Long and rambly, like usual.
So Wal-Mart does price-matching, right? You bring in the competitor's ad, find the right product on the shelf, and the cashier overrides the price. Simple and straightforward, right?
Apparently not in CT.
When I cashiered in NY, we were trained that the item had to match in brand and volume to qualify. %-off and "buy one, get one (BOGO)" offers didn't count, the exception being if the BOGO ad also listed the original price of the item (i.e. "Buy one at $X.XX, get one free"). If the item on sale was the competitor's store brand, the customer could get Wal-Mart's store brand in the same size instead, since store brands are (usually) exclusive to the store.
With me so far?
Shopping here in CT, I've run into CSMs and managers who apparently are working off of a different version of the above guidelines. And more annoying is that none of them seem to agree.
Case 1: Hubby and I were doing our bi-weekly grocery shopping at the supercenter half an hour north of us (closest one at the time). We bring along our ads and get the appropriate items. We get to the register, and as usual, the cashier has no clue how to do the price match. (We've only ever encountered one cashier who knew how to do it without being told, and none of these people have the "Trainee" tag on their badges.) The CSM who shows up looks the ads over and informs us that the price match policy doesn't apply to items that requires the competitor's store savings card, which effectively reduced us to one item that still qualified. Fine. Hadn't heard that before, but we'll go with it.
Case 2: Once again doing the bi-weekly shopping at the same store with Hubby. Again, the CSM (different one) is called. This time, she informs us that the policy only applies to items that require the store savings card. ::facepalm:: This reduced us to no items being discounted, since we were good per last time and only price-matched non-card items. If it weren't for the fact that I've been on the employee side and heard managers who just didn't understand policy that well and each enforced their own opinions of it*, I would've thought they were specifically targeting us for denial of price matches.
Case 3: The supercenter that's 5 minutes from our house finally opens up. Huzzah! At one point, I'm doing the shopping (alone this time, except for Baby with me), and have brought the price match flyers. CSM comes over, looks over the ad, and promptly tells me that the policy doesn't apply to other stores' store brands, since Wal-Mart doesn't carry them and the item "has to match exactly." Grr.
I explained that I used to work as a cashier at Wal-Mart, and we were told that for price matching, customers could match Wal-Mart's brand to other stores' brands. She just gives me this confused look and says, "Okay...really?" I nod. She shrugs. I ask if I can speak with a manager to ask this, and she replies, "I'm the CSM." And the only thing going through my head at that point is, I understand that. I want a manager. You know, Front End Manager, Store Manager? Not you. Instead of saying that, though, I asked if there was someone she could ask. She said she'd check.
Meanwhile, I told the cashier (who was very nice) to ring them up anyway, and if the CSM came back with an answer in my favor, I'd have it fixed at the Service Desk. 10 minutes later, I finish paying and wait a bit longer. However, Baby's getting antsy, as she wants her snack and a diaper change, and I'm getting tired and just want to go home after buying two weeks' worth of groceries, so I gave up and left.
I've since tried contacting Wal-Mart through their website to see if I can get a copy of the price matching policy, so I don't have to go through this hassle again. I've yet to hear back from them, and I sent the request almost three weeks ago, at least.
Does anyone else here (especially fellow Wal-Mart employees and veterans) know where I might obtain said policy? Preferrably in more detail than the "will match same item from competitor's ad" on the website, which is frustratingly minimalist and doesn't mention exceptions or specifics.
* Not only have I heard differing opinions on the price match policy from different managers, I've encountered differing enforcement of the "wrong price scanned" policy and which codes to use for price overrides and stuff. Things like managers denying that we give $3 off of a misscanned item, or just ignoring it, or insisting that if the lower price is more than $3 less than the misscan, that's discount enough (the signs say that it's off of the "correct" price, if I'm not mistaken). And I've seen managers and cashiers put in the "misc" code for price matchs, the price match code for misscans, the misscan code for random stuff.... The codes make different notes in inventory, people! (The misscan code automatically deducts $3 from the item's price.) And then there were the cashiers who were apparently trained to ring bottle redemption slips as product coupons instead of redemption slips. Inventory and bookkeeping must hate that.
