AIBU over 2p?

[MrsCosmopilite]

I need to give a little background info for context.

I'm unwaged, a student. I am not eligible for benefits, so I do 'treats' out of a very small budget (£10 per week tops). I shop a lot at the charity shops in our town - and I make frequent donations of unwanted items. I have a four year old daughter, who needs some new clothes as she's grown out of a lot recently.

Today I was out with DD. We'd had lunch (£6 in the cafe), and I'd bought a local paper (£1). I then bought her a skirt in charity shop A, which was £2.

We went into charity shop B and she spotted another skirt which was £1.50

I took it to the counter, opened my purse and found I had only the single pound left. I rummaged in my purse and found another 48p. I explained to the person on the counter that I was 2p short, but I would happily drop the extra in next week when I'll be back in town. I said that I had no other money on me, and showed her my empty purse.

She looked at the skirt, looked at the money in my hand and just said "Well, it's £1.50..."

She didn't offer to put the skirt aside whilst I got any money, she didn't offer to call anyone (there is always a manager on duty), in fact, she didn't do anything, just stood there.

In the end, I had to leave the skirt, and the shop, with my daughter crying because I couldn't afford to buy her something for £1.50.

I feel the woman was mean - I go in the shop every week - I go in all the charity shops every week, to have a look. I would happily have given the extra few pence the next time I was there.

Where I work the consequences of a till discrepancy are the same no matter how much it is. 2p down one day and 2p up the next would not be a good thing. Audit would not be impressed by the explanation!

I volunteered in a Charity shop. I would have let you have the skirt and popped the difference in the money pot next time.

I accept that yes I should have asked the woman to put the skirt aside, but I was tired, and a little flustered by DD dissolving into tears. She's 4, and she knows she can't always get what she wants, however, right now she's going through an 'emotional phase' and pretty much anything reduces her to tears; wrong colour plate, cat looking at her, etc. She didn't get the skirt, and the issue is done and dusted.

Walking distance = 1.5 miles - I wasn't going to drag DD home and back and then home again for the sake of a skirt.

Regardless of how many hours the woman works in the shop, I would have thought that policy/training ought to cover these issues - so, you know, you encourage custom by saying "We can hold that for you if you like".

There are 8 charity shops in town, basically all in competition with each other, and I've seen staff from one working in another.

I am grateful for all the feedback.

Dear everybody, it DOES make a difference that it was only 2p. It really does.

And as for your awful entitled DD learning a valuable lesson about not always being able to have everything she wants? Pah. Your DD HAS learned a valuable lesson - that just as in all aspects of life, sometimes people working in charity shops are twats.

I hope you're not going to donate any more items to said shop anyway.

That's bloody ridiculous! Can't believe she didn't waive the 2p!! I was in a large supermarket in my town last year standing at the checkout behind an old woman with my DS who was 10, I was mostly paying attention to him but became aware that the old woman didn't have enough money for her shopping and started putting stuff back, she started putting back the value pies and some value sausages and I stopped the cashier and asked how short she was, now at the time I had not met DP and money was very tight for us but I could not bear the thought of this poor old soul not eating, the cashier said £5.12, and I thought "oh no, that's more than I could spare" but then realised that I would feel better knowing I had done a good deed, so I paid the money.... The old woman was very greatful and said she couldn't pay me back and I said that's ok, maybe sometime you will do something nice for someone else, aw, wasn't that a nice story! THEN, as the cashier was wiping her eyes and putting my shopping through she said, and I quote "that was so nice of you! I was going to tell her to put back the bottle of Smirnoff!!"

I didn't learn my lesson though, and just last week took an old couple home with their shopping as it was raining and they had a lot of bags and the old boy asked me to detour as he had forgotten to get a paper!!!

" pretty much anything reduces her to tears; wrong colour plate, cat looking at her"
I know just how she feels :o

Paula
OP you were very unlucky with the assistant. Most people in most shops, customer or assistant would have given you the 2p.

icimoi we were within walking distance of home, and I drive. Should we have needed to go to hospital, I'd have driven there.

So how would you have paid for parking?

Mad! and humiliating for you. she is hardly working within the spirit of the shop. Most charity shops are there for the user as well as the charity that they fund. She sounds like a sad specimen.

she was doing her job as mandated by her manager, and as mandated to them by the trustees I imagine.

Some people on here have obviously never been in a position where you are lied to 100 times a day by people trying to get owt for nowt..... (something for nothing).

People lie, you cannot tell which ones are lying

I don't think either of you were BU.

You were not unreasonable to ask her to hold it / ask to drop the money in next week but equally she was not unreasonable (or mean) to refuse. I've worked on checkouts and volunteered in Loros shops before and we aren't allowed to take any money off. The price is the price.

It may come across as mean but that's definitely not how it's meant. We have rules to stick to and can get in trouble for not sticking to them. If there is a problem like this then ask if you can talk to a manager, usually they have the authority to do things like that.

Also, "sad specimen"? "Cow"? The lady who is giving up her time to volunteer in a charity shop? Seriously?

I do see why there are so few VOLUNTEERS nowadays...

I know Somewhere - thankfully most of the people I met whilst volunteering for Loros (which if people don't know is a Leics-based hospice) were absolute diamonds. Loads of regulars who were all lovely.

I think she was a meany knickers.

Imagine how much money we'd all save by knocking 2p off everything we bought. Tbh if you have no income and are struggling for literally 2p then I wouldn't fritter money away on papers and the big issue!

Well in my view YWNBU however I can see why the girl in the shop may have said no. Daft thing is the charity shop has lost out on a £1.48 sale now (rather than them being down 2p) so in my eyes they have lost out.

I work for a charity shop. We are a business and have targets and head office breathing down our necks.

Customers are always asking us to do deals or take a bit of money off, just for them or to accept some payment now, some later. If we did that for every one we'd never make any money. The charity would help fewer people and I and the other staff would lose our jobs, so we do it with no one.

The woman on the till had no way of knowing if you'd come back with that 2p and she's the one who would have been in trouble if you hadn't. I know it's only a small amount but you probably weren't the only one to ask that day.

Also the pricing may well have been decided by head office so she couldn't have just sold it to you for 1.48 or head office would have demanded to know why, and "that was all the customer had" would not be a good enough excuse for them.

Why didn't you just ask her to put it aside if you really wanted ut?

I was 1p short once when I went to get DS a book from the charity shop that he saw in the window. Didn't realise until I was at the till and the bloke let us off, I did find 1p on the floor outside as I got out of the shop though and took it in to give to him. Can't believe they didn't let you off with 2p. Especially as the amount of extra 1ps they must get when people say keep the change for 99p items.