Public’s Supermarket – it’s one of the most popular supermarkets in all of Belize – known for low prices. But is the store ripping you off? It seemed so to us earlier this week when a shopper provided us with a pair of receipts that show serious and significant computational errors. Here’s how it works.
In cases where the customer purchased more than one of the same item, the electronic receipt shows the unit price multiplied by the number of units, which in the case of “jack – slash jill dew” should be two times one dollar and thirteen cents. Do the math and it gives you two dollars and twenty six cents, but you’ll see that the price charged is a cent more, two dollars and twenty seven cents. We have the price that should have been charged written in ink.
And it’s the same right down the line. Six packs of the eighty cent “tortrix tacos” should be four dollars and eighty cents, but it’s charged at four dollars and eighty five cents. Four yogurts at one dollar, sixty-two cents each should be six dollars forty eight cents, but it’s charged at six dollars, fifty cents. And each item has that same small error.
But it’s not only multiplication, when added up – the wrong figures should total thirty dollars and fifty cents, but its thirty dollars and fifty one cents. In total, the error on this thirty dollar purchase is ten cents. And there can be no argument that it’s for the gst because that is added separately at the bottom of the bill..
In another receipt, this shopper only got cheated on two tins of beans he bought at one dollar and fifty three cents each. It should be a total of three dollars and six cents, but it went to seven cents. And when added up, his total was also off by one cent.
Those two receipts were from January 26th, and 23rd respectively, but the same thing happened when we bought a few items yesterday. There were no multiplication errors because we bought only one of each item, but the added total of seven dollars and ten cents was two cents more than we should have
paid. It’s marginal; but it does add up and it is cheating.
So yesterday Jules Vasquez confronted the store’s manager – and he was clueless.
Jules Vasquez,
I just bought this, this morning. See there is no multiplication here but when you add it up, it is two cents over. It should be $7.08 so all of them have an error, very marginal, one or two cents but when you add it up it is a significant error.
Public’s Store Manager,
“I have to check with the guy who deals with that. I just manage the shop.”
Jules Vasquez,
But this is going on the news.
Public’s Store Manager,
“I know but I am telling you I don’t really deal with this.”
Jules Vasquez,
But you deal with the store and do you agree there is an error?
Public’s Store Manager,
“Yes.”
Jules Vasquez,
So two times one thirteen should be two twenty six and this is from January 26th and these are three different cashiers. So it is all across but there is an error.
Public’s Store Manager,
“Well I will have to check with the person who deals with it and I’ll let you know.”
Jules Vasquez,
But if I want a refund of my two cents, not that I do, but were I to ask for a refund, you will have to give me.
Public’s Store Manager,
“I have to give you.”
In the end, the best he could tell us is that two weeks ago they introduced a computerised checkout system and that may be the source of the problem. Now it’s only a matter of cents, but it seems the greater the value of the purchase, the greater the inaccuracy and for folks buying hundreds of dollars in groceries it could add up. It surely does for Publics, which turns over thousands of dollars in sales a day and was pinching cents off every sale.
We called in the Consumer Protection Bureau which today confirmed that the store has reported to them that it was a computer error and one that the manager says has been rectified. The Bureau has not checked for itself. As for refunds, he told us we could get the two cents, so we’d advise you to check your Public’s receipts – if you still have them.
