to think they should have let the 6p go

[catwalker]

Not a burning issue, but I can't sleep so thought I would post this. In M&S food department on Sunday afternoon - long queues as only a couple of checkouts open. Two well dressed women (ie not short of a bob or two) in front of me (looked like mother and daughter) paid for their goods and then queried their receipt and change with the very young and very flustered checkout assistant. They were pointing out the fact that they were 6p short in their change. Great I thought, you're just making a point and then you'll move on. But no, they insisted the supervisor was called, which took ages, while the young lad on the till got redder and redder. I toyed with the idea of giving them the 6p to get the queue moving again but thought maybe I'd misheard. The supervisor, when she came, spoke quite loudly and confirmed that actually it was just 6p and she opened the till and gave it to them.

I just stood and looked at them with my mouth open! Were they totally unreasonable?

They gave them the change didn't they?

"whether in the context of that particular situation it was really worth standing on principle."

Yes it was. It's wrong to feel bullied, embarrassed or rushed into accepting short change or poor service just because there's a queue waiting. No matter how nicely dressed you are I've stood behind people in queues before who have had trouble with PIN numbers, the special offer hasn't rung up properly or they're trying to exchange clubcard vouchers etc. And whilst I may curse my luck that I'm having to wait I know that another day that person might well be me.

The cashier should have served you and taken the 6p out at the same time.

If they had stopped trying to embarrass him he could have thought of that for himself, but once they started he probably couldn't think straight.

Some people are bastards when you work in retail.

They're 'bastards' for wanting the right change? ...

Agree with Cleverything. Have a friend in his 30s who counts EVERY penny. He makes a fuss to the point he looks like he is going to cry if he pays more than he thinks is his fair share on a night out. Last time it was because the staff had added on (an optional) tip of about £50 or so and he had an absolute tantrum, wouldn't shut up about it for about an hour. I just found out about a week ago from another good mutual friend that he is buying his first home - he has about 500k of savings which he is using as a deposit (the property is 2.5 million). Also wears a 15k watch. So yes definitely agree with "Probably the very reason they are 'not short of a bob or 2' is that they do query things like this"!

Why on earth should customers feel belittled or embarassed about querying a mistake in their financial transaction?

YABU, VVVVVU.

In 2009, we were living on £22 food for 3 kids and 2 adults for the week. If I found out I'd been shortchanged and some horrible person behind me thought I should just suck it up because "it's only 6p, you know" I'd have felt like crying. On the occasion I was a few pence short for tampons, do you think my local Asda checkout operator said "nevermind, it's only 4p"? Did they hell.

Stop judging other people. M&S are the ones who should be ashamed - for making a mistake and then trying to embarass the customers into shooing away quietly.

If you had a problem with what happened, save your face for M&S, who haven't opened enough tills or planned their staff rotas properly. Not customers who are entitled to be charged the correct amount, and have it rectified in a professional manner when they query it.

I'm fuming that the OP feels it's acceptable to judge what is and is not "much money" based on what people look like, how busy it is.

"over a measly 6p"

Measly in your opinion. With your budget. With your ability to not care about that 6p.

Can you consider for a second that perhaps not everyone has the throw away attitude you have towards being charged the correct amount for goods because it's a luxury they can't afford, whilst you can?

YANBU. 6p ffs. I notice this so much in life - people with money are nearly always misers (and, yes, prob a link between the two). What kind of fuck-witted cock-muncher would stand around waiting for 6p on a point of principle ffs? Principle my arse.

Fuck-witted cock-muncher? What kind of arse-faced, minge-slapper can afford to throw good money away? Back to your safe deposit box mauricetickler, you clearly have more money than sense....

It's not their fault it took so long for the supervisor to come over, blame M&S for that. I've queried things in shops, not for 6p, but it doesn't usually take that long to sort it out.

fgaaagh - of if they were shopping in M and S I think we can safely assume they were not living on the breadline.

They may have looked well off, but you can't always tell by looking. One of them could have just lost their job and be in the position of having to watch every penny.

I'm not overly blessed in either department tbf CogitoErgoSometimes lol

It doesn't matter about the amount. I went through one of those self-checkout things a few weeks ago and the change it spat at me was £1 short. I'm not poor at all and the loss of £1 is not going to mean we can't eat or anything, but I was damned if I was going to let a bloody machine diddle me out of a full quid. Took a while to get it sorted out because 'machines don't make mistakes'... apparently.

Why not, mauricetinkler? I've shopped in there before, because the park (outside shopping centre) is within a bus ride from the house, but the Asda is a car drive away (which DH has during the day anyway so it's a moot point) with the associated petrol costs. I also regularly get gift tokens for there from my mum (bit of a M&S devotee). Don't "safely" assume anything e.g. that it's people with throwaway money fitting their shopper stereotype.

woops that was meant to be a "is within a free bus ride from the house"

because I need to pay for a bus pass for work (which works at the weekends - so free travel all week). So a bit daft to drive for a roundtrip with DH and petrol when I might just be popping in for stuff from M&S for free on the bus. It doesn't make me loaded though! (I wish!)

If M&S short changed every shopper by 6 p their profit would be very healthy indeed. YABU.

YABVU.

Why should those women lose out on their change because,

1, M&S was busy

2, the cashier was blushing

3, people in a queue were grumbling at having to wait

Mind you I've stood and waited for a penny change before; it wasn't that I desperately needed that penny but I wanted to challenge the assumption by the cashier that I wouldn't want my change. It was MY decision whether I took my change or not, not hers.

If the cashier had messed up a lot of transactions, it would show as a discrepancy in his till and he would be in danger of getting in serious trouble. As long as they weren't rude to him, they were not being unkind or unreasonable.

I do wonder whether Britain's debt problem is in any way linked to supposed "tight-fistedness" being the absolute worst taboo for quite a lot of people.

i would of let it go, but the customers was nbu to ask for the right change

Frankly, if I feel in a financial position to give my change away, I generally give to some charitable organisation less well off than me. That really wouldn't be M&S, or any other high street store.

M&S even have special offers!

They got their money ,so M & S didn't diddle them out of 6p

"fgaaagh - of if they were shopping in M and S I think we can safely assume they were not living on the breadline."
Actually, mauricetinkler, may years decades ago I worked in M&S Food Hall. We had many regular customers who looked to me to be very poor; worn patches on coats that hadn't been fashionable for 30 years, handbag and purse very worn; elderly skeletal ladies you worried wouldn't make it through the winter type of people. They'd buy one item (usually digestive or rich tea biscuits), one a week. I got the impression that shopping at M&S was important to their self-esteem.

once a week, not one