What would you do?

[badbadboy]

I had to make a purchase of an item unavailable in stock in a major chain store.

They had the same item in a different size but not what I needed. The clerk was very helpful and informative. I agreed to the price quoted and paid for it plus the express shipping.

I commented 'this is a really good price delivered to my door'.

The clerk agreed and seemed to be double checking the order.

I thought about it all afternoon and just checked it myself. Turns out the price quoted was US $ but the clerk didn't do the conversion to C$. I had anticipated my cost to be about 30% higher. I compared the prices on Amazon and eBay and got a real deal

 

[UhOh]

Sales people are just a step above telemarketers. They try and sell you something you're not obligated to buy. Some are more helpful than others but owe you them nothing, cancel the order.

 

[sybian]

If you paid with credit card, the conversion is automatic, and your stuck with paying full amount.
If you paid for it with debit or cash, they may have to honour it......if I understand your post correctly.

...and what would I do?
I'd make them honour the transaction, but back away at the point the salesperson was going to loose his job, or pay the difference himself.
A deal is a friggin deal.....I've lost money on a miscalculated handshake deal, and honoured it to the end.
I've also had guys back out after they've done the same.....they don't get towed outta the ditch, if I see them on the side of the road in the snow.

 

[badbadboy]

My email confirmation is in C$ paid via debit.

Only reason for the thread is some of these large box stores might make the employee eat their mistake and pay the difference. I'm unsure how that works.

The deal didn't seem right to me. I love a great deal but not at the expense of a lower wage worker.

 

[Abbott_]

... Turns out the price quoted was US $ but the clerk didn't do the conversion to C$.

I've experienced similar inaccuracies at point-of-sale ( + & - ).
As with all things, it's getting harder to find and train 'Good People' *

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Statistics Canada released a historical point of goods news today (January 5):
the country is experiencing its lowest rate of unemployment for as long as comparable records exist."
https://www.straight.com/news/10145...ate-record-bc-performing-best-among-provinces​

 

[PierreCoeur]

Everyone possesses a conscieñce, the inner voice that guides your sense of what's right and wrong. Mine would have taken me back to the store to talk with the store's manager. I would not want that young salesperson to get in trouble based on misinformation that he or I may have gotten. But that's just me. If a store clerk gives me the wrong change, I correct it whether it is to my advantage or the store's advantage. That's just me and how I was raised. My Ex was the opposite. She would take advantage of any win fall and would always make a point of chastising a clerk if she was short changed. It is just one of the reasons we are no longer together. It isn't a quality I liked.

 

[felixthecat]

Only reason for the thread is some of these large box stores might make the employee eat their mistake and pay the difference. I'm unsure how that works.

Are you looking for an excuse to buy her a drink?

Since their system didn't catch a mistake (if any) right away, it's much more probable it won't be caught and the clerk will benefit from the sale via commission / sales target than be punished. The store could cancel your order (that's what amazon.ca does for pricing mistakes iirc, could be store-specific). It could be not a mistake (or an acceptable one) if the store still makes money. Unfortunately, no way to find that out without drawing attention to it.

The transaction was between yourself and the store. If you feel there's an ethical dilemma here, it would be about making it right to the store. You can cancel the order (and eat a possible cancellation cost). If you don't feel you owe anything to the store, then you don't owe to their employee.

I don't like Pierre's advice because drawing attention to clerk's mistake will more likely harm the clerk - they can be reprimanded even if there is no monetary loss.

 

[sybian]

My email confirmation is in C$ paid via debit.

Only reason for the thread is some of these large box stores might make the employee eat their mistake and pay the difference. I'm unsure how that works.

The deal didn't seem right to me. I love a great deal but not at the expense of a lower wage worker.

Then Sir.....your conscience is right around the place mine is at.
There is a difference between a good deal,....and taking advantage.

 

[take8easy]

I have heard a similar story from someone else as well. He was looking for something online and called me to tell me the great news of a very good deal. I asked him the website and he said XXXXX.com. Most of the time the difference in Can and US websites is .ca and .com. Needless to say his wallet lost its erection pretty quick.


But on a serious note, there are two ways of cheating a customer.
1. Dishonesty- Tell a blatant lie.
2. Dishonesty- Do not tell the truth (do not bring up the negatives).

 

[Har-Don]

Only reason for the thread is some of these large box stores might make the employee eat their mistake and pay the difference. I'm unsure how that works.

The deal didn't seem right to me. I love a great deal but not at the expense of a lower wage worker.

It's possible that the worker might face some kind of disciplinary action but it's illegal for the store to make the employee pay the difference. Same as waitress when they get short changed. It doesn't come out of their pocket.