So Wal-Mart does price-matching, right? You bring in the competitor's ad, find the right product on the shelf, and the cashier overrides the price. Simple and straightforward, right?
Apparently not in CT.
When I cashiered in NY, we were trained that the item had to match in brand and volume to qualify. %-off and "buy one, get one (BOGO)" offers didn't count, the exception being if the BOGO ad also listed the original price of the item (i.e. "Buy one at $X.XX, get one free"). If the item on sale was the competitor's store brand, the customer could get Wal-Mart's store brand in the same size instead, since store brands are (usually) exclusive to the store.
With me so far?
Shopping here in CT, I've run into CSMs and managers who apparently are working off of a different version of the above guidelines. And more annoying is that none of them seem to agree.
Case 1: Hubby and I were doing our bi-weekly grocery shopping at the supercenter half an hour north of us (closest one at the time). We bring along our ads and get the appropriate items. We get to the register, and as usual, the cashier has no clue how to do the price match. (We've only ever encountered one cashier who knew how to do it without being told, and none of these people have the "Trainee" tag on their badges.) The CSM who shows up looks the ads over and informs us that the price match policy doesn't apply to items that requires the competitor's store savings card, which effectively reduced us to one item that still qualified. Fine. Hadn't heard that before, but we'll go with it.
Case 2: Once again doing the bi-weekly shopping at the same store with Hubby. Again, the CSM (different one) is called. This time, she informs us that the policy only applies to items that require the store savings card. ::facepalm:: This reduced us to no items being discounted, since we were good per last time and only price-matched non-card items. If it weren't for the fact that I've been on the employee side and heard managers who just didn't understand policy that well and each enforced their own opinions of it*, I would've thought they were specifically targeting us for denial of price matches.
Case 3: The supercenter that's 5 minutes from our house finally opens up. Huzzah! At one point, I'm doing the shopping (alone this time, except for Baby with me), and have brought the price match flyers. CSM comes over, looks over the ad, and promptly tells me that the policy doesn't apply to other stores' store brands, since Wal-Mart doesn't carry them and the item "has to match exactly." Grr.
I explained that I used to work as a cashier at Wal-Mart, and we were told that for price matching, customers could match Wal-Mart's brand to other stores' brands. She just gives me this confused look and says, "Okay...really?" I nod. She shrugs. I ask if I can speak with a manager to ask this, and she replies, "I'm the CSM." And the only thing going through my head at that point is, I understand that. I want a manager. You know, Front End Manager, Store Manager? Not you. Instead of saying that, though, I asked if there was someone she could ask. She said she'd check.
Meanwhile, I told the cashier (who was very nice) to ring them up anyway, and if the CSM came back with an answer in my favor, I'd have it fixed at the Service Desk. 10 minutes later, I finish paying and wait a bit longer. However, Baby's getting antsy, as she wants her snack and a diaper change, and I'm getting tired and just want to go home after buying two weeks' worth of groceries, so I gave up and left.
I've since tried contacting Wal-Mart through their website to see if I can get a copy of the price matching policy, so I don't have to go through this hassle again. I've yet to hear back from them, and I sent the request almost three weeks ago, at least.
Does anyone else here (especially fellow Wal-Mart employees and veterans) know where I might obtain said policy? Preferrably in more detail than the "will match same item from competitor's ad" on the website, which is frustratingly minimalist and doesn't mention exceptions or specifics.
* Not only have I heard differing opinions on the price match policy from different managers, I've encountered differing enforcement of the "wrong price scanned" policy and which codes to use for price overrides and stuff. Things like managers denying that we give $3 off of a misscanned item, or just ignoring it, or insisting that if the lower price is more than $3 less than the misscan, that's discount enough (the signs say that it's off of the "correct" price, if I'm not mistaken). And I've seen managers and cashiers put in the "misc" code for price matchs, the price match code for misscans, the misscan code for random stuff.... The codes make different notes in inventory, people! (The misscan code automatically deducts $3 from the item's price.) And then there were the cashiers who were apparently trained to ring bottle redemption slips as product coupons instead of redemption slips. Inventory and bookkeeping must hate that.
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