law. By pointing out price mistakes we are actually helping them to avoid prosecution by Trading Standards. Nobody should have the slightest compunction in taking advantage of Tescos mistakes, because they have absolutely no compunction in making as much money out of us as they can. They have chosen to play the game, and the participants in this thread have decided to actually offer them some fair competition.

nannaC

wallace wrote:

Out of curiosity, if you purchased any of the items did you go to customer service and report that you had been under-charged? Somehow I doubt it!

Answer: YES
I was undercharged for a 4.42 pack of bacon the other week, noticed when I checked my receipt as I always do. Went right to CS and offered to pay, they were gobsmacked and asked me why I hadnt just walked out as the bar code musn't have scanned. Well since I HAVE HAD REFUNDS WHEN OVERCHARGED FAIRS FAIR

nannaC

ampersand wrote:

I look upon the mis-price search, new to me as it is, as an exercise and did not purchase any of the items. Had I done so, surely I would have been correctly charged, not undercharged? Isn't correct pricing the objective here? In previous times, I've noted such things with the check-out operator - also in Boots, where two reduced items recently were charged at 0.00p. The response was: 'That's what it says. I can't change it. It won't let me.'
Wallace - any largesse is shared with others(like myself) on minimal(not indebted) budgets and brings joy and levity into Life. Suitable items go to the Charity where I volunteer. Equally my(first attempt) prolific runner beans and madly burgeoning tomatoes are also shared. There is pleasure in ALL of this.
This site, found when I heard the tail end of an R4 reference to Saynoto0870-has wonderfully altered the parameters and I bless and thank ALL who contribute positively to it.
Saw another shopper with many reduced items in trolley and he soon wrote down the site name and was going home to subscribe.
Sorry this is long, but some of the personal 'edge' in contributions here has taken me aback.

WELL SAID HEAR HEAR :T :T :T :T :T :T

Kenny4315

ampersand wrote:

Isn't correct pricing the objective here?

It most certainly is, and Mr T's ain't going to do diddly squat about it unless they get stung for a material amount !!! :mad:

nannaC

ben500 wrote:

My word hasn't this thread got hot since Monday!
Took me nearly an hour and a half to catch up.

Nice to see Tesco paying so much attention too.

Brandy run out then now? sorry coudn't resist being a person of Champagne tastes on a lemonade income

nannaC

Which is why I am devoted to MSE as they say every little helps

Kenny4315

wallace wrote:

I never go searching out items that are reported on MSE ........ seems like a waste of time to me.

Seems like a bit of a waste of time to me, you looking and posting on MISPRICE POST YOUR FINDS HERE then ... if you don't mind me saying ..... don't you think ?? :rotfl: :rotfl:

Gosh I wish you were a Mr T's CS, I think I'd have a lovely time in your store, especially if you were on duty and I found some mispriced items. :rotfl: :rotfl:

arv2k

on my travells around tesco yesterday the store manager said i should work for them finding the miss prices haha

tiff

Bet they wouldnt pay you what you're earning now from the free stuff!

wallace_3

Kenny4315 wrote:

Seems like a bit of a waste of time to me, you looking and posting on MISPRICE POST YOUR FINDS HERE then ... if you don't mind me saying ..... don't you think ?? :rotfl: :rotfl:

Gosh I wish you were a Mr T's CS, I think I'd have a lovely time in your store, especially if you were on duty and I found some mispriced items. :rotfl: :rotfl:

Not at all - I view the thread out of curiosity more than anything. And don't forget (I've said enough times) it's a discussion forum so I'm entitled to post my views.

And if I did have my own Tesco store, it would be closed to the public. That way I could shop whenever I like without being delayed by pesky people fussing about with coupons, arguing over policy or taking hours to pack their bags. :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: