I'm currently doing daylong and overnight loops comprised mostly of the red/white/blue limited reveal gas station jobs. These are really easy and you can generally knock out 3 per hour depending on density. Current bonus + reimbursement is $19, making for a more than acceptable hourly rate, and typically you will wind up with more gas in the tank at the end of the day than when you started.

Did a loop yesterday with a negative cashier interaction before I had to reveal, leaving me wondering if I exhibited appropriate demeanor.

For these shops, if I'm not buying coffee or cherry Tootsie Pops, I'm looking for the 2-for-1 Planter's peanut deals. The individual bags are $.69, and they are labeled 2 for $1.09.

The cashier was easily the youngest I encountered, and I might have overestimated his age the more I think about it. Strike one was when he did not greet me when it was my turn. Strike two was when he announced a total due of $2.85 for my purchase. I pointed out the price(s) on the packaging, but he was totally unable to get the right transaction price to show up. After 4 tries overall, with me being firm and admittedly a bit testy about getting the price right, I told him to just ring them up at the single unit price.

So the question is... how demanding would you be about getting the right price vs. not having anything stand out about the interaction?

I would objectively write about the interaction in the report as space would allow. The cashier was evidently not taught how to manually change a price or to right something in as "misc." A typical customer might not be so patient.

(I try not to be Karen the Homeowner Association President when I encounter service workers, particularly young ones. As a typical customer I would suggest ways to enter the data. I have seen other typical customers melt down over cashiers not taking an expired coupon. I doubt that either approach would out you as a shopper as that person would have already met all kinds that day.)

You made a sufficient effort to correct a situation.

It is possible that the issue could only have been corrected by someone else-- the person who programmed the prices for this location. In this eventuality, the young employee did their best with an impossible situation. Even an older or more experienced location employee might not have been able to accomplish more than a work around which incurred a discrepancy for management to deal with later.

Most of all, I would not want to take up time in line because other customers could come in and want quick service while I would have an opportunity to mention the situation in the report.

@CoolMusic wrote:

I'm currently doing daylong and overnight loops comprised mostly of the red/white/blue limited reveal gas station jobs. These are really easy and you can generally knock out 3 per hour depending on density. Current bonus + reimbursement is $19, making for a more than acceptable hourly rate, and typically you will wind up with more gas in the tank at the end of the day than when you started.

Did a loop yesterday with a negative cashier interaction before I had to reveal, leaving me wondering if I exhibited appropriate demeanor.

For these shops, if I'm not buying coffee or cherry Tootsie Pops, I'm looking for the 2-for-1 Planter's peanut deals. The individual bags are $.69, and they are labeled 2 for $1.09.

The cashier was easily the youngest I encountered, and I might have overestimated his age the more I think about it. Strike one was when he did not greet me when it was my turn. Strike two was when he announced a total due of $2.85 for my purchase. I pointed out the price(s) on the packaging, but he was totally unable to get the right transaction price to show up. After 4 tries overall, with me being firm and admittedly a bit testy about getting the price right, I told him to just ring them up at the single unit price.

So the question is... how demanding would you be about getting the right price vs. not having anything stand out about the interaction?

I would have told him to keep the peanuts and sell me one of those 69-cent bananas that were displayed on the counter.

If it were a small difference, I might mention it but drop it if the clerk couldn't fix it easily. Paying double like that, I would not do, but would try to be businesslike in my approach. (I'm human too and not perfect.) But really I wouldn't worry too much about it. If the clerk tried their best, good for them. Any negative results should just be based on an objective telling of facts, without going into too much detail.

I simply state what the shelf price was or point out the price on the package. If the cashier refuses to adjust the price, I will put it back and find something else. I always make it known in the report that this is the reason for the overall low score I am giving.

Along this line is the overcharging of sales tax which happens almost always with this brand and almost never with others. They double the tax which, with customers who have large purchases, rakes in lots of free money. Customers apparently don't notice because it has been going on forever.

Thanks for all the input from everyone. I definitely feel better with the positive vibes.

There's a specific question about the transaction taking longer than 45 seconds, and it requires a comment, so that is where I objectively explained what happened.

The comments re: lack of training are spot on. Every place else on yesterday's loop was able to process the transaction, even when it rang up wrong the first time around. I listed the CSR as 18, but I'm thinking he was closer to 16, and the lack of experience showed.

I've got an overnight loop starting tomorrow with 15 of these shops and a few of the other red/blues thrown in for good measure (and a car wash both days!)

Given the diabetes I need to buying more peanuts than candy, so it will be interesting to see how things go. :-D

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/09/2021 06:21PM by CoolMusic.

Re: Sales tax overcharges. Reminds of somewhat hilarious encounter I had at a thrift shop.

There was a 50% off sale. I found a bowl I really really liked and needed, marked $0.25. So half price would be (roughly) $0.13.

The cashier rang it up, and said "That'll be twenty cents, please."

What? Seven cents sales tax on a 13 cent purchase? 50% sales tax? No WAY! I politely pointed out that this could not in any way be correct.

Gentleman, reading from post-it on cash register, quoted: "Sales tax is 7c on the dollar, or any part of a dollar", ergo, 7c tax on 13 cents, which is definitely "part of a dollar".

I chose not to argue, but to chuckle at the endless supply of....well, I'll be kind and say "lack of education".

My reaction would have been to immediately say hold on minute, point out the correct price, and give him one opportunity to fix it. But if he couldn't, I ain't got the time. I'm working. I would have just said, "Wow," and either pay the price or quickly grab something else and move on. More likely, I'd grab something else. Of course I make note of what happened in the evaluation.

Most clerks are too dumb to use the registers to do a price adjustment. After they can't figure it out, I find something else.
Unwritten rule that all shoppers buy the Arizona tea when it still has the 99 cents marked on it. Some are now $1.49.
Peanut butter crackers are close to $1. So are Belvita biscuits, Keeber sugar wafers (donate them), Mentos, cat food cans, little trees (single pack), Nature valley bars, Wrigleys gum (35 cents x 3), single cans of Diet Coke, and Rolaids.
Peanuts have a lot of fat and sodium. Not great for diabetes, but surely better than cookies or candy. I buy a lot of them and donate them to Operation Gratitude so they can add them to the boxes that they send to the troops overseas.
Fruit is sometimes 2/$1 or $99 cents each. I buy that when it doesn't look "salvaged".

I would just get something else also or buy a single pack if that rang up correct at 69 cents. When doing large routes like that time is of the essence and you should limit it. You will learn the cheap stuff across the board that is available at around the same price in most gas stations. Single roll of paper towels or toilet paper may also be an option and certainly would not hurt your diabetes. This situation you can simply put in the report in the correct spot.

@BuffaloNY101 wrote:

When doing large routes like that time is of the essence and you should limit it... Single roll of paper towels or toilet paper may also be an option and certainly would not hurt your diabetes.

Good point about the sundry items. I did buy a toothbrush holder once, on the start of a 4-day/3-night loop.

Time consumption has yet to be an issue. I allow 30 minutes for each location, including getting the report done from my phone before moving on to the next stop. I wind up running ahead of schedule more times than not.

In this case I'm good with a couple of packs of peanuts for .42 out of pocket. To exchange my for selection and ask for a receipt would definitely draw attention. I often get comments about how nobody asks for receipts.

@CoolMusic wrote:

I'm currently doing daylong and overnight loops comprised mostly of the red/white/blue limited reveal gas station jobs. These are really easy and you can generally knock out 3 per hour depending on density. Current bonus + reimbursement is $19, making for a more than acceptable hourly rate, and typically you will wind up with more gas in the tank at the end of the day than when you started.

Just FYI, these will hit $8.50 + $20 at the end of the quarter. They're only at $8.50 + $4.50 now. Hardly worth driving a route. Some will hit $8.50 + $75 if you want to drive to a far-off location.