A "WTF" moment . . .

[DGoddessChardonnay]

Had a doozie today at work, believe it or not.

Had a woman approach me and a coworker while we were finishing up yesterday's HBA truck (I'd been tied up all morning in the backroom dealing with deliveries since you-know-who took another vacation, but I digress) with a few groceries in her basket.

Now our market manager made a handmade sign in the middle island case on the back aisle where she'd already started putting out frozen turkeys with the Wednesday sale price on it - and wrote underneath "Begins Wednesday."

What did this woman ask?

"Could I possibly get the sale price today while I'm here?"

I just shook my head and explained "No ma'am, I'm afraid not. The xx price doesn't start until tomorrow and the prices won't be in the computer before in the morning."

"Well I thought I'd ask while I was here."

Now granted she seemed nice about it, so I smiled "It's okay, but corporate won't allow us to begin our ad a day early."

"Okay then, thanks anyway." She left the aisle and went about the rest of her shopping.

I turned around to my coworker and gave her a :wtf look and she started giggling. "Did that happen?"

It wasn't sucky so but rather surreal . . . in all the years I've worked in a grocery store, that had to been the first time I'd ever been asked if we could start out weekly ad a day early.

*insert Twlight Zone theme here*

[Mel]

I've had that asked before in a department store I used to work at. In which case we had to override the price and give them the special price.

[joe hx]

As long as the customer doesn't get sucky, I think it's one of those "it doesn't hurt to ask" moments.

[fireheart]

I've had a similar incident. Although the lady mentioned that it was because we were changing over the special signs that she should get said special TODAY.

Nevermind that our specials run from Monday-Sunday...

[ArcticChicken]

I once had someone get their sales paper delivered a day early, he flipped his shit that he couldn't get the sales prices today.

[Teysa]

At my store we have an ad that runs Wednesday through Tuesday and another that runs Friday through Sunday. The 3 day ad is included with the weekly ad circular. It never fails that we get a customer who thinks they should get the 3 day ad prices on Wednesday or Thursday. Even worse is on Mondays when we take the ad down and the customers don't understand why the chicken isn't on sale anymore.

[Green_Fairy]

last week corporate told us to put up the new menu boards that had the cranberry bliss bars. people wait for these all year long so of course people start asking for them. we didn't actually get them in until yesterday. holy. crap. i've never heard so many people cry false advertising before. it's just a bar, people...

[MsCrankypants]

I had the opposite happen to me once.

A couple of years ago, I was out buying 12-packs of drinks for my holiday celebration. That particular week, sodas were at a pretty good price, but the week prior, there had been a buy one, get one free sale, so it had been cheaper the previous week. Since I don't shop at this store often, I wasn't aware of the BOGO sale, but it had just ended the day before, and no one had taken the sign down.

I pointed out to the cashier that the sign was still up, but this week's ad said cases were X price (I can't remember what it was - something insanely cheap, but the last week's price had worked out to something even cheaper); that cashier was actually the manager on duty, who not only took the sign down, but honored the previous week's offer for pointing out their error in leaving the sign up.

[The Last to Know]

I had something odd happen to me once & now I'm wondering if I shouldn't have said something or if they knew it was happening. At my local Food Lion (grocery store for those not on the East Coast or overseas) and their sales start on Wednesday morning and the old sale ends on Tuesday night. One Tuesday night about 9:30 or 10 (they close at 11) - I got some items that were going to be on the new sale & then some other things that were on the current sale. I live too far from the store to bother going twice for the sale price - too much wasted gas. But, that's besides the point. When I got to the register - everything got rang up & then I left & for once I actually looked at the receipt because something had caught my eye while things were being rung up - it seems the store gave me the sale price for the current sale & I also got the sale price for the stuff that wasn't on sale yet.
I didn't say anything - hmmm guilty feeling now.

[Teysa]

I'm not sure if Food Lion sets their ads early in the morning or overnights, but it's quite possible that they had already loaded the new sale into the system but had not yet hung all the tags. That close to closing there's probably not going to be that many customers so a few of them getting a lucky break won't hurt much. The old ad would have still been up too because the store was still open. This is all my convoluted way of saying that you have nothing to feel guilty about.

[jackfaire]

I love Eggnog my favorite part of the year is when I can finally buy it in the stores. but I never freak out on them about it.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

I'm not sure if Food Lion sets their ads early in the morning or overnights, but it's quite possible that they had already loaded the new sale into the system but had not yet hung all the tags. That close to closing there's probably not going to be that many customers so a few of them getting a lucky break won't hurt much. The old ad would have still been up too because the store was still open. This is all my convoluted way of saying that you have nothing to feel guilty about.

I know at my store, we start early on Wednesday morning . . . around 6 a.m.

Ma goes into the computer (or me, if she's on vacation) and activates all the new ad changes, then we head out to the floor to change and scan the tags to make sure they are scanning the correct price. Same with the ad-off tags.

Back when I did scanning at WD, I changed the ad on Tuesday evening, which was the way they had it set up. Tags and signage went up on Tuesday evening (and some nights I'd work until almost 11) and Wednesday was spent taking care of emergency changes, scanning everything in the ad to make sure the prices were correct and my weekly Produce scan.

It varies slightly depending on the retailer, but there is a method to the weekly madness